Can This Trip Be Saved: New Flight Time May Ruin the Honeymoon!
by John Hawks

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I called the airline, but the sales rep offered me only two other flight options, neither of which will work for my client's schedules. Plus, of course, we've paid a nonrefundable deposit to the resort in Tahiti, so we'll lose money if we change the hotel dates. What legal rights do my clients have at this point to salvage their honeymoon plans?

Answer: Buried in the "contract of carriage" for every major U.S. airline (and many international carriers) is the fine print that says the airline reserves the right to make schedule changes without notice. Schedule changes happen often to resort destinations like Tahiti, because many of them depend on seasonal airline service (not regular around-the-year schedules). Many airlines do try to alert agents and/or their clients directly when flight times change by 15 minutes or more, but it sounds as if that did not happen in this case.

Even so, the typical airline will not allow you to change your tickets without penalty unless the flight time changes drastically (say, by four hours or longer). You can sometimes argue for a waived penalty if, say, the change means your clients could miss their cruise ship departure -- but that's a decision left up to the particular airline rep with whom you're dealing.

And, even if the airline agrees to change your clients' tickets at no charge, the carrier will not accept any responsibility for ancillary expenses such as nonrefundable hotel deposits.

The bottom line? Find out why the airline didn't notify your host agency about the schedule change. (Perhaps the agency's phone number is outdated in the airline's files, or the airline's alert email went into the agency's spam filter for some reason.) And, check your clients' flight times now and then as the travel dates approach. Most importantly, always allow plenty of leeway around flight times (a four-hour advance window is a good start). Remember how many agents tell clients to fly to the cruise departure port a day ahead of time and stay in a nearby hotel, instead of flying on the day of departure? It's the same principle.)