The airlines’ rules and restrictions on their fares are in a muddle at the moment. Travelers may benefit in terms of cost, because the confusion derives from regional fare wars. And if refundable advance-purchase fares, now offered by a number of lines, at least in particular areas, continue to spread, the non-refundable fare itself may expire.
In the meantime, it is difficult to know what rules apply. Here is a rundown on the situation.
Southwest Airlines, a no-frills line and the smallest of the 10 major airlines, began the current cycle. In February, according to spokeswoman Melanie Jones, it made almost all of its advance-purchase fares refundable for any reason at no charge, at the same time eliminating the requirement for a Saturday-night stay.
The airline’s seven-day advance-purchase fare, an exception, requires a one-night stay, not necessarily a Saturday. Southwest’s one-day advance-purchase fare remains non-refundable.
Meanwhile, Southwest has been incorporating routes it got by buying Morris Air last December, meaning its refundable tickets spread to additional routes. It started in May and June, when Southwest began serving Seattle and Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Orange County, Calif. On June 15, it announced its schedules for Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City; and Tucson, Ariz., effective Oct. 4.
As an example, in Tucson, it will retain Morris’ schedule, with daily flights to San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Southwest’s switch to refundable advance-purchase fares caused United Airlines to offer tickets with matching rules in areas where they compete. In then moving into the Northwest, Southwest broadened its competition with Alaska Airlines, a premium-service line with routes touching Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Alaska Airlines, in turn, made all of its fares refundable beginning March 15, according to spokesman Greg Witter, but for a $35 fee, meaning the passenger can decide not to go at all and get a refund, minus $35. Alaska also has dropped its Saturday-night stay requirement for advance-purchase fares, although it, too, has some one-night stay restrictions.
If a ticket is being changed solely because the fare has dropped, Alaska will give the traveler a voucher for future travel for the full amount of the fare drop, rather than reticketing at the lower fare.
Thickening the brew, in April, most major airlines raised to $35 from $25 the fee for changing a domestic non-refundable ticket, either to get a cheaper fare announced after the ticket was bought, or to change flights.
The rules governing reticketing are so tedious that no public affairs officer who was called during research for this column was able to give all the answers immediately.
American Airlines’ rules depend upon whether the change is made at an airline counter or through a travel agent, according to spokeswoman Teresa Hanson.
If a ticket is being turned in to get an identical ticket at a new lower price, presuming all restrictions are met, and the change is made at the counter, the $35 will be subtracted and the remaining amount refunded in the same form that the ticket was paid for-either credited to a charge card, or by a check.
If the customer will accept the refund in the form of a voucher for future travel on American, no fee is charged. If the change is made through a travel agent, the voucher choice is not available, and the $35 must be deducted from any refund.
If the ticket is being turned in just to change the date of travel, the $35 fee applies and an agent can do it as well as the airline.
United Airlines also will not charge the $35 fee for a change to a lower fare if the customer will accept a voucher for the difference. If a credit on a charge card or a check is the choice, the $35 is subtracted. However, with a United ticket, both choices are available from a travel agent or at a counter.
Meanwhile, on routes where United is competing with Southwest and Alaska Airlines, the airline sells tickets to match Southwest’s rules, meaning most are refundable at no fee.
Joseph P. Hopkins, a spokesman for United, said that the lines were in competition in 435 domestic markets, meaning both lines are serving the two cities, even if by different routes.
America West competes with Southwest in a different way. According to spokesman Mike Mitchell, in many of the line’s 1,000 markets it has always offered refundable mid-priced coach tickets.
On the Phoenix-Los Angeles route, as an example, where the non-refundable 14-day advance-purchase ticket costs $39 one way, he said a refundable K-class coach ticket would cost $62 one way, and a refundable B-class coach ticket $82. Both of these are capacity controlled, meaning there are not very many of them on each flight.
The refundable full coach Y-class fare on this route would be $99. The fee for changing a non-refundable ticket, even to get a lower fare, is $35, and this is charged whatever the form of the refund. Changes can be made by travel agents or at the counter.
Continental Airlines is promoting its Peanuts fares, which spokeswoman Peggy Mahoney says now apply to 50 percent of the line’s departures. These low fares, first offered in October, buy travel that usually does not include meals, and with tight controls on carry-on luggage and boarding procedures.
Peanuts fares are refundable and changeable without fees, according to Mahoney. On non-Peanuts fares, a fee of $35 is charged for changing a ticket to a lower fare or a different date. The fee is charged on counter transactions and at travel agencies. But an agency may elect not to collect the fee, particularly if the change is made before the original ticket sale is included in the weekly report to the airline clearinghouse.
At Trans World Airlines, the fee for changing a non-refundable ticket is $35, and this fee is waived if the customer accepts a voucher for the difference. Both choices are available from agents or a TWA counter.
USAir has been charging $35 to change a non-refundable ticket for more than a year, and this fee applies in all markets, regardless of competition, according to spokeswoman Susan Young. If the ticket is being changed at the USAir counter for the same ticket at a lower fare, and the customer accepts a voucher for the difference, the $35 fee is waived. If the refund is applied to a charge card, even at the counter, the fee is deducted. If a travel agent makes the change, the fee is deducted.
Northwest Airlines has been charging $50 to change a non-refundable ticket since 1992, according to spokesman Jim Faulkner. If the ticket is being changed just to get a lower fare, and the customer accepts a voucher, from either an agent or the counter, the fee is waived.
When a Delta ticket is being changed just to get a lower fare for the same trip, the change must be made at a Delta counter. The refund will be given in the form of a voucher, and the fee, now $35, will be waived.
If the change does not involve a refund, the change may be made at the counter or by a travel agent and the $35 will be charged. Delta says it is not eliminating the non-refundable ticket in markets where it competes with Southwest.
