Cancelling a Flight

Blue264

jpsartre wrote: »

I've never heard of any airline charging such a fee.

I always check paragraph 16 of the fare rules for this one. It's shown under Cancellations. Had a client charged with a USD 200 no show charge the other day by a US airline.

Fare rules are individual to the fare basis of the ticket, and if the fare basis is different on the sectors of the ticket, the most restrictive fare rules apply before the date of the outbound travel.

photome

someone posted this a few days ago re claiming money back on a non refundable ticket

There was a case not to long ago about a similar case regarding a customer suing for the cost of a holiday back and won. The basis of the claim is that the holiday company mitigated their losses by rebooking the accommodation and flights, so in reality they would have been paid twice.


As regulars on here know you can't get paid twice as it's classed as a penalty. The holiday company in question are appealing the decision so that story hasn't ended yet.


Point being if the airline rebook the seats to someone else they would be forced by a court to refund the op. Consumer rights protect against unfair terms, this looks like a good case for that.

Blue264

photome wrote: »

which airlines charge a no show fee ?

It's not defined by airline. It's defined by paragraph 16 of the fare rules of the ticket you've bought. So, you can have two travellers in Economy class on the same flight, but they've paid different fares with differing fare rules. One passenger may have this charge and the other may not. It completely depends on the fare basis of the ticket.

A fully flexible fare won't have this charge, regardless of the airline.

Blue264

photome wrote: »

Point being if the airline rebook the seats to someone else they would be forced by a court to refund the op. Consumer rights protect against unfair terms, this looks like a good case for that.

UK consumer rights vs a Brazillian airline and International airline regulations? You wouldn't get legal aid for that one!

richardw

I think photome is referring to a case with Thomson.

jpsartre

Blue264 wrote: »

It's not defined by airline. It's defined by paragraph 16 of the fare rules of the ticket you've bought.

But the fare rules are defined by the airline (?). I think you're confusing different things. It's certainly not normal airline practice to charge a no-show fee.

Blue264

jpsartre wrote: »

But the fare rules are defined by the airline (?). I think you're confusing different things. It's certainly not normal airline practice to charge a no-show fee.

What I mean is, nearly every major International airline will have at least one fare basis which includes a no show charge. The point is that the OP needs to carefully read paragraph 16 of the fare rules of their ticket to check if this charge would apply to their ticket before deciding whether to cancel the ticket or not.

http://www.havepointswilltravel.com/2012/04/how-an-airline-no-show-policy-can-cost-you-big-bucks/

Edit: p.s. I may have not phrased this correctly, but I'm not confusing it. It's my job. Just google no show penalty and you'll see the major airlines that practice thisnpolicy.

jpsartre

Blue264 wrote: »

What I mean is, nearly every major International airline will have at least one fare basis which includes a no show charge.

Could you post some concrete examples (i.e. quotes from the actual fare rules of some actual airlines)? The link you post makes no mention of a no-show fee, it simply points out that tickets will be cancelled and no refund due if you no-show a flight. Googling "no-show penalty" brings up nothing about no-shows fees either, just lots of posts about loosing your ticket and its value if you miss your flight.

Blue264

No-show Fee on Ticketed Flight Itineraries:
No-show and revalidation: $400/$800/$0 for Econom
y Class / Business Class / First Class tickets
respectively.
No-show and reissue: $800/$1600/$0 for Economy Class
/ Business Class / First Class tickets respectively.
No-show and refund: $400/$800/$0 for Economy Class /
Business Class / First Class tickets respectively.

http://www.emirates.com/us/english/images/DOT-Optional-Services-v4_tcm272-708590.pdf

5.7. A service charge may be payable by a passenger who:

5.7.1. fails to arrive at Carrier's check-in-location at the airport or other point of departure by the time fixed by Carrier (or if no time fixed, sufficiently in advance of flight departure to permit completion of government formalities and departure procedures) and therefore, does not use space for which a reservation has been made for him, or

5.7.2. appear improperly documented and, therefore, not ready to travel, and as a consequence thereof does not use space for which a reservation has been made for him, or

5.7.3. cancels his reservation later than the time limit for cancellation prescribed by Carrier. The service charge shall not be payable if, due to a flight delay or cancellation, or omission of a scheduled stop, or failure to provide space, the passenger cancels his reservation or, for one of the aforementioned reasons, fails to arrive in time for departure.

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/cmn/generalinfo?nodeid=2695465&l=en

Cancel/Refund - after No-Show
For customers who cancel their remaining journey after a No-Show and request a Refund (where applicable) the applicable fee for No-Show (as outlined in the fare conditions), will be deducted from the amount to be refunded.
Fees for No-Show apply to both No-Show Before Departure and No-Show After Departure.


http://www.qantas.com.au/agents_us/dyn/usqf/info/policies/noshow


That's just a few examples, but they are no substitute for reading fully, the T&C of the fare before you purchase the ticket.


Top and bottom is...If you are flying with a scheduled airline, and not a low cost carrier or charter airline, you need to cancel your ticket and apply for whatever refund applies. Based upon the T&C of your ticket, that could be a full refund, a part refund (when you have part travelled or a cancellation fee applies) or a partial tax refund (when a ticket is non-refundable.) If you do not not fly or cancel your ticket, the status of the ticket changes to 'no show' Once that has happened, you cannot refund any part of the fare or taxes, and may even incur a no show penalty, depending on the fare rules of your ticket.

DTDfanBoy

Those no show fees simply allow the airlines to charge people extra to be rebooked onto a later flight if they have missed theirs, or allow a refund to be processed if missing the flight means that they no longer have a need to travel.

Airlines do not, and can not, bill people for not taking a flight.