Airline Ticket Refunds

By Bobby Ivie

Let's assume that you have been successful and found the best airline ticket prices possible.  You have prepared for your trip, and you plan on leaving on Thursday and you plan on returning the following Wednesday during the non-peak travel season for your vacation to Cancun.  You made the arrangements months ago and have been looking forward to going since you found those great prices on you trip tickets.

Suddenly, trouble at home means you will have to cancel the trip to take care of something you never would have imagined would come up!  Your airplane ticket shows to be "Non-Refundable", so while you are not going to make the flight, you are still going to pay food money for it.  Or are you?

Most carriers will give you a refund on a ticket, even though it was sold as non-refundable; that is, if you can show good cause.  Good cause would include: a death in the family, a medical emergency, jury duty, and other things like this.  You may need to provide some sort of proof to get your refund, and, of course, it is always up to the airline whether or not they are going to offer the refund for your particular circumstance.

In the case of an emergency at work situation, it is questionable if the airline will be willing to grant you a refund for the fare.  However, there are still options.  Enquire them to see if they will re-issue the ticket for a flight at a later date, or give you a travel voucher if you do not know when you will be able to actually get away from work and finally go on your big vacation.  Airlines are usually more open to this idea since it actually does not cost them anything.  You are still traveling with them, just at a later date, and they may be able to sell your vacant seat again as a standby fare.

If you are having no luck in the airline refundind your money or changing your ticket, go up the chain of command by asking to speak to the ticket agents supervisor. You might even try talking to your travel agent.  Many times because of the amount of business travel agents provide they have more luck than ordinary customers.  Keep after them to get what you want, it never hurts to ask more than once, or more than one person.

The most important thing to keep in mind when pursuing an airline ticket refund or change, especially for a "non-refundable" ticket, is that the airline is the same as any other business.  Regardless of how frustrating it may seem, they are still a customer service oriented business that depends on satisfying their customers.  Keep your cool, be professional and polite, with the people you are talking to even if they are telling you they cannot help.  Being a polite thorn in their customer service department side will serve you better than being rude and making them defensive toward you.

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Bobby Ivie is the owner of http://NothinButInfo.com, http://BestHotelRatings.com, http://BestRestaurantRatings.com, http://FishingHuntingCamping.com, http://Fishing-Articles.net and http://NetBizWorkshop.net. He makes his living online - http://NetMarketingMoney.com This article may be reprinted as long as the resource box stays intact.
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