airline tickets
 

I have purchased 4 tickets for travel 2 weeks the tickets were purchased in june. one of the children will not be albe to travel the airline & TA are giving me a hard time about reticketing or a credit. I am thnking i can take another child in the place of the cancelled with the parents permission. will I have a hard time @ the airport with this or not I dont want to lose out on a $200.00 ticket so I think this is my only hope. any advise or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately, you may well have a tough time with the airport and airline, since tickets are always "no-transferable." If it were for an adult, a "photo ID" would be required to match the name on the ticket. With a child, they might take your word for it that that was the child named on the ticket, but that would be fraud and if you were caught, you could get into serious trouble. A letter from a parent would just prove that you were trying to switch passengers on them. <BR> <BR>I'd keep trying with the airline (to reissue the ticket, with a fee or whatever), perhaps going to the airport ticket agent to talk face-to-face with an actual person. Or keep asking for supervisors, etc. <BR> <BR>(The travel agent can't do much to help you other than take the $200. out of her own pocket, and most travel agents are so up-against-it right now that they wouldn't even consider that to save a client relationship.)

I know people who fly on other people's frequent flyer miles all the time. That would have to be fraud, but I don't know anybody who's ever gotten caught myself. I think the worse that would happen is that you'd be required to pay for another ticket if you were found out. You could call the airline anonymously, and ask if children need photo ID, and if not, try taking another child. I don't think you will get by without paying at least a $75 change fee if you tell everybody the truth. Good luck!

The rules may vary from airline to airline, but with at least some of the frequent flyer plans it most certainly IS NOT fraud to use another persons frequent flyer miles to fly. It MAY and IS in some cases illegal to SELL or BARTER those miles, but the major airlines allow you to GIVE THEM AWAY. <BR> <BR>Personally, even though you do not have to use photo ID on children (how many kids have photo ID?), I would not try to sneak another kid on the plane in someone else's place.

Freq. flyer miles are irrelevent here, since Mary says she purchased the tickets through a travel agent. <BR> <BR>But for general info: the reason people can use other people's is that they are _awards_ that CAN be exchanged for tickets as gifts (NOT "sold or bartered," according to the rules, as Jo said). I've gotten many tickets for my mother to see me on my own freq. flyer miles/coupons/awards. This is perfectly legit, not fraud, Bonnie. <BR> <BR>But using a purchased ticket, issued in another's person's name IS fraud, and it's a federal law instituted in part to reduce the tragic confusions that would happen with identifying victims of plane crashes. <BR> <BR>Can't say you'd "go directly to jail" if you had a child traveling on another's ticket, but there's a good chance your whole party would be detained, delayed, etc. There may well be some fines, too. Doesn't seem worth it, esp. if you can still cajole the airline into some compromise if the ticket can be re-issued w/$75 penalty re-booking fee or some such. <BR> <BR>

Thank you, David and Jo, for the information on the frequent flyer miles. I'm used to the old rules from many years ago, when you couldn't transfer miles to someone else. Actually, I believe my current mis-information came from someone in the family who doesn't want to share their miles with anyone else! Thanks again for the info!

As I understand it, you can cancel one of the reservations, leaving you with $200 in buying power for a future ticket for the same person. They won't refund the money, but you can re-use it provided: 1. You pay the airline change fee, usually $75, plus any difference in the fare; 2. It is good for one year. <BR> <BR>I had a ticket on American to Washington DC. Meeting I had planned to attend was canceled. I was able to re-use the ticket later in the year, when I paid a $75 change fee, but then they gave me a $24 credit cause the fare was LOWER. Go figure! But they won't apply it against the $75.

.

Mary - the TA is playing by the airlines rules - probably not just to give you a hard time and keeping $200 in her pocket as a previous poster mentioned. At MOST the Agency is making 10%, less goes to the TA. $20 bucks is hardly worth losing a client. At any rate, it depends on the type of ticket you purchased. For $200, you probably have a non-transferable, non-refundable ticket. Most airlines will issue you a credit for the amount of the ticket less a $75 change fee. This is issued for the passenger named on the ticket. Therefore, you cannot get a ticket using someone elses credit or reissued in a different name. You can most likely get another child on using the original tkt but you are taking the chance of being delayed and at worst paying the current retail fare - a no advance tkt can be 3-4 times the cost of a 14-21 day advance ticket. A letter from the parent will just alert the airline you're switching passengers.

Marilyn is absolutely correct. You bought the ticket for little Susie and that is who owns it. Going to the Airline personally may help. They can use all the good PR they can get. Explain the situation and just maybe you will be able to use the ticket after paying any penalties for another child. Hopefully it is for a vacation or some special event that cannot be repeated as I am sure there is no possibility the child will be travelling to the same place again on their own. Good luck.

Your dilemma is exactly why I like to use Southwest Airlines for vacation travel in the states whenever possible. No fees for changing flights, they have the friendliest personnel of any airline, and so what if there is no assigned seat. No, I don't work of SWA; I'm just sick of all the other airlines' rude employees and pricing policies.

well I have been told they will not exchange the ticket nor reissue it in another persons name htey are non transferrable they said when I get to the airport talk to them there and maybe I can get a credit minus the 50.00 xchg fee. that is maybe.... I will never use airtran again I usually fly swa or Delta.

Let's be practical and put aside the letter of the law. If you want to replace one child with another NO ONE will know. How in the world could the ticket agent or gate agent know that the child you have is not the one named on the ticket? Assuming it is the same sex child and still under the age that the airline requires ID, they will not know absent the child yelling out that it is not their ticket. You will get to the gate and present the four tickets (I presume two adults and two children) the agent will count four people, ask to see the two adult ID'S and ask you the luggage questions. Then you will receive your boarding passes - end of story. I don't see what the big deal is. Go and have a great time.

The big deal is: go back to earlier posts. It ain't legal. The risks run from 0, to being delayed, to being fined, to getting there okay but having a problem getting back. It's a lousy example for kids (hey, if the system doesn't work, just lie. If there's a change in equipment or delay or cancellation, they will almost certainly use names of passengers to rearrange bookings and seatings, which means kid travelling under alias will have to stick to the alias, no matter what. And worst case (AirTran HAS been known, in earlier incarnations, to crash), identifications get really dicey. <BR> <BR>I'd take the credit minus $50 and run, Mary. And if you don't fly AirTrain again (good call), consider it tuition for the course in airline-choice.

I tend to agree with the original anonymous frequent flyer. The chances of getting caught are very, very, very small. And in the worst case, if you have to pay for a full fare ticket, Airtran's prices will not be exhorbitant (check their web site to see what the price is for a ticket for the same trip flying today or tomorrow). <BR> <BR>And sure, it's illegal, but certainly not immoral. You paid for a seat and you're not putting the airline out by subsituting a child.

I agree with the freq flyer#1 and Brian and would be curious to hear from an attorney as to whether it is really illegal or just an airline regulation that you are breaking. If you acted in good faith-that is tried to see if the airline would let you change the name on a ticket BEFORE travel and they won't - I say that is more a problem with a ridiculous airline specific policy than violating federal law. <BR> <BR>Here's another thought - what would happen if you told the airline that a mistake occured at the travel agent and they got the name wrong and you need to replace it with the right name. How could they prove that you are trying to switch? It is not at all like a fraud -where you use a half a ticket for one person and the return for another for example. In this case, you are acting in good faith to try to resolve a situation before commencing travel-if the airline won't change the ticket to a new name that is their problem. <BR> <BR>As far as those who say it is fraud and illegal what about other "grey" areas. Do you think it is ok to make two reservations and buy two circular trips with sat night stays and use half of each to avoid paying a full coach for a trip with no sat night stay. What about the hidden city fare? While airlines will say that you cannot do either of these and may cancel your return if they figure it out, courts have held that neither is illegal and I think that both are more "fraudulent" than acting in good faith to change the lousy name on a ticket that YOU BOUGHT!!!