How can I change a ticket purchased online for another date? This question faces every traveler whose plans suddenly change. And a similar situation arises quite often. After all, everyone knows that the earlier you buy a ticket, the cheaper it will be. But we can’t always be sure in advance that we’ll be able to make the trip exactly on the day we planned.
Today there are quite a lot of airlines offering various flights to a variety of destinations. Each of them has its own rules and conditions in terms of purchasing tickets, returning them, exchanging them, making adjustments, correcting errors, etc. Therefore, it is advisable to find out all the information you are interested in on a specific flight on the official page of the selected carrier. We will describe only the general rules.
If, when purchasing a travel document, you were unable to foresee all the circumstances and your plans changed, there is no need to get upset or panic. To begin, open the electronic version of the ticket in your personal account on the website where you purchased it, or carefully read the rules for correcting information on the carrier’s official website. A special section will indicate whether it is possible to change the air ticket to another date and how much such a service costs.
For example, a document has the mark “Changes” and a number in dollars (USD) or euros (EUR). Thus, it becomes clear that any changes will cost the passenger a certain amount of money.
Many airlines allow information to be corrected, in part or in full, for a fee, and sometimes to correct errors without penalty. It is advisable to find out the conditions and restrictions in this regard according to the problem that has arisen.
So, if you need to change the date and time of your flight, choose another available option because you don’t get on the plane, then there is a high probability that this action will not be carried out or you will have to pay a certain amount of fine for it.
Please note that this is significantly affected by the selected tariff. Typically, the more expensive the cost of a travel document, the higher the chances that you will be able to exchange the ticket for another date or make some other important changes, even without additional payments. For passengers who use economy class or have purchased a seat on the plane at a significant discount, this service may not be available.
How to do it?
If the conditions say that such a procedure is not prohibited, then you can change the ticket in various ways:
- It is best to go to your personal account on the website where you made the reservation. You need to enter all the requested data in separate fields and select from the available flights the flight for which you want to make an exchange. If an additional fee is charged for such a service, then you should have a certain amount of money in your account.
- You can contact the hotline of the carrier that will operate the flight you have chosen, or the website support service and ask to make changes over the phone.
- Even when registering and purchasing a ticket online, you can change the date to a more suitable one at the airport ticket office. Then you will have to present documents confirming your identity, for example, an internal or international passport and an electronic version of the itinerary receipt.
Video: how to return or exchange an air ticket?
Important nuances
Please note some important points:
- You can exchange your ticket only if there are free seats on another date.
- This can only be done within one airline on the same route, otherwise such actions are already qualified as returning a ticket and purchasing a new one.
- Airline representatives can remove the fine for such changes only if plans are violated due to serious circumstances (death of a close relative, illness of the passenger) and there is documentary evidence of this.
- It is unacceptable to exchange a higher fare ticket for a cheaper one.
- If, in addition to the departure date, you decide to use a more expensive class, then you will have to pay the difference in price.
However, there are a number of cases where a return is considered involuntary, and after confirming the reasons for the return, we will refund your money. The return is considered forced in the following cases:
- cancellation or delay of the flight indicated on the ticket,
- changes by the airline to the transportation route,
- the flight is not scheduled,
- failure to send a passenger due to the impossibility of providing him with a seat on the flight and the date indicated on the ticket,
- failed transportation of a passenger caused by the passenger’s delay at the airport due to the length of his inspection, if during the inspection of baggage or the personal search of the passenger no substances and objects prohibited for transportation were found,
- incorrect ticket issuance by the carrier or its authorized agent,
- sudden illness of a passenger, or illness or death of a member of his family traveling with him on the aircraft, which is confirmed by medical documents. A refund may be considered forced if the illness was sudden and continued on the day of departure, provided that the carrier is notified of this before the end of the passenger check-in time for the flight indicated on the ticket. These circumstances must be confirmed by a certificate of incapacity for work or other genuine medical document issued by a medical institution with an appropriate license.
Ticket exchange
Voluntary changes to the air carriage agreement are not allowed, with the exception of the following changes:
Changing the passenger's first name (surname) no later than 4 (four) hours before the flight departure time according to the schedule indicated on the ticket, possibly through or through the airline's call center, and no less than 40 (forty) minutes before the flight departure time according to schedule - through the airport ticket office. For amendments to the passenger air carriage contract related to a change in the first (surname) name, an additional fee will be charged in the manner and amount provided for by the terms of the applicable fare.
The flight date, time and/or route can be changed for an additional fee no later than 48 (forty-eight) hours before the scheduled flight departure time through the airline's call center or on the website.
If the new fare exceeds the fare at which the ticket was originally purchased, the difference is paid by the passenger in full.
An additional service can be ordered by a passenger no later than 4 (four) hours before the scheduled flight departure time indicated on the ticket through or through the airline’s call center, and no less than 40 (forty) minutes before the scheduled flight departure time - through the airport ticket office. For amendments to the passenger air carriage contract related to the passenger ordering an additional service, an additional fee will be charged in the manner and amount provided for by the terms of the applicable fare.
The fee for changing the departure date and/or route is 5,000 rubles per 1 passenger per 1 segment.
The fee for changing a passenger's name in a booking is 5,000 rubles per passenger.
How to reschedule your departure date: what to do, where to go, do you need to pay a fine?
Circumstances vary. Someone close to you got sick, and you can no longer fly out that day, or there is some kind of force majeure at work. In the end, you simply can’t leave on that day - you’re not in the mood, your vacation has been postponed. It is impossible to foresee everything. What to do if you need to change the departure date on an already purchased ticket?
There really is such a possibility. But here it is worth considering - most preferential fares do not allow changing the departure date and route. If you use the services of a travel agency, before your trip you should ask in advance what to do in such a situation. Some tariffs allow date changes only by correspondence to a higher tariff. Non-preferential fares, as a rule, allow you to freely change both the time and date of departure, and the route.
What to do if you issued an electronic ticket, is it possible to get a full or partial refund?
When you book a ticket through the airline's website, you don't have to do anything yourself - customer service staff can change these dates online. Everything is very convenient. The fee for changing departure dates depends on the airline's fare. If the ticket is expensive, they will change the date for you free of charge if there are free seats at that time.
A date change fee may be charged to your bank card if the airline allows you to change the date directly in your online account. As a rule, if you buy last minute tickets, they cannot be returned. Moreover, neither free nor paid. Your ticket will simply be lost. Therefore, always try to think through force majeure in advance. Please discuss how you can change your date before booking your ticket. Calculate how profitable it will be for you to change the date on your ticket. It may be cheaper to buy a new one. This is especially true for economy class tickets.
If a refund is possible, a sticker with the new date is affixed to the ticket. If you are charged a date change fee, you must pay it and present the receipt to your travel agent or airline employee. As a rule, when flying business class there are no problems with refunds, and fines are minimal.
Departure dates can usually be changed no later than 36 hours in advance. Don't be late - if you are late, your ticket will not be exchanged and you will not be able to return it. If your flight is delayed due to the airline's fault, it may pay you for some phone calls and meals if there is a delay of several hours. And they give free water an hour after the flight is delayed. You are required to provide a sufficient level of comfort during this time.
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If your plans suddenly change, an air ticket purchased online can be returned or exchanged. But please note that the possibility of returning and/or exchanging an air ticket for another flight or another date is determined by the rules of application and restrictions of the fare you have chosen.
Methods for processing a refund and/or exchange of an air ticket
You can issue a refund and/or exchange of an air ticket in three ways:
1. Via emailIf plane tickets were purchased on our website, you can send a request for an exchange or refund of the ticket to the email address. The letter must be sent from the address you specified when booking your flight ticket. In your email, please tell us your order number or reservation code.
Please note that a refund or exchange of an air ticket is carried out only after repeated written confirmation of this operation. To do this, a corresponding letter will be sent to you at the email address specified when booking, from which you will need to respond.
2. Through the airline
In cases where communication with us is unavailable, as well as in the event that there are less than 24 hours left before departure on an air ticket that needs to be returned or changed, you can contact the relevant airline directly.
Please note that some airlines, according to their fare rules, have tickets that are non-refundable for any reason - carefully read the fare rules before booking your ticket.
Also keep in mind that, according to international aviation legislation, for airlines issuing tickets (not only for their own flights, but also for flights of partner airlines under Code-Share or Interline agreements), the Law of the country in which it is issued is applied. registered. For example, for Russian airlines this is the Air Code of the Russian Federation, for European airlines this is internal European aviation legislation. Therefore, before booking tickets on a foreign airline (even flying from the Russian Federation), make sure that this airline provides the opportunity to make a refund, for example, in case of a visa refusal or for medical reasons.
If the need for an involuntary return is not caused by the fault of the airline (flight cancellation, change in schedule, etc.), but by your personal circumstances, then to confirm a valid reason you will be asked to provide relevant documents, for example, a copy of a certificate of illness of a passenger or a relative of a person in need of care etc.
Ticket purchases are often spontaneous, and when the time comes, the passenger realizes that he cannot fly, so many people are tormented by the question, is it possible to reissue a ticket for another person? The answer will not be obvious, since such an opportunity is not always available. According to the rules, airlines indicate the client’s personal data, since this is how an agreement is concluded between the air carrier and the passenger, so it is not always possible to simply change the information.
Everyone should remember that return conditions depend on the company; not everyone allows you to return a purchase. It may also depend on a separate tariff, for example, at Pobeda you are allowed to pay extra, and then the tariff becomes refundable.
In special cases, you can submit your itinerary receipt and get money back even from a non-refundable fare:
- Provide a medical report that confirms the serious illness of the passenger or close relative.
- In the event of the death of a close relative, the certificate must be provided to the company.
- You can get a refund if the company itself delayed the flight for several hours, and because of this the passenger did not have time to connect, or his plans changed.
Note! If you present a certificate of illness, this must be done before the end of check-in for the flight, and the certificate must contain the official stamps of doctors.
How to reissue an air ticket for another person?
Often the problem of returning a ticket can be solved by reissuing it to another person. Changing passenger data on an airline ticket is available from many airlines, but you will need to pay extra for such a service. In fact, it will be similar to the process of renting and buying again. In order to exchange and transfer it to another person, you must:
- You can contact the airline; this can be done at the airport counter, in the office, or negotiate online.
- The passenger must have a passport and the ticket itself.
- Airline representatives cancel the purchase within a few minutes, but the money will be returned to the customer within a few days.
- Another passenger, after cancellation, can repurchase on the same airline.
Some companies simplify the procedure, so you only need to pay extra for each change. For example, with Pobeda Airlines, rebooking for another person costs from 4,000 rubles.* This option is reasonable; if the ticket was more expensive, then the refund amount can be divided in half with the second passenger. But the exchange can be made no later than 4 hours before departure at the call center or 40 minutes at the airport counter.
Boarding passes
Is it possible to change a flight ticket to another date?
Another frequently asked question is how to change a plane ticket if you are not satisfied with the departure date.
Not all airlines are ready to make any changes, since this is, in fact, a contract, and changing its terms and replacing information is not beneficial to the company.
This must be provided for at the time of purchase, for example, many write this in the tariff.
Note! Inscriptions like “changes are not permitted” means that the fare is non-refundable and any changes are prohibited, and an inscription like “Charg eeur 30.00” indicates the amount of the fine for any changes.
This means that an exchange of a ticket for another date is available only if:
- the airline fine has been paid;
- exchange is available if there are availability on the selected date;
- the fare and class of service must correspond to the previous ticket.
At the same time, flights purchased as part of a promotion can rarely be rebooked for another date or any changes can be made to them.
Also, the ability to make changes depends on the tariff. For example, Aeroflot has a “Premium” tariff, in which you can make any changes without additional payments, and this can be done even after the plane has taken off.
Note! You can even exchange or return a ticket that was purchased with bonuses from the airline, and in this case, the company must return the points to your account, but you should read about the conditions for each airline separately.
Ticket exchange process
How to exchange an air ticket purchased online?
There are several ways to return an air ticket to the company:
- Visit a ticket office or airline office. This method is considered the simplest; by visiting the company’s office, you can return the ticket and your money in the near future.
- Call the call center. You can find the airline’s phone number on the official website; employees will help solve the problem as soon as possible.
- Contact the airline by email. This must be done in advance, since not all airlines respond to letters 24 hours a day.
All this is suitable for returning a regular or electronic ticket, but how else can you return a ticket purchased online?
- On the airline's website. Most often, this can be done in your Personal Account on the website, where all the orders that were made by the buyer are located.
- On the intermediary's website. Often purchases are made through ticket search engines, and they redirect the client to an intermediary site. You can also return your ticket there; to do this, you should also go to your Personal Account, in the “Exchange/Return” column.
Note! An electronic ticket is the same document, so you can return it at the ticket office at the airport, without even having to print it out. It does not matter whether it was purchased on the official website or on the website of an intermediary.
How to change the departure date of an electronic ticket?
The procedure for changing the date on an electronic ticket is the same as with a simple one.
You can change the date:
- on the official site. Often you can find a form there, by filling out which you can change the date and time of the flight, and the answer will be sent by email.
- There is often no such form on the intermediary’s website, so you need to contact the airline directly.
- negotiate with employees by phone, mail, or directly contact the company’s cash desk.
But often online ticket exchange is not available on airline websites; Aeroflot has it, for example. Therefore, it is easier to visit the sales office and solve the problem there. To do this, the client will need:
- Passport;
- Itinerary receipt, which arrives by mail after purchase;
- Money to pay the fine.
Aeroflot official website
General recommendations if a passenger needs to change the date, time of departure, or change flight
Every passenger must remember that:
- You cannot just change the data on the ticket; there must be serious reasons for this.
- To reissue a ticket to another person, you must first sell it, and the second person must buy it.
- The closer the departure time, the larger the commission the company can charge.
- It must be returned or exchanged no later than the registration deadline.
- When a passenger wants to change a ticket less than 24 hours before departure, he can usually get 75% of the amount paid back. This includes fines, fees and commissions of payment systems.
- There is no point in changing data for an additional cost with a cheap air carrier; it is easier to return it to the ticket office and buy a new one. For example, a ticket from the economy company Pobeda costs 999 rubles, changing the date costs 2,000 rubles, issuing a ticket for another person costs 4,000 rubles.*
- The airline returns the money either to the bank card with which the purchase was made, or in cash after a certain period.
Many people are concerned about how much money the airline will return for rebooking or refund, here are some features:
- An air ticket purchased at full price, without promotional codes and discounts, can be returned without any problems at a refundable rate for serious reasons. If you do this in advance, AK will return almost the full cost without penalties.
- Purchased under a special offer is usually not returned; some airlines may rebook it onto another flight on a different date or at a different time.
- The “NON REF” mark means that the funds will be returned only when the day of the flight arrives.
You should always carefully read the tariff information, especially if it is non-refundable. Such a document can only be exchanged if:
- The flight was cancelled.
- The company is seriously delaying the flight.
- When, due to some circumstances, a passenger was not boarded on a flight that had previously been paid for.
- In case of illness.
- Upon the death of a relative.
A non-refundable fare can be saved by non-departure insurance, which almost all airlines offer when booking a ticket; with it, a tourist can get his money back.
In addition, there is such a thing as a partial refund. A passenger who overslept or missed his flight. The full cost cannot be returned, but the company can return part of the flight for a canceled flight, if this was provided for in the rules.
All requests for refund of non-refundable airline fares can take up to a month to be considered, and funds are received within a few days.
Flights
Changes to air documents are a very complex process that is not always available and depends on the decision of the airline. Not all carriers will agree to change the passenger’s details and reissue the ticket, so it is better for the tourist to read all the information about the tariffs of specific airlines in advance and adjust their plans so that the flight does not have to be canceled or the boarding pass be reissued for another person.
Changing a flight date is much easier than changing your name and passport details, so it’s better to think through and calculate everything in advance. In any case, if a situation arises where the ticket needs to be returned, you should first consult with employees and representatives of the company where the flight was purchased. It’s easier to do this by calling the hotline; sales offices are also listed on the websites.
*Prices are current as of July 2018.
