seetheworld

I thought I knew the answer to this question, but now I'm not sure. I thought someone here might know for sure.

We are booking our flights, JFK to LHR, this weekend (we are biting the bullet - either Virgin or British). There is an outside chance one of our sons might have to back out of going on the trip if an internship comes through. The ticket will be in his name, but if he doesn't go, we want to be able to use it.

Do I just pay a fee to transfer the ticket to me? Anyone know the answer to this. It would save me some time.

Thanks!

GoTravel

Different airlines charge different fees.

US Airways charged me $75 to redeposit miles.

BeachBoi

stw...Airline tickets are Non-Transferrable.Only the airline can tell you if certain circumstance might make it possible for a refund/transfer.But generally speaking, the answer is no.

GoTravel

Ignore my answer. For some reason I thought your son was flying on FF miles.

If you bought a full fare ticket, you may have some recourse. Depending on the class of ticket, you may be SOL.

What did the airline say?

I think the safest way to go would be to book a full fare ticket but it will be expensive.

TheWeasel

Not familiar with policies of either airline, so your best bet is to call them. Other airlines do allow name changes, so it may be possible to transfer the ticket to yourself. If not, can he cancel and go another time?(he'd have to pay appropriate fees of course)

mclaurie

I THINK the cheapest fares are always non-refundable. The only way to be certain of a refund is to buy an non restricted ticket. Here's the page on the issue from Virgin.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/us...ketrefunds.jsp

I would phone both airlines and ask the question and find out the un restricted price. It might affect which airline you use if one is more lenient than the other. Ofcourse, your other option is to buy the tickets for everyone but your son and wait til he knows one way or the other.

seetheworld

(Taking a deep, deep breath)...non-transferrable...just what I thought...

Travel sure does get complicated when the kids grow up!

Mclaurie, thanks for the link -- they sure leave the language very "open" don't they?

GoT, we WERE going to use our FF miles until we found out Continental has doubled the international ticket requirements during the month of July and August. So we're holding on to them.

I am also seeing wide open planes for our travel dates -- I think I'm going to wait a bit more. But I digress.

I will make my husband call and find out how much more we will have to shell out to get a ticket that will work. At the very least, book a ticket that he could use another time...although I'm having a hard time with that idea.

I'll let you know what we find out.

Thanks everyone for your help.

tpatricco

I had to cancel a trip on Contiental recently. The ticket is non-refundable but I am able to keep the cash value as a credit toward re-booking for future tickets. I'm sure they will charge me some fee to re-book as well, but the value of the ticket is not lost entirely.

BeachBoi

stw.....Most "cheap"tickets are as you know non refundable.They are also reusable if usually if cancelled prior to ticketed departure time.And most will have a change fee, $150 to $200 .So if you buy the cheapest ticket and he cant use it, all is not totally lost.Best of luck.

Gardyloo

You might also look into trip cancellation insurance. I use http://www.insuremytrip.com as a means of comparing plans and benefits v. cost. We've had to use trip cancellation insurance twice (both times due to ill relatives) and it more than paid its way. Be careful that voluntary flight cancellation (i.e. your son's) is covered.

TheWeasel

"And most will have a change fee, $150 to $200 ."

Beachboi, where are you getting this from? Most airlines I've dealt with have change fees in the $50 neighborhood (including some that allow name changes, which essentially means the ticket it transferrable). And these are cheap tickets, not first class or unrestricted fares. I'm just curious what airlines have these huge fees because I've not seen them.

marilynl

American and Northwest seem to charge $100, and the name and destinations have to be the same. Weasel, tell me what airline lets you transfer a ticket to another passenger for only $50 unless it is one of the way more expensive, refundable tickets? I need to start using them!

TheWeasel

Marilyn - NWA's website says that if multiple changes are done at the same time, only one change fee ($50) is applied. It's unclear whether they allow name changes because it's not specifically listed.

I've had friends change names on SunCountry and it's a $50 fee. It's an additional $50 for other changes, but I didn't dig deeper to see if their policy is similar to NW ie; if you change multiple things at the same time, it's one flat fee. AirTran also offers changes for $50, and again, I'm not sure if they offer multiple changes/same time for one fee.

I was just curious about beachboi's advice because 1) $150-200 seems really high for a simple change fee and 2) it was stated earlier that airline tickets are non-transferrable, which may be true some times, but certainly not all the time as it was presented.

gail

We have tried to use or change ticket issued in my husband's name for other family members - Delta, USAir have refused, no way at any cost. That was just our experience, hope yours is different.

After you check with airline, if it is not changeable, I like the idea of just booking without him and buying him a ticket later. Price for his ticket may go up (or down) some and if by chance your flight is full, if he is old enough for an internship he is old enough to fly alone and meet up with you there.

seetheworld

The last time we extended a stay on a trip, Delta's change fee was $50/ticket. That was two years ago.

Gail, I would agree with you but LHR is not our final destination. It just makes the trip that more complicated, timing wise.

seetheworld

This is the information from British Airways.

No tickets are transferrable.

The "cheap" ticket ($847) - no changes possible.

The next class ($907) - $100 fee to change travel dates, within 1 year. BUT, this ticket is refundable - $200 fee and balance returned to credit card.

rkkwan

I see that it's possible to get CO award tickets from EWR to LGW on CO alone, not even counting partners.

Many dates for outbound in July, even though he may need to fly to Cleveland to connect. Coming back, lots of dates from mid-to-late August on.

Remember, CO allows standard award one-way and Easypass the other. 75,000 miles for a summer roundtrip to Europe may not be a bad idea, if you can't get any way to spend just 50K.

There's no "doubling of miles requirement" on CO during summer. It's just whether your plan is flexible enough to find trips on the dates you can fly.

Gretchen

I think the fees to change are higher on transatlantic flights than on domestic.

earlxx

It is $300 to cancel international cheap tickets. You won't get your money refunded. You have it for another flight to anywhere on Continental. It has to be done within one year from a date of purchase not a date of cancellation. Once you decide you want to fly somewhere and you see inexpensive tickets to this destination you have to call Continental. You cannot make your reservation on line, and somehow those inexpensive air fares are much more than what you got on line. Yes, $300 to cancel international flights on Continental

earlxx

I should say it is $300 to cancel international cheap tickets on Continental