Non-refundable flights. How legal is it?

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

For frequent flyers, the fact that airlines have different fares will not be news. Modern e-tickets can be sold at different prices for the same destination, and their cost depends on many factors. Non-refundable tickets are usually the lowest fare tickets. Most passengers seek to purchase tickets at the lowest prices, and in this case, you need to pay attention to the rules for applying fares and the conditions for selling air tickets.

What makes up the ticket price

All airlines have their own pricing policy. The ticket price includes not only the airline's profit, but also various fees: airport, fuel, agent fees and many others.

The tariff itself may not be high, but additional fees and duties make the priceair travel is much higher. At different times, you can buy a ticket of the same company for the same direction for different amounts: for example, long before departure, the flight is relatively inexpensive, the day before it is more expensive. Thus, airlines encourage passengers to purchase tickets in advance. In addition to the division into classes - first class, business, economy, etc., there are gradations within the same class. For example, economy can also be divided into 3-4 tariffs, each of which has its own application rules. Non-refundable tickets are found on most airlines and are in demand by many passengers. Many buyers think that the price depends on the agency where the ticket is purchased. This is only partly true: the fact is that while the passenger is looking for a “cheaper” ticket office, time passes, tickets are bought up by other passengers, and as a result only the most expensive ones remain, and the client regrets that he did not purchase a ticket immediately for the first offered price. This is a fairly common situation, especially when there is not much time left before the plane's departure, sometimes not even hours, but minutes play a role. International ticket booking systems that sell tickets offer all available seats on a flight simultaneously at all ticket offices, and tickets are sold in real time.

Fare Rules

Each fare has application rules - they are available in all booking systems and are presented in English. These rules stipulate exactly how you can return a ticket or exchange it by changing the departure dates. All actionswith the purchased ticket are made only in accordance with the rules for applying a particular fare. They are established by the carrier airline itself and are strictly observed by all agents selling tickets for flights.

Non-refundable air tickets are most often the cheapest air tickets that cannot be returned if the passenger refuses to fly - this information is necessarily spelled out in the rules of application. When buying such tickets, passengers must be warned that tickets cannot be returned, at some points of sale and ticket offices they even take a signature from the passenger stating that he is familiar with the rules and agrees.

What are non-refundable flights

All airlines strive to maximize the number of their passengers. Air travel is not the cheapest type of travel, and in connection with this circumstance, airlines try to offer passengers inexpensive plane tickets. For this, non-refundable fares are being developed - tickets at the lowest cost. And so that the company does not suffer losses, these tickets become non-refundable.

If a passenger has bought the cheapest ticket, he cannot cancel the trip or lose the money spent on the ticket. A combined fare is often used - a combination of non-refundable and refundable fares in one ticket, so the non-refundable fare rules apply not to one segment, but to the entire flight.

Return of non-refundabletickets

Unfortunately, situations often arise when a passenger purchases tickets in advance, and then, some time before departure, his plans change, and he is forced to cancel the flight. Then the passenger is interested in the question of how to return non-refundable tickets, and is it possible to do this? If it was indicated in the rules for applying the fare when purchasing a particular ticket that the ticket is non-refundable, then most likely it will not be possible to return it. Some time ago, all Russian airlines canceled non-refundable fares, as this is contrary to consumer rights. There is the Air Code of the Russian Federation, which contains Article 108, and it states that a passenger has the right to return money for a ticket if he refuses to fly earlier than 24 hours before the plane's departure. And even if there is less than a day before departure, you can return at least 75% of the ticket price. In practice, in order to return a non-refundable ticket, you can go to court by filing a lawsuit against the airline, then after the trial, you may be able to return the money.

However, this does not apply to foreign airlines - they set their own rules, according to their state laws, and are not subject to Russian codes.

In what cases is a refund provided

Almost all airlines provide for a number of cases when it is possible to return non-refundable tickets. For example, if there is a medical certificate stating that the passenger's state of he alth does not allow him to fly, in the event of the death of the passenger or the death of his immediate family. Even if a passenger purchased non-refundable tickets, the law will still allow you to return the money spent on its purchase. Please be aware that these procedures will take some time, especially if the case goes to court.

It is also worth bearing in mind that if tickets were bought at an agency, it is easier to contact the airline's office directly, as agents also cannot go against the carrier's rules and return money to a passenger without the company's permission.