to cancel or not cancel a flight
June 7, 2018 10:34 AM Subscribe
Can I just no show for my flight and take a different one, instead of paying a $200 cancellation fee?
I'm an idiot and messed up when buying tickets for an upcoming flight. I have a one-way flight scheduled on American Airlines in the early afternoon. I need to take a flight much later that night instead.
AA charges a $200 fee to cancel and change an existing flight reservation. The flight I'm looking to take that day costs $122. What is stopping me from buying that ticket, not showing up for the flight I previously purchased a ticket, and avoiding paying the fee? I understand that I'm eating the cost of the ticket I originally purchased, but I'm trying to understand why you would pay a $200 cancellation fee. I'm clearly missing something. I'm usually a meticulous traveler who never has to change plans, so this is all constipatedlyvery foreign territory for me.
I'm an idiot and messed up when buying tickets for an upcoming flight. I have a one-way flight scheduled on American Airlines in the early afternoon. I need to take a flight much later that night instead.
AA charges a $200 fee to cancel and change an existing flight reservation. The flight I'm looking to take that day costs $122. What is stopping me from buying that ticket, not showing up for the flight I previously purchased a ticket, and avoiding paying the fee? I understand that I'm eating the cost of the ticket I originally purchased, but I'm trying to understand why you would pay a $200 cancellation fee. I'm clearly missing something. I'm usually a meticulous traveler who never has to change plans, so this is all constipatedlyvery foreign territory for me.
Yes, you can do that with a one-way flight. You can also do a Same-Day Change within 24 hours of departure that's only a $75 fee, though. If you don't think the alternative flight will sell out, it's the cheapest option.
posted by something something at 10:37 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by something something at 10:37 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's totally fine to just book another flight and not show, but I thought the point of cancelling was you got some of the money back. You should call and ask if cancelling gives you anything.
posted by aubilenon at 10:38 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 10:38 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: trying not to threadsit! does the same-day change mean you don't pay for the original flight anymore and you are just paying for the new one?
posted by cakelite at 10:38 AM on June 7, 2018
posted by cakelite at 10:38 AM on June 7, 2018
If you booked several flights together, it's possible that the airline may cancel your whole reservation if you don't show up for a flight. So you can do this on a one-way or on the last leg of a round-trip.
posted by madcaptenor at 10:41 AM on June 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by madcaptenor at 10:41 AM on June 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
No, it means you pay $75 and they put you on the new flight regardless of the fare. I just did this for someone on American Airlines last week. If you do the standard way, changing it ahead of time, you pay $200 plus (or, occasionally, minus) the difference in fare between your original ticket and the new one.
posted by something something at 10:41 AM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by something something at 10:41 AM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Call them in the morning and tell them you'd like to get booked on a later flight. Usually there is a fee you have to pay, depending on the airline. If all of the later flights are full, you'll be on stand-by. It's much better to arrange this and let the airline help you, rather than showing up all helpless and making them figure out what to do with you at the airport. They'll still charge you, and you'll spend way more time at the airport than you want to.
If you try to adjust this earlier than the day before though, it will cost *more* money - usually the change fee + the difference in fare.
posted by pazazygeek at 10:42 AM on June 7, 2018
If you try to adjust this earlier than the day before though, it will cost *more* money - usually the change fee + the difference in fare.
posted by pazazygeek at 10:42 AM on June 7, 2018
Best answer: Also, to answer your question of why someone would pay the $200 cancellation fee: Because usually plane tickets cost more than $200, and if you cancel or change, you still end up with some sort of credit despite the fee.
posted by something something at 10:44 AM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by something something at 10:44 AM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's not a $200 cancellation fee - it's a $200 change fee. You can cancel for $0 and have no credit left for another flight.
If you're price sensitive, American allows for same-day flight changes. You can do this online or through their app, no need to call. Confirmed seats are normally $75 and standby seats are free.
posted by dobi at 10:59 AM on June 7, 2018
If you're price sensitive, American allows for same-day flight changes. You can do this online or through their app, no need to call. Confirmed seats are normally $75 and standby seats are free.
posted by dobi at 10:59 AM on June 7, 2018
Best answer: I screwed up the flight departure time in my calendar and we missed our flight out of Raleigh-Durham a few weeks ago, having arrived an hour after it left. United booked us the next day (Memorial Day!) at no extra charge.
We didn't try to tell them a sob story or anything, we just told them what happened and they changed the flight. It didn't even occur to me that they might have charged me extra until the next morning. I don't usually make these kinds of changes/mistakes and I don't have advice about what you should do, but The Vagaries Of Airline Economics might get you what you want for free if you do indeed show up and look helpless.
posted by Kwine at 11:08 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
We didn't try to tell them a sob story or anything, we just told them what happened and they changed the flight. It didn't even occur to me that they might have charged me extra until the next morning. I don't usually make these kinds of changes/mistakes and I don't have advice about what you should do, but The Vagaries Of Airline Economics might get you what you want for free if you do indeed show up and look helpless.
posted by Kwine at 11:08 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
When did you misbook? If you bought the ticket less than 24hours ago you can cancel with a full refund.
posted by raccoon409 at 11:51 AM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by raccoon409 at 11:51 AM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I work in the adventure travel industry and our company has its own ticketing department. I asked the manager about this and she said you should call the airline. The problem is if you don't do anything about your original flight, then go ahead and book the second flight without doing anything about the first flight, the airline's computer might consider this a double booking and cancel BOTH flights without any warning to you.
posted by HeyAllie at 11:51 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by HeyAllie at 11:51 AM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The fee is not really for cancelling, it is for rebooking (or in the old days, getting a refund). If you cancel a ticket worth less than $200 they don't ask for more money, you just don't get any thing back.
posted by metahawk at 12:16 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by metahawk at 12:16 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, if you just straight up can't make a flight, it's best to wait into the last possible allowable time to cancel. If the airline has made too many changes to your itinerary for reasons that are their fault, they have to offer you a full refund.
posted by carolr at 3:36 PM on June 7, 2018
posted by carolr at 3:36 PM on June 7, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cakelite at 10:35 AM on June 7, 2018