[thrwal5]

My company purchased a ticket for a colleague to go to a conference, and this colleague later left the company. I was asked to go to the conference instead, so I called today to see what I could do about switching the ticket over. Since the ticket said "nontransferable," I didn't expect this to be easy, but I thought at least they could refund the amount to the credit card and then I could just buy another ticket. I expected to be out a hundred or so for the change fee.

The first person I talked to told me she couldn't do anything because the credit would be under my former coworker's name and would have to be used by him. She told me to email Customer Relations and see if they could credit the card. The interface for emailing Customer Relations says "Don't use this email if your flight is soon - call the number." Soooo I called the number again and at least got someone who was willing to help me. However, the only solution they had was for me to purchase a new ticket at the current price - $1224 versus the original $219, and "as a favor," they would wave the $150 transfer fee and allow me to use the $219 credit.

So, I am on the same flight, paid for on the same credit card, and I even have the same ticket number / record locator, but I had to pay $1000 for them to change the name on the ticket. I guess I should be happy they allowed me to keep the $200 credit, but seriously? $1000 for a flight we already bought for $219? After reading a lot of the posts on here, I'm seeing that my problem is fairly typical, but I still think it's ridiculous. Being a huge airline doesn't mean you shouldn't treat people fairly. It took 30 seconds for her to change the name. There's no justifiable reason to charge $1000 for that, just as there's no reason for so many of the other price-gouging policies. It may make them money, but it's not the right thing to do.

[Gromit801]

So, why isn't your company reimbursing you for the funds spent?