How can I understand the cost of rescheduling a Lufthansa flight?
I booked a flight through Gotogate and tried to rebook it on the phone with Lufthansa. As far as I can tell, it is not possible to rebook the flight through either the Gotogate or the Lufthansa website. The flight is in the Economy Classic fare, which is supposed to have free rebooking.
So I tried it on the phone, but the problem is that the process so far has been:
- I suggest new dates for the flight, where I think the flight would be cheaper than what I booked originally.
- The person on the phone tells me that I would have to pay an extra 150 EUR per person to get the new flight. The person also points out that there is no fee for rebooking, this is just a difference in fare and taxes.
How can I look for a flight and understand the difference in fare and taxes in advance, so I avoid an endless loop on the phone?
Here is the itinerary and fare details of what I booked originally:
And the fare details:
Here is an example of a "cheaper" flight in the future I found:
To me it looks like both the "fare"/"ticket price" (I'm assuming these are the same) and the taxes are lower than in the original flight, so I'm not sure where the 150 EUR difference come from. I would be happy to choose another flight, but since I don't understand the system, I'm not sure what I have to look out for while choosing the flight.
Best Answer
I booked a flight through Gotogate and tried to rebook it on the phone with Lufthansa.
That certainly complicates things, since you have entered two different contracts. Gotogate is an "intermediary" and you need to carefully plow through the terms and conditions of either one to figure out who is responsible for what.
Regarding changes Gotogate says: https://www.gotogate.com/terms-conditions
Changes and cancellations requested by You
The conditions for changing flight bookings (including change of passenger name, destination, and date of travel) and for providing cancellation refunds are set by the relevant airline, which is your contractual partner for providing the flight. We, as the intermediary, have no influence over such conditions.
If you wish to make a change to your booking or request a cancellation refund, as an additional own service, we offer to handle the request on your behalf, provided that the conditions of the airline permit such a change or cancellation refund. During the process of booking such additional services, we will inform you of any further conditions for such services. For a list of our fees, click here
Lufthansa on the other hand says: https://www.lufthansa.com/is/en/flexible-booking
How do I rebook?
You can rebook online via My Bookings or contact us via our Service Center. Before contacting us, please make sure: to have your booking reference at hand to already have your new travel date in mind In case you booked via an (online) travel agency, please contact them directly to be rebooked.
So LH says: Gotogate must handle this.
Gotogate on the other hand says: LH determines the rules. We are happy to give them a call an your behalf, but you must pay us for it and there is absolutely no guarantee that anything useful will come of it.
That's unfortunately pretty normal when booking through third party OTA (online travel agencies). This is typically fine if all goes as planned by it all goes sideways when any type of customer service is required. You get what you paid for.
You best shot is to call LH a few times and try different agents. You should also VERY CAREFULLY read fare rules and the conditions of your original ticket. If you are lucky this spells out something specific about flight changes that you can use in the conversation.
Pictures about "How can I understand the cost of rescheduling a Lufthansa flight?"
How much does it cost to change a flight date with Lufthansa?
Same day flight change: It costs approx. $ 75- $ 150 to change the flight the same day. You must go to the official Lufthansa Airlines website and make the changes from the Manage Reservation section. If you're wondering if you can change Lufthansa flights for free, you'll get help in the next section.Does rescheduling flight cost money?
Change fees is NIL for any number of changes; fare difference will be charged. Change fees is NIL for any number of changes; fare difference will be charged. INR 3000 or Airfare charges plus Fare difference will be charged (Whichever is lower). Change fee will depend upon the time of change.Can I reschedule my flight for free?
Some airlines allow you to change your flight within 24 hours of booking for free. How should you change your flight if this is the case? The best way is to call customer service. That way, you can confirm your airline's policy and make sure you won't be charged any fees.How much does it cost to cancel a Lufthansa flight?
Lufthansa cancellation fee of $100 to $500 is applicable if ticket cancellation requests made after the 24 hours as a risk-free cancellation. If you cancel your Lufthansa flight within 24 hours from the scheduled departure of your flight, then a fee of $100 to $400 will be charged as a Lufthansa cancellation fee.10 things to know about Lufthansa airlines
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, Markus Winkler, Tom Dasko, Marsel Hasanllari