No show rules

Dondatta

Hi

I have an urgent query. My family and I were going abroad to Malaysia with tickets booked under 1 booking. My passport has 3 months left so I was turned away at the airport. My family (4 people) continued with the flight 

Can I just then book a single ticket and meet my family in Malaysia and then we can all return on the original return ticket? 

A friend told me if I didn't take the outbound flight then all future flights would be cancelled for me. I contacted the airline and they said as my booking was through a 3rd party then I'd have to ask them. I contacted them and they basically said they would keep my return ticket if I purchased an outbound from them and that is costing basically the same as a return would cost me through any other site. 

Please let me know if you can help as I am getting my passport sorted by Thursday and then will try to meet my family ideally on a single ticket there and come back on the original return if I can 

Caz3121

if you read the conditions of carriage for the airline concerned it will likely mention tickets having to be used in sequence. If booked as a return journey then not using the outbound usually means all future flights on the same ticket would be cancelled. You will more than likely need to purchase a new return ticket - probably won't cost much more than a one-way. 
The exception would be if your agent purchased 2 one-way tickets then not using the outbound would not affect the return (separate) flight

bagand96

Dondatta said:

 

A friend told me if I didn't take the outbound flight then all future flights would be cancelled for me. I contacted the airline and they said as my booking was through a 3rd party then I'd have to ask them. I contacted them and they basically said they would keep my return ticket if I purchased an outbound from them and that is costing basically the same as a return would cost me through any other site. 

I would be slightly sceptical of what the agent is saying given that it's usually the airlines that set the fare rules and it's their systems that will apply the fare rules.

That's not to say the agent can't have additional T&C's/policies.

As @Caz3121 says you'll need to check the fare rules of the ticket, which were agreed to at the time of sale. Should be contained in the confirmation email, or at least a link to them.

Have you checked the booking on the airline website? Does your ticket still show?

eDicky

Dondatta said

A friend told me if I didn't take the outbound flight then all future flights [on the same booking] would be cancelled for me.

This is normal with any airline. Arrangement can possibly be made with the airline to retain onward flights, but having booked through an intermediary it's far less certain. Whom did you book through?

Voyager2002

As Caz explains, your friend is probably right. 

As Bagand says, it is the airline that makes the rules. In this case, what is needed is for the airline to "reissue" your ticket as a one-way. For this to happen, the airline needs to be asked to do this, and since you chose to book through an agent your booking belongs to the agent, so only the agent can make the request. They have offered to do so at no additional charge so long as you buy your new one-way through them; normal practice would be to insist on some service charge, which could be as high as they would like.

I suggest that you look at the cost of buying a different one-way ticket to Malaysia to see whether the agent is really exploiting you. You could also consider writing off the rest of your ticket and getting a completely new return ticket. Then choose the least bad from all these options.

Dondatta

Thank you all for the information. Unfortunately I think it is getting stuck a bit as the airline (Saudia) have just referred me back to the third party. On their website (Saudia) they seem to suggest that they suspend a ticket and then charge 25% of overall fee to reactivate. But I can't ask them for that as they direct me back to the agent. And like I said the agent price then is basically the cost of a whole new return ticket (although they say to me they are just rearranging my first ticket and keeping my return as per normal). 
Agent is flight catchers

Dondatta

I am then going to have to purchase a new return as the third party have refused to do anything about my flight. 

Do I have any avenue to request then even a part refund for the flights that have been cancelled (return would have been in two weeks time) but as I was unable to board the flight due to no passport then they have stated all future flights are cancelled. 

DullGreyGuy

eDicky said:

Dondatta said

A friend told me if I didn't take the outbound flight then all future flights [on the same booking] would be cancelled for me.

This is normal with any airline. Arrangement can possibly be made with the airline to retain onward flights, but having booked through an intermediary it's far less certain. Whom did you book through?

Not with any airline, many budget airlines you effectively are booking two single tickets that just happen to be in opposite directions. They dont do the traditional discount on a return -v- separate one way tickets. 


As to the OP, they say that a one way ticket with this agent is the same price as a return ticket with a different agent. If there is no cost saving why take the risk?

Bonhomie

Dondatta said:

I am then going to have to purchase a new return as the third party have refused to do anything about my flight. 

Do I have any avenue to request then even a part refund for the flights that have been cancelled (return would have been in two weeks time) but as I was unable to board the flight due to no passport then they have stated all future flights are cancelled. 

The agent will probably absorb any taxes returned as their admin fee. When you go for the cheapest fares via agents, you need to be aware of the conditions of the ticket and the conditions of the agency. I'm guessing that you didn't look at either prior to this issue. 
Whilst direct with Saudia and according to the conditions of the ticket(within the conditions it would state what would happen if in the case of a 'No Show') There might be a fee to pay to rebook. But with an agent, there might be that fee plus their 'admin fee'. Rarely do people ask their agent such questions beforehand or even reading the ticketing conditions before proceeding.
Incidentally, the conditions can be different if a Boarding Pass has been issued or not. Did you have a Boarding pass?

eDicky

DullGreyGuy said:

eDicky said:

Dondatta said

A friend told me if I didn't take the outbound flight then all future flights [on the same booking] would be cancelled for me.

This is normal with any airline. Arrangement can possibly be made with the airline to retain onward flights, but having booked through an intermediary it's far less certain. Whom did you book through?

Not with any airline, many budget airlines you effectively are booking two single tickets that just happen to be in opposite directions. They dont do the traditional discount on a return -v- separate one way tickets.

Correctly pointed out, I neglected to mention the exception of low-cost carriers' single sector model (this time around).

twopenny

Personally I'd try to rebook both tickets or a return with any airline that can give a good price for your dates.

Start by looking at the airline websites direct.

You could pfaff around with these companies and just raise your stress levels and it's no holiday if you are worrying about the flight back.

It's going to be last minute prices - often higher but for a single person you can also get a cheaper last minute ticket - I travel solo and frequently book all sorts late in the day because they only have to fit one in.

Might be worth asking on the Air Travel Forum, TripAdvisor for some help on finding flights late. Give them the basics of the story - passport renew, family out there, you need to get there and back as cheaply as possible. They don't pull their punches there but they are helpful and knowledgeable and that's what you want.

It's highly unlikely you'll get the same flight back as you family so get the best you can to be secure from here on.