Why is it that most airline tickets are nonrefundable?

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southrntrnzplnt

Depending on the avenue you choose to book the ticket, you do have options. Should you book with the airline, they do work with you in emergency situations. Althought a discount fare is non-refundable you do have a year from the date of purchase to use it. Should there be a medical emergency or death in the family, you can rebook with out penalty as long as the reason is verifiable. Southwest does follow the same policy as every other airline. The discount tickets are changable, but non-refundable. With the bottom tier fares, you can change it and pay the change fee of $50-$100 and plus or minus the difference in the fare.

If you use a website like Priceline, Cheap Tickets, Hotwire etc.....the airlines can not and will not make changes to those tickets. You are at their mercy and no matter what, usually its no changes at all for any reason.

When purhcasing a ticket you enter into a contract. The lowest fares are the most restricted. That is the exchange for buying the "cheap seats"

zimdoomdoomdoom

Because corporations are greedy and selfish, they do not care about you.

Jump

There was a time when people were taking advantage of airlines and abusing the reservation system. This was when you could make reservations without purchasing a ticket. People would make reservations on multiple airlines. They would take the one flight which was convenient for them and the other airlines would have empty seats. Then when a purchased ticket were required, people would do the same thing but just return the unused tickets. Because of these people abusing the system we ended-up with what we have now.

aflumpire

its so that evryone does not get the same service. People with better tickets get better sevice and more flexibility on re scheduling and caniclling. Its very unfair! If an emergency comes up, you just dont arrive to the airport and forfeit a 100-$200 fare.

Life Sucks!

They will make sure you get where your going on another flight.. I get bumped once in awhile for weather usually. ..

_me_

That's why I like Southwest. You can change your ticket any time for no extra charge. If you have to cancel your trip altogether you get credit to use any time in the future.

Sweetea

You know, I always wondered that myself. Maybe they just don't have the time to give refunds. They certainly don't have time to search terrorist when they set the alarm off getting on the plane on the morning of 911.........................

The airlines went this route to keep the mainstream ticket as cheap as possible. With cheap tickets come restrictions, so as a rule don't buy the ticket until the last possible moment, to avoid those emergancies that come up. Or just pay more for the refundable ticket.

duoak

That is because you are buying cheap, nasty, economy seats. If you buy a full fare economy or business class ticket you don't have this problem at all.

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