Lisa

My sister admits that she was extremely stupid, but it was just one of those things. She booked the tickets, then wrote everything down in her calendar as if she were traveling on Wednesday when, in fact, her tickets were for Tuesday on US Air. The agent tried to put her on a very late flight tonight, but then said that she could not get her back home again. My question is did she lose her seat on the return flight because she missed the first flight? The agent made it sound like that is what happened. I think she has given up on coming at all, but maybe I can convince her if she knew she still had that seat home. Thanks.

xxx

Whenever you miss a leg of a flight, the airlines automatically cancel the entire ticket coming and going. Being that this is the busiest time of the year, it is very probable that your sister lost her seat. That was very nice of USAir to help her to begin with.

Jim

Lisa, I'm sorry to say that the above poster is correct. Once you miss the first leg of a flight (especially on a discounted ticket), the whole ticket now is kaput and all other segment reservations are cancelled. I'd call and plead my case to USAirways while remembering that they technically don't owe you anything. (Be VERY nice on the phone!!)

xyz

Yes, that's the story...but...tell your sister to go out to the airport ASAP and talk to them there. I did something similar in May. The airline people on the phone said I'd have to buy a whole new ticket, etc., but I went out to the airport, freely pleaded absolute stupidity, threw myself on their mercy, and they rebooked my ticket for $100.
Make sure your sister is abjectly apologetic and is willing to grovel.

Eric

Lisa
If your sis wants to go, she will only have luck at the airport.Chances are,the people at UsAir on the fone are in a totally different part of the country.She will get to where she is gong ONLY out of sympathy.Not becuz they HAVE to.It is gratifying to hear that at least they tried to do something rather than just leave her out in the cold.The airlines have always assumed that if you dont take the first flight you are confirmed and ticketed for, then you are not going to take any of the remainder of the scheduled itinerary.If she is trying to return on Sunday or Monday it will be an absolute miracle.Good Luck

Lisa

Thank you for the replies. I think she has reconciled herself to staying home since it would be next to impossible to get a seat now on Sunday or Monday. I wish I could convince her otherwise, but I guess hers is the wisest decision. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ellen

And wait until she hears this: Read in one of this month's travel mags--US Air, Use it or Lose it Policy: Non-refundable tickets must be rebooked by midnight on scheduled date of travel or they are no good. Same-day standby fee for non-refundable ticket is $100. Rebooking fee is $100 domestic, $200 international.

Eric

ALL of the airlines domestically are that way,except the lowfare guys.I had a friend buy a ticket to NYC and the meeting was cancelled.His choiceick a future date for travel,pay the $100 fee,or lose the $580 he paid for the ticket in the first place.

xyz

I still think your sister should try her luck at the airport. It's quite possible someone might take pity on her and squeeze her in somewhere. Not likely, but at least she'll have tried. At any rate, tell her she's not alone (I didn't even know I'd missed my flight by a day--I was blithely having a haircut "the day before" my flight and received a phone call from my cousin, "we're at the airport, where are you?" Oops! I thought I was being so efficient, having planned that Tuesday for all the pre-trip errands, haircut, dry cleaners, housecleaning, etc. Somehow I was convinced the date of my tickets were for a Wednesday not a Tuesday.)

Ellen

Actually, America West non-refundables retain their value for one year from date of purchased if not used on the scheduled flight. AW and Northwest do not have a same-day standby fee either.

xxx

Thanks for posting this! I have convinced myself I am flying to NYC December 22nd and looking at the ticket, I am flying out the 21st!!! I would have missed my flight!

x

How could you not know what day your flight is?

xxx

I fly so often, 6 round trip flights in December alone, it sometimes gets confusing. I enter every flight in my daytimer but I entered this one wrong.

Jim Rosenberg

(Stuff) happens! Sorry to hear about that, but Happy Thanksgiving to you (and your sister, too).

TvlAgt

Next time try to book that really cheap ticket with an agent. Most of the time they can get the same fare (believe it or not) and they can add what's called an "arunk" segment between the outbound and return flights. Downline flights are not cancelled if an "arunk" segment is added. Just a safety precaution but I add it often to my own travel, especially if I am connecting using 2 different carriers.
Sometimes travel agents have tricks that make it worth the 25.00 service charge. You can still research to make sure you are getting the lowest fares/rates and you will have someone to help in these situations.