Reservation-Ticket Mismatch
Oct 31, 2018, 8:28 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: Delta
Posts: 8
Reservation-Ticket Mismatch
I recently had to change an upcoming trip to originate from a different airport. I called Delta's Medallion Reservations line to do it, they waived the change fee and quoted me the fare difference, and confirmed what credit card I wanted to pay the fare difference with. The first leg of the new itinerary is on Delta metal, and I've already been upgraded to Comfort Plus. It was amazingly smooth. Until....
The second newly-added leg is a Korean Air codeshare. The Delta website said I needed to call KE for a seat assignment, so I called KE's customer service line. The agent there said that a) I needed to call Delta's Codeshare department to get a seat assignment, because it was a Delta ticket; and b) my ticket and my reservation didn't match, so I needed to get my ticket reissued.
I called Delta Codeshare. (Turns out that's supposed to be partner-airline-facing, not customer-facing, but the agent said that Korean in particular gives their number to customers instead of calling directly quite frequently.) The agent there said that she couldn't do a seat assignment either, because my ticket didn't include that flight yet, so she needed to fix (b) first. She said the person who changed my reservation should have reissued my ticket as well, but clearly hadn't. I checked, and found that there was no pending charge from Delta for the fare difference. This agent was able to waive the minimal fare difference as well and reissue the ticket directly to the already-reserved itinerary. All is well, and I'm glad we found this a few days in advance rather than when I arrived at the airport for my flight.
This leaves me a bit mystified on the gap between reservations and tickets, and I'm hoping the experts here can enlighten me. I'm familiar with the reservation existing before the ticket does when I book through my company's travel agent -- they create a temporary reservation pending approval from my manager, then issue the ticket after I have sign-off to take that flight. But this seems to be something different. I haven't encountered the situation of a ticket and a reservation containing different schedules before -- once it's booked, I've seen them as a single thing (though still changeable). Can someone explain how this process actually works, since clearly my mental model is incomplete?
The second newly-added leg is a Korean Air codeshare. The Delta website said I needed to call KE for a seat assignment, so I called KE's customer service line. The agent there said that a) I needed to call Delta's Codeshare department to get a seat assignment, because it was a Delta ticket; and b) my ticket and my reservation didn't match, so I needed to get my ticket reissued.
I called Delta Codeshare. (Turns out that's supposed to be partner-airline-facing, not customer-facing, but the agent said that Korean in particular gives their number to customers instead of calling directly quite frequently.) The agent there said that she couldn't do a seat assignment either, because my ticket didn't include that flight yet, so she needed to fix (b) first. She said the person who changed my reservation should have reissued my ticket as well, but clearly hadn't. I checked, and found that there was no pending charge from Delta for the fare difference. This agent was able to waive the minimal fare difference as well and reissue the ticket directly to the already-reserved itinerary. All is well, and I'm glad we found this a few days in advance rather than when I arrived at the airport for my flight.
This leaves me a bit mystified on the gap between reservations and tickets, and I'm hoping the experts here can enlighten me. I'm familiar with the reservation existing before the ticket does when I book through my company's travel agent -- they create a temporary reservation pending approval from my manager, then issue the ticket after I have sign-off to take that flight. But this seems to be something different. I haven't encountered the situation of a ticket and a reservation containing different schedules before -- once it's booked, I've seen them as a single thing (though still changeable). Can someone explain how this process actually works, since clearly my mental model is incomplete?
Oct 31, 2018, 9:10 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD/MDW/MKE
Programs: DL, UA
Posts: 786
Tickets and reservations are two completely separate entities. With electronic tickets, the ticket is "hooked" to the reservation. Changing one does not necessarily change the other. If you change the PNR, the ticket will not automatically update, and will subsequently contain different information until it is changed (hence where "reissuing" comes into play).
Electronic tickets function remarkably similar to paper tickets and understanding them is much easier if you think of them similarly. If you think of having physical "coupons" for your flights (paper ones, like you used to get in the mail or at the airport when you bought a ticket), calling the airline and saying you want to take a different flight will update your reservation, but you still have a paper coupon that says you are ticketed on your old flight. Hence, the coupon needs to be "exchanged" for a new one that matches your flight. An electronic ticket works no differently, the only thing that makes it different is that it is happening on a computer instead of you being issued paper coupons.
I hope this helps!
~WK
Electronic tickets function remarkably similar to paper tickets and understanding them is much easier if you think of them similarly. If you think of having physical "coupons" for your flights (paper ones, like you used to get in the mail or at the airport when you bought a ticket), calling the airline and saying you want to take a different flight will update your reservation, but you still have a paper coupon that says you are ticketed on your old flight. Hence, the coupon needs to be "exchanged" for a new one that matches your flight. An electronic ticket works no differently, the only thing that makes it different is that it is happening on a computer instead of you being issued paper coupons.
I hope this helps!
~WK
Oct 31, 2018, 9:17 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: Delta
Posts: 8
Well, it does and it doesn't. I get that they're two separate things, but it doesn't make sense that they should be.
In the hypothetical you describe, I would just consider the paper to be out-of-date, and the "truth" to be the updated record with the airline. :-) In that respect, I suppose I'm thinking of them more like paper boarding passes. The concept of a ticket separate from the reservation just doesn't seem like it serves a purpose, other than as an artifact of when tickets actually existed. Even then, my mental model would be more like a receipt -- it's your proof that the record said that at some point, in case there's a question.
In the hypothetical you describe, I would just consider the paper to be out-of-date, and the "truth" to be the updated record with the airline. :-) In that respect, I suppose I'm thinking of them more like paper boarding passes. The concept of a ticket separate from the reservation just doesn't seem like it serves a purpose, other than as an artifact of when tickets actually existed. Even then, my mental model would be more like a receipt -- it's your proof that the record said that at some point, in case there's a question.
Oct 31, 2018, 9:37 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,040
The reservation simply holds space. The ticket is what pays for the space. You don't technically pay for airfare with a credit card or cash. Instead you pay using a ticket that you bought using a CC or cash. If the reservation changes, you need a new ticket to pay for the new space.
By having them be separate you can also book more than one airline at same time. You can also get moved to OAL in IRROPS without needing to get a refund and then buying a flight on the new airline.
By having them be separate you can also book more than one airline at same time. You can also get moved to OAL in IRROPS without needing to get a refund and then buying a flight on the new airline.
Nov 1, 2018, 12:55 am
#5
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: DL DM, SPG Plat 100/LT Gold, Marriott Plat, National Executive Elite
Posts: 2,988
OP - the key for what you encountered - is the ticket holds the power of the purpose.
Fewer people know how to reissue tickets - especially international - so it triggers a review of the change for repricing.
The ticket is basically the enterprise system unlocking a certain amount of the overall fare you paid, as you fly the itinerary. This makes the accounting allocations and disbursements between multiple airlines on 1 reservation easy.
I had a client who used to deal with paper tickets for the airlines. They HAD to be collected because, if for example someone was booked on a codeshare flight, the only way the operating carrier would get paid would be to physically redeem the paper ticket with the airline who issued the paper ticket.
Electronic tickets serve the same function - make sure the airline(s) are getting paid from the customer - and making splitting a fare between segments a cinch. The airlines of course can choose to waive fees or fare difference and do an even exchange - that's fine, but it takes the original value of what you paid and reallocates it into the new flights in the new ticket.
It's all about getting paid. Faster than with paper tickets, and with less room for error.
Fewer people know how to reissue tickets - especially international - so it triggers a review of the change for repricing.
The ticket is basically the enterprise system unlocking a certain amount of the overall fare you paid, as you fly the itinerary. This makes the accounting allocations and disbursements between multiple airlines on 1 reservation easy.
I had a client who used to deal with paper tickets for the airlines. They HAD to be collected because, if for example someone was booked on a codeshare flight, the only way the operating carrier would get paid would be to physically redeem the paper ticket with the airline who issued the paper ticket.
Electronic tickets serve the same function - make sure the airline(s) are getting paid from the customer - and making splitting a fare between segments a cinch. The airlines of course can choose to waive fees or fare difference and do an even exchange - that's fine, but it takes the original value of what you paid and reallocates it into the new flights in the new ticket.
It's all about getting paid. Faster than with paper tickets, and with less room for error.