Flight Changes =/= Re-ticketing
The other day I called US Airways to modify an existing award for a client. I needed to make some flight changes while still keeping other flights. This should have been a fairly simple and straightforward process.
I talked to one agent and was told that I would have to cancel all of the already existing flights and then repurchase new tickets. I was not fond of that answer, so I spoke to another US Airways agent who again told me what I wanted to do would require re-ticketing for all flights. After talking to MULTIPLE agents, I still did not believe this was my only option. I asked to talk to a supervisor who then told me “ The need to re-ticket is not quite true. We can do this, and I need to address this with my agents.” After working for a short while with the supervisor, I was able to modify my client’s award without needing to re-ticket.
I learned some valuable lessons from this experience. First, flight changes do not require re-ticketing. It is actually quite simple to change one flight to the next without canceling any previous flights. Second, I learned that US Air agents lack an understanding of their own protocols. Next time, I will ask for a supervisor after the first agent is unsure!
Point Me to the Miles 