Originally Posted by
Saudi
I wonder how they will handle changes that require re-validation? The rules say, regarding changes, that if there are no changes to the first fare component (I assume that means the first segment of the route?), but other fare components are changed, the itinerary must be re-rpiced using historical fares in effect the day the ticket was issued, or current prices, whichever is lower.
Since the fares on the day of ticketing were a mistake, do they still have to honour those as the 'historical' price?
As in, if I'm flying DXB-LHR-LAX-AUS, can I keep the DXB-LHR sector as is, but then change the rest? I read earlier in this thread that no, you'd never get a stopover in LHR due to a HIP check, if thats the case, what about stopovers in LAX? Which rule (either the HIP check or the change rule above) applies?
A) Not sure this was a mistake, as someone pointed out, it's not that different from normal ex-CMB fares that route through DXB and LON in F. It's not that different from this fare on an 'each way' basis:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premi...-3-600-rt.html
B) Even if the airline considers it a mistake, according to DOT they still have to honor it. That said, IIRC, airlines have tried to claim 'wiggle room' on fares in the past, saying they would honor them as booked but no changes. I don't know if anyone has tested that assertion with DOT.
C) The way the historical fares re-pricing works on a 'normal' ticket is that, after you
fly the first segment, you can get the ticket changed and they have to use the fares that were filed when you booked the ticket. However, the fares yesterday would not allow stopovers because of HIP check.
D) HIP (higher intermediate point) check means that wherever you have a stopover, they have to also check the published fares between stopover and destination and make sure they are not higher than the fare you are trying to book. For example, if you wanted a stopover in LON, they have to check and make sure that LON-AUS is not higher than DXB-AUS. That test obviously failed last night, so no one (that I know) was able to get a stopover to price out at the sale prices.
In summary, after you fly to DXB-LON, you
should be able to make any changes at the original prices to the remainder of the inventory, as long as you
would have been able to book those changes originally. So the best you could do once you get to London is probably to have a less-than-24-hour connection in LON and change the routing on the TATL and US domestic segments.