Unable to Delete Segment on a Basic Economy Ticket - Any options?
Jan 16, 2019, 4:57 am
#16
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
There is NOTHING sad about it. You are warned and have to agree to the restrictions in SPECIFICITY before you purchase basic economy. It's part of the trade off for the cheap flight. If you even THINK you MIGHT need to change a ticket, don't buy basic economy. It's common sense, and Delta makes the restrictions ABUNDANTLY clear.
Jan 16, 2019, 4:59 am
#17
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
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Are you sure you can't get back in time? There are a lot of flights LAX-SEA. @jrl767 posted an option that sounds pretty good, and cheap. You dismissed him, but you seem to have been confused (stating you don't care about SEA-LAX, when he was showing LAX-SEA).
It seems totally reasonable to finish a meeting in LA during normal work hours and get to SEA before midnight that night. Now, you might not get to go home, but that's not 100% necessary is it?
It seems totally reasonable to finish a meeting in LA during normal work hours and get to SEA before midnight that night. Now, you might not get to go home, but that's not 100% necessary is it?
Jan 16, 2019, 6:18 am
#18
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
FWIW, the fact that the ticket is Basic Economy is only part of the problem here. Even with a flexible ticket, you wouldn't be able to just drop the initial SEA-LAX segment and continue on your way with the rest of the itinerary. Instead, you'd have to reprice the whole thing with a start in LAX, and it sounds like those tickets are now extremely expensive so you'd still have to pay the difference between the original ticket and the new more expensive price. With most economy tickets, you'd also owe a change fee.
So at this point it makes sense to just look at the cheapest LAX->SJO->SEA ticket you can find and buy that. As others have pointed out, it's reasonable to ask for your employer to pay for this since the change is caused by work.
So at this point it makes sense to just look at the cheapest LAX->SJO->SEA ticket you can find and buy that. As others have pointed out, it's reasonable to ask for your employer to pay for this since the change is caused by work.
Jan 16, 2019, 6:26 am
#19
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Huntsville, AL
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Posts: 7,860
Bottom line is unless there is a large schedule change or IROPS, you must buy a new ticket.
Separate question - can you buy basic economy fares one way? If the pricing is close, might be better off in the future to buy as one-ways.
Jan 16, 2019, 6:47 am
#20
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
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Posts: 50,262
I doubt that this is the price for the new SEA-LAX ticket, rather it is the price for a new ticket SEA-LAX stopping over to LAX-SJO-SEA. It sounds to me as though this has little to do with the change and everything to do with the fare difference. A non-BE ticket might have reduced this total price by a bit, but that is unclear given change fees on international tickets. Thus, the inflexibility of the BE ticket may either matter not at all or very little.
Calling a phone agent is a poor way to price a journey rather than the simplest transaction (which is all the phone agent is doing). There is no reason why you must fly DL or any particular carrier for any or all segments and there is no reason why you need to purchase the LA segment as a stopover if you can accomplish your business there in <24 hours (connection onwards to SJO).
Either pay a good TA to look at options or spend some time doing the leg work and you will likely do a lot better.
Calling a phone agent is a poor way to price a journey rather than the simplest transaction (which is all the phone agent is doing). There is no reason why you must fly DL or any particular carrier for any or all segments and there is no reason why you need to purchase the LA segment as a stopover if you can accomplish your business there in <24 hours (connection onwards to SJO).
Either pay a good TA to look at options or spend some time doing the leg work and you will likely do a lot better.
Jan 16, 2019, 9:05 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: DCA
Programs: DL DM, AA EXP, various hotel
Posts: 2,227
Are you sure about that? If you can provide your flight time from SEA to LAX, someone here might have an idea.
Jan 16, 2019, 10:02 am
#22
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DAY
Programs: Rapid Rewards, Skymiles, Hilton HHonors, SPG/Marriott Rewards
Posts: 4,945
There is NOTHING sad about it. You are warned and have to agree to the restrictions in SPECIFICITY before you purchase basic economy. It's part of the trade off for the cheap flight. If you even THINK you MIGHT need to change a ticket, don't buy basic economy. It's common sense, and Delta makes the restrictions ABUNDANTLY clear.
Jan 16, 2019, 10:03 am
#23
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta PlM, 1M
Posts: 6,363
Maybe the family can find a homeless person to take your place on a free flight to sunny LA. Use a refundable ticket for him to clear security, then fly him on your ticket. The odds of an ID check at a domestic gate are near nil.
Last edited by exwannabe; Jan 16, 2019 at 10:18 am
Jan 16, 2019, 11:59 am
#25
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"Used to?" Maybe 35 years ago on what was then a standard fully changeable ticket. BE is not the problem here, On a fairly standard discounted penalty fare, OP would pay a change fee of $300 or more as well as the fare difference . Tossing this BE ticket is likely not the bulk of the new cost.
Jan 16, 2019, 12:59 pm
#26
Join Date: Jun 2015
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"Used to?" Maybe 35 years ago on what was then a standard fully changeable ticket. BE is not the problem here, On a fairly standard discounted penalty fare, OP would pay a change fee of $300 or more as well as the fare difference . Tossing this BE ticket is likely not the bulk of the new cost.
Jan 16, 2019, 1:14 pm
#27
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Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,482
There is no such thing as "delete a segment" on any air tickets, not even first class. OP is trying to change to a different origination point which is not allowed for any ticket. Basic Economy just means there is no residual credit which he can use to apply to new ticket. He needs to make original flights as booked or purchase a new ticket, simple as that. 
Jan 16, 2019, 3:24 pm
#28
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Orleans (for now)
Programs: DL PM, WN, SC, various other programs of lowly status
Posts: 1,673
There is NOTHING sad about it. You are warned and have to agree to the restrictions in SPECIFICITY before you purchase basic economy. It's part of the trade off for the cheap flight. If you even THINK you MIGHT need to change a ticket, don't buy basic economy. It's common sense, and Delta makes the restrictions ABUNDANTLY clear.
Jan 16, 2019, 3:43 pm
#30
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: SkyMiles 2018 PM, 2019 PM, 2020 PM, 2021 PM, 2022 PM, 2023 PM...
Posts: 314
The only things I can imagine would likely not work.
You may be able to get the ticket scanned as though you boarded even though you weren't present, but that is extremely unlikely and that is not the way buying an extra seat works.
I would be afraid to try anything other than just making it to the flight. It really sounds like that is what you're stuck with.
You may be able to get the ticket scanned as though you boarded even though you weren't present, but that is extremely unlikely and that is not the way buying an extra seat works.
I would be afraid to try anything other than just making it to the flight. It really sounds like that is what you're stuck with.