Woman charged $640 to change name on plane ticket

YOU’VE gone too far, airlines. Amy Gault was shocked to be charged double the price of her original ticket, just to make a simple change.

Amy was shocked at the fee she was charged by an airline. Picture: Facebook

AMY Gault was looking forward to spending some quality time with her husband and two children during an upcoming holiday to France.

However Ms Gault was left horrified when plans changed and she needed to alter one of the names on the plane ticket.

She had booked all of her family’s tickets from Birmingham, UK, to Bordeaux at once, including one of her 13-year-old daughter’s friends who had been invited along to keep her company. The tickets cost £160 ($318) each.

But when the youths had a falling out it was decided that the friend would no longer attend the trip. Expecting to be charged a small administration fee to change the name on the plane ticket, Ms Gault was instead left gobsmacked when Flybe said the change would cost a staggering $636. That’s double the cost of the original ticket.

Ms Gault expressed her outrage at the fee in a Facebook post to the airline, writing: “I have just been well and truly stung by flybe for a passenger name change to the staggering tune of an extra £320 — same seat, different bum and different name ... Total extortion.

“This amount (is) just plain unfair and definitely not family friendly. Feel free to message me and reimburse me ... perhaps I’ll then start to simmer down. Day light Robbery.”

The airline issued the following response to her Facebook post: “Hi Amy, I’m sorry that you did not receive a reply and that you’re not happy with the charge for a name change. The reason we charge the fare difference is because we are non-refundable and therefore cannot let someone have the same seat for the original cost.

“I appreciate your frustration regarding this but it is within the terms and conditions of the ticket and this is why we cannot reimburse any of the costs. — Jess.”

Unsatisfied with the reply, Ms Gault hit back.

“Jess the person who has swapped seats is a friend of (my) daughter ... and it is very clear from the booking that we are a family of four plus one child. That child is a 13-year-old who is clearly coming on a family holiday with us.

“I would suggest that flybe needs to adopt a discretionary attitude. Forget terms and conditions.

“You say you are a family friendly business — this is clearly not the case. I have sent a complaint form in but will be taking this further.”

It was a rather big hit.