Is there any way to avoid paying a large fare difference when changing an Iberia flight due to COVID-19?
I am on vacation in Spain, and several months ago booked to fly home (MAD->MSP) with Iberia. Unfortunately, I contracted COVID-19 while on vacation and am currently in quarantine. I feel fully recovered, but I continue to test positive via antigen test, and I cannot legally fly home until I receive a negative test.
Iberia advertises a maximum flexibility policy for COVID-related travel disruptions. Specifically if "You yourself test positive for COVID-19... you can change your ticket to another date without any penalty." This policy was a big part of why I chose to book Iberia for this trip.
However, when I called customer service to advise them that I would need to change my flight, they told me that in fact, I would need to pay the difference in fares between my current ticket and my new ticket. They didn't tell me how much this would be, but I assume it will be well over $1,000- the current MSP-MAD flights offered on their website are all over $2,000, whereas I payed $600 for the round trip when I first booked.
I feel like I'm being swindled here- to me, "without any penalty" means the change should be free. The customer service representative explained that the fare difference doesn't count as a "penalty". I pushed back several times, asked for an exception, asked to speak to a supervisor, but to no avail. Ultimately the call was dropped unexpectedly, I called back, and the next representative advised me to wait to make the change until I test negative. So, I have some time to try to figure this out.
Is there a way I can make this flight change without paying an arm and a leg for the fare difference? Is there a way I can contest this somehow, as the airline violating its advertised policy? Or, am I just SOL?
There are much cheaper flight options with other airlines if I can't resolve this situation, but I'd really like to just change my ticket for free as I was led to understand I would be able to do.
Edit to clarify: I have gone through the whole process of emailing a signed declaration to the email provided on the policy page. They approved me for a change and told me to call customer service. At that point, I was told that while I was eligible to change, I had to pay the fare difference.
Best Answer
From Iberia's page (emphasis mine)
In the case of a change of dates, the modification will be free, providing it is made at the same tariff, regardless of the type of modification requested (time, date and/or destination). If it is made on a different, higher tariff, you will only need to pay the difference between the two tariffs. Any change should be requested before the departure of the flight, otherwise, the terms and conditions for the original tariff will apply.
to me, "without any penalty" means the change should be free.
No, that doesn't, and will likely never, mean that
Without any penalty
Means that you won't pay for a change fee. You will always have to pay for the fare difference
From Iberia's Conditions of Carriage on normal conditions
If you wish to change the date or the itinerary of any segment of your original purchased ticket, then such a change will be subject to application of a fixed penalty, if applicable according to the original fare conditions of your ticket; and/or also recalculation and payment of a fare difference between the original date/segment in your ticket and the new date/segment you wish to fly.
What is exonerated here is the fixed penalty (if this applies to your ticket class)
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Answer 2
This is only a half solution; if you decide to pay anyway, compare also with a completely new ticket as a roundtrip (meaning MAD->MSP->MAD), from any airline on various days; they are often cheaper than the one-way you effectively need now.
You should be able to get that just above 600 $, which might beat the difference you'd have to pay (see attached). Of course, you'd 'throw away' that return flight, and your current return flight, but if it is cheaper...
Answer 3
Is there a way I can make this flight change without paying an arm and a leg for the fare difference?
Not really. It's not just Iberia; every airline has pretty much the same rules: you are always responsible for the fare difference. That (unfortunately) makes sense. Airline prices can vary drastically with season, holiday, or even weekday. If the change was truly free, everyone would just book the cheapest possible date and then change it to the more expensive one that they actually want to fly.
To be fair, I've seen it going both ways: If the new ticket was cheaper, I have occasionally gotten a refund for the difference. However, that depends a lot on the type of ticket and fare rules.
Is there a way I can contest this somehow, as the airline violating its advertised policy?
No. The airline clearly states it's policy in their terms and conditions and this is basically industry standard.
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