i.e. nonrefundable fares.
This is more of a "shame on me" and a warning to folks -- but a feather in my hat (I think) for figuring out how not to screw myself even further.
A few months ago I purchased a "nonrefundable" i.e. cheap airline ticket through Aer Lingus to go to Dublin. Long story short, after an illness in the family, I couldn't make the trip. After a LONG runaround, the airline graciously gave me an extension to use the ticket within 1 year.
Oh, but I have to pay a change fee of $150 in either direction. Oh, and it's 1 year from booking, which is in 6 months. Oh, and you have to COMPLETE TRAVEL before that date 6 months from now. Oh, and you can only fly US to Dublin round trip.
So I'm thinking, OK, not so bad! It's not a complete loss. I just have to pay the $300 change fee plus whatever difference in fare. But wait...the original fare minus taxes was only $411. So that means I only really have $111 to work with? All things being equal, I am essentially paying $189 to be locked into a trip to Dublin that is now not even needed.
I read somewhere that no matter what happens you are entitled to a "tax refund" of your paid airline tickets when you cancel for legitimate reason. Meaning you get whatever taxes you paid refunded (assuming you don't just miss your flight). I asked the airline rep what this number would be.
The answer? $116.
Moral of the story: I saved $5!
Overall I lost a huge amount of money on this transaction (actual total fare was around $750) which was unavoidable due to the illness, but every little bit counts.
