Opinions on airline policies, please...

[sweet maxine]

It seems to be that Southwest has a pretty good policy about tickets regarding changes, cancellations, holding reservations. I think they are pretty much consumer friendly in that respect, so I wondered about others such as US Airways, Delta, Continental, and AA. I wondered specifically if these airlines allow you to place a hold on a ticket, change times or dates, and what kind of policy they have regarding buying a ticket for one price, and then the ticket dropping in price for the same intinerary. I only have experience with SW, but am looking into booking a flight for my daughter so that she may join us on this trip. I'm hoping the dates are set in concrete for her, but not really sure at this point. If something happens to change, will I be "up a creek without a paddle" as we say here in Mississippi?

Does anyone have any experience with these airlines? Thanks for your time!

 

[seashoreCM]

The traditional major airlines and perhaps most smaller airlines generally do not let you "hold" a reservation, and they charge you a fee, usually between USD $25. and $100. for modifying a reservation.

(Sometimes you can hold a reservation until midnight or until midnight of the next day and sometimes you just hold the seat for some protection against bumping but not hold the fare amount.)

Usually you can get a gift certificate refund (however it is a plain looking voucher with no ribbon or fancy trim) of the difference if you ask following a fare decrease after your purchase but there are exceptions. The most common exception is if the lower fare is the result of a promotion consisting of a separate group of seats (called a booking class represented by a letter such as Q or K or U) as maintained by the airline's computer system. If your booking class is different from that in the promotion you may have to pay a change fee to get rebooked. You will definitely have to pay a change fee if the lower fare is only available on an earlier or later flight.

The general way to get close to the best fare is to wait for a specific fare sale rather than buy at their everyday low price.

If you see an excellent fare, book and pay immediately. Don't rely on the ticket agent over the phone about holding the reservation, the rules are complex and you may be given wrong information and find out that by midnight the fare is higher.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[sweet maxine]

Thanks for that explanation. What I meant by holding was that SW will hold a ticket itinerary till midnight the next day, and that usually gives me time to recheck the date and time. I'm not sure what the chances are of a major fare sale at about 30 days out from her departure. It also seems that SW is one of the few airlines not involved in some kind of trouble right now. I am a little leery of US Airways, though they have the best price at this moment.

 

[dansyr]

with us air....when our prices dropped I just called and they sent me vouchers for the difference in price.

 

[Chicago526]

If the price of your ticket drops after you purchase, most airlines will refund the differance in price MINUS a $100 fee. Or you can can the full differance back on a credit for future travel on the same airline within one year from the date the credit is issued. Some travel agencies will notify you if this happens and handle it for you, ask your agent if they offer this service.

Most airlines allow you to hold a reservation for 24 hours and cancel if you don't purchase the ticket. Once purchase, the tickets are non-refundable, and changes are $100 PLUS the fare increase IF your new flights cost more than your orriginal ticket. The fare MAY be higher if you change either your outbound or return flight and eliminate a Saturday stay. Also, if your new date/time does not qualify for the orriginal fare purchased. Say the sale fare you bought is only good for travel on a Wednesday, and you need to change it to Thursday. The sale fare no longer applies, and you need to pay the differance AND the $100 penalty for changes.

 

[Jestocost]

American just recently started allowing customers who book through their Web site to hold a reservation for up to 24 hours without requiring a credit card number or any kind of deposit. The only exception is some NetSaver specials that require instant booking.

Changing reservations to get a lower price or different times on a non-refundable fare on American, and most airlines, requires in almost every case that you pay a $100 per ticket change fee.

 

[sweet maxine]

Thanks for all the information. I am going to make sure that my daughter's dates and times will be written in stone before I book a ticket for her. I also found out that she can get a ticket through a site called Student Universe (she's a college student and works part time). I think the ticket was about 50 to 60 dollars cheaper on this site.