Originally Posted by
eng3
Thanks, I did see the thing about the $50 fee. Its a little vague about this specific situation but it doesnt hurt to try. Hopefully my mom doesn't have to change her flight again, otherwise that will be $600 in change fees (+fare difference) for her return flight, plus another $300 for cancelling her flight for her cruise.
Probably a bit late now, but many airline CoCs and/or airfares allow for waiver of change fees due to medical issues even for immediate family. Many phone agents may also waive fees out of kindness / customer goodwill even if this is not an explicit policy. My parents recently changed international flights on United a couple of times, with fees waived each time, due to serious medical issues with the grandparents.