I have mixed emotions when it comes to the change fees charged by airlines when making changes to non-refundable fare tickets. On one hand, if you bought a non-refundable fare, is it unreasonable for an airline to extract something from you for occupying a seat they could not sell that you will no longer use? I think not. But on the other hand, with the advent of the $200 dollar change fee, does it seem reasonable for an airline to extract a fee that exceeds the value of the fare you originally purchased? On that, I am torn.
The Scenario
About two weeks ago I booked a roundtrip flight with Delta, Atlanta-Raleigh/Durham-Atlanta for a fare of $177.80, departing June 7, returning June 8. Two days ago, I got tasked with a work issue that would require me to fly to DC. My travel arrangements were made for a roundtrip flight on Delta, departing June 6 and returning June 7….after I was supposed to depart for Raleigh. While having too many flights to take is a good problem to have for someone that likes to fly, there is just no way I can finish up everything in DC, fly back to Atlanta, and make my original 11:10am departure to Raleigh.
I could either call and change the flight and pay the applicable change fee, or hope for the best with Same Day Confirmed. Same Day Confirmed would be a no brainer were it not for one little change Delta made to its SDC policies recently.
I obviously did not pay much for my flight to Raleigh, and accordingly, it is booked in X class, one of Delta’s now lowest fare classes. The likelihood that X class will be available on a later flight to Raleigh on Friday afternoon, slim to none in my opinion, but we will see because here’s how my conversation with Delta about confirming a change in advance went.
I called Delta reservations and dealt with a very nice agent. I told her my predicament and said that I just wanted to see what changing to a later flight would cost. In all sincerity, I could not remember if I booked this before or after the $200 dollar change fee went into effect. I soon was reminded. The answer to my question: $200 dollar change fee plus a $220 dollar add collect for a grand total of $597.80 for my cheap flight to Raleigh. Long story short, I will either succeed with SDC to a later flight, or I will walk away from the original $177.80 fare and try again another time. It is what it is. I’m not upset about it in the slightest, well…other than I’d really like to have the 1,000 MQMs, but whatever. 😀
The Fix
I have found myself purchasing increasing numbers of one-way fares, and that is a trend that is going to continue. Frankly, I just wasn’t thinking when I bought this flight on a whim. If I had purchased two one-ways instead of a roundtrip, my options would have increased. I could simply walk from the earlier flight and buy a walk up fare later in the day (likely to be less than $440 dollars). I could also just fly to Raleigh from DC, and pick up my return onward to Atlanta on Saturday night. Heck, I could take Amtrak from DC to Raleigh too. Of course, two one-ways aren’t always the same as a roundtrip, but I have found that they are the same in most markets I fly.
In summary, I am not against change fees at all, but it is no fun when you get bit by one. This was a bigger bite that I had expected so if Same Day Confirmed doesn’t work for me when the opportunity comes, I’ll just have to walk away from my original fare and consider this a lesson learned. I recognize change fees are meant to encourage certain behaviors, and I don’t even argue with the necessity of them overall. I do wonder if they make sense for the lowest fares, and that raises the question of whether those fares should even be changeable at all? What do you think?
-MJ, May 28, 2013
In my experience one-ways are NEVER a good idea unless you’re moving somewhere permanently, or shipping your casket back. But then, everything is changing. It used to be that a normal Southwest ticket was $125 each way, the guaranteed version was $175 each way, and the web/el-cheapo ticket was $100. Now, the el-cheapo might still be $100, but their second and third tier tickets will be $350-500 EACH WAY on the routes I travel. I am regularly booking USAir and Delta, with good seat assignments, for about half the cost of scrambling in line on Southwest. That makes ZERO sense. And it’s not bag fees – I never check bags. For the past year or more, Southwest (the once low-cost carrier) has been by far the most expensive ride to anywhere. Maybe the one-way thing is the way to go.
How about buying the ‘travel insurance’ offered on the website? I haven’t checked, but it might protect against having to cancel – but probably only if someone died.
You could price out the fully refundable fare, but since that is really expensive, just do what you have been doing.
If the change fee is more than the underlying value of the ticket just throw the ticket away and start over. If you paid $200 to “save” the $177 value of the original ticket then that’s your mistake.
@Seth,
Exactly.
I hear ya Jon, but where I write for a day job we are required to write “$200 dollars.” I finally relented. 🙂 I will try to separate my day grammar from night grammar. 🙂
“$200 dollar”
You mean “$200” or “200 dollar”. As you have it written, it would sound like “200 dollar dollar” – using the dollar sign and the word “dollar” is redundant.
Sorry…for some reason this grammatical error bugs me. Good article though!
Another great aspect of Southwest Rapid Rewards is that award tickets have no change or cancellation fees at all. This means their value is higher than the simple market value per point calculation. I often find myself booking award tickets to secure a great price only to redeposit them back into my account at the last minute. I could do this with regular Southwest fares, but I can only take so much credit, especially since it can be used only for the originally named traveler.
There have to be disadvantages to purchasing the lower fare classes instead of the higher fare classes, otherwise they would not be able to sell the higher fare classes. Non-refundable is clearly what it says on the packet and allowing changes foc would undermine the higher fare classes, which do permit changes.
I would suggest that allowing changes at all is fairly generous. In most other countries the cheap fares are non-refundable and non-changeable. So it’s really a question of what’s the fee and what’s the tactic to employ. We cannot pretend we don’t know what the fee is, so you are right in pointing out that the tactic should be to buy singles (at least where the total is <$200).
But there are broader tactics. First off, if the change of plans is because of work, work should pay. Second, where changes are likely, book award tickets which are freely changeable (at least for elites), or book changeable tickets in the first place if the price isn't ridiculous. Third, regard it as a form of self-insurance. Recognise that you are getting a much lower ticket cost and put part of that saving into your self-insurance kitty so that, on the very rare occasion when plans change and you haven't followed the above, you have money to pay for the change – and you are still $$ in credit overall. That's what I do and, in 7 years of being a UA 1K, I've only once had to pay a change fee.
@NB,
I agree with your point about changeable cheap fares being generous. I tried to allude to that at the very end to generate discussion, but in reading again, I don’t think I made that clear. So I tweaked the testa bit.
These change fees are one of the main reasons more and more of my paid travel, even business travel, is going to Southwest. I know that I’ll always receive the full value of my ticket if i have to change (plus being BWI based it’s very easy).
FDW
One ways are a good idea, but they might equally bite you right back, when you have to pay the fee 2x to cancel, don’t get a jail out of jail free card with schedule changes, waivers, etc.
What if you need to change both of your one-ways? You will end up paying even more in fees.
@Vivek,
A possibility for sure.