BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello, my name is Chris and I am a student very keen to have a gap year.

Just wondering how easy seasoned travellers have found it to change the dates and destinations of their flights at fairly short notice from within a foreign country.

Also, have people who have travelled RTW with different companies, for example using the TripPlanner on this website compared to the organiser used on the STA website found one trip organiser superior in terms of accessibilty in far flung corners of the world?

All replies will be gratefully received

Chris -

I think it depends on the airline and the way you book your trip. I booked my main flights through STA and had no problems but I never changed any of those. My friend who had to change a lot of flights had MAJOR hassles with STA.

I also booked some little flights as I went on my travels. Air Asia was the EASIEST airline to change flights with! I literally rucked up to the airport counter two hours before my flight and was like "Hi, I don't want to leave right now, can I stay til tomorrow?" Couple keystrokes later and I was on my way back to the guesthouse!

I would suggest asking each person you book with for details on flight changes including costs, how far ahead it has to be done, and WHAT you can change - some airlines allow you to change cities or the name on the ticket (so you could sell your ticket) and some only let you change dates. Some charge a crazy amount of money, and some charge nothing. Make sure you know the risks/costs before you cement yourself into anything. Also, no matter how you book make sure you have the phone numbers to contact the airline or booking ageny while you are abroad!

Bob, what she said.

Basically, every ticket has a contract tied to it,and the changing fees are dependent upon the ticket.

On the cheapest tickets, its often cheaper to get a new flight. Its often cheaper, on short notice, to get a cheap round trip ticket and throw away the other half.

I've done that at least once.

Sometimes you get a Charter Spare seat ticket, and thats just weird. There, the first leg is great, and the second leg you have to call up to GET a flight date. I got one of those in Istanbul, and on the way back to Istanbul, I was told I had to stay in holland for four more days. Needless to say, it would have been cheaper to get a ticket 20 dollars more that had a firm exit date.

I didn't do that again.

Just be aware that cheap tickets often have large 'change fee' back ends. I got an e-ticket to Venezuela and no one COULD change my ticket, because it was an e-ticket. I ended up throwing that one away.

I didn't complain. It was like 220 both ways, and 220 isnt a bad price to Caracas from Miami, though now I know to get ONE way tickets when I do it next time.

Thank you tortuga for the message. So just to conclude if i was to miss a flight it would be fairly easy to organise one the next day or soon after through the company you are travelling with? Any replies would be very useful!