I understand last minute cancelations being an issue, but why is it so unheard of for an airline to refund you the price of a ticket when you cancel far in advance?
In: 1
Airlines deliberately make the decision that many of the lowest fare classes are non refundable, and changing tickets might incur a fee.
Customers who need the flexibility may consider paying extra for a refundable fare, or risk cancelling for a flight credit or no compensation at all.
Your ticket is an agreement between you and the airline. You (and the airline) agreed certain things when you bought the ticket.
Some tickets/agreements say that you may cancel and get your money back. Others say the airline is under no obligation to refund you if you cancel. The later are usually much less expensive.
If you choose a ticket that says you are not entitled to a refund and you cancel, why would the airline willingly give you your money back? When you cancel is irrelevant.
The economics of airlines are not conducive to returns. An airline needs to be as confident as it can about how many seats are selling on a particular route to determine if that route is profitable or not. Allowing people to make last minute cancellations and returns makes that WAY harder to forecast
Being able to refund or modify airline tickets is a service that you only get if you buy a more expensive ticket. The airlines are willing to charge you less for a ticket if you agree that they don’t have to refund it if you chancel or want to change it.
If they can get away with doing nonrefundable tickets, they’re going to do it.
They lose money by refunding your ticket. I mean, they get to keep your money and STILL sell your seat to someone else. They’re making twice the profit!
So if they’re not being FORCED to do refunds, they’re not going to do it on their own volition.
They’re not in business to be “nice” and “fair”.
Latest Answers