Hello all:
For my solo Central Europe vacation this April, my niece was supposed to join me the last 10 days (my college graduation gift to her).

I purchased her flight ticket online (discount site), based on the dates she gave me. I told her to triple-check the dates, because she had job constraints and had a tight window to work with.

Of course, after her ticket was purchased and I had called the airline for seat assignments, she told me she miscalculated her dates. Net-net is that she cannot make the Europe trip AT ALL.

So, what can I do to recoup the ticket$ - at least a credit voucher for a future flight?
And it has to be in MY name now, because she cannot travel to Europe within a year.

1) Ticket says:
"Your Ticket is NON-REFUNDABLE. There may be a penalty for any changes to date or routing.

2) Do I call the airline, or do I call the discount site where I bought the ticket?

3) Anyone know of name changes allowed on a restricted ticket?

4) I had purchased travel insurance for her. Anyone has experience getting travel cancellation to pay for this?


I haven't called the Airline, Discount site or Travel Insurance people yet.


On a personal note, yes, I am quite disappointed with my niece, as she has been so unappreciative. She's upset now that she can't go to Europe, and she's upset at me!

Is it over 24 hours since you purchased the ticket? If under, you <b>may</b> still be able to cancel and get a refund.

In most cases, you can't change the name of the traveler, even after pay the fee. But you can use the remaining value to book other itineraries; though it's more complicated if you've bought the ticket through an agent and not directly the airline.

You should just tell her you've already given her the graduation party. It's HER PROBLEM, and let her deal pay the change fee and deal with rebooking.

If it's been over 24 hours, what type of travel insurance did you buy? Is it the &quot;cancel for any reason type&quot; or is it the more common cancel for emergency reasons (medical, etc.) type? If the latter, I don't think you have a valid claim. Read the terms on the policy.

I wanted to add that in order to qualify for a refund within 24 hours of purchase, you generally have to purchase the ticket directly with the airline (for those airlines that have such a policy).

Thanks for your replies.

No, it's been over 24 hours. Also it was booked with the online discount site and not the directly with the airline.

I will have to check on the terms of the Trip Cancellation conditions on the travel insurance.

Thanks guys!

I don't know how accurate this is, but I just read this in Susan Stellin's book &quot;How to Travel Practically Anywhere.&quot; For future reference:
&quot;When you purchase a plane ticket, you usually have twenty-four hours to change your mind and get a full refund. . . . [This rule] was adopted long ago to give customers a chance to address any second thoughts or for a travel agency to review a ticket and correct any problems. . . . Most airlines and travel agencies still offer customers twenty-four hours to cancel a ticket and get a full refund, but many companies don't go out of their way to tell customers about this policy. . . . .But if you want to buy a different ticket after canceling the one you bought by mistake, keep in mind that you can book only currently available fares.&quot; Page 102)