Originally Posted by boxcar
You guessed it, my wife now has a problem with work and we need to change the dates.
boxcar...welcome to FlyerTalk!
Like some of the other posters have suggested, I think the only way out of this is for your wife to go in on bended knee and plead for the time off work.
Have her plead your case of no-change, no-refund tickets worth $4K.
You didn't state the nature of your wife's problem with getting time off but since you can't get the tickets changed, perhaps she can find someone at work in a charitable mood.
Good luck!