Extending plane tickets
 

Hubby and I booked tickets through Expedia last week, and decided that we might like to extend our trip two days longer. We called US Airways and they quoted us $130. each for the extension. I find this to be too much seeing as we only paid $454.00 total for the original flights.

It's certainly not crucial for us to stay the two days longer, but we'd like to if it wasn't that expensive.

Do any of you have tips on getting a better price? I was wondering if it would be cheaper or more expensive to do it through Expedia, or if they'd just give us same quote as the airline.

(Hubby was on hold with them for 10 min. before he hung up and called the airline.)

Please advise. Thanks.

Bloom

You could have paid nothing for your original flight, but that's irrelevant. You bought a non-refundable ticket, and you'll need to pay 1) a change fee, and 2) fare difference when changing.

The change fee is probably $100 per ticket and the rest is higher fares on the new date you want.

Most airlines other than Southwest charge a fee to change the ticket.All collect any additional airfare incurred when making a change.With USAir, it's $100 plus additional airfare.So whether you change it with the airline or the agent with whom you booked te tickets, the charge will be the $100 change plus the $30 added airfare.It's always been that way: the airlines will give you a deeply discounted airfare, but if you change it, there is a fee.Good thing you didnt want to start the trip early.When you change the outbound, you start all over as if you never had a ticket in the first place, plus pay the $100 fee.That change usually gets very expensive.

Where are you flying? You may find a one-way (or not) flight for your return trip for less than $130 per person. Just don't show up for your original flight coming home.

You will also want to consider when you are flying. The cheapest fare classes usually have to be bought 60 or 30 days before the flight, so the $130 may go up if you wait too long. Tickets bought the day before the flight, or the day of the flight, for example, usually have quite a high price.

A change in flights could possibly work in your favor though not likely. If US has already quoted a higher fare it means they expect the later flight to be well attended. If the later flight was not expected to sell out they might go for a lesser fare or lesser change fee. Check back again later.

Sometimes you get an agent who is having a particularly good day (also not likely) and they will waive or lower the change fee. I had a CO gate agent ask me if I'd want to take a later flight from CLE and go straight to MIA instead of thru dreaded ATL.

I figured their flight was full, so a benefit to both of us. I got to MIA same time as planned, avoided ATL and CO bumped AA out of a flight.

Ah, good to know SamH.

Ty all for your input.

Bloom