Victor88

Recently had to cancel an N fare ticket to the US West Coast from AMS. I was hoping to get the tax back which I have been offered in part (minus another €15 administration charge.)

However I notice that the fuel surcharge has not been credited back, which was almost as much as the "ticket price." Why is fuel a separate line item at all? And can this not also be refunded, as according to KLM's breakdown it is not a part of the ticket price?

cityflyer369

You have to have a look at the details of your particular fare conditions.
For cheap tickets, KL fare rules often state explicitly that the fuel surcharge is non-refundable in case of cancellation. If you booked your ticket online on the KL website, this piece of information was part of the fare rules you were able to have a look at.

kevinflyaway

Well it's quit crafty what they did....you cannot cancel a N class ticket US WEst Coast from AMS.

Terms for this N class fare states: Annuleren is niet toegestaan, which translated means cancelling not possible!

If you would be able to cancel the ticket, you could ask for the fees back etc. So basically you can't claim anything I would say.

cityflyer369

This is not the point here. In terms of fare rules, "cancellation" means you will get a refund of the fare, minus penalty if applicable.
The OP just wants to have the fees back. This is always possible, no matter if the ticket allows for cancellation in the sense above.
Independent of this, a refund of the fuel surcharge is explicitly excluded for many cheap fares.

kevinflyaway

Maybe somebody has actually done this before? From my knowledge that would not be the case. In order to ask the fees back, you need to contact the airline and 'cancel' the ticket. If you can't cancel the ticket, how would you ask the fees back?

Xandrios

You can't cancel, therefore the fare part will not be refunded. However you can indicate that you will not use the flight (not the same as canceling), leaving possibility for the airline to refund unused taxes.

irishguy28

As stated already, the "cannot be cancelled" means that you are not entitled to a refund on the fare - but this does not mean you are not due taxes back.

A large part of the price of any ticket these days, though, are taxes. The airline only pays the airport handling fees, security fees, noise isolation charges, passenger duties, etc, for the number of passengers that actually travel. Therefore, if you know you are not going to travel on the ticket, you should ring up to tell them, asking them to refund these taxes. (You've paid them up front, but because you're telling the airline you're cancelling the ticket, it means that they have taken more money from you than you actually needed to pay - the airline won't have to pay these charges on your behalf if you don't travel, and these charges which were assessed in advance are no longer due once you cancel travel. They'll keep the "fare" component, and any fuel surcharge, but the taxes should be refunded).

Some airlines charge an administration fee, which in many cases costs more than the refundable tax part of the moneys paid. This should, however, not be the case with KLM - you should get something back.

Ring them, tell them you want to cancel, you appreciate that the fare is non-refundable, but that you want the taxes back.

Victor88

Thanks all for your replies. Yes, I was aware that I would forfeit the majority cost of the ticket, but as some of you have pointed out the fuel surcharge is listed as an additional "fee" and not part of the ticket fare "price." I have been offered the taxes back (minus an admin charge) as mentioned earlier, but my query was specifically related to recovering the other fees for which KLM creates a separate line item outside the fare price itself. From the sounds of things, this isn't an option.