Here’s a weird situation in which I find myself. Following our trip to WDW, I had my daughter booked on a flight back to NC where we thought she’d be for the summer. It was basic economy, which we’ve never booked before but it was all I could find & it was cheap. Then she changes her plans and is now coming home with us for the summer before grad school starts.
I figured we’d just eat the cost/points on the basic economy flight, but the weird thing is- she can’t cancel it. She just doesn’t show up. To me this is very odd. I haven’t ever had anyone in my family booked on two flights at the same time, and I’ve probably booked hundreds of flights for us over the years.
The flights are on different airlines, DH & I are checking her bags under our names as we can take them for free, and I’ve already warned her to be sure to check in to the CORRECT flight. Anything else we should worry about?
Not really - even if she accidentally checks in to the flight, this will not be as issue unless she actually checks a bag in at the airport.
Also, you might be able to get a refund on her (presumably) non-refundable flight if the schedule changes. Per airfarwatchdog.com:
“There is also the schedule change loophole. If the airline changes their flight schedule and your flight suddenly changes departure/arrival time, length of layover, or switches from a nonstop to a connecting flight, you may be able to get a refund. A flight change of only a few minutes will usually not warrant a refund, but be diligent in checking your itinerary to make sure there aren’t significant changes, because the airline may not notify you that a schedule change qualifies for a refund. If you notice a significant change, call the airline and request a refund, explaining that the schedule no longer works for you.”
We usually book our vacation flights 11 months in advance, and I do not recall a time where there was not a time change, and usually a significant one. It always pays to note the flight details when you book and watch for changes - this can give you an easy out, especially if you find a better deal.
That’s a good point. We’ve certainly gotten refunds that way in the past, and sometimes even wrangled extra miles out of the airlines on top of it, due to the inconvenience of it all. I guess I’d better keep track of that reservation after all, thanks.
was so happy