Not using one seat- to check in or not?

[tziporaht]

My son is flying back from Israel on American Airlines. He was supposed to be coming with his kallah but now there is no wedding. I paid for two seats. She will never be using the ticket. How do I ensure that we get some minimal benefit in that the seat next to him remains empty. I did pay for two seats but the second is in her name. Do I try to check her in and just have her not show? Any ideas?

[Dan]

Sorry to hear that
You should be able to cancel her ticket and get flight credit.

[ushdadude]

I'm sorry to hear. IYH there will be a wedding soon, maybe not to each other though.

This situation reminds me of this. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/18/man-find-woman-same-name-ex-girlfriend-round-world-trip

[moko]

Sorry to hear that
You should be able to cancel her ticket and get flight credit.

how would that help?

Flight Credit
Created by
Unused or canceled tickets
Who can use it
Only the same passenger named on the Flight Credit can book and travel

Isn't that the passenger on the original ticket?

[tziporaht]

If I called the airline they would only give flight refund to his ex. She is lovely but we have no contact with her now and cannot offer her the ticket. I dont think they will give me a flight credit. I went through Chase Rewards and the airline is American.

[Dan]

how would that help?
Isn't that the passenger on the original ticket?

Might be able to convert it to a trip credit. Anyone try recently?
https://viewfromthewing.com/american-airlines-converted-flight-credits-into-trip-credits-what-you-need-to-know/
@gleff

[tziporaht]

thanks so much- I will try. Will reply to this post when I have an answer

[Dan]

thanks so much- I will try. Will reply to this post when I have an answer

Good luck!

[tziporaht]

Apparently a trip credit is what is left after you have used your flight credit. A flight credit is only for the passenger that it was booked under although the trip credit can be used for anyone. For instance, if I had gotten a flight credit, given it to the kallah and she used only part of the credit, the remainder of the credit could be used by someone else.
Unfortunately had to lose the ticket. It was a good try though so thank you.
On a separate note, I purchased tickets for the wedding for my in-laws through El Al via expedia. They were business tickets at almost $5000 apiece. My mother-in-law has dementia and will never fly again unfortunately. After hours of discussion Expedia refunded the ticket except for a $480 per ticket cancellation fee. We were very pleased with that!
My husband and I have tickets that we purchased from El Al for $3000 apiece. Unfortunately those have to be used within a year of booking and you cannot change class fares. They are business tickets and I doubt will be able to use them without adding significantly to them. Any suggestions appreciated.

[ExGingi]

Painful experience.

I wonder if any trip cancellation insurance would have provided any reimbursement in this set of circumstances.

[Dan]

Apparently a trip credit is what is left after you have used your flight credit. A flight credit is only for the passenger that it was booked under although the trip credit can be used for anyone. For instance, if I had gotten a flight credit, given it to the kallah and she used only part of the credit, the remainder of the credit could be used by someone else.
Unfortunately had to lose the ticket. It was a good try though so thank you.

Huh?
So book her the cheapest flight you can find and pocket the remainder as a trip credit!

[Dan]

My husband and I have tickets that we purchased from El Al for $3000 apiece. Unfortunately those have to be used within a year of booking and you cannot change class fares. They are business tickets and I doubt will be able to use them without adding significantly to them. Any suggestions appreciated.

You can refund these to a voucher that can be used by anyone.

[tziporaht]

Can you tell me how to do that?

[tziporaht]

That’s what I thought, book a cheap flight and use the remainder. They said that she would have to actually use the ticket to get the remainder. Not sure how they can prove that but I spoke to two supervisors, read them their own spreadsheet from the article you linked and although they were sympathetic they were unable to help.  They suggested I try chase rewards again because the tickets were through them. I did and had a similar result. Because it was basic economy they said there was nothing they could do.

[YitzyS]

I'm reading this thread and I wish I could offer some tangible advice but there's nothing I can say, not about tickets nor about this challenging situation. I have never experienced this scenario, and I can't think of anything I can say to mitigate your pain. But I do take some chizuk for myself, seeing you move on and think practically in the aftermath of something like this.

I hope the right person comes along soon and everyone will be able to look back at this as just an old story to tell over to the children.

[pbf]

My family recently had a similar situation, though the tickets were all in our name. We were able to get points refund of the full amount but only after we spent a VERY long time on the phone and gave the full sob story to the agent who eventually became sympathetic.

[tziporaht]

Thanks everyone for all suggestions. Everything happens for a reason. Can’t see the good in it right now but I am sure one day…..