Originally Posted by
RichardInSF
That's a strange answer above, I don't see how the OP can rebook anything without the airline being involved. But airlines are only proactive with their very best customers and even then, not always.
I feel that contributors above are taking at crossed purposes.
In the US, with so little competition, many customers would have little option but than to rebook with the same carrier. In many cases, they may not even consider the possibility of straying to another carrier.
In Europe - as has been evidenced by the current Ryanair cancellation controversy - people have been misunderstanding their entitlements, and going and booking new tickets for themselves - i.e. making brand new bookings - with other travel providers, in the mistaken belief that they can then claim for these costs. Instead, the correct way to be rebooked at the airline's expense is to use their facilities to effect the rebooking, whether this is:
- using their app, and taking whatever options it might provide
- ringing their customer service, and getting an agent to book something
- standing in line at the airport ticket desk, and getting an agent to book something
- initiating such booking attempts via any other means (social media, etc)
You probably all already know that anyway. However, there are a surprising number of people who don't.
When somebody talks about "booking themselves", then they need to be warned about straying out of the "correct" channels.
Read the OP's follow-up:
Originally Posted by
thundercracker76
Booking a new flight with another airline wont be feasible since it will cost me twice as much(esp for 4 people) but i wont rule it out. Im just hopeful that maybe one can share an experience of having moved their outbound flight a day early without the change fee and paying for current rates, instead of waiting for the next available flight( a day is ok but 2 will ruin everything).
Alternatives i found so far are flights leaving a day early
The OP is going rogue, and appears about to pay for the ticket him/herself - which means they most likely won't get refunded. The only good thing is that the significant outlay appears to have stayed their hand from taking this incorrect course of action.