Question about making flight changes

MoSiAc

So I am taking a flight on the 18th of July to the States. I had originally needed to make a stop in Seattle for two days, but that meeting has been cancelled and I need to bump that part of my trip out.

I was going to change it online but for some reason my ticket does not allow me to make these modifications.

If I ask in a polite manner and tone would there be any way that the people at the desk could find a way to get me to my final destination sooner through perhaps standby or something of that nature? Or do I just need to find stuff to do for two days in seattle alone?

Grizzled

What would the new connection be? If, for example, you were going San Francisco - Seattle - Chicago, then you could probably replace that with San Francisco - Chicago, although it will most likely cost you some extra money. Asking at the desk is too short notice, I would find the customer service number for your airline or ticket agent as soon as possible and call them about changing your itinerary.

And yes, polite manner and tone will help. It won't get you any special deals, but it will make the person on the other end of the line much more willing to poke around in the computer system and find something that will work for you.

MoSiAc

Yeah right now its Tokyo - Seattle - Nashville and I just want to remove the Seattle part. I wonder how much extra it would be.

I guess I will try giving them a call. Hopefully they have an international number I can call rather cheaply.

Thanks.

DrFrylock

Since the airlines have mismanaged themselves into the ground, changes like this are going to be possible but likely expensive. The general rule is that a friendly gate agent can make a change to a flight on a single day for free, but if you want to change the days or eliminate a leg of a flight, you'll pay the standard change fee. These used to be about $75 but they're now about $150. If you are a status passenger (e.g., you're in at least the first tier of the frequent-flier Elite/Gold/Awesome-o club of your particular airline) you may have some leverage.

MoSiAc

Actually 150 is less than I figured that isn't too big a deal. I wish I didn't have to deal with changing the flight but it seems 150 to get me where I need to go as to expenses racked up being somewhere with no contact would be more expensive.