Void, Reissue or Refund: A Same-Day Date Change Plus Baggage Charges
On Monday 3 March a corporate client confirms three economy returns London–Singapore for May, and you ticket them immediately at £612 per person (£520 base fare plus £92 taxes, fees and carrier charges). The fare rules state: changes cost £75 per person plus any fare difference; rebooking must be in the same booking class, otherwise the lowest available class applies; refunds before departure are permitted with a £200 cancellation fee; taxes, fees and carrier charges are refundable; involuntary refunds (carrier schedule change) carry no fee. Baggage is on a piece concept: one 23 kg bag per passenger, extra bag £60, weight over 23 kg charged at £12 per kilo. Ninety minutes after ticketing the client calls: the outbound date must move two weeks, the booked class is sold out on the new date and the lowest available base fare is £668.
1. Compare voiding and reissuing against a standard reissue, and state the cheapest correct action and the amount to collect.
Read the worked answer
Option A - void and reissue (available because the tickets were issued the same day, within the BSP reporting period and before any coupon is used). A void cancels the traffic document as though it never existed, so no change fee applies. The replacement tickets are priced fresh:
- New fare per person: £668 + £92 = £760
- New total: 3 × £760 = £2,280
- Already collected: 3 × £612 = £1,836
- Additional collection: £444
Option B - reissue.
- Change fee: 3 × £75 = £225
- Fare difference: 3 × (£668 − £520) = £444
- Additional collection: £669
Decision: void and reissue today, provided the BSP/ARC void window has not closed and the coupons are untouched. It saves the client £225 (£669 − £444) and is fully compliant - this is not a favour, it is the correct use of the void facility.
Check before you act: the void must be completed before the sales report cut-off for the period, and any service fees you charged are handled under your own fee policy, not the airline's. If the void window has already passed, reissue under Option B and collect £669.
2. The family checks four bags on departure: 19 kg, 21 kg, 22 kg and 27 kg. Calculate the excess baggage charges and explain the principle applied.
Read the worked answer
Allowance is by piece, not by pooled weight. Three passengers × 1 × 23 kg = three free pieces.
| Item | Charge |
|---|---|
| 4th piece (excess piece) | £60 |
| 27 kg piece: 4 kg over the 23 kg limit × £12/kg | £48 |
| Total | £108 |
The 19 kg, 21 kg and 22 kg bags are each within the per-piece weight limit, so no charge arises on them. On a piece-concept journey the unused kilos on one bag cannot normally be transferred to a heavier bag (no pooling), so the 4 kg surplus must be paid even though total group weight is under 69 kg. The excess piece is also within weight, so only the flat extra-piece fee applies to it.
Advice to give: pre-purchase excess baggage online where the carrier offers it - airport rates are usually higher; confirm the exact piece and overweight rates on the ticket's baggage rule and record the quotation in writing so the client is not surprised at the counter.
3. Two weeks before departure the airline moves the return flight by five hours, which makes the London connection impossible. Can the client get a full refund without the £200 fee? State the amount per person.
Read the worked answer
Yes - this is an involuntary refund, not a voluntary cancellation. The airline has changed a fundamental term of the contract of carriage. Under the fare rule as quoted, the £200 cancellation fee applies to voluntary refunds; where the carrier makes a significant schedule change and the new timing does not suit, the passenger is entitled to a full refund without penalty, or to free re-routing to the next suitable flight.
Amount per person: base fare £520 + refundable taxes/fees £92 = £612. For three passengers, £1,836, plus any additional collection already paid on the date change.
Process points:
- Confirm the schedule change in the airline's system or in writing; a five-hour move that breaks a connection is normally classed as significant, but check the carrier's own threshold rather than assuming.
- Refund the ticket through the original form of payment; if your agency added a service fee, that is governed by your terms and conditions, not the airline's.
- Airport departure taxes and similar charges on unused coupons must be refunded even where the fare itself is non-refundable.
- Offer re-routing first - a refund may not be what the client actually wants; ask before processing.