Money Moral Dilemma: should I charge some of my flight change charge to my friend?

Ceenthia

My friend and I purchased flight tickets to go on a holiday. Now a month til we fly, she can’t find her passport and wants me to go alone. I don’t want to go alone and I’ve suggested that we change the tickets but that is going to cost us around £200 each. Should I charge her at least half the change amount? 

JJC1956

Ceenthia said:

My friend and I purchased flight tickets to go on a holiday. Now a month til we fly, she can’t find her passport and wants me to go alone. I don’t want to go alone and I’ve suggested that we change the tickets but that is going to cost us around £200 each. Should I charge her at least half the change amount? 

How long before the new flights? If she cant find her passport now, she will obviously need to apply for another one which is apparently quite a lengthy process at the moment.

JReacher1

She’s given up very quickly and well in advance of your holiday. I sort of suspect she just doesn’t want to go on holiday with you so she’s probably not going to change the flight and definitely won’t pay the £100 for you!

london21

Ceenthia said:

My friend and I purchased flight tickets to go on a holiday. Now a month til we fly, she can’t find her passport and wants me to go alone. I don’t want to go alone and I’ve suggested that we change the tickets but that is going to cost us around £200 each. Should I charge her at least half the change amount? 

Depdns how much you value your friendship, might put a strain on your friendship.

 

Also what date will you select and is there certainty that the new passport would have arrived.

 

Might be better going alone or paying the fees yourself.

 

Can the airline give you vouchers for the tickets instead.

Malthusian

You can apply for an urgent 1 week fast track passport. I don't know if it actually takes one week but if I was her, I would be applying for that immediately, and only writing off the holiday if I don't get it for two weeks. (That would give you a whole two weeks to decide what to do in the certainty she won't be coming.)

If that's already off the table, your choices are either go alone or cancel.

(Or offer to rebook a holiday with them in the UK while paying the £200 to move the foreign one, but I think we can safely say it's not worth it.)

I wouldn't book a holiday with them again unless I was prepared to go alone.

If the two of you do decide to move the holiday she should certainly pay half, and a good friend would offer to pay the full £400 (as it was their fault). A really good friend would, in turn, refuse and share the £400. As she has pointed out, there's nothing stopping you from taking the flight alone and leaving her on the ground to lose her money. So there isn't an obligation on her part to cover the full cost of changing the booking so you can both go together.

MEM62

Ceenthia said:

Now a month til we fly, she can’t find her passport and wants me to go alone. 

The passport is not the reason she does not want to go.  That is you starting point for any deliberations and, that being the case, you go alone or you do not go.  

Slinky

MEM62 said:

Ceenthia said:

Now a month til we fly, she can’t find her passport and wants me to go alone. 

The passport is not the reason she does not want to go.  That is you starting point for any deliberations and, that being the case, you go alone or you do not go.  

Or you find somebody else to go with and do a name change on the booking.

Maskface

So she's got a month to find her passport? That should be plenty of time then. In the meantime I'd perhaps shop around for some less flaky friends.

Doodles

Doesn't sound like your friend really wants to go  and is using the passport as an excuse.  A month is plenty of time to at least try to sort out the passport issue.  You'd be best off finding someone else to go with. 

Angelica123

Agreed with others. You can get a passport in one week if you pay for fast track (I once did it when my passport got stolen on holiday). She seems to be flaking out on you - I wouldn't change tickets only for her to find a new excuse to flake out. 

Assuming that she won't go on this trip even if dates are postponed, you have to decide if you go ahead or cancel. I personally would go on trip alone and make the best of it. And note not to make expensive plans with said friend in future.