sjg284

Booked an I fare NRT->HKG->HKT->HKG->KIX, screwed up the flight time on the last leg.
Intending to book 10:30 & get an overnight in HKG to explore with a good nights rest.
Instead I booked an 01:50.....
I took a month to realize my mistake, and tried to call CX.

The website will not let me change the tickets and tells me to call.

Twice I have had varying degrees of bad service trying to call, and been unable to change.

The first agent told me - "You can't change this fare code." I followed up with "So theres nothing I can do?" and she said simply "No."

Waited a few weeks..
Second agent, got about 1/2 way through, said he found space for me on a 16:00 flight with I class, then said "Oh you booked this on CX website, we can't help you.. you need web support.. when you get the tone dial 3.." and kicked me back to the call tree I started at.

What the hell is going on?
I expect to pay a fee. But I expect to be able to change the ticket.

I've looked at varying fee table like this:
a)
Fee = JPY20,000 if Origin Japan (for the total round trip flight)
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_U...ode=JP&class=I

b)
Fee = HKG800 if Origin HK (for the leg I am trying to rebook)
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_U...ode=HK&class=I

c)
No Fee if Origin Thailand (since HK is a stopover on way from Thailand to Japan)
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_U...arketcode=THWW


All seem to indicate - yes you can change, and probably we will charge you a fee.

What am I doing wrong here?
Which fee/no fee should apply, and is it per reservation or per seat?

sxc

Have you tried emailing Japan reservations office? Their details are under the contact us page on the website.

sjg284

Thank you.

No I have not yet.. I cynically assume emails go into a black hole never to return.. or at least that's most American companies.

I should go the Japan customer service route as thats the Origin?

sxc

Yes and I've found outport offices since they are smaller tend to be more willing to help. Or call them as well.

G-CIVC

TYO office is the most professional outport office in the network!

ashsong

I think it depends on fare class policy of the departure city and route, in this case, Japan to Hong Kong, China, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia.

I class for this one is listed here:

https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_...ode=JP&class=C


There are also restrictions on how many days before departure you are allowed to change. And some require 4 weeks or more lead time, otherwise they won't change it for you, even if you pay the rebooking fee.

APeverell

Most fare rules ex-JP have non-changeable clause or very high penalty for change or cancellation

QRC3288

To the OP, did you read the fare rules upon booking?

Im not sure you're correct in your assumptions. Some I fares from Japan are extremely restrictive when I was looking - I absolutely have seen no changes allowed, or extremely high penalties like the guy above mentioned. They are some of the most onerous in all Asia for CX, IME.

You can't just pull random change fees down from the internet and say they're applicable to your ticket...you need to read your fare rules as written that came with the ticket! It's true CX had those crappy "business save, business flex, etc" terms but I don't know if that refers to I fare, D fare or C fare. It's possible your ticket isn't included in those terms you found on the internet, especially if you bought during one of those ex-Japan super cheap I fare specials. In those cases I have seen fares that don't allow changes.

I know this doesn't help you now but you gotta read them before you book! You can't just find a good fare, buy it and cross your fingers you can change it, add stopovers, etc. Sometimes it can be hard to reach CX....although it's kinda inexcusable you didn't email them, because both Japan and Taipei reservations are excellent in response, IME (!! This isn't the US!)...but you really should know the terms of the ticket if you're buying cheapo tix. I guess it's good to know.

My gut says the title of this thread is going to prove incorrect, unfortunately. Hopefully not but....I could see it possible this ticket is highly restricted.

brunos

Unfortunately for you, what QRC3288 says is quite true.
There is not a unique I fare but many I**** fares (for example IAP4N) with different restrictions. The cheapest and most restrictive I fares are non-changeable. When you book, the CX website indicates the change/refund conditions on your specific fare.

I always found CX service in Japan quite good. Is that where you called?

sjg284

I dealt exclusively with the US service center as I live in US and they are open during my business hours...
Thanks for the heads up re:Japan email.
I now have an authoritative NO Changes & why answer from Japan, and they included telling me the option to cancel & rebook entirely, with the exact fees.. via email. I'd rate them as GREAT service.

I do not recall the terms upon booking many months back.
This is probably the first flight out of 100 that I realized I mis-booked and needed to change. I'm not trying to game the policies/fare classes.

When I realized this after the fact, I checked my e-Ticket and receipt, which are silent regarding changes/re-booking/fees.

I then took the class of my ticket (I) and tried to find the relevant policies online..

Re: Bad Customer Service
I called the US service center which could not explain to me what about my booking / what policy made it non-changeable. The first one simply said "No" and the second involuntarily transferred me halfway through changing my flight.
So I'd say the US service center earned the adjective "Bad".

QRC3288

There is no gaming anything! Fares are fares. you just gotta read the rules before you click "buy". y yu get burned once or twice and use it as a learning experience.

This is what you should ascertain before ever buying some type of ourport ticket that is "less than insanely full price" (aka less than 7k USD):

*Change rules/fees
*Cancellation rules/fees
*Stopover rules/fees

Those three are the "cover your a$$$$$" terms for the (extremely) frequent traveler and good for anyone, since you know your flexibility and cost if you must change/cancel/stop.

Whether you buy 1 or 100 tix, I recommend always knowing the answer to those three questions before clicking the "buy" button, unless you don't mind waiting up to a few thousand USD.

Unfortunately Japan is one of those rare markets in the CX network with super super restrictive cheapo biz class fares. If you pay full freight they're flexible but not cheap (or necessary, IMO. You can sometimes buy JAL J or F to North America for cheaper than CX full fares out of Japan, which doesn't make any sense to me but a topic for elsewhere). But my point is there isn't much reason to be buying CX longhaul J or F out of Japan unless you're going for cheapo tix, in which case you better read the rules carefully. Just my view on the matter.

sjg284

Agreed, I should have read the rules before booking.
1000% agree I screwed up which flight I booked and I screwed up not making myself fully aware of all the rules&conditions at time of booking..

Its just quite confusing the rules are not stamped all over the receipt & e-ticket, and the US call center can't really explain it. This makes it very hard to double check after the fact.

sxc

I agree that CX is terrible at showing the fare rules on the documents they email you.

QRC3288

Ditto.

They also make it extremely hard to find out without going through the motions and making a complete dummy booking. they only show you those stupid pages the OP found, which are missing critical info.

Oh, and for a few months all the fare rules pages were down due to IT problems. Awesome!

forumpersona999

Wow this thread has been very educational for me. I fly I-fares all the time and have been able to make changes on my return segments free of charge so as long as I class is available and I don't violate stopover/married segment conditions. I assumed that the I fare conditions on CX would be the same, network wide.

This thread has demonstrated that it's not just the booking class but also the point of sale. I will definitely start reading the fine print next time I book one of these.