Problem changing leg 1 of a 2 leg flight

the_canty

Hi guys

My girlfriend bought a 1-way ticket to Japan with KLM and has to change at Amsterdam. She is scheduled to leave London on Saturday lunchtime, spend 3 nights in th dam, and then leave for Japan on Tuesday.

However, she has changed her mind, and now wants to stay in London until Tuesday morning, and get a direct connecting flight (staying in Amsterdam for a couple of hours). She rang the airline this morning and they've told her that she has to speak to the travel agent. The travel agent is telling her that the ticket is non-transferable and can't change the LDN-AMS leg of it. I am quite surprised at this as KLM have plenty of flights each day and should have no trouble fitting her on another flight. If that's the way it is though, then fair enough.

She also asked about booking her own flight to Amsterdam on tuesday morning (eg. with easyjet) and then getting on the AMS-Tokyo plane as scheduled on her tickets. The travel agent said that if she doesn't get on the plane in London then they have the right to sell her whole ticket again, and it may become void.

does anyone know what the deal is with this? if she has a ticket for the ams-tokyo flight then that's a ticket for that flight alone isn't it and it shouldn't matter what her connecting ticket was, and whether or not she used the 1st plane?

any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

John

Edinburghlass_2

I would imagine that the flight cost was based on both legs of the journey and that is why she can't change the first leg. Presumably she doesn't actually have two tickets but one ticket that covers both parts of the journey.

Should she not check in for the first part, the airline would assume she isn't checking in for the second part?

Just my thoughts, someone more expert will be along I am sure.

markmat

the_canty wrote:

I am quite surprised at this as KLM have plenty of flights each day and should have no trouble fitting her on another flight.

I don't think that's really the problem, it will depend on the flexibility of the ticket you've booked.

Like Edinburghlass said the price will have been based on the combined journey, and the level of flexibility for changes etc. I'm always nervous when booking flights for this very reason. You'll save a lot of money by having the cheapest advertised fare, but if your plans change you can have problems.

The point about not taking the first flight is pretty normal I think. You didn't mention what kind of travel agent it is. If it's a fairly big place it might be worth calling back and seeing if the next person you speak to comes up with a slightly different answer

Noozan

As previous posters have said; the price your GF paid was based on both legs of the flight. If you don't check in for the first leg, they will cancel you on the second as they will have you down as a no show. This is why many airlines overbook seats as they assume x% of people will be no shows.

My OH and I booked to go on a Carribean Cruise 3 years ago and at the time we booked it, we lived in opposite ends of the country. He was due to fly from Edinburgh to London to Miami. My ticket was for Newquay to London to Miami. However, due to unforseen circumstances, he was with me in Cornwall the day before we were due to leave for hols.

This was about the time there was all the new problems with air traffic control and he phoned the airline to ask if he could book an independent ticket from Newquay to London and forfeit the first leg of his ticket. Airline said yes, no problem, so he went online and booked a ticket for the following day.

2 hours later, the airline phoned back and said they had misinformed him and if he didn't get on the plane at Edinburgh the following morning, he would not be allowed to board the flight to Miami.

Thus, panic ensued! Immediately booked a one way from Bristol to Edinburgh and did 360 miles round trip in the car to take him to Bristol airport and get myself back to Cornwall.

The following morning, I phoned him before I boarded my flight and all was well at his end; he had checked in and we were due to meet in London in about 1 1/2 hours. I land in London and no sign of him..... Phone him up and HE'S STILL IN EDINBURGH! His flight had been cancelled due to air traffic control problems. No other flights available for 8 a minimum of 8 hours.

End result, I bought a ticket to get myself to Edinburgh later that day (At stupid price, but i was stuck in London and had no choice).

After loads of wrangling with the insurance company, they eventually refunded 50% of what we paid for the holiday (which was over £4k) as they argued that I had been able to fly to Miami and therefore, could have gone on the holiday. :mad:

Sorry for the rant, but even after all this time, it still makes me angry that I was expected to go alone and we lost all that money.

So......get on the first leg of flight if you don't want to forfeit the ticket!

the_canty

thanks for the replies, guys.

very useful.