FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - United Airlines- how to change name on a ticket?
Old Jun 16, 2013, 12:28 pm
  #13  
WineCountryUA
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Originally Posted by grahampros
Two points here. Yes it might work to waive the cancellation fee if you show up at the airport with medical documentation of the reason for non travel. But again it wont be just giving the ticket over to another person. The refund or credit will process back to the original passenger. 2, No you cant use the "credit" for the old ticket via voucher for another person. Any credit would either be refunded to the original form of payment or if issued as a voucher only the person on the original ticket could use that.

There seems to be a need here to not put any additional cash or transaction into this. Not gonna happen. Another person going, the money on a new ticket will have to be paid. There is no way around that. Does not matter the final resolution on the first ticket for the original traveler, you will have to come up for the money on the new passenger.
This advice is not completely correct -- as the OP ask

Originally Posted by aabigail
..
If at the last minute she is unable to go, and we call to cancel the ticket and get a voucher for the remaining cost - the change fee, and THEN book her on a cheap one-way flight someone, will the remaining value of the voucher be free to use on a third party? ...
Yes this process will free up a portion of the original fare to be used by anyone (minus the change fee minus the cheap replacement ticket) and the third party usable voucher should be useable in minutes (and hour at the most). I have done this and the voucher was available in 5-10 minutes.
One concern for the OP is a walkup last minute fare tends to be very expensive. Better to do this sooner.
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