The Most Critical Thing You Need to Know About Your Next Flight
By Amy Ziff, Editor-at-Large
September 10, 2003
Aside from the crude departure details, the most important thing you need to know about your flight is the change policy. After all, life doesn't always go according to plan, and least of all, not according to your plan. Somehow, some way, sooner or later, something comes up. Murphy's Law usually has it happen when you've purchased that bargain basement, non-refundable fare. Whether the hindrance is for work or play, if it hampers your ability to get out of town, the crucial information you need to know is whether you can make a change to your ticket, and what (groan) it's going to cost.
Last fall the major airlines launched "use it or lose it" policies that made it harder on the consumer to change flight details on a whim or for an emergency. The airlines had hoped this would force customers to pay up for more flexible fares, the kind of fares so many of us had come to know, love, and perhaps, take for granted. Judging by the recent recanting of those policies, it may have caused more travelers to leap to low-cost carriers offering simpler fare structures and nominal change fees.
What's still a mess is tracking which airline has made which amendments to their "use it or lose it" policies. For example, USAir, who launched the original policy, has not changed it at all. This time, American Airlines was the trendsetter, shifting first towards a more relaxed policy. Continental, Northwest, United and Delta all matched it in some form or another. Below is a chart to help you keep track of what the major carriers are now doing about those nonrefundable ticket restrictions:
- American Airlines allows passengers with nonrefundable tickets to reschedule within a year of issue without losing the value of their tickets. Passengers will have to postpone or cancel their trips prior to the scheduled departure time, and fees for changes--that typically range from $25 to $100--will remain in place.
- Continental gives nonrefundable ticket holders a year to reschedule their plans without losing the value of their tickets, provided they cancel plans before the original departure time. There will be a penalty fee for making the change, and passengers are required to pay any difference in fare between the old and new tickets. Travel must start within one year from the date the original ticket was purchased.
- Northwest eliminated requirements on nonrefundable tickets so that customers no longer need to notify the airline in advance to cancel their reservations. Instead, nonrefundable tickets can be used up to one year from the date of the first flight of the customer's original itinerary. For domestic travel, a $100 change fee will apply, as will other fare terms and conditions, along with any difference in fare.
- Delta allows customers to reschedule travel on nonrefundable tickets within one year from the date of purchase without losing the value of their tickets. In order to use the credit, a customer must cancel a reservation prior to the originally scheduled departure time, and apply the credit within one year of the original date of purchase. Customers will have to pay any fees (generally $100) related to reservation changes as well as any differences in the ticket prices. The new policy does not apply to international fares.
- United customers with nonrefundable tickets must cancel their domestic reservations on or before the scheduled departure date in order to have a full year from the original ticket date to reschedule. Customers will be responsible for any applicable change fees, usually $100 on domestic and $150 on international fares.
- US Airways' policy maintains that, depending on the fare purchased, customers may make changes to non-refundable fares, subject to a fee ($100 for domestic and $200 for international fares). It also stipulates that changes must be made prior to the departure date. Certain non-refundable fares for US and Caribbean destinations have a validity of one year, and if unused, may be applied towards another fare.
- Jet Blue, ATA, Song, and Air Tran have smaller change fees that generally cost approximately $25-$50.
- Southwest has no change fee, but you will have to pay the fare difference.
Travel Tips:
- Always know the cancellation and/or change policies whenever you book travel for air, car, cruise, or hotels.
- Consider trip insurance if you want further travel protection.
- Always bring the customer service number with you, in case you need to make any changes on the road.
While the majors aren't getting rid of all the fees to make changes, the revised policies are a lot less stringent, a lot more flexible, and a whole lot more consumer friendly. That makes us frequent (and even not so frequent) fliers happy.
For more travel tips and advice, check out Amy Ziff's blog, The Window Seat, or her monthly column, Travel Trends & Advice from A to Z. To suggest a topic for a future column or to tell about a travel experience of your own, please email Amy Ziff at ask.amy@travelocity.com.
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