Yes but not only will OP pay the change fee, they'll pay any fare difference too so it may make sense to go for the ticket choice that limits additional costs later on. There was also mention of paying additional taxes last time I changed a ticket with Emirates but that didn't happen in the end.
The only reason there woulld likely be a fare difference is if the availability in the booking class is sold out . As long as there is flexibility in the return, there is no reason why the OP will need to pay any fare difference
Changing flights prior to departure or changing return so that minimum stay is not met will cause issues - other than that , as long as the passenger picks flights with availability, the only cost will be the USD50
Originally Posted by
skywardhunter
They only need Flex Plus on the return so can still book Flex/Saver on the outbound, which will likely be cheaper. Also OP doesn't mention class of travel which might affect it.
But I agree generally for me, departing South Africa on Flex change fee is ZAR500 (30USD) but Flex Plus is ZAR3000 (200 USD) more, so it makes sense to rather suck up the change fee.
There is little reason to pay the much higher than lowest fare to avoid a $50 change fee which is what EK is listing from IST