Selling Airline Tickets and name changes??

[tigerlilly]

There is a chance we will not be able to make our trip in December due to health issues and I have already purchased nonrefundable airline tickets which were supposed to have a change fee of $25 but when I called about the possibility of actually changing them the airline is saying it is now $100 even though I have the paperwork stating it is $25... on 4 tickets this is just not worth it so I am on the verge of just eating over $1000 in costs and losing the money.
So my question is has anyone ever sold there tickets before to someone and had the name and things changed on the tickets? Could I do this on say Ebay. I have absolutely no experience with this sort of thing nor do I know if I can do it but I thought someone on the transportation board may have had some experience with it.
Thank you in advance for any information on this.

 

[bavaria]

Sorry, you can't even do a name change on an airline ticket.

The only time an airline will do so is if they make a spelling mistake and put a note in the PNR or reissue a ticket.

You cannot resell tickets - just get a credit and pay the change fee when you go to use the credit.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

At one time years and years ago they might have been transferrable, but not in the last 10 years at least.

The change fee of $100 they quoted -- was that per ticket or for all 4 tickets? If it's per ticket, did that also include any difference between the original fare and the new one? The change fee of $25 originally quoted should be per ticket and does not include any fare difference.

 

[Brian Noble]

If you bought trip insurance, you may be able to make a claim.

Short of that, there's not much you can do, unfortunately.

 

[Jeanne B]

If and when you cancel your tickets the airline should issue you travel vouchers that are good for one year from your original booking date (the original value less the change/cancel fee) so if you can reschedule your trip within that time frame at least you won't be out the $$ altogether. As far as I know, there's no such thing as transferring or selling airline tickets anymore.

 

[mom_rules]

Due to your circumstances (and depending on who you talk to at the airline) they may be kind enough to make the name change (we just did this on AWA-cost us $100 per ticket too). But be prepared to do this right then and there because if you talk to another airline person later they may not be that accommodating.

 

[Lewisc]

For other people reading this thread name changes, where you're subsituting passengers, are sometimes permitted with group fares. A school group buys 25 seats and has the right to change the names.

Otherwise name changes are generally only done to correct a name, sometimes due to marriage, but not to change the actual passenger.

I agree with the previous poster. Depending on the nature of the sickness you might get an airline to waive some of the fees or allow you to substitute a passenger, with a fee.

 

[kaytieeldr]

There is a chance we will not be able to make our trip in December due to health issues and I have already purchased nonrefundable airline tickets which were supposed to have a change fee of $25 but when I called about the possibility of actually changing them the airline is saying it is now $100 even though I have the paperwork stating it is $25... on 4 tickets this is just not worth it so I am on the verge of just eating over $1000 in costs and losing the money.

I'm not sure I see the logic behind this. Even if it DOES end up costing you $400 in change fees, isn't it better to lose $400 than $1,000?

 

[airplane]

What airline are you traveling on? Spirit allows name changes for 25.00 (the price may have increased a little since last year though)

 

[Chicago526]

If you have paperwork that says it's a $25 fee per ticket to change, then they have to honor it. You may have to take it to the airline ticket counter at an airport, but you should force the issue. While most major airlines charge $100 per person, some do have fees of $50 or even less on certain routes. If you have one of those routes, the airline agent you spoke with may have been mistaken and just told you the general policy.

Also, be sure to read your paper work carefully. A new policy is that if you make the change to your ticket the very day you are traveling and are only changing by a few hours, certain airlines only charge $25 per ticket for that. Say you have a 5 PM flight and decide you want a 2 PM flight instead. They day you are supposed to fly, you could just go to the airport and make the change for just $25, but if you do it a week ahead, they charge the full $100.

 

[JerJan]

Actually some airlines do have humans that work for them. A couple of years ago we had 4 tickets to go to MCO from CLE and my husband became ill and was unable to fly. I called Airtran and explained the situation, I provided them with a letter from his doctor and they gave us a credit (for the total value of the 4 tickets) to be used any time in the next year.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[pxlbarrel]

West Jet allows name changes but they'll charge a fee for changing the name ...same as for changing the flight.

 

[bicker]

If you have paperwork that says it's a $25 fee per ticket to change, then they have to honor it.

Only if the paperwork was issued by them or an authorized agent. Otherwise, the cause-of-action could be against whoever issued the paperwork, rather than the airline.

Also, be sure to read your paper work carefully.

That's a good point. For example, the paperwork could say there is a $25 fee for changes to the date of travel, but standard change fees apply for other changes.

A new policy is that if you make the change to your ticket the very day you are traveling and are only changing by a few hours, certain airlines only charge $25 per ticket for that.

That varies by airline, and by fare class. For example, in some cases, changing a flight less than 24 hours prior has a 100% penalty associated with it (i.e., the tickets are worthless if you don't fly as planned). I got hit with that recently on a very heavily-discounted fare.