Experienced air passengers already know all the subtleties: where is it more profitable to buy a ticket and how, if necessary, to hand over or exchange it with less loss. An ordinary citizen who flies a maximum of two times a year, or even a couple of times in his life, this task can be confusing. Nevertheless, the situation is not hopeless, and almost always you can find a solution without much loss. This article will help with this, which describes the intricacies of how to change a plane ticket.
What affects the surcharge when replacing a ticket
The good news is that a ticket can still be exchanged in most cases. The only question is to choose a suitable flight and evaluate, minimize surcharges. And they depend on:
- airline tariff policy;
- how many days are left before departure;
- whether or not the route changes (not all airlines welcome this);
- Reasons for contacting for ticket replacement.
What are the ticket exchange options? Usually this is a replacement for the departure date and a transition to a higher class. And extremely rarely - on a different route. Interestingly, even tickets purchased on the Internet are subject to exchange. Particular attention should be paid when replacing tickets purchased by the whole family, since with the correct and reasonable choice of a new departure date, fines can be minimized. And in some situations, a family can change plane tickets for another date without fines, about this at the very end of the article.
Where to find out about surcharges?
The websites of airlines must have information on whether it is possible to change a plane ticket or how to return it. There are even well-established terms in English for all companies in the world, and many air carriers flaunt these obscure “words” on websites. Before buying tickets, passengers are urged to find out all these subtleties in order to be prepared for such a development of events.
When exactly will the exchange be refused?
There are several such cases; we list them all:
- a citizen wants to fly another airline;
- he wants to reissue a ticket for another person, for example, even for a family member (the exception is the Pobeda company, but there this service is expensive, 4000 rubles);
- the passenger wants to change the route, fly to another city (rarely, but make an exception);
- the ticket owner wishes to fly in a lower class.
If a passenger changes his surname or passport, how can I change a plane ticket?
In this case, he is obliged to personally appear at the airline so that he will be amended by the flight document. It is highly advisable to do this as early as possible in order to avoid misunderstandings when landing. In the vast majority of companies, you cannot return / exchange a ticket if registration for the flight has ended, with the exception of certain Premium tariff plans.
Ticket Exchange Algorithm
The general procedure for an air passenger is approximately the same. In the case when he purchased a ticket at the airport or at the city ticket office, he needs to come to this ticket office with documents and write a statement.
If a citizen bought a ticket via the Internet, then two options are possible:
- On the site itself there is a special form of appeal regarding ticket refund. Filling it, you must follow the instructions of the system and have money for e-wallets aggregated with the site to pay extra (usually plastic cards, Yandex.Money and Qiwi, sometimes other payment systems).
- There is no such form on the site - then the passenger should call the support numbers indicated on the site. Operators will inform you where and when to apply for a ticket exchange.
Are there any examples of ticket exchanges without penalties?
Yes there is. For example, at the Aeroflot company in the Premium tariff group, you can change the plane ticket, even if the plane has already left. This is a unique opportunity. Cheaper tariff groups do not give such an opportunity to a passenger.
What is the ticket exchange deadline?
According to the established rules, it is theoretically allowed to exchange a ticket or change the date of a ticket for an airplane at any time until the registration for the flight is completed. But they categorically do not advise doing this for the reason that force majeure may arise, or there will not be the right employee, or they will pick on something — and then problems will arise. The airline can be understood: they are interested in having all tickets for the current flight sold. You need to understand that it is not profitable for airlines to return or change tickets shortly before departure - no one wants to incur losses.
Non-refundable tickets - is it possible to exchange?
As you know, in recent years there have been many airlines - the so-called low-cost airlines - that is, offering flights at a very low price. Since they already work on the verge of profitability, they turned to the government with a request to allow them the so-called non-refundable tickets, that is, cheap tickets that cannot be returned to the ticket office. Is it possible to exchange them? Oddly enough, yes, but it will result in big losses. Let's compare the losses from fines during the exchange with the most famous airlines:
- Aeroflot, the Economy Budget tariff - 2000 rubles;
- Aeroflot, Economy-Promo tariff - 4,000 rubles;
- Aeroflot, any fare, but a flight to any airport in the eastern part of the country - 4000 rubles;
- Aeroflot, international flights - 7700 rubles;
- S7. Irrevocable: “Economy Basic” - 3000 rubles;
- S7. Irrevocable: “Business Basic” - 5000 rubles;
- “Ural Airlines”, “Economy-Econom” tariff - 1000 rubles;
- Utair, tariff "Standard Economy" - 1000 rubles.
It should be noted that for some tariff plans there is no way to change a non-refundable plane ticket, in addition, if a citizen requests an exchange in less than 24 hours from the departure date, the fine may increase (sometimes even twice). You cannot return or change your ticket if the check-in is already closed.
Charter flights
I would also like to note how to change a plane ticket for a charter flight.
For many passengers, the expression “charter flight” sounds like a kind of quirk, accessible only to the rich. And they do not see the difference between exchanging tickets for regular flights and charter flights. If you still decide to fork out for the charter and you have to change the ticket, be prepared that the procedure will change somewhat.
First, let's figure out what a charter is. In simple words, this is an airplane that someone orders you (in most cases a travel agency) at the right time and along a specific route.
It is the change of the ticket seller that is the main subtlety. The fact is that you conclude a contract for transportation not with the airline, but with a travel agency. She pre-buys all the places and the exchange is simply unprofitable to her. In order to avoid disputes, it must be stated in your agreement that tickets for a charter are considered irrevocable.
Is it possible to exchange without a penalty?
There are several of these cases. Two groups of cases: for reasons related to the airline, and for reasons related to the passenger.
Reasons related to the airline:
- carry flight time;
- canceled the scheduled flight;
- the carrier has changed the class of service.
Reasons associated with the passenger:
- Due to illness of a passenger or his relatives who fly with him on an airplane. This must be documented. We find the list of relatives in article 108 of the Air Code of Russia: these are children, parents, brothers and sisters (including half-and-half), grandparents, grandchildren, spouses.
- If a family member has died (see list above).
Also, as mentioned above, individual premium airline tariffs allow you to change a plane ticket at any time without surcharges. Both in the form of a special bonus and as an advertisement, airlines can supplement the opportunities and conditions under which a free exchange is possible.