Changing or cancelling a trip

The three questions that decide almost everything

Before you look at prices or alternatives, find out three things about your booking: the fare type, who issued the ticket, and whether the change you want is permitted at all. Every other question follows from those. A flexible fare and a basic fare can sit in neighbouring seats on the same aircraft and have completely different options.

Who issued the ticket matters more than people expect. If you booked through an agent or an online travel site, that company usually controls the booking and the airline may not be able to help directly, even when it wants to. Starting in the right place saves an hour of being transferred.

Changing travel dates

A date change usually involves two separate amounts. The change fee comes from the fare rules and is increasingly waived on many fare types. The fare difference is the gap between what you paid and what the new flight costs today, and that part rarely goes away. This is why a change advertised as free can still produce a bill.

Being flexible by a day or two, or by time of day, often changes the difference substantially. It is worth pricing three or four candidate dates rather than only the one you had in mind.

Changing an itinerary or route

Route changes are more restricted than date changes on most fares. Where they are allowed, the fare difference is calculated against the new routing, and taxes may change too. If you only want to change one leg, ask what happens to the rest of the ticket first, since on some fares revalidating one leg affects the whole itinerary.

One important warning: skipping a flight you have booked can cause the remaining flights on the same ticket to be cancelled automatically. If you do not intend to fly a leg, speak to the airline rather than simply not showing up.

Cancelling

Cancelling is usually the least reversible action available, so it is worth knowing what it returns before you do it. Depending on the ticket, the outcome might be money back, a travel credit valid for a period, or only certain taxes and charges. Those are very different results.

If there is any chance you will make the trip later, compare a date change against cancelling and rebooking. On many tickets the change is cheaper, and it keeps the value of the ticket in one place.

Refunds and how they are processed

Refunds are handled by whoever took the payment, which is not always the airline. Eligibility depends on the fare conditions, the reason for the cancellation, and in some cases regional passenger rights rules that apply to the route. Timelines vary by provider and payment method, and we deliberately do not publish fixed figures, because any number we gave would be a guess.

Keep the booking reference, the cancellation confirmation and any refund request reference together. Following up is much faster when you can quote them.

When the airline cancels, not you

This is a different situation with different options. Airline cancellations normally come with rerouting options, and in some regions with additional passenger rights. Sort the travel out first, then deal with any claim separately once you are moving again.

Alternative flights

Whether an alternative is available depends on what the airline permits on your ticket. Partner airlines are sometimes allowed and sometimes not. Widen your search in a sensible order: adjacent times, then adjacent days, then nearby airports, then routings with one stop. Compare the whole journey door to door rather than just the flight time.