No name change flight rules

poshbiz

Hi everyone,

I booked a flight with Opodo for my nan to visit from overseas. She was supposed come with her companion who got sick at the last minute with a contageous flu (though this was maybe just an excuse in the end, not sure she was that keen to fly (another long story). Anyway, I had booked Opodo extra - which is totally useless, and the ticket was non-refundable with limited changes.

Turns out firstly, that the changes could only be made up until end of that May (I bought the tickets on the 26th, effectively giving me 4 days to make changes - why do they not make this clear?, no one changes within 4 days, most people make changes closer to the travel date).

All along I kept saying, never mind, I will just change this ticket to my nephew who needs to travel around that time anyway. Both Opodo and the the airline (separately) tell me you CANNOT transfer ANY ticket to someone else's name. They told me it's a long standing rule that has been there forever. I do not know this rule at all, I know people pay an amount to change ticket names with Ryanair etc.

The airline said I should be entitled to a tax refund, which should cost more than the ticket itself. The guy was nice, but I had to do all this through Opodo. Opodo gave me the following breakdown :


The original ticket costs total of : £804.88
Ticket : £778.89
Booking fee : £10
Opodo Extra : 15.99

The breakdown when asking for a refund.

Ticket cost : £334
Tax airline is keeping : £272.80
I will then get £ 182.09

I said why is the airline keeping £272.80 in tax, should that not be with the revenue (taxman). They said no the airline keeps that.

I did not expect to get all my money back. But why do I feel like I had been scammed in a major way ?

I have cut and paste some of the conditions on the tickets to give you a clear picture :

CHANGES

ANY TIME
CHARGE ZAR 1700.00 FOR REISSUE/REVALIDATION.
CHILD/INFANT DISCOUNTS APPLY.
WAIVED FOR ILLNESS OR DEATH OF PASSENGER OR FAMILY
MEMBER.
NOTE -
VOLUNTARY CHANGES BEFORE DEPARTURE OF THE
FIRST TICKETED FLT SEGMENT WILL BE SUBJECT TO ANY
FARE DIFF APPLICABLE TO THE NEW DATE OF TRVL
---
UPGRADING TO ANY HIGHER FARE OR CABIN AT CHARGE

> OF ZAR 1700.00 PER TRANSACTION PLUS ANY DIFF
IN FARE.
---
REROUTING - NOT PERMITTED
---
CHANGES -- APPLY THE APPLICABLE CHANGE FEE FOR
THE LEG THAT WILL BE CHANGED AND IF BOTH LEGS
CHANGE CHARGE THE HIGHEST CHANGE FEE FOR
THE ENTIRE JOURNEY.

Bob_the_Saver

Quite normal with non flexible tickets which is why they are cheaper.

jpsartre

poshbiz wrote: »

But why do I feel like I had been scammed in a major way ?

Beats me. Looks to me like everything that happened to you is standard policies on most airlines.

Caz3121

Depending on the airline you will find that they have fare + taxes + fees/charges (which often include the fuel surcharge)

You would think that the breakdown would be fare (including fuel surcharge) plus taxes but I suspect they break it down to be able to charge the taxes + fees to those redeeming frequent flyer miles.

Does your nans companion have travel insurance that will cover her for being unable to fly? The airline would then refund the taxes and the travel insurance would refund the remainder.

Although low cost carriers get slated often for their charges for name changes, as you have found, traditional full service airlines do not allow name changes at all and the only option would be to reclaim taxes/insurance