catgirl

Folks, I apologize in advance if this is a frequently asked question -- I did a quick search and couldn't find anything -- but I am a little bit panicked and not thinking clearly.

We (spouse and I) have travel booked over the holiday season in Business class (P). However, a loved one is ill and it is possible that we may have to return earlier than intended if she takes a turn for the worse. What are the rules for changing a return flight once travel has already commenced? Would it simply be the change fee and/or penalty? Or would it be the change fee plus the fare difference? I ask because I am concerned that fares may be higher over the holiday period and a fare difference may break the bank!

Any advice on how best to handle this? One option is to simply cancel the whole trip, but it's not our preference. However, if the cost of changing once we are there has the possibility of becoming prohibitive, this may have to be the alternative we choose. Thanks in advance for any insights.

WineCountryUA

Your fare rules have the terms for changes, generally:
-- a change fee (which can be partially refunded in the case of illness of a family member)
-- a potential fare change, impossible to predict
If just a day early, you have the option of SDC

You might look into trip insurance but careful read the terms for coverage.

aacharya

Would it be best to cancel, and book as two one-ways? If not international, pricing should be similar, hopefully - even during the holidays.

I admit I don't know how much a P fare usually costs to cancel.

Kacee

While you will pay a change fee, it is typically cheaper to change your return after travel has commenced because UA will not refare the entire ticket. If there is availability in your fare bucket (and compliance with fare rules) it will just be the change fee. If there's no fare bucket availability, you will have to upfare to the next available fare class.

That said, it's really hard to predict in advance how much this will cost you (although checking current fare class availability may give you rough idea whether you'll have to upfare). If you just cancel the tickets now, your loss is capped at the change fee (presuming you will be able to use the canceled ticket for another flight within one year of its original date of issue).

catgirl

Thank you everyone for your responses. We are still struggling with whether to fly out and then take our chances with having to return on short notice, or cancelling the trip completely. I think we'll put off the decision until just a few days before we are scheduled to depart, but this information will be helpful when the time comes. Thanks again!

Kacee (or someone else), could you clarify for me please -- as long as I can find two tickets that show up as P on United.com for all legs of the return flight (after travel has commenced), the only cost that should apply is the change fee, correct? I am just checking some random dates, fully realizing that availability will change as the holiday season approaches. Right now, it looks like as long as I am flexible as to actual routings/connections and times, P availability is not bad.

Also, if we do need to return earlier than expected, am I better off going to the airport, or can I call into United for flights, say for the next day?

BTW, I called in and was told that the change fee is $200 per person. Not unreasonable, but I think the P availability will be the unknown factor.

catgirl

Bumping ... can anyone provide any clarification on the questions I asked in post #5?

drowelf

The largest factor will be when you actually choose the change the ticket. For example, if you looking at your return now, you are probably still in the advance 7, 14 or 21 day windows, as you get closer to your return date those fare buckets start to go away and you could end up in a non-P Bucket or duw to availability the P bucket tickets could go up in price.

Ticket pricing is very dynamic and impossible, at least for me, to understand.

For example, I routinely fly the same itinerary week in and week out. I always buy outside the 14 day window, but from month to month the price can vary between x and X*2. Simply changing by a single day (Depature/Return) can often dramatically shift the price. So how can you tell.

Cheers,

Bonehead

Hi catgirl...

I have changed numerous trips (almost always by phone) after flying the outbound, and usually end up just paying the change fee or change fee plus a nominal fare difference. The wild card here is the P fare, which puts you up front. These days the premium cabins often are full a few days out, so if you are planning a last-minute change you could end up in the back. Dates/routing will play a large role in availability.

Kacee

This has been my experience as well, including travel on P fares. Although it's easier when you're only dealing with one passenger vs. two.

One cautionary note is that the delta from P to Z or D can be really large.