My airfare went down

[krish2]

My airfare on United went down $28. I tried calling United twice and got sent into Hold oblivion. Does anyone have any tips on how to get credit for the price difference. I know it's not much $$ but better in my pocket than their's.:confused:

[cherylandtk]

It depends on what category of fare you originally booked and the fare rules that go along with what you purchased; unless you booked an unrestricted fare, most airline tickets are non-refundable and come with change penalties. Any money gained in booking a new ticket would be lost in the fee to make a change. United's change fee is usually $100.

[Sprocket]

Keep trying. I don't know what United's fare rules are, but just last night I called Alaska Air as my flight to Reno( not cruising til October:o ) went down $35. I have a credit I will be able to use on a future flight, hopefully the fares to Miami will come down and I will be able to use it then.

[rjnjr1019]

same thing happened to me with some upcoming cruise flights. iam going to san juan though my air price went down 85.00 per person i called the ta and she told me that they where not refundable tickets and that continental rules are 100.00 cancleation so if they come down anymore i would only be refunde for the ticket price above 100.00 really suck because our cruise and air went down we got 200.00 back on the cruise but nothing for the air tickets guess i missed out on about 340.00 for the air shouldnt book air so early i guess but we got it at 399.00 pp and last year it was 750.00

[FlyerTalker]

From the United Airlines website section on Change/Exchange FAQ's:

Are there fees to change my ticket?

 

Expect to pay change fees plus any fare difference.

• Domestic travel:
  - Non-refundable fare: Subject to change fee of $100.00 and any possible fare difference based on changes made.

To get a "refund", you would need to change your tickets. This would require 1) that the fare buckets you desire are available, and 2) the payment of the appropriate fee. If the UA change fee is $100, the nice reservation agent will say "we can change that for you....if you will please give me your credit card number for the additional $72, I'll have that right away for you."

 

Now, if you had a fully-refundable ticket and the price went down, there would be no change fee. Then too, you probably wouldn't be worried about the $28 in that case.

[FlyerTalker]

same thing happened to me with some upcoming cruise flights. iam going to san juan though my air price went down 85.00 per person i called the ta and she told me that they where not refundable tickets and that continental rules are 100.00 cancleation so if they come down anymore i would only be refunde for the ticket price above 100.00 really suck because our cruise and air went down we got 200.00 back on the cruise but nothing for the air tickets guess i missed out on about 340.00 for the air shouldnt book air so early i guess but we got it at 399.00 pp and last year it was 750.00

 

I'm sorry that you didn't bother to read the terms and conditions when you bought your ticket. Since you object to the $100 change fee, why did you buy the ticket if that was a condition of the sale? Did you honestly think that you could get a refund if the price when down? If so, why wouldn't everybody just buy a ticket as soon as possible and then just keep applying for refunds. That's exactly what the system is designed to prevent!! If you buy a quart of milk or a pound of meat at the grocery, and next day the price goes down, do you want Safeway to give you a refund for the difference?

 

As for your "out $340" comment -- why not look as it being that you spent $350 PER PERSON less than last year.

[JJPNYC]

I always say that buying a plane ticket is like buying a stock from the stock market.

 

In this case, say you sold some of your shares at $50/share and then 1 hour later the stock skyrockets to $150/share. You wouldn't be able to go back to your broked and claim that additional $100/share because you already sold it.

 

The same is the case with airfare. The rules of the game are clearly posted and have been widley publicized in the news media. Buying airfare now-a-days is always a gamble because the price of the ticket is constantly in motion. Most tickets are clearly labeled as non-refundable. Part of the reason why tickets are relatively inexpensive is because of the terms & conditions put in place on them. Can you just imagine the chaos that could ensue if everyone had fully refundable tickets - some planes would literally be going up in the air empty I believe as everyone jockey's for that best price.

 

This reminds me of something that CNBC showed when they did their special on American Airlines a few months back. The looked at the various ticket prices on one flight from JFK-LAX I believe and the range of ticket prices was from something like $99 to $899. I've been tempted several times to take a stack of note cards and a hat and ask everyone to write down what they paid for their ticket, drop it in the hat, and then tally up the results to see the spread in ticket prices for that same exact flight.

[sultan_sfo]

My $200 pp fare came down to $150. Well I had no problem accepting that -- one takes the risk of fare changes. At the time I booked on-line, I also booked the seats, say 16A and 16B. When the fare went down, they also changed the aircraft and the departure time by 20 minutes. I got an email informing me of the new departure time -- but after a week when I looked at the aircraft seat configurations, I found that "B" seats do not exist in the new aircraft -- adjacent seat now was 16C which was already taken. So seat selection for the other seat simply vanished. So I had to redo the seat selection to the rear. I was annoyed so I called both the Air Canada website who said that all changes are emailed by the Reservations Dept and they transferred me there. Oh No -- we never tell the pax that the seat selected is no longer there! And both the website and reservation tele are in "India". Try complaining with a 5-second delay in voice transmission. I will wait until I after I have traveled to email a complaint! At this point, I will rejoice if Air Canada also goes bankrupt! /Sultan

[krish2]

Thank you all for the info. As you can probably tell I'm a novice air traveler. My DH told me to quit looking at the airfares online for our trip because I will only drive myself insane second guessing myself on whether I bought at the right time or not. I like that analogy about stocks, JJPNYC, never thought about it that way. Guess I will just consider that I'm in it for the long haul and just hope there are not too many changes before our departure (I will still check for changes but close my eyes to the price changes...).:rolleyes:

[FlyerTalker]

To check you particular flights, use the locator for your tickets, combined with your FF account. Don't waste time with a phony booking looking for your flights.

 

First off, all airline websites let you go straight to your booking. Secondly, if the plane gets sold out, it won't show up for sale...you might think it is cancelled, when all it is is full. Finally, if you just go to your booking, you won't be seeing the current pricing. Only if you suspect that the fare has gone down more than what the change fee would be should you take the time for looking at a fare, IMO.

[jimc_usa]

Thank you all for the info. As you can probably tell I'm a novice air traveler. My DH told me to quit looking at the airfares online for our trip because I will only drive myself insane second guessing myself on whether I bought at the right time or not. I like that analogy about stocks, JJPNYC, never thought about it that way. Guess I will just consider that I'm in it for the long haul and just hope there are not too many changes before our departure (I will still check for changes but close my eyes to the price changes...).:rolleyes:

 

If you get a "great fare" don't worry about it! Besides if you get a refund it would be a voucher for dollars off your next flight. And if you don't fly too often, it the coupon would expire before you could use it.

And did you know you can sign up with the airline for email notification af any changes?

[dawna1212]

I want to thank the OP for this thread.

I paid 2500.00 for 2 tickets to Amsterdam last month.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago the price dropped by 1000.00

I was really bummed,but what can you do?

 

Since seeing this thread today,I call NWA and they gave me a 600.00 voucher.

Im on the same flights and have the same seat assignment.

 

They took out 400.00 for fees,but thats fine by me. :)

 

Thanks!

[silentbob007]

I've gotten "credit" for price drops on both Southwest and AirTran without any change fees ... one reason I always check their prices first (if applicable).

[jimc_usa]

I want to thank the OP for this thread.

I paid 2500.00 for 2 tickets to Amsterdam last month.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago the price dropped by 1000.00

I was really bummed,but what can you do?

 

Since seeing this thread today,I call NWA and they gave me a 600.00 voucher.

Im on the same flights and have the same seat assignment.

 

They took out 400.00 for fees,but thats fine by me. :)

 

Thanks!

 

Well done, what was the 400.00 (itemized for)?)

[FlyerTalker]

$200 change fee on international tickets X 2 passengers.

[conweb]

I purchased my air with my cruise and have no Idea of flights or anything. I have heard the advantages are that it covers everything. EX: transportation to and from the cruise. Seems pricy cuz my cruise was 729 alone but with cruise was 1258 but everyone tells me that the transportation to and from the cruise is 100 bucks..this is my first rodeo.....so I really don't know? Should I book my own flight...like I said...have no idea what airlines or anything!

[Cricket63]

$268 credit for my Hawaii flight from Southwest!!

[alphakitty]

I've gotten credit for a dropped flight price with Delta. No change fees involved, just a credit voucher for future trips....it's worth a phone call to ask at least.

[Cricket63]

Pros:

You:

might find a cheaper flight

you can go a day or two early(you know you will make the ship)

Cruise line:

if plane is running late, they will catch you up with the ship

transfers are included

Cons:

You:

book your own flight and miss the ship :eek: (hope you bought insurance)

have to pay x amount of dollars to get to the port/back to airport

Cruise line:

you pay a little more, but you know you will be cruising!!

[Karysa]

Don't waste your time or energy on losing $28.00. The next time you book a flight and find out that later it went up by $200.00 simply deduct the $28.00 then and you still came out on top!:D

[greatam]

if plane is running late, they will catch you up with the ship

 

The big question is WHEN. You may miss 1/2 or more of your cruise before the cruise line has availability to get you to the next port. No refunds. Depending on the circumstances, travel insurance MAY reimburse.