Lost cause? Changing names on a non-refundable ticket
 

Hello everyone,

Long time lurker, but first time poster!

I'm in the middle of a fairly terrible experience with an airline, and was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice for dealing with my situation.

In short, my situation is:

Booked a flight for four people (my girlfriend and I being two) for next year. I'm now emigrating to the country the flight is to next month (short notice and unplanned!), and obviously wont be able to make it on that flight. My girlfriend's parents have suggested they could use our tickets to come visit us instead. I called customer services and got shot down immediately because my tickets are "non-transferable". I've explained the situation to them, and asked whether the restriction could be waived. No, it can't. Could I pay to waive it? No, I can't. Spoke to more senior staff, no exceptions.

My situation doesn't seem to be exceptional enough to warrant any sympathy.

This is a long distance flight, and it's cost me quite a bit of money. Nowhere does it say my tickets are "non-transferable", though it does say they're non-refundable and non-changeable, which I can appreciate probably means the same thing. All I want is for them to change a couple of names on e-tickets that haven't even been issued yet, for a flight that's in over 5 months time.

Does anyone have any advice? Is this a lost cause?

Cheers

what airline?.....on many, you can cancel & for a fee, use the residual on another ticket....

Singapore Airlines. I'm fairly sure a refund is out of the question, but I was hoping a name change wouldn't be too much to ask.

Welcome to Flyertalk, although you're not going to like the verdict arising from your first post here.

It is firmly established policy that air tickets are not transferable and there is no such thing as a "good enough" reason to grant a special waiver. Your complaint reminds me of the Everglades tourist who walked off a trail, right past a sign warning of dangerous alligators, and into a swamp where she was promptly attacked by alligators. Recovering in hospital, she was asked by sheriff's deputies if she hadn't seen the sign. "Oh, yes," she said, "but I didn't think that meant me."

Your career changes are of no impact /interest to the airlines, I'm afraid. A name change is indeed too much to ask under standard ticketing rules.

Your best bet is to cash the tickets in and keep their value on account with the airline -- it's good for one year -- using the sum, less change fees, for future travel for the originally booked parties. Your relatives who want to visit you in Country X will have to buy new tickets.

Intervening posts answered the question

Thanks for the candid response! Much appreciated.

I don't pretend that I'm in any way above the rules or that they don't apply to me, I knew what I was buying when I bought it. So that's fair, I don't expect them to deviate from our agreement any more than they'd expect me to; however, I was *hoping* someone in the airline might have a bit of empathy and offer a gesture of goodwill for the sake of public relations. Out of all things I could ask for, refunds/cancellations, itinerary changes, upgrades, a change of name on an as-of-yet not printed ticket didn't seem to be beyond the realm of possibility; especially as I've offered to pay for any administration costs (or whatever they want) to do it. Nevermind then!

Regarding the idea of cashing in the tickets: that's not something I've done before. Have you got any links I could read for understanding what I can and can't do? Could I cash in only my ticket and my girlfriend's, leaving the other two and then book an additional two passengers on the same flight? (Effectively giving me a 50% refund in credit for later use). Or is it all or nothing?

If I can't change the names, which sounds likely, then I'll be looking for the cheapest way to achieve the same goal of getting all my relatives over at the same time for as little additional expense as possible.

I can't comment on Singapore, but the way I have had it work is call the airline, tell them you won't be using the tickets for x date for y passengers, and can you receive a credit for them instead.

I have to say, I haven't always suceeded, North American airlines seem to be far better at offering a credit than European airlines (whose attitude has been 'if it is non changable, non refundable, then tough luck') but have no idea about Asian carriers. All you can do is ask!

The problem here is that we all have a "special" circumstance that we think warrants some empathy. Although we don't like it, we do have an alternative though as we can buy fully refundable tickets (granted at a premium, which takes into account that we can then cancel/change the ticket).

I am really tired of hearing people suggesting that fully refundable tickets are an alternative. Legally they may be but in virtually all cases, the fare difference is so great that they are not a viable alternative -- unless one has a hefty corporate discount.

Welcome to FT, hypnodyno!

My mistake, the OP is totally hosed and there never was and never will be an alternative.

Well, having bought the non-refundable tickets the OP is actually totally hosed. Nobody buys refundable tickets for leisure applications because the price differential is so great. So everyone does what the OP does and then when a conflict arises they hope maybe the ironclad rules on non-refundable fares might turn out to be not so ironclad if they ask really nicely. The world would be better if there were less of a premium charged for refundable, or no-fee value-bankable, tickets.

Usually non-refundable tickets can be refunded for a fee difference.. OP, did you ask Singapore Airlines if you could refund your ticket for a fee?

If not a refund (less cancellation fee), surely a credit can be issued towards another purchase..

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

There certainly are some airlines that permit ticket transfers for a fee; unfortunately, it appears that SQ is not one of them.

Welcome to Flyer Talk.

Not only will they not let you change the name on the ticket from one person to another, they won't let you change the name even if it is the same passenger.

You have to have your legal name on your airline tickets, exactly as on your passport or other photo ID.

I have heard of people who accidentally enter a nickname into the name field, click "Purchase", then suddenly realize they entered "Bob" when their legal name is "Robert". These people don't get a break, either. They have to pay to cancel the ticket and get it reissued with the correct name.

It is not a question of just paying adminstrative costs to change a ticket from Mr Smith to Mr Jones.

The issue is that, in the past, ticket brokers would purchase lots of low cost tickets well in advance of the flight, then sell the tickets at higher prices in competition with the airlines. They would "simply" call and say that Mr Jones is flying instead of Mr Smith. Mr Jones then pays the higher price to the ticket broker.

Thus: High-prices tickets are sold for the flight, but the profit went to the ticket brokers, not the airline.

The airlines all said "No more". After various governments started requiring ID in order to fly, the airlines ceased to change ticket names on request. The passenger name on the ticket when it's purchased is the passenger that flies, unless the ticket is refunded.

Oh, but you say, I need a ticket that can be changed. OK, says the airline, we can offer you full price fully refundable, fully transferable tickets at a premium price. If you don't need fully refundable, fully transferable tickets, and prefer to pay a discounted price, you can get non-refundable, non-transferable tickets for much less. Just don't expect a refund or transfer to a different passenger.

Finally, honestly, since I purchase airline tickets by the airline rules and have had to pay change fees from time to time, I would REALLY HATE to see someone else get away without having to pay a change fee.

Mine is the exact opposite reaction. There are many people, including me, who travel only on refundable/changeable tickets (I am fortunate to have paid F for 2+ hours). Who in their right mind would buy refundable tix if they could pay less and get them refunded?

While I know that OP is personally frustrated, the reason people pay for flexibility is that it's flexible.

I kmow it'd be impossible to manage...
 

But I do feel for people who bought non changeable tickets and then something totally unexpected happens. Not so much breaking a leg (that's what travel insurance is for) but like a job transfer or sudden unavoidable unpredictable move or death or whatever.

People... or companies? I presume that's your employer, not you, springing for paid F for 2+ hours. For most normal people the idea of spending 3X your own money to secure a refundable ticket is not tenable at all. Do you do it when it's your dime?

Imo.. the no frills method airlines are adopting is going to end up hurting consumers.. Sure that the ticket is sold non refundable/non changeable.. Charge a fair fee to get it done, so that customer's don't feel angry, will come back and fly with the airline..

Seems there is a line drawn by the authorities, when airlines tried to charge for carry-on baggage. That idea was eliminated pretty quickly.. Seems like ticketing is an area that needs to be addressed as well..

Don't you understand what's happened in the industry? Customer anger doesn't matter anymore. There are only three or four major airlines left. Each is worse than the next. It's an oligopoly that no longer has to respond to customer objections to anything. If you don't like it, take the bus.

Ah, no. The one LCC carrier that instituted that fee, Spirit, has made it stick.

in my experience it is almost always much cheaper to buy a non-refundable ticket and just pay the change fees if necessary.

I think most people only buy refundable tickets if it is at the last minute and nothing else is available. They are just too expensive.

I understand that the industry has evolved to no frills, service cost add on models.. I'm not sure that the airlines are necessarily ignoring concerns.. Competition, even if it seems like an Oligopoly, will have its way of evening things out.

Here in Canada, its' even worse, we have a perceived monopoly.. But AC has come around to understand that things can't possibly remain the same, if the airline wants to remain viable.. Although enhancements (negative) have been introduced last year because the entire industry was heading that way.. the general sense is AC hasn't completely ignored the customer service aspect and the factor of public perception.. In its dealings with customers, and employees..

http://spirit.custhelp.com/app/answe...ge-for-bags%3F

"Remember, we always provide one personal item free of charge per customer. Personal items (e.g. purse, small backpack, briefcase, etc.) must fit underneath the seat, so the dimensions must not exceed 16 x 14 x 12 inches (40 x 35 x 30 cm).

Additionally, the following carry-on items are not counted towards a customer's carry-on bag allowance and can be brought with you on all flights free of charge - umbrella, camera, infant diaper bag, assistive devices, outer garments (e.g. coats, hats, and wraps), stroller, reading material, and food for the flight."

I guess in a sense you are correct, and I am correct.. There is one personal carry-on allowed for free on Spirit.. IIRC Spirit originally wanted to charge for all carry ons and the regulators stepped in..

Usually. I need flexibility and I'm willing to pay for it for non-business travel. I know it's expensive, but it's what I need. If you don't need flexibility, don't pay for it and accept the fact that there are occasions when things are beyond your control and you made the wrong choice.

There are also 'in between' fares - not fully flexible, cancel with no charge etc. but not 'no changes no refunds' either - you get to make changes or cancellations with a penalty - and they often are not 3x more (a little more, yes). I know quite a few people who choose those.

This won't help the OP, but I can think of one reason that's good enough to grant a special waiver. Some countries/airlines allow name changes of an attendant accompanying a qualified disabled traveler up to 24/48 hours before departure. This usually applies when severely disabled travelers are required to travel with a companion who provides personal care during flight; see, for instance, AC's page on travelers with special needs.