Is an unchangeable flight really non-changeable?

applegrass

I accidentally bought a long-haul flight which is non-refundable, non-cancellable, non-changable.

If I buy something in the shops, and I find it's not fit for purpose, I can take it back to the shops and get a credit note or something.

Surely if I buy a flight, and later find that all I want to do is change it, I should be able to do that (subject to room)? Why won't airlines allow that facility? is it legal for them to refuse to make any changes?

System

As with shops, if there is nothing wrong with the flight (goes where it says, when it says) then you have no right to change it.

They don't have to cater for people changing their mind.

Browntoa

same rule applies in a shop, if you buy something and take it back as you decide you no longer want it then they have no legal requirement to refund you . If its faulty (or cancelled) then you are entitled to a refund

edit:-beaten to it

zzzLazyDaisy

applegrass wrote: »

If I buy something in the shops, and I find it's not fit for purpose, I can take it back to the shops and get a credit note or something.

Surely if I buy a flight, and later find that all I want to do is change it, I should be able to do that

Actually that isn't an accurate comparison - if you buy something in the shops and then simply change your mind, you have no right to exchange, refund, or credit note. Although some shops will let you do that, it isn't a legal right.

The flight IS fit for its purpose, you have just changed your mind. The airline is entitled to refuse a refund or to allow you to change flights, if that is what is in their T&C's (you did read the T&C's before purchasing the flight, didn't you?) The thing is, airlines do also sell fully flexible tickets that allow you to change your mind, but those tickets are much more expensive, so I'm guessing you went for the cheaper non-refundable, non-changeable option?

EDIT - beaten to it as well!

withabix

How on earth did you accidentally buy a long-haul flight ?

applegrass

withabix wrote: »

Hon on earth did you accidentally book a flight ?

Well, I had always intended to buy a refundable flight because my plans might change. But then I've been so busy with work that when I was finally able to sit down and look at all the flight price comparisons, I forget to check that the flight was changeable. Whoops.

Moonchild

applegrass wrote: »

Well, I had always intended to buy a refundable flight because my plans might change. But then I've been so busy with work that when I was finally able to sit down and look at all the flight price comparisons, I forget to check that the flight was changeable. Whoops.

Fully refundable / changeable without penalty flights are a bit out of reach for most people on this site. They are largely in the domain of businesses, not really for individuals.

For example (and a rough example) a BA flight to Bangkok at the moment could cost you £450 plus tax, the cheapest they have. A fully refundable / changeable flight to Bangkok would cost you at least £3700 plus tax (in economy).

My bet is you wouldn't have purchased the refundable ticket anyway.

duchy

Some flights are changable for a charge but ultimately you don't have a leg to stand on as you accepted the conditions of the fare you bought at the point of sale. Sorry

However.....if it is the return you are trying to change and you are travelling to somewhere closer to third world than first *sometimes* you can change locally -may be worth asking once you are out there. Additionally if it is quite a way ahead and you get hit with a schedule change-this can open the door to changing the flights.-depends on the airline and the amount the flight changes though.

Last year we booked flights to the US-the departure airport was changed (airline dropped Stansted and move us to their Heathrow flight)and we used that change to cancel one of the party and got a full refund.. We had resigned ourselves to losing the fare so it was a bonus.

This year the airline (different one) called me a month before to say the flight was overbooked and would I like to fly into Heathrow instead of Gatwick on a different flight-I didn't but used their need to free up seats to re-route my tickets and add an additional stop on the way home.

So if you can't use theticket and can't change it for a fee it MIGHT be worth not cancelling the reservation and seeing if anything you can use to your advantage comes up before departure. You don't seem to have anything to lose by waiting to see.

Moonchild

duchy wrote: »

So if you can't use theticket and can't change it for a fee it MIGHT be worth not cancelling the reservation and seeing if anything you can use to your advantage comes up before departure. You don't seem to have anything to lose by waiting to see.

Although it's worth noting that if you don't cancel, and just don't turn up, it counts as a 'No Show' and you might not even get your airport tax back which would currently will (minus an admin charge I bet).

7sefton

This may give you false hope, but just because a cheap, long haul flight has nasty conditions like 'No refunds, cancellations or changes' does not always mean that.

I too have had to change (not cancel) significant parts of economy class flights that were sold as totally non-amendable. One was with Gulf Air through Expedia.co.uk, and the other was directly with Emirates on their website. After giving each one a call, to my surprise and delight, both were able to accommodate my requested changes at a nominal fee of around £50. With Expedia I even did this twice - once on the outward leg and the other on the return!

Mysteriously none of the agents I dealt with could explain why apparently non-ammendable flights actually were actually quite flexible, albiet for a fee. The guy at Emirates said something about generally the longer the flight the more flexible an airline is with changes, or maybe that was just with his company. Perhaps the rules shown to the customer are different to the specific ticket rules, or I have just been incredibly lucky.

Of course it's always best to try and ensure your flights will meet your needs from the outset, but if you do need to change give them a call, explain and see what happens. Worst is they say no!

old_motters

7sefton wrote: »

This may give you false hope, but just because a cheap, long haul flight has nasty conditions like 'No refunds, cancellations or changes' does not always mean that.

I too have had to change (not cancel) significant parts of economy class flights that were sold as totally non-amendable. One was with Gulf Air through Expedia.co.uk, and the other was directly with Emirates on their website. After giving each one a call, to my surprise and delight, both were able to accommodate my requested changes at a nominal fee of around £50. With Expedia I even did this twice - once on the outward leg and the other on the return!

Mysteriously none of the agents I dealt with could explain why apparently non-ammendable flights actually were actually quite flexible, albiet for a fee. The guy at Emirates said something about generally the longer the flight the more flexible an airline is with changes, or maybe that was just with his company. Perhaps the rules shown to the customer are different to the specific ticket rules, or I have just been incredibly lucky.

Of course it's always best to try and ensure your flights will meet your needs from the outset, but if you do need to change give them a call, explain and see what happens. Worst is they say no!

Quite, the fare conditions are crucial in instances like this. I've bought £3000 fares for work that are non-change, non-ref, non-reroute etc but for £XX+ fare dif you can pretty much do what you want.

For the OP, I would closely examine the fare rules for your ticket, it may be possible to change your ticket for far far less than the cost of a full flex, full ref ticket. In fact, it's usually the case.