Flight refunds?

[WCZ]

I have a flight booked to and returning from heathrow to the USA with united airlines next month but it looks like I can't go.

I didn't buy a cancelation policy and the tickets are non refundable, do you think I'll be able to get anything or credit back?

Has anyone else been in a similar situation before here?

[fatboy b]

You should get all your taxes back, but not the airfare.

[897sma]

Have you asked the airline?

[Nickyboy]

When i did the same with US Air i phoned up and cancelled and got the cost of the flight to use against a new one within 12 months of the original departure date.

[Matt Harper]

Might help if you have some Star Alliance status - depends on the ticket code. I'd call United, appeal to their better nature (though good luck with that one) and ask if they'll leave it as a credit for/toward another booking. Zero chance of a refund unless you have inter-galactic Star-All status.

[Amateurish]

You'll get taxes bank (possibly minus an admin fee). Nothing more.

[GoneAnon]

After getting stranded abroad by Ryanair during the "great snowfall of 2010", I rebooked to fly home via Birmingham.

The plane from Tenerife never got off the ground and I called FlyBe to see if I could alter the Birmingham-Edinburgh leg and they said no (not even the taxes or charges) so I've never flown with them again.
It's a small gesture by me but, given the way the rest of the industry responded earlier in the year during the "great volcano cloud of 2010", they deserve my contempt.

[bad company]

GoneAnon said:

After getting stranded abroad by Ryanair during the "great snowfall of 2010", I rebooked to fly home via Birmingham.

The plane from Tenerife never got off the ground and I called FlyBe to see if I could alter the Birmingham-Edinburgh leg and they said no (not even the taxes or charges) so I've never flown with them again.
It's a small gesture by me but, given the way the rest of the industry responded earlier in the year during the "great volcano cloud of 2010", they deserve my contempt.

Well done. Don't blame you at all.

[sneijder]

Cheaper tickets are cheap for a reason. You can't change them.

You'll be solely going on goodwill here. It's a shame the orphan you were going to visit with a view to adopt isn't out of hospital yet, etc etc .....

Beware the tax refund admin fee. Some airlines levy a charge that is unsurprisingly similar to the amount of tax to be refunded.

[Akiraprise]

GoneAnon said:

After getting stranded abroad by Ryanair during the "great snowfall of 2010", I rebooked to fly home via Birmingham.

The plane from Tenerife never got off the ground and I called FlyBe to see if I could alter the Birmingham-Edinburgh leg and they said no (not even the taxes or charges) so I've never flown with them again.
It's a small gesture by me but, given the way the rest of the industry responded earlier in the year during the "great volcano cloud of 2010", they deserve my contempt.

I found Flybe surprisingly good with this, I booked a load of flights and accidentally booked a return instead of a single flight. Phoned up Flybe and they happily credited my account even though it was 100% my fault...

[GoneAnon]

I know it wasn't FlyBe's fault that I couldn't get on their plane in Birmingham and, apparently, they did manage to fly to Edinburgh despite the snowfall that originally left me stuck, but as a very regular customer I would have hoped for a little leeway in swapping me to the next days flight or a credit for future use but they wouldn't move so I've taken my business elsewhere.

[WCZ]

update:

managed to get a full credit with UA that I have to use within the next 12 months! not ideal but a lot better than nothing!

will lose the money for the hotel booking for the Hilton T4, but i've stuck it on Ebay and hoping someone will bid!