We just had some experiences changing flights on two Hawaii-centric airlines. This came as your editors are traveling around the state again for Beat of Hawaii. Sometimes, “the best-laid plans of mice and men go awry,” to quote Robert Burns. And so it is for us. We were both planning to be in Honolulu later this month. But life got in the way, and a change in plans became necessary.
It’s neither pleasant nor easy to change travel plans. And sometimes, it isn’t even about the money, but rather about how you are treated in the process.
No airline change fees? No problem? Not always.
For the most part, airlines aren’t assessing change fees, per see. But is that true, or is it hype? It all depends. Here are our experiences, and we look forward to hearing about yours with these and other airlines.
Case #1: Changing flights on Hawaiian Airlines.
The original Hawaiian interisland tickets for two cost $108 roundtrip. Jeff scored these during an interisland fare sale. Great price. He also figured he’d be able to change them if circumstances required it. That part did not quite work out as planned.
Hawaiian wanted a $700 difference in fare to change dates.
We purchased the original tickets online. Rebooking a ticket can be done online or via a call to the Hawaiian Airlines call center. Jeff opted to call.
The first call center attendant was unable to complete the change request. For whatever reason, although the call center answered almost immediately, after 30 minutes, they said they could not complete the change, and Jeff was transferred to another department’s agent. The first agent had said, however, that there would be a fare difference of nearly $700 for the two tickets. A second call ensued that continued for almost another hour.
The screenshot below shows the fare difference charge (online) when exchanging two purchased one-way tickets. The cost per person per flight was $137, or $548 roundtrip for two. This was slightly less per person than via the call center:
The screenshot below was the cost of buying one new ticket for the very same flight shown above:
Here’s what Jeff did next.
The second agent reiterated that the fare difference they were required to collect was just under $350 per person, roundtrip, or nearly $700 in total. But remember that Jeff has been in the travel business for decades and arrived at this call well prepared. He was not, however, prepared to pay a $700 change fee on a $108 ticket.
Before the call, he checked online and found the flights he needed were available for purchase at $192 roundtrip for two passengers or $96 per person. While that was more than the prior flights he’d purchased, that was expected since the original dates were mid-week, while the new ones were weekend dates. That was reasonable.
When the second agent restated the $700 fare change, Jeff explained what he found on their website and that he would instead opt to return the $108 credit to his account and buy new tickets.
How it ended up with Hawaiian Airlines leaves questions.
Jeff purchased the two new tickets for $190, while Hawaiian is depositing the original money back into his account. He isn’t sure he’ll ever get to use his $108 based on how they do flight changes. Even including the loss of $108, the total cost for the new tickets was $298. That’s a far cry from the $700 the airline first proposed.
Exactly what’s going on?
The issue is that the fares available online are not applicable to changes but to new tickets only. What happened raised the question of whether this was or was not in essence, a change fee. You decide.
This practice appears to contradict the advertised concept of no change fees. The Hawaiian Airlines website says, “Book now, change if you need to… There are no change fees for guests who purchase tickets or redeem HawaiianMiles…Please note that a fare difference may apply if the rescheduled flight exceeds the value of the original ticket price.”
Case #2: Changing flights on Alaska Airlines.
This was a funny coincidence. Jeff planned to go to Portland in June and purchased expensive last-minute tickets for $1,600 roundtrip in economy. Ouch. Worse yet, he found out two days later (after the 24-hour free period for cancellation expired) that he no longer needed to go. He called Alaska (but could have done the same thing online).
Jeff canceled the ticket, and the $1,600 was returned to his Alaska wallet. Since then, he was able to buy two sets of tickets for two to the west coast. These were purchased during an online sale. Jeff used the wallet money from the Portland trip to pay for it all.
However, one caveat with Alaska is that the new tickets must be issued within one year of the original ticket purchase date.
Case #3: How ticket changes work on Southwest Airlines.
Southwest also lets you put the entire value of the ticket back into your account for use at any time in the future on any Southwest Airlines flight. We like that.
Starting July 28, 2022, Southwest also eliminated expiration dates on all flight credits from canceled or changed tickets. The only requirement is to cancel your itinerary at least 10 minutes before departure.
Southwest said, “Flight credits don’t expire’ aligns with the boldness of a philosophy to give our Customers definitive simplicity and ease in travel, just like Bags fly free, just like No change fees, just like Points don’t expire — they’re a first-in-our-industry combination of differentiators that only Southwest offers.”
Buyer beware on Basic Economy tickets.
The tickets we changed at both Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines were regular economy tickets. Had Jeff opted instead for the $40 per flight savings on Alaska Air, he would have ended up with non-changeable,
Please share your experiences when changing flights!
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Ed C. says
The first rule of buying basic economy tickets is don’t buy basic economy tickets.
Warren M says
This comment would really rock if your last name started with N…..
Just sayin’
Ane T. says
Had a similar experience on Hawaiian. the best way it worked was to get a credit back and then buy new tickets later anewhen we were ready to travel. It all turned out ok.
Robb says
Booked a ticket from Portland to Kahului one way for a Saturday. Found out two days later I had to work that Saturday in Portland and could not make the flight. Call center told me $700 plus price change for Sunday travel. Online seats were still available for considerably less. Explained that and got not where. Possibly, because call center is not based in US anymore. Banked ticket for now and bought new. This same thing happened in 2018 but the call center was very helpful and got me squared away for less than $90.00. I have flown Hawaiian as a priority over others. That has started to change for me.
TL says
Thanks for sharin this valuable information. Though I like flying Hawaii@an, these continued customer service issues are quite concerning. I think I will stick with the major mainland carriers!
Evan says
I know some of your readers are not fans of Southwest Airlines but the way they price their fares, 2 free bags, truly no change fees, don’t charge you extra for a window or aisle seat, are able to reassign your credit to another person, if you purchase the Wanna Get Away + fare and their latest, with credits and vouchers not expiring, it’s a win-win for the consumer. True Transfarency!
Nick D. says
“Welcome” to the latest Hawaiian Airlines expression of its “Aloha”! First, nothing is Worse than Hawaiian customer service. It’s offshore as you immediately realize, the CS Agents have No authority, and the Hawaiian “system” is cumbersome, slow, you are put on hold constantly, etc. etc. Any requested change in my experience takes a minimum of One hour as you experienced! The CS Agents are not well trained, English is a second language (sorry, not their fault, but a challenge . . .).Soooo I have now shifted from Hawaiian to Southwest , or Alaska, even American to the mainland (American “better than Hawaiian”, I know). Oh, and remember the latest Marketing Strategy of Hawaiian they just announced, added charges now for ordinary seats!!!!
Sheri S. says
We fly Alaska Portland to Maui 2-3 times per year. I have been thrilled with the no change fee policy! I watch the sales and if the new fare is lower than I purchased my tickets for, I can call and the agent gives me the difference. Sometimes I do this twice for the same flight if I bought them really early.
TammyB says
Is this for regular main economy? And do you get the cash money back or does it convert to credit in your Alaska account? Thanks in advance.
LarryandDarlene D says
Hi guys, good to see you. Too hard to write on this format. We used to be your neighbors just down the street. Love the Beat. Hope all is well with you both. Larry and Darlene
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi LarryandDarlene.
So good to hear from you and thanks for those nice words. We both miss seeing you regularly and hope all is well.
Aloha.
Lanell says
In reply to Sheri S.
I didn’t know that! Thanks!
Gail M. says
Our afternoon Hawaiian flight to Hilo (through Maui) was cancelled. They reissued a flight with a 6 hour layover. The best we could arrange was a no extra cost through Honolulu departing at 7 a.m. This means we must depart at 3:30 a.m. This is not ideal, but in these times, we were happy with the outcome.
Rod W. says
Rob, Jeff,
The amounts were outrageous, but these seemed to be the difference between the fare at the time of purchase and the fare on the new date.
Other the cost of the different date, I think there no reason to complain. And, Jeff did the right thing – he bought 2 new tics and some money was credited back to your account.
To me, all it shows is Hawaiian Airlines has no more Aloha than any other airline. They are all in it for the Benjamins and that’s as it should be.
I know that last comment will get me a ton of downvotes. Just know we almost always fly Hawaiian to the islands.
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Rod.
Sorry if that wasn’t clear. No the actual online fair difference $85, as we indicated. The huge cost appears based on the fact that online fares are not offered either by the call center or when doing an online change.
Aloha.
Teresa S. says
We just changed our plans and had 2 round trip tickets to Oahu from LAX that I purchased thru Alaska. I had used Alaska miles and then their fee that goes along with the miles that amounted to about $250 for 2 round trip tickets. I called and spoke to a customer service rep, who immediately put the miles back into my account and refunded the $250 back to my credit card without any problem whatsoever… a credit was not even discussed!
Bob L. says
I absolutely LOVE Southwest! We have flow them 3 times to Hawaii in the past year. Has always been an awesome experience. I would not fly any other airlines to Hawaii.
Michael M. says
Aloha Rob & Jeff.
Interesting reading on flight changes. Hoping to travel to the Islands from Europe (London) in September and there have been Schedule changes from both Virgin out of London and then Hawaiian on the return from Maui to Lax. These two airlines are partners of sorts so you might think they would sync their schedules, but the changes almost made connections impossible. It’s tight, but just about makeable! Given travel arrangements, schedule changes can be very frustrating, and there seems little comeback. Nuisance, eh?
Hannah S. says
Very pleased with ease of changing flights with Delta’s new website feature that started in 2021. If the flight is available on their website, you can rebook multiple times prior to your departure date, and can even change departing and arriving cities. You pay the fare difference or receive a travel voucher if the new flight is cheaper. Phone support on the other hand takes longer and longer with Delta in 2022.
Colleen says
If we EVER get back to Hawaii – it will be on SWA.
Colleen says
There is something worse than Hawaiian Customer Service. It is Allegiant’s ‘No Customer Svc.’ We had booked/flown many times to FL to visit relatives. EZ airport to get to/from on both ends. I used points & a bit of cash for tickets. There was illness at the FL end & we had to cancel last minute. App did not work. Could not cancel/change online. There is NO number to call. No email address. I tried for hours, searching online for a way to contact them. Maybe to close to departure? I finally called the Credit Card company (Allegiant card) and disputed the charge due to my total inability to contact Allegiant. I got a few bucks back. Lost all my points. Later found an email addr but rec’d no ans. Put away the CC. Done with Allegiant.
Cheryl F. says
Southwest and Only Southwest is transparent and completely flexible. I fly them exclusively (when I can) for this reason.
Let’s face it -traveling is not glamorous! Mahalo and Thank you for all the great info🌸
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Cheryl.
Thanks for the nice words and your feedback on change fees, or the lack thereof.
Aloha.
Lanell says
Twice in the last several years we’ve had to cancel our tip to Hawaii. Once for a servers health issue (we are healthy people!), but not severe enough for hospitalization. Once because we found Hawaiian’s mask policy for disabled people to be untenable… found Alaska’s was way better. The change fees were so high!
Luckily, we have a friend who has a friend, who was able to get us a refund with a mouse click or two. Hates to ask our friend, but come on.
Changing is not hard for the airlines, especially months in advanc. It’s just a huge money maker.
We never buy trip insurance, maybe we should.
Thanks for the article, BOH!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Lanell.
Thanks. And good to hear from you and thanks for the input. As for the two of us, we have both only purchased trip insurance for international travel so far. And then it is needed in part because it provides international medical coverages. And by the way, the cost of trip insurance has just gone way up.
Aloha.
David A says
Very good information. I booked two one-way first class inter island tickets on Hawaiian in July, for flights in December. Yesterday I checked the price again and it was about $100 cheaper. I usually fly Southwest and can get the difference deposited into my travel funds, if the price goes down. I tried to change it online with Hawaiian (Not knowing their policies) and the price was about $240 more! Hidden change fees. Guess I can get a credit to my Hawaiian account and purchase the cheaper ones.
Leah R says
Yeah, unlike SWA, if a fare drops on HA, they don’t give you the difference. I did just get the Hawaiian Miles credit card with the 70,000 points so there are two free flights. I did just swap some SWA flights to the Big Island and saved $70 per person. I appreciate their non-expiration flight credits now. Comfort wise, Hawaiian (even to Australia). I just wished SWA had USB outlets on their 737 Max planes.