The airline does not refund nonrefundable tickets without all sorts of fees. Hmm, probably why they're called nonrefundable. Also, you probably have hotel rooms, tours, all kinds of other things pre-paid that also cost money. Instead, I was asked to send a copy of the tickets/receipt to the judge, and he excused me from jury duty. You do not have a "civic duty" if it will cause you financial hardship. I was a little worried because the first time they called me, I was in Africa and had no way of knowing about it until too late. But fortunately they understood all that. (Louisiana) I guess that's the chance they take when they mail summons to an address, instead of actually serving it to an actual person.