gregocean

Hello, my family is traveling from LAX to Hawaii for Christmas. We have 6 non-refundable tickets. One person in our party will not be able to travel.

I'm hoping that I'll at least be able to block the seat (since I've paid for it) instead of losing it and having someone else sitting in our row (single aisle 757).

My thought is to check all of us in and to let the gate agent know before boarding that one of us is not able to able to travel and that since we have small children that I'd appreciate it if they could block the seat.

Does anyone have a better suggestion of how to handle this situation?

thanks very much

I should add that over the years, I've had gate agents block seats for a variety of reasons if I ask nicely. I'm assuming that it is possible, but wondered if there is a better way to ask.

WineCountryUA

While you might get lucky, you have no claim to the seat and once the seat is declared as a no show, the GA can seat another person (such as a standby) in the open seat.

BTW, if you don't cancel prior to departure -- any possibility of future value of the unused ticket will be lost.

JOSECONLSCREW28

the short answer is no the airline will not block a seat because you want them to. the only time a seat is blocked from inventory is if it is being used a crew rest seat, or the seat is non-functioning. otherwise if the person who was originally supposed to sit in said seat that your wanting blocked, thn that seat becomes available to someone else on your flight. And no you didn't pay for the seat, you paid for the airline to transport you from point A to point B.

love_to_travel

I have had recent experience with a GA that did block a seat for me, just because I wanted it blocked. So you might still give it a try.

WineCountryUA

but be assured if there were standbys, that seat could have disappeared.

aacharya

Agreed. Worth splitting off the person and cancelling. THere's some residual value of that ticket.

Book a person aisle/window - likely noone will sit there in the middle unless flight's packed.

Often1

Are you certain that this is a fare which has no credit as oppose to refund value? Typically UA domestic non-refundables purchased in the USA can be cancelled prior to travel for a credit less change fee. That credit can then be applied to a new ticket within the next year. I do appreciate that there are consolidator and other bulk purchases for which there might be no credit value, but you should certainly verify all of this first.

As to blocking, it's not your seat, but the non-flying individual's seat and if they don't board, it's empty. While there is always a chance a GA might block the seat, they certainly won't do that unless there are empty seats and no pax waiting for them. Given that this is Hawaii over the holidays, greater likelihood is that the flight is oversold.

You want to go where?

Unless you tell them that you need the seat for your cello.

CaptainMiles

Are any of you in your party a Person Of Size? If so, you can try telling that you bought two seats for that person.

Or bring a cello.

WineCountryUA

But either of those require an EXTRASEAT type ticket to work for blocking a seat.

aacharya

Good point. Maybe OP should call the day before the flight to see what chances of VDB are. They may let the OP cancel the one ticket with no penalty.

docbert

Non-refundable means that you can't get the cash back if you cancel a flight. It does NOT mean that you can't cancel and get credit!

In most cases there will be a change fee - normally $150 for domestic - so if you cancel your flight you'll be able to get a credit in the name of the person that's not flying in the amount of whatever the ticket cost, minus $150.

If you search the forums you'll find some hints around trying to avoid the cancel fee and get a full refund (eg, holding off and praying for a schedule change that's big enough to let you cancel without a fee), but in general the odds are small - especially for what I presume is a direct flight.

PanHam

Don't cancel. Yes, you'll lose the value on the ticket, but by canceling, you'll only give UA the chance to resell it at a higher value to last-minute flyers. If you cancel, you'll have to pay a fee plus a difference in fare, anyway. Check the other person in so you have the seat next to you.

Don't give them the chance to make extra money off your change in plans. Smisek's corporate greed has run rampant already.

Baze

Sorry but it doesn't work this way. They may be checked in but will be a no show and then UA can give the seat away at the gate and the OP loses any value the ticket has.

raehl311

You can get a credit less the change fee (probably $150) if you cancel in advance. That's likely significant $$ on a Hawaii ticket.

If the flight is not oversold, and it flies with ANY empty seats, and you check that seat in, odds are very slim that anyone ends up in the seat.

But if your companion doesn't board, the airline will cancel the ticket for the return.

You might try calling and asking, as it's also a chance for the airline to get your money.