I came to Taiwan to study Mandarin with the intention of only staying 6 months. I’ve been here 4 months and have decided to stay a full year to study. I’ve also signed a one year teaching contract to support myself.
I have a flexible return ticket that will expire in one year. It’s form Kaohsiung to Toronto with China Air (KHH to LA) and American from (LA to TO). I paid $1500 CND and feel like i’m wasting a good return ticket since it will expire before my contract is up (by about 4 months).
I’ve spoken to my travel agent and she doesn’t seem to know too much about refunds or if there is an option of extending. She basically gave me the general ‘no’ without even asking for my flight info. I’m guessing that I have no option but to let it expire.
I was hoping that there might be someone out there that has flown with China Air and/or American and know of something I can do. It’s my last tempt to satisfy that little voice in my head that tells me not to waste.
Should be able to extend the ticket date for a fee. If your travel agent doesn’t know about this then you probably shouldn’t book with them again. Contact the airlines for more details.
Yes, better to go to the airline rather than the agent. Often the agent will have to refer back to the airline anyway.
However, I have never managed to extend the validity of a ticket beyond 12 months. Where the ticket has a shorter validity, it is sometimes possible to extend it by paying a fee - I’m guessing that the fee is based on the difference between ticket you originally bought and what it would have cost if you had bought a 12 month ticket in the first place.
Also enquire as to whether they can do a partial refund. if nothing else they might be willing to refund the taxes - though out of TPE these won’t be huge.
To my knowledge the unused part of a ticket is always refundable through your agent. An airline will have contact the agent because the agent has administration costs and other expenses that will be deducted from the ticket price … not known by the airline.
But things can change so better check … I suppose it’s an IATA thing or something …
I’ve decided that i’ll use my ticket and spend a week or so in Toronto to visit friends and family. Does anyone know the cheapest month to fly to Toronto (from TPE or KHH)?
I’ve decided that I’ll use my ticket and spend a week or so in Toronto to visit friends and family. Does anyone know the cheapest month to fly to Toronto (from TPE or KHH)?[/quote]
Yep… should have clarified. Just might be quicker to check with the airline in the first place as to the fare rules associated with the ticket which will determine whether it can be refunded. Then, armed with this info any refund would be issued via the original agent less a handling fee if applicable.