A synopsis of policies which affect most non-refundable tickets:
- Changes to non-refundable tickets must be made before the original date of travel that was booked for expires (additional fees involved).
- Changes to non-refundable tickets must involve specifying exact dates and times for travel, and cannot be used as credit towards unspecified future travel (additional fees involved).
- If changes are not made to non-refundable tickets prior to the first date a flight is booked for, the entire value of the ticket is lost.
- Same day standby travel is permitted only after a passenger has paid a fee to do so (for most flights this will be between $25 and $100) for flights that passengers have been able to standby for without any additional fees in the past.
Some major U.S. airlines have decided to follow a route of stronger restrictions for their less expensive tickets. The cost of doing so may be losing passengers to low-cost airlines, and frustration both on the parts of front-line airline workers (who are required to enforce more restrictive policies), and passengers who are left with less options should they not be able to travel exactly as originally booked.
Airline policies are subject to change - with enough negative passenger feedback (taking business elsewhere, bombarding airlines with complaints, etc.) returning to more passenger-friendly policies is possible. For what one airline does, another is sure to follow. For now, it is important to know that the tactic of airlines replicating each others' policies has led to more restrictions for your non-refundable ticket.
| 