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International airlines ticket re-issue penalty fee
Earlier this month, I booked a roundtrip economy class ticket from SFO-TPE with China Airlines. My understanding is AFTER the 24 hour purchase window, a fee will apply to any changes made to your itinerary (domestic or international flights). I woke up this morning knowing I made the mistake by not going with premium economy earlier. I needed additional information. so I contacted China Airline’s North America ticketing office as well as their SFO ticketing office in hopes for them to accommodate my request by waiving the $100 ticket re-issue fee. Here’s where my frustration kicks in…
China Airline’s website current roundtrip premium economy from SFO-TPE is $1130 for my selected dates. I paid $715 for economy earlier this month – a $415 difference. When I contacted their office, they told me they can waive the $100 fee, but the fare difference is $536. That’s a $121 markup and that number does not reflect their website. They said the fees could be waived, but it appears to be hidden in that upgrade cost. On the other hand, if I went on their website to upgrade, it will be $415 + $100 penalty fee (un-waive-able).
Now I get it. You have to “pay to play”. But it bothers me that this $100 re-issue fee seems to be hopeless, unavoidable and un-waive-able if I wanted to upgrade a seat. I never had a problem with US airlines waiving fees if I were to upgrade. But Asian airlines… I guess it’s a hit or miss?
Any thoughts? Or is this one of those YMMV case?
The US law is that you can [B]cancel[/B] a ticket within 24 hours for a full refund with no penalties, not make changes.
I booked tickets on Emirates that I need to make changes to within 24 hours. Agent helped me cancel the ticket and then I rebooked what I needed online
Airline pricing is a convoluted mess. It’s probably something to do with different fare buckets and what not.
Can you ask about whether you can have the refunded after you do the upgrade yourself online?
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