Troubles Continue
I don't want it to seem like all I do on this blog is whine about things and ask for other people to help me, but I'm having a bad morning. Let's just say that about two weeks ago, Marie and I purchased plane tickets for a honeymoon in Europe, fully aware that seven years of geopolitical goings-on had conspired into making this to be a bad financial decision. So... the tickets were pretty expensive. But in my idiocy I went ahead and checked Kayak this morning to see if the fares had changed, and boy howdy did they ever. Turns out, on Orbitz today I still could have booked the exact same trip on the exact same airplanes, the only difference being that one leg (of four) would be booked with a codeshare partner. And that trip would have been $500 cheaper per person. Oi!
I called the airline in question, but they tell me that since the tickets are non-refundable, there's nothing I can do. Bill suggests that I make Marie cry and have her call them with her saddest "but it's my honeymoon!" voice... but would something like that ever work?
Comments
I would suggest crossposting this to whatever savvy traveler forums you can find. I kind of doubt that a given CSR will be able to do anything for you, but it's possible that there may be some kind of loophole you can exploit to cancel the tickets. But I don't really know.
Posted by: Tom | April 15, 2008 12:34 PM
I know Orbitz has a low price guarantee on hotels, but I guess not on flights. Blech, that really sucks.
Did you buy them through an airline or through Orbitz? Whichever one, search for peoples' accounts of similar situations...
What's the fee for just canceling them? It seems like it might save you money to just cancel them and pay the fee, then buy the new ones (ie if the cancellation fee was $200 for each one, you'd still end up saving $300).
Posted by: Emily | April 15, 2008 12:44 PM
My dad was able to come up with one possible solution, but you probably will not like it ... basically, you ask to have your non-refundable ticket turned into a future ticket. I.e., you do not get your money back, but you get what amounts to a "store credit." Then, you buy the inexpensive tickets with that store credit. The problem is, your money is still tied up. The solution is that if you are traveling soon after that, you can use that money to help buy your next flight. My dad did this once on accident when he had to cancel a trip last second. He then used the "store credit" to buy his next flight. He had money left over and used it for a future flight. I am not sure this is possible or even desirable. But ... my dad did it once 6 years ago.
Posted by: A.J. | April 15, 2008 08:18 PM
Yeah - I pondered the store credit option... some friends would need to start planning some serious destination weddings for me to feel comfortable with that option.
But not to worry, all. I appreciate the thought, but due to the mysterious machinations of the internet, the cheap fares are gone, perhaps forever. Oh, what tangled webs the airline industry weaves.
Posted by: jeff | April 15, 2008 08:47 PM
They may have never existed ... I have had American Airlines suck me in with a cheap fair, only to find out it "sorry, that fair has changed ... now it is $100 more." I come back one week later, the same cheap fair is there, but I still get the same method. It is the old bait and switch method ...
Posted by: A.J. | April 16, 2008 05:12 PM