blase

My hubby and I are flying from ORD to FSW this Thursday for a wedding. We were supposed to fly home on Sunday. He found out last week that he now has to be in Jacksonville on Monday for a business meeting. So instead of using his return flight to Chicago, he is instead going to drive to Tampa and fly from there to Jacksonville (no direct flights out of FSW to Jax).

My question is this: should I call AA and let them know my husband won't be using his return flight? Since we've already paid for the flight, I would prefer to keep the seat next to me open so I have more room. I figure if I call and tell them he won't be using it, they'll bump someone on stand-by and give them that seat. However, I really don't want them to be paging my husband throughout the airport, announcing it's the last call for boarding, when he isn't coming.

Furthermore, is there a way we can get anything "back" for not using the return portion of a round trip?

What's the best way to handle this?

Thanks,
Jennifer

nako

Regardless of whether you tell AA he's not coming or not, they're going to figure it out eventually (particularly when he's not checked in by the cutoff point). And if there is someone who wants on that flight as a standby, then your husband's seat is up for grabs as much as any other empty seat, because the reservation will be cancelled.

Personally, I wouldn't bother cancelling the reservation unless the fare rules allow there to be a residual value on the unused half of a round-trip fare. If there is residual value, cancelling the reservation is likely the only way to retain that value, since most AA tickets lose their value if you don't cancel before departure. (This doesn't always happen, though - you'll have to check your fare rules to determine whether there would even be any value to retain.)

Mike

blase

Thanks, Mike. Our fare code was N.

nako

Not all N fares have the same rules. You'll need to check the rules specific to your fare to find out how cancellations are applied.

Mike

andrzej

Jennifer,

how is your husband getting home to Chicago after the meeting?

Maybe you could ask AA to change the ticket to a multi city ticket ORD-FSW/JAX-ORD. See what they say? There wil be a change fee and possible fare adjustment, but it still may be cheaper than buying a new one-way ticket.

WhoME

However, do not call up AA and tell them that your husband won't be showing up for his return flight until after your outbound, or you risk having them reprice it as a one way.

muddy

which could mean a lot more money youd have to pay. I've seen it as ridiculous as ~$180 round trip yet ~$800 one way (same outbound) if I remember correctly ...