Clearing the Air About Cost of Changing Flights : Transportation: The charge on most non-refundable domestic fares is $25. But one airline has upped the cost.

Many travelers have become increasingly confused over the past six months, as airlines maneuvered up and down on how much to charge passengers who cancel or change non-refundable tickets.

It started last April when the major U.S. airlines, as part of a move to “simplify” their price structure, decided to charge passengers an “administrative fee” of $25 to cancel or change non-refundable tickets. (Before, most travelers who needed to change a non-refundable ticket simply forfeited the cost of the ticket.) Under the new system, travelers can apply the cost of their unused ticket toward a new ticket, which can be to the same place or an entirely new destination, minus the $25 charge. However, no cash refunds are permitted.

On Sept. 1, a proposed move by some of the airlines to raise the $25 fee to $50 for canceling or changing non-refundable fares was dropped when the hike failed to generate support among other carriers.

On Sept. 22, consumer complaints over the $25 charge led Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) to introduce a bill that would set a maximum re-ticketing fee of $5 or 10% of the fare, whichever is less. The bill, if passed, would apply to fees imposed by airlines for changing a departure or arrival time or the date on previously purchased tickets.

Then, on Sept. 28, Northwest Airlines announced that it had unilaterally raised its fee from $25 to $50. In effect, the move may penalize leisure travelers, who are more likely to be traveling on non-refundable, lower-priced tickets than are business travelers, who usually travel on full-fare, refundable tickets. Northwest eliminated the $25 fee altogether on these unrestricted business fares.

The $25 fee still applies to Northwest tickets issued before Sept. 25, except for first-class tickets.

While other airlines, in the wake of Northwest’s move, are again studying the issue, it seems unlikely that they will match the fee increase.

“This (Northwest’s move) represents an increase for leisure travelers that we have no plans to match at this time,” said Clay McConnell, a Delta spokesman.

Said a spokeswoman for American: “We think $25 is an appropriate amount.”

Nevertheless, when booking flights, travelers should ask travel agents and airlines about their policy on re-ticketing to make sure no surprises occur should they need to cancel or change flight plans.

While most airlines agree that the $25 fee doesn’t fully cover their administrative costs for changes in non-refundable tickets, there has been reluctance to impose higher fees on travelers for good reason. Opponents of higher fees contend that the increase could actually work out to less revenue for the airlines by reducing the number of leisure travelers. Some travelers, it is argued, might forgo buying tickets if they believe that they might need to alter their flight plans. For example, under Northwest’s new policy, a family of four that had non-refundable tickets changed would face a $200 charge.

Meanwhile, travelers have some misconceptions about how and when these re-ticketing charges are imposed.

It is not necessary to provide the airlines with any advance notice of changes. To change their travel dates or destinations, travelers just need to follow the conditions of their original ticket. For example, if you bought a 14-day advance-purchase, non-refundable fare, you would have to apply the credit provided on this ticket to a similar 14-day advance-purchase, non-refundable fare, either to the same or a new destination. Travelers have to use their new ticket within a year from the date of their original ticket.

Travelers should note, however, that there is a distinction on how the fee is applied, depending on whether or not the changed ticket came with restrictions attached. The $25 fee is applied to any change on restricted fares, whereas on unrestricted fares--those usually affecting business travelers--it is only applied when the value of the ticket changes, not if the change just involves a different departure or arrival time.

“With a non-refundable ticket, the $25 charge goes into effect even if the value of the ticket isn’t changed,” said Clay McConnell, a Delta spokesman. “But this isn’t true with unrestricted fares. If you just change the date of your flight, but the cost of the ticket is the same, there’s no charge.”

Travelers have up to a year from the date of purchase to buy a new non-refundable fare. This means that consumers can apply the cost of their initial non-refundable fare to a new fare even after the original departure date.

“Some travelers thought they could only apply the value of their non-refundable ticket to a new ticket up to the date of their originally scheduled departure, but they have an entire year,” McConnell said.

In addition, airlines no longer accept a doctor’s note from passengers to get a full refund of a non-refundable fare. The only way a full refund is issued under the new system is when the passenger dies, according to carrier spokespersons.

“Some passengers still try to bring in a doctor’s note, but we explain that there is this $25 charge and there hasn’t been any problem,” said Agnes Huff, a spokeswoman for USAir.

Non-refundable fares on international flights are handled differently. Depending on the rules of the individual fare, passengers may be able to get cash refunds with presentation of a doctor’s note attesting to a medical emergency affecting the passenger or an immediate member of the passenger’s family.

Some non-refundable fares allow passengers who cancel to apply the cost of that fare to a higher fare, which may be an unrestricted fare. In addition, a flight to a different destination than the original may be booked.

Some industry observers have questioned why domestic passengers can’t also upgrade non-refundable tickets to higher unrestricted fares without penalty.

“The same rules allowing upgrades on some international flights to unrestricted fares should apply to domestic flights as well, especially since passengers can still be required to pay the cost of their original non-refundable ticket,” argued Ada Brown, head of the Southern California chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents. “It doesn’t make sense to not accept higher fares.”

From the airline’s marketing perspective, McConnell of Delta explained: “Allowing passengers to use non-refundable tickets with the same flexibility as the more expensive refundable type of ticket would encourage no-shows for flights. Once a flight goes out with empty seats, those perishable products are lost forever.

“We don’t actually lose money by not allowing upgrades of this sort, since the long-term result would be decreased overall revenue. It would also mean higher costs for the consumer since the cost of operating the flight would mean higher fares.”