I'm doing HNL-ITO-LAX-LAS this Saturday on UA (with a CO codeshare), but one of the friends that I booked on my PNR can no longer make it.

There were three of us going, so I already called UA and had them split the PNR so that the two of us that can go are on one and the one who can't go is on the other. (BTW, after splitting the PNR all my seats went from "confirmed" to "upgrade pending" woohoo! =)

Is there a way to suspend the ticket and then use it later when she decides she really wants to go to LAS?

Sorry for the very basic question, but I've never ever had to cancel a ticket before. I always follow through on my booked travel. I appreciate any suggestions/help you guys can give me.

Yes, you have the option of paying a change fee and using the residual value of the ticket in the name of the original passenger. You must inform them that the original passenger will not be flying before the scheduled departure time. Tell them that you do not have the new travel dates yet and that you'd like to leave the itinerary pending while you figure that out and that should work. You'll need the original PNR when the time comes to use the credit so don't lose that.

No point in leaving the itin pending as when they don't show up for the 1st leg, the ticket will become void overnight. Cncl their reservation so UA a) knows they wont be there, and b) doesn't void the ticket and they can use the residual value at a later date.

SBM's advice while usually good, in this case is the opposite. Telling them they aren't going to show, but retaining the flight segments as booked is the same as not telling them anything. If they are in posession of inventory and they don't show, it will cause their ticket to become worthless for any future value.

The sbm12 post above seemed very CO-centric (e.g., keeping the record open, paying a change fee, etc.). CO operates a bit differently than most carriers, and this sounds like a UA reservation/UA ticket, and the mechanics work a bit differently between the two carriers.

For UA, assuming your ticket starts in HNL, really you just cancel the reservation, which will leave you a credit of the ticket value. Since this is UA, hang onto the ticket number. No need to keep anything pending. The reservation number can die, since it's independent of the ticket number (the ticket is what holds value).

The unused ticket can can then get applied to any new reservation that person wishes to make (less the change fee) within a year from date of original ticket issue. On UA (like on most carriers), you don't pay a change fee, rather your change fee is deducted from the old ticket's value. So if it's a $600 ticket, with a $150 change fee, and your new ticket is $450, you pay nothing.

I wasn't suggesting that the segments be kept in the ticket; sorry if that was confusing.

I was suggesting that when you call and the agent asks what the new date of travel is you explain that you do not have one yet so that the value can be kept but that you do not have to confirm the new dates now and pay a change fee now and then again when you actually have the travel dates you want to use.

Update: I called UA and went through the cancellation process, and channa is right it's the ticket number that holds value. What's interesting is that the agent said the ticket number I should use when rebooking is the old ticket number plus one.

Anyways, thank you to everyone who responded. It's really nice to know that I have access to a forum where I can ask travel related questions.

Did you have more than four (4) segments on your itinerary? If so, you probably had a conjunctive ticket.

Each ticket only holds four (4) segments, so if you have more than four (4) segments, it continues onto the next ticket, which would be in sequence. The agent probably just read the last of the two (2) ticket numbers you were holding.

The complete itinerary was

Outbound: HNL-ITO-LAX-LAS
Inbound: LAS-LAX-OGG-HNL

Does that count as 8? Does that mean I have to remember both numbers when rebooking the ticket?

That's six (6) segments. And no, you would not need to remember both ticket numbers. Either one should do. Since they're joined together, either one would implicitly refer to the other.

+1. That's exactly how it's supposed to work at UA.

Yup.

Is CO still charging the change fee as new money? If so, let's hope that doesn't come over to the combined carrier.

Last time I tried (about 6 months ago), yes, new money. Nowadays? Idk!

Also keep in mind that the ticket value does not need to be used for the same itinerary. It can be used toward any future UA flight worldwide.

(And if you want to use to for non-UA flights, there is a workaround for that as well).