mvoight

I think the moral of the story is to not check the box saying you agree with the terms without reading the terms

Redwood839

While I sympathize because I've been on the same boat with Alaska (but they were nice about it and refunded me with a court order) that's just how business works. WN is probably the only airline WW that will let you change a flight without a fee unless it's a flexible ticket or refundable. Having a fit because they won't refund you won't get you sympathy from AA cause the fare rules were clear when you bought it.

Also, something I've noticed is that there is little sympathy on FT. Specially if it's on refunds or "HOW MUCH COMP CAN I GET".

Cledaybuck

Don't worry. You never would have bought the refundable ticket. Prices are usually outrageous.

nrr

But you can't buy the ticket unless you check the box.
Too much "stuff" on the internet requires agreeing to conditions which I believe most people do not read...it's easier that way and some of the "legalistics" won't make sense anyway.

mvoight

You did not purchase full Y (economy) class fare. That is what I meant when I referred to it being a discount fare.
There are different fare levels for seats in the main cabin. They have different restrictions and/or benefits.
The restrictions are available to view (via a link) when you are presented with the checkbox you check to agree to the terms, before you pay for the ticket

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Ultimately its not want FTers think but the rules of carriage for the ticket chosen. All airlines except for WN charge a change fee. In exchange for a "cheaper" ticket you agree to pay a change fee if your travel plans should change. Whether $200 is a fair fee or a total ripoff is a debatable opinion. Its not like non refundable airline tickets are some deep dark secret not very well known by the general public. That $200 at least in theory helps keeps the cost of airfares down.

We'd all like every airline to follow WN's business model but that will never happen. WN has always had a management that has been resistant to the demands of Wall Street and likely its large shareholders. If not, they'd have change fees and bag fees like everyone else. But WN has consistently been profitable and as I understand for the most recent quarter (Q3) on an operating basis was as profitable AA with about half the revenue.

Uncle Nonny

Then fly Southwest, right? I'm not sure why you didn't but it probably has to do with availability/price for your itinerary. People pay different prices for cars, houses, and a myriad of other things. People buy concert/game tickets on the day they go on sale and sell them on StubHub for a loss every day. You lost on this transaction. Stop being a martyr.

mvoight

Why was there a court order to refund a non-refundable ticket?

Redwood839

I stated it wrong. I had court summons for me to be in court on the day of my flight which came AFTER I booked the ticket. I now had a legal obligation to be in court and not on my flight. That made AS refund it.

HLCinCOU

So every time something on the Internet asks you to check the "I agree to the terms" box, you actually read the terms? Really, honestly? If so, you're maybe 0.0000001% of the population, and also you're spending an awful lot of time at something terribly boring. I prefer to assume the terms are terrible, then if I have issues try to work them out with the company (which zero times has ever involved them citing those terms) and take my lumps when things don't go my way.

Steve M

Even WN wouldn't a solution for the OP's situation. They asked for a refund on a non-refundable ticket, not the ability to use it on a future flight without penalty. Although the latter is more or less equivalent to the former for people that travel frequently, if the person in the OP's case doesn't need to travel by the end of the ticket validity period, then WN's policy is effectively the same as everyone's else.

The OP's situation isn't some obscure detail buried in the fine print. The non-refundability of non-refundable tickets is fairly well known, even among people that don't travel. The "non-refundable" nature of the fare is clearly stated on the website, without having to drill down into the CoC or fare rules.

HLCinCOU

Yeah, that's really true, and hasn't been mentioned here before you. I stand by my earlier statement that "the rules aren't obvious" but pretty much every place I buy tickets "non-refundable" is directly visible during the process. That's probably enough warning that OP's annoyance here is at least somewhat misplaced.

OP: bottom line is the same. You don't have any recourse, and this is completely garden-variety policy. Hopefully you learned a bit about how it works, and stick around here and end up knowing way more. We're here to help each other know more...lord knows I've been set straight about a thing or two.

HLCinCOU

So, "discount" in this usage doesn't mean you got a special deal somehow, or a reward for early booking; just about every fare you'll find searching online will be "discount" unless you're booking one of the very last seats on the plane. That's mostly because every search engine is geared toward low fares instead of maximum flexibility. Like others here have said the true "full-fare" tickets are generally really crazy outrageously expensive; almost nobody (including me) flies them. If you want to know more about the individual fare types and what they mean, this thread is comprehensive on the subject. Start with the wiki at top.

nancypants

SeeBuyFly

You are confused. No one said there was a discount for early booking. The discount is in exchange for restrictive rules such as those you are now upset about.