Good post, @notrichenough! I am getting kind of irritated when people are posting that you can just change passengers names on a confirmed ticket. I would like whomever thinks that to please copy and paste an airline policy that shows who will allow you to do that. Hey, maybe I can learn something.
I would like everyone who thinks that to consider notrichenough’s method as a great way to make money. Buy 10K worth of low fare tickets on the airline that you think will let you do this. Buy them on the Sunday after Thanksgiving on a popular route, or whatever is the busiest day of the year. Get them at a decent price or when the airline has a sale. Put bogus names and birthdates on them. Then two weeks prior to the flight, sell those tickets on Ebay to the highest bidder. Now call the airline and tell them you are going to put new names and birthdates on the tickets.
So what do you think? Are you going to make 5-10X your money on those tickets? Or did you lose your 10K?
The only way you might be change the name is if someone changed their name for marriage/divorce, or misspelled it. Maybe you could coerce a ticket agent to do some funny business, perhaps you could pretend that the ticket holder was dead, but it’s pretty unlikely on that account. They do hold the power to accomplish some unusual things, but I would never make the assumption that there’s even a chance they would risk getting disciplined for me.
The Delta website specifically says, “All tickets are non-transferable per the fare rules. Name changes are not permitted.”
I remember when people would offer tickets for sale in the classified section of the newspaper. Back in the 90s a friend bought one that way because it was cheaper. No checking of ID back then!
I agree with @notrichenough that airlines likely have that policy so consolidators don’t buy up tickets and re-sell them. But consumers are not consolidators and the airlines have discretion. The TSA confirmed in this Delta incident that there is no federal regulation that prohibits changing a ticket – provided the new passengers name can be run through a database for safety reasons. So an airline can review a situation and do as they see fit.
I’ve described how I accomplished getting a ticket in my child’s name when my H could not make a trip in my post #'s 132, 136 and 139. I called customer service, gave them my information and frequent flyer # and explained the situation – the very method described in #3 in this link:
As I stated upthread I have no idea how they effectuated the ticket change to my child’s name on their system --could have been a simple transfer of name or a re-issue – but we had a ticket booked in H’s name and were later issued a ticket in my child’s name. My recollection is that the last time I did this was only about 2 years ago.
I have had numerous snafu’s with tickets over the years and have had some positive outcomes by dealing with customer service – sometimes there are fees involved and probably a lot depends on the demand for the flight. I was a “no show” myself for a flight last summer because I mixed up my departure dates – I got some credit for the ticket I didn’t use toward a new ticket. My own experience is that are flexible when they can be or want to be.
HavestMoon, since you have no idea how they did the change for you (and they very probably cancelled your husband’s refundable ticket and issued a new ticket in your child’s name), how can you claim that they just changed the name? If you don’t know for sure, if you can’t track it and know for sure what they did, why even claim that you did it in a way against rules of the airlines?
If you can’t prove something, and don’t actually know how it was done, why claim to know otherwise? I don’t get it.
I didn’t claim to know otherwise @busdriver11- review my posts #132, 136 ad 139 for exactly what I claimed. If I have misstated something I am happy to correct it.
Well, you have said that they allowed you to put your child’s name on your husband’s ticket for a fee. And that sometimes you had to pay for a higher ticket price. You have been very certain that one can just take a name off of a ticket and put someone else’s name on it. I don’t think I can convince you otherwise, so it’s probably a futile argument. But if you don’t know for certain that this was done (and if there was a fee and a higher ticket price, it definitely wasn’t done), why stick to it?
If you want to work with airlines, to me the best place to do it is BEFORE getting on the plane, whenever possible. It really is much easier and better for all your fellow passengers and yourself. I find it VERY selfish of folks to expect to be accommodated after they are onboard and jamming up other folks who are trying to board the plane to get where they’re trying to go.
Okay, HarvestMoon, must have been another HarvestMoon that said:
So apparently all of the people who were arguing that it couldn’t be done completely misunderstood what you were saying in your posts. A ticket can only be re-booked in your own name. You can cancel your ticket (and maybe get a refund), but a new ticket has to be issued for a different passenger. It is not a rebooking to cancel one person’s ticket and book a ticket for another passenger. Perhaps the confusion is in terminology?
And just to put my money where my mouth is, I called the Delta Diamond Medallion line and asked the question. They do everything they can for you as a Diamond Medallion, and have waived fees that I should have paid, and have jumped through hoops to make it happen for me. If they can do you a favor, they will, because you are obviously crazy (or unfortunate) enough to have to fly your entire life away to get the status.
The agent said there is NO way they can change the names on a ticket, ever. He said they have absolutely no flexibility on that, and are, in fact, unable to do that on their computer system. He said the only time they would consider anything even close is in the case of death, and in that case they would probably need a death certificate and they would issue a refund, but not change the name on the ticket.
I agree with HImom, for sure, however…weren’t they in Hawaii? I don’t know if I’d be so anxious to leave. Give me a couple more days in this paradise. In fact, bump me involuntarily, you won’t have to drag me off of that plane! I’ll be sprinting…where’s my pina colada?
Thanks @busdriver11, but we’re happy to get rid of folks like that that make it worse for everyone. I’m glad they left and went back to wherever they came from. We don’t need folks who think they are “more special than everyone else” and can get things “because it should be” however they want it. Sure, I agree that flying could be more pleasant, but your loudly insisting on having it your way because YOU believe YOU are entitled doesn’t make it right. Trying to work things out in a civilized manner BEFORE boarding is much better for everyone involved, especially the many other passengers and staff who had to deal with all of this.
I am sitting on an unused United ticket. My daughter had to fly and I tried to change it to her name but no luck. United told me that only I could use it (after paying $300 change fee, of course).
I heart Alaska. No refund when I cancel, just My Wallet deposit, but My Wallet funds can be used to book a new ticket for anyone added to my account. Like virtual cash. Their upgrade certificates can also be used for anyone. I fear that this might go away soon…
I love Alaska too, fly them all the time, but use refundable tickets. I’m sad their partnership ended with Delta, because I have no status on Alaska. Just going to have to try to status match…
I am glad when I was young and had to fly when in college and law school, flights were easier to adjust and there aren’t huge change penalties. We have lost a lot of flights because they cost too much to change, unless you cancel due to medical reasons that you have documented with a letter from the physician and cancel BEFORE the flight. Then you pay the change fee but get refunded for it.
Alaska used to waive change and cancellation fees for their 40k plus fliers. So if a status flier cancels a $200 non-refundable ticket, she will get $200 in My Wallet funds. I like that. I have not had to cancel any travel this year yet to see if this is still the case.
