Graham Wilson Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Help! I had given my mum visiting dates (to suit the school holidays) to come and visit us in Adelaide 15th march 2017 returning to UK end of April 2017. She paid a deposit on an Emirates Flight through Thomas Cook last Saturday but has booked the wrong dates (7th April 2017 - 19th May 2017) I rang up Thomas Cook today and they have said it will cost 350 pounds to change the dates, because it is a 'ticketed flight' Does anyone know what 'ticketed flight' means and why it is so expensive to change? This is just the cost to change the booking not because the flights are any cheaper/dearer. She has waited 5 years since my dad passed away to visit and has saved up money to fly business class (first one in our family!) as she was worried about making the journey on her own and was hoping to be looked after. I am trying to find out options to avoid 'mum stress', any help would be appreciated. Worst case is we stick with the booked dates - it will still be great to meet up. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Help! I had given my mum visiting dates (to suit the school holidays) to come and visit us in Adelaide 15th march 2017 returning to UK end of April 2017. She paid a deposit on an Emirates Flight through Thomas Cook last Saturday but has booked the wrong dates (7th April 2017 - 19th May 2017) I rang up Thomas Cook today and they have said it will cost 350 pounds to change the dates, because it is a 'ticketed flight' Does anyone know what 'ticketed flight' means and why it is so expensive to change? This is just the cost to change the booking not because the flights are any cheaper/dearer. She has waited 5 years since my dad passed away to visit and has saved up money to fly business class (first one in our family!) as she was worried about making the journey on her own and was hoping to be looked after. I am trying to find out options to avoid 'mum stress', any help would be appreciated. Worst case is we stick with the booked dates - it will still be great to meet up. Cheers Ticketed means the ticket has been issued, and to change it there is usually a fee It all depends on the conditions of the fare she booked, and the airline she booked with (in this case, Emirates). Some cost more than others to change, some cost nothing, some can't be changed at all but have to be cancelled with no refund. Without knowing the class f ticket booked, and all the associated conditions, no one can advise you (and even then they would need to be in the business to be sure of the conditions). Best option if Thomas Cook can't help is to phone Emirates direct, but I suspect that if Thomas Cook quoted a £350 change fee, Emirates will quote the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I found Emirates really helpful on the phone - my elderly father had been trying to deal with them from the UK and got totally confused, so I rang up and explained things and found they really did try and help. It wasn't anything about changing dates, but definitely worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pb65 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Well seems Thomas Cook are charging more to change than if Emirates direct where would be 300 pounds to change a business class seat booking. Unfortunate as once ticketed not much can do although on Emirates assuming is the saver fare although sounds expensive still seems good value for business class and Emirates worth the money plus little if no difference in fare for the dates on the Emirates site. Could be worse as BA are non changeable non refundable even business class, at least the lower cost bus class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 The OP says his mother has only paid a deposit. Do Travel Agents issue tickets before the full amount has been paid? Bonkers, if they do.. If the deposit paid is less than 350 pounds - abandoning the deposit and making a new reservation would work out cheaper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Who knows how travel agents payments work? I do know that if you book a ticket through a travel agent, the agent owns the ticket and the passenger cannot deal directly with the airline without the agent's consent. The agents put all sorts of mark ups on changes, just because they can. It is one of the hidden costs of believing the travel agent is getting you a cheap fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 The dates your mum has booked include the state school holidays in SA anyway. I know some of the private schools have different holiday dates though so if your kids are at private school the dates may not suit, but even so I thought they only differed by a week? The other thing to consider is the weather will be cooler for the booked dates which may, or may not, suit your mum better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 The OP says his mother has only paid a deposit. Do Travel Agents issue tickets before the full amount has been paid? Bonkers, if they do.. If the deposit paid is less than 350 pounds - abandoning the deposit and making a new reservation would work out cheaper? I think the travel agent books your ticket when you pay the deposit, the full payment becomes due once the travel agent has to pay the airline, works something like having an account (or credit card) payment due for paying at the end of the month sort of thing. Usually, on long haul flights, and in cattle class, when wanting to change the outward flight it is almost like cancelling and re-booking, with the return flight more flexible and usually just an admin fee $50-100, but no hard set rules. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Wilson Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thanks for all your comments which were very helpful. Being 'old school' she has paid 550 pounds deposit already so we'll stick with the dates she booked. I was aiming for earlier dates so we could get the SA school holidays (not private) at the end of her visit. This would have given us more days of warmer weather and better chance of doing outdoor things like days at beach. We're all looking forward to the warmer weather - son threw his first snowball today since we landed 4 years ago - it's cold in them there Adelaide Hills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Make sure she's registered for their Airmiles programme - we managed to transfer some of my folks' Emirates Airmiles to us last year which got us an upgrade on a trip back - so well worth it :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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