arrosen

I booked PHX->TLV in May, 2023 for my son in Economy (August, 2023 - April, 2024). The fare included 1 change for fare difference only. He is on a 1 year school program, so we knew that we would be changing the return date, once the schedule opened up. Then the war and we received a notice from UA that they changed his return flight (scheduled for April, 2024) because of their reduced flights to TLV.

In the email it said that I could change the new flight or cancel it. When I tried to change it (coming back to the US now in October, not April), it would not let me change. I called, and they said that he could only change up to 1 year from the purchase date, so I could only change the return flight by a couple of days - until sometime in May. They suggested I cancel the flight, so I did. I now have about 1/2 of the fare in a credit, but it is only valid until 6/1 (no idea where that date came from), and when I try to purchase a ticket, they reprice the entire round trip (incl the original outbound flight), not just the new trip, and charge me the difference.

Is there any way to get around this? For example, if I book a fully refundable ticket and then cancel, will the credit be free of restrictions, or will it go back to the same restricted use?

Any Advice?

Thanks

stevenshev

Yeah, you've got a problem. A partially used ticket that you want to extend beyond 1 year will be extremely difficult. You may be buying a new ticket here. Can try calling customer relations and begging for an extension due to the war, but highly unlikely IMHO.

I would book a random date in May for now and then try changing it later, but very not optimistic.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

UA is now flying to/from TLV again. There is no reason UA would want to extend the ticket period. Use it or lose it will probably be the answer. Buying a non-refundable ticket has its risks (in return for a lower price) - UA’s already offered a no-fee change within the ticket period, OP wants even more flexibility to suit personal interests, not the affect of the current situation on flying.

WineCountryUA

From the beginning this was not going to work. Air tickets can not be for a period beyond 1 year from purchase -- this is build into the ticket rules. This has been a restriction from nearly the begin of time. For a period of time during COVID this was loosen (to 2 years?) but since UA is flying for the dates you purchased there isn't much you can do.
Because of the schedule change, UA will provide 1/2 credit for the return. But purchasing a one-way flight in October on UA will be very expensive.

options
* Find a carrier that offers oneways (such as some LCCs -- low cost / discount carriers -- May require a TLV-EU and then EU-USA flight))
* Consider a mileage flight, even if you have to purchase miles -- award fights can be one-way without a price penalty

cfischer

Your best bet is to get the flight credit converted to an ETC. This will have a lot more flexibility, however, then you need to buy a one-way with that which 'can' be expensive. Trying to re-use the cancelled portion of the ticket will come back with the same restrictions that the underlying ticket had in the first place. Getting this converted to an ETC will not be easy, but worth a try with the current TLV situation.
I am seeing $1178 as the cheapest TLV-PHX one-way for October (in Eco that is)

Sykes

If the original itinerary was subject to a significant schedule or routing change then your best bet would probably be to request a refund for the return half. When the cancellation is (somewhat) involuntary they won't reprice the outbound as a one-way, so you should actually get a good chunk of your money back. You may have waited too long, though, if United's TLV schedule is mostly back to normal now and they can get you back on the original flights. You'll still be stuck buying a one-way ticket for the flight home though, which may be pretty expensive.