Airline Tickets – Flight Analyst: – Eliminate this fee

Three US airlines have quickly eliminated the fee that passengers previously had to pay to change their ticket:

When United Airlines announced Monday that it would eliminate the fee for rebooking flights on domestic US flights, it didn’t take many hours for competitors American Airlines and Delta Air Lines to do the same, writes Flysmart24.no.

At the bottom of the box, you get a smart saving tip that can make rebooking cheaper than fare.

Desperate customers: – Money does not arrive

– Do what the Americans do

Aviation analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs at WinAir encourages SAS and Norwegian to look to the United States and do the same, that is, eliminate the booking change fee once and for all:

– Provides flexibility and predictability for the customer, and it can help increase demand. In the first instance, I think this should be tested nationally and possibly on interscandinavian routes, Elnæs tells Flysmart24.

Re-enter the rate

When the corona virus swept through the worst and we saw massive flight cancellations and employee layoffs in the aviation industry, both SAS and Norwegian opened up to free ticket changes.

But, now they are about to change again:

– During the crown period, we have implemented several measures to guarantee travelers greater flexibility, including free re-booking and change of trip with a coupon. We are now in the process of going back to our normal ticketing rules, but will continue with the coupon for international flights, says press manager John Eckhoff at SAS to Flysmart24.

– You can also rebook for free with all types of SAS Plus tickets if you book the trip before September 30, 2020, it adds.

Norwegian has not yet responded to our questions about the case, but Dagens Næringsliv has been denied that they want to remove the fee for rebooking tickets.

Give travel companies two weeks to pay customers

That’s what it costs to change reservation

Dinside has checked how much it costs to rebook your airline tickets with SAS and Norwegian if you do it yourself (if you get help from customer service, there may be an additional service fee):

• At SAS, the booking change fee starts at NOK 600 for domestic travel, and if the ticket you want to rebook costs more than the one you originally had, you have to pay the surcharge in addition.
• Norwegian charges a booking change fee of NOK 650 plus any difference in ticket price for domestic flights.

Therefore, you must cancel, regardless of the type of ticket.

But you can do it cheaper!

Before you “crawl to the cross” and rebook your plane ticket with a fare of 600 kronor, check if this option can give you a more pleasant calculation:

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• This is because even if you don’t have a refundable airline ticket, you will be reimbursed for government-imposed fees and taxes if you cancel, and this can amount to more than half the price of the ticket.
• So, let’s take an example from real life. The undersigned previously purchased a plane ticket for NOK 797, but was unable to travel as planned anyway.
• If the undersigned chooses to rebook and pay the fare, in this case NOK 600, and the new trip costs the same, the trip will cost NOK 600 more than originally.
• However, if the undersigned cancels the trip, they will receive NOK 423 in taxes and fees refunded, even if the ticket is non-refundable.
• Therefore, ordering a new ticket at the same price will cost only 374 crowns if we include the refunded amount in the price. It is NOK 226 less than if the undersigned had taken the route through the reservation change fee.

Consumer friendly American grip

The Consumer Council believes that the US initiative is very good for consumers, but airlines are not required to eliminate the fee.

– When it comes to changing options on airline tickets, this is not something you are entitled to, unless it stems from the type of ticket. Therefore, airlines can operate with reservation change rates, as long as this is derived from the agreement with the client, lawyer Caroline Skarderud tells Dinside.

However, it emphasizes, as our example above shows, that if the fare is high, you should check how much you can save to get your taxes and fees reimbursed at the time of cancellation, and then request a new ticket.

You may even be lucky enough to find a ticket that costs less than the original another day, and then you will save own plus.

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