Originally Posted by
carnarvon
Even after the flight (bolding is mine)
There is no reason to have to cancel before the flight, as in case of no show AF keeps the non refundable fare and only refunds the taxes which they cashed in but won't have to pay to the airport or government because of our not flying.
It's always best to cancel
before.
In some cases, you will get a bigger refund before departure of the ticket.
In no case do you benefit from a greater refund by waiting until after departure of the ticket.
The advice given above about waiting in case a schedule change occurs is good advice - it could allow you to cancel for a full refund. However, they are unlikely to make schedule changes of such scope in the final days prior to departure - unless perhaps bad weather and/or strikes are likely - so there is no point waiting until the day of departure, for example, in the majority of cases.