Return Ticket Enquiry

[starship]

Hi. I'm coming to bangkok in early may. I will be booking my ticket shortly but do not know my return date (if at all). I was planning to book a provisional return date but wanted to know is it easier/cheaper changing the date of a return flight in thailand should i need to do so?. In fact is there normally any cost in doing this?. I know in uk they charge you a high percentage of your ticket price but i seem to recall people saying before that it's not the same here. Also if i cancelled the return leg at a later date would i get a refund in thailand and also more of it compared to uk?. I considered a one way ticket but it's not far off the price of a return and if i need to come back it will cost me a lot more overall if i had to buy a return leg ticket back from bangkok.

Any info and advice appreciated.

Thanks.

[bifftastic]

It depends on which airline you fly with and the class of ticket you buy.

I don't think it matters what country your in, other than it would be easier if the airline has an office there.

So, for instance, if you flew with an Albanian airline to, say, Peru, it might be difficult to get in touch with them to change your flight date!

Have a look on the various airline websites and look for the different ticket classes and what fees are charged for changes.

Most major airlines will have offices in Bangkok that you should be able to contact. Give their office in your home country a call and get some advice from them before you buy a ticket.

Good luck,

Biff

[gopbi]

The costs are all predicated on the specific rules of your ticket and what change you are seeking to make. You can make or request the changes arguably from anywhere-- that part is immaterial. The only time a location would be germane would be IF you held a PAPER ticket, which would need to be physically presented to the airline or one of their authorized agents to be physically modified or re-issued.. However, since very, very few airlines today use or issue paper tickets, this would be a very, very rare exception.

The fee itself will be known to you in advance. If you think you'll need to do this, ASK the airline first about the two cost components:

1) What is (if any) the fixed ticket change fee? Commonly this is a round number like US$150 or such, and

2) What is (if any) the FARE adjustment? Some tickets only allow you to change from one flight to another SO LONG AS a seat in your fare class is available. For example, if you bought an economy ticket in fare class "T", you would only be allowed to switch to another flight if a seat in the "T" fare class was open.. If you still wanted to switch to that other flight (that does not have a T class seat open) the airline would re-price your ticket to this new (and more expensive) fare class and you'd be obligated to pay this difference.

[electrozebra]

My recent booking with Emirates is for up to a years stay. I have a date to fly back to the UK but can change that for £60. Ticket cost £510 for the return trip.

Minimum stay is 3 days max stay 365 days.

I can cancel the return leg and get a % of the cost but it is not much. There are medical reasons and the death of a close family member that can be taken into consideration too.

Easiest to ask the people you book with about their 'fare rules' and also check the terms and conditions on the site of the people you are booking with. Also inform them what you are after to see if they have something to suit your requirements.

[starship]

Great. Thanks for replies. I think i will go for a return and try and get a ticket like the last post - open for a year with a provisional return date. I flew with emirates first time a couple of years ago and was really impressed with their quality for the price, particularly in flight entertainment.I've been with most of the middle eastern airlines over the years and would rate etihad as a close second - i like their quick changeovers. However,i remember from previous cheap flights though, that quite a few of my tickets have had restrictions where you could only use them for two or three months for example.I'll have to see what's available.

Anyway, thanks again.