No matter how long-awaited your trip may be, sometimes you might face the necessity of canceling it. A sudden recall from vacation, illness, changes in financial situation, and other force majeure circumstances can put tourists in a quandary and make them wonder how to return an airline ticket. Today we’ll delve into this issue and explain what you need to do for this and what portion of the airfare you can expect to recover.
Nuances of Negotiation
Let’s note right away that each airline establishes its own rules for canceling purchased tickets. This is because this issue is hardly regulated at the legislative level, giving carriers the opportunity to set their own “rules of the game”.
Experienced customers advise discussing the refund procedure at the time of purchase. For example, some carriers sell so-called “non-refundable tickets”, for which it’s always problematic to get even a partial refund. The only exception to this rule is when a passenger refuses to fly due to the company’s fault, which can be in cases such as flight cancellation or delay, service level not matching what was previously stated, aircraft replacement, etc.
In all other cases, returning the document is carried out according to the rules specified in the fare. A full refund can be expected in rare cases if you are the owner of a first or business class ticket, an excursion or annual pass. However, you should not count on reimbursement of the full cost of an unused ticket that was purchased at discounted rates.
Procedural Specifics
Before heading to the airport ticket office, you should be aware of existing time restrictions on returning purchased tickets. Most companies are willing to refund money paid for the flight, provided that the return is made:
- at least 7 days before departure
- no later than 24 hours before departure
- before the plane takes off
In some cases, you can get your money back even after the plane is in the air. But passengers who paid for the flight at a discounted rate should not count on the company’s leniency.
As soon as you realize that you won’t be able to fly on the planned flight, you should immediately contact the airport ticket office. Note that you need to contact a representative of the carrier company on whose plane you planned to fly. In addition to the document itself, you need to have a passport and be ready to explain the reason for your refusal. For the return of an unused ticket, they must refund you either the full cost minus a penalty, or up to 50% of the price (it all depends on the type of ticket and the terms of its return). Although some airlines value their reputation and do not apply such sanctions.
If you paid for the flight through a website, you should try to get your money back through this web resource, rather than seeking justice from the airline.
Pay attention to the document itself. As a rule, it contains information about the procedure and terms of return. If the necessary information is not there, try to get an answer on the carrier’s official website. You can also contact the company by phone.
In case you bought the airline ticket from an agent, you should send them a statement informing them of your intention to refuse the flight. If the agent refuses to reimburse you for the cost of the document, contact the carrier directly.
How to Return a Ticket Purchased Online
If you’ve decided to buy a ticket online on a website, you need to know about some nuances of such a return. Firstly, you won’t be able to get a full refund. Secondly, the process of refunding the spent money can take up to 3 months, and the money will be returned to the bank card that was used for the payment.
To avoid additional problems and not lose your money in case of force majeure, we advise using those online ticket offices that always meet customers halfway and are ready to replace the ticket. Although even here you won’t be able to avoid paying mandatory fees.
From personal experience, I can add that it’s always easier to negotiate a refund for a ticket directly with airlines, but then you should buy tickets not through intermediaries or aggregator sites, but on the airline’s own website. The reason for a 100% refund naturally must be valid and supported by documentation (for example, a doctor’s note if the trip is impossible due to illness).
Ticket Exchange
You can also use the ticket exchange service, the essence of which is that instead of a refund, the cost of the ticket is credited towards another document.
So, we’ve figured out how to return an airline ticket. We hope that our information will help you avoid problems with airlines and not lose the money you’ve spent.
