Wrong date on return flight ticket

Good evening. I hope you're all doing well. Sorry in advance—my message will be a bit long, and sorry for any spelling mistakes.

So, here's the thing: I booked a flight ticket through an intermediary to go to Réunion from November 29th to December 16th. This evening, I was checking the dates and times of my flight, and—WHAT A NASTY SURPRISE!!

My outbound ticket is correct—no issues, the day and time match perfectly. But there’s NO flight at the time listed on my return ticket!!! I thought it must be a glitch. I refreshed the page several times, cleared my history, and even searched on other sites and in private browsing.

But it’s still the same—no flight on December 16th leaves at the time shown on my ticket. I went back to the intermediary’s site, then checked the airline’s website, and I had the idea to try December 15th for the departure—and BINGO! The return flight time, the airline, the type of plane—everything matches.

I realized then that the site that sold me the ticket made a mistake on the return date. I don’t know what to do because I can’t get anyone on the phone.

Since the error is on their end, are they obligated to change my flight to December 15th, or do I have to pay for a new ticket?

If I ask them to put me on another flight on the 16th, will I have to pay fees or not?

I’m completely lost and pretty upset, so if you have any answers to my questions, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Hi,

Where and from whom did you buy this ticket? Has it been issued? Meaning, do you have a PNR (a combination of uppercase letters and numbers) and a ticket number (a 13-digit sequence)? Which airline is it? What flights? (Their numbers).

Michel

Quick side question...

Since the mistake happened twice

How did you place your order: online? By phone? At a travel agency? Any record of your request?

Hi there, We’re clearly missing some info to help you out!

My outbound ticket is fine—nothing to say, the date and time match perfectly. But there’s NO flight at the time listed on my return ticket!!!

So if I understand correctly, you *do* have a time on your return ticket, which means you should have a reservation for that flight!! 🤪

But still, no flight leaves on December 16th at the time shown on my ticket. I go back to the intermediary site, then check the airline’s site, and I get the idea to try the 15th for the departure—and bingo: the return flight time, the airline, the plane type—everything matches.

So the intermediary (whose name we don’t know) sold you a return ticket for a flight that doesn’t exist—you only know the time...

The best thing would be to give us more details (maybe even screenshots) if you want help. Because with the info we have right now, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to help you!

So the intermediary (whose name we don’t know) supposedly sold you a return ticket for a flight that doesn’t exist—you only know the time...

Nope, that’s not it. She couldn’t find the flight because she was looking for it on 12/16, but the flight does exist. It’s just on 12/15...

to change my flight to the 15th of December

On the 16th of December, not the 15th.

It’s pretty clear that if you write the 15th instead of the 16th, it won’t help with understanding the problem. Maybe that’s even what happened when the request was made? That’s probably where the mistake came from…

Good evening,

It’s definitely not gonna help with understanding the problem if you write 15 instead of 16. Maybe that’s even what happened when the request was made? Hence the mistake...

I reread the original message; to me, it’s pretty clear.

Michel

Is this the 2024 version of the games that’s frying my brain? 🤪

I don’t get it either:

Booking from 11/29 to 12/16 Flight on the 16th apparently doesn’t exist But Flight on the 15th does So Natalliya is asking two separate (but confusing) questions: 1/ Are they required to switch her (fee-free) to the flight on the 15th (which exists)? 2/ If she still wants to leave on the 16th but at a different time, does she have to pay the difference or even buy a new ticket?

I re-read the original message; to me, it's quite clear.

Same for me. (apparently, that’s not the case for others)

But the fact that they wrote the 15th instead of the 16th in their message might suggest the same mistake was made when booking. As long as we don’t know how the booking was made, it’s hard to say where the error came from.

Natalliya asks two separate (but confusing) questions: 1/ Are they obligated to switch her (free of charge) to the flight on the 15th (which exists)? 2/ If she still wants to leave on the 16th but at a different time, does she have to pay the difference or even buy a new ticket?

Okay for question 2. But question 1 doesn’t apply. She has a valid ticket for the 15th and wants to leave on the 16th.

Just goes to show—writing 15 instead of 16 in her message really muddles the problem...

But question 1 doesn’t come up. She has a valid ticket for the 15th and wants to leave on the 16th.

She does have a ticket in hand... but based on how she’s phrased her question, she doesn’t seem to realize she has a valid ticket and that it’s dated for 12/15.

Still the same issue—no flight on December 16th leaves at the time shown on my ticket. Are they obligated to change my flight to the 15th?

Good evening Kola,

This kind of discussion that makes us brainstorm over a textbook case for a member who may never come back to provide useful details is one of the fascinating classics of VF. 🙂

She does indeed have a ticket in hand... but the way her question is phrased, she doesn’t seem to have realized she has a valid ticket and that it’s dated 12/15

In reality, we don’t even know if she has a ticket (she *booked*), let alone with whom.

Michel

Good evening Tatra 🙂

In reality, we don’t even know if she has a ticket...

Not leaving, not being able to come back... so, avoiding the risk (the sacrilege?) of writing a boring travel journal in the appropriate section. 😕

they have flights on the 16th as well as the 15th.

So what? There are flights on the 15th, since she booked one, and presumably there are some on the 16th too, since she writes:

no flight on December 16th leaves at the time shown on my ticket

Which suggests there *are* flights—otherwise, she’d have just said there were no flights on the 16th at all...

To be honest, what’s being reported doesn’t really surprise me. Flights are often scheduled in theory because airlines have the slots, and for various reasons they get "canceled" weeks or months in advance. Airlines block the time slot and sometimes never actually intended to operate the flight—it was only scheduled on paper. I’ve even bought a flight that didn’t exist before, sometimes there’s a lack of communication between the airline and the intermediary selling the flight, which they’ve put on hold.

Michel

She has a ticket, or at least a reservation, for a return flight on the 16th at a certain time. She realizes that the flight on the 16th at that time doesn’t exist. She also notes that there *is* a flight at a matching time the day before, on the 15th. Her concern is whether she’ll be put on the flight on the 15th, with or without fees—or even on the 17th—and if she can request the 16th but at a different time, without fees.

Michel

What’s the deal?

She thought she had a ticket for 12/16, but the time listed on the ticket doesn’t exist that day. That’s when she realized her ticket was for the 15th, not the 16th. (Just because two days are back-to-back doesn’t mean the times are the same)

There you go, that’s all.

Knowing how to write is good. But knowing how to read is important too!

She thought she had a ticket for 12/16, but the time indicated on the ticket doesn’t exist on that day. That’s when she realizes her ticket is for the 15th, not the 16th.

To me, her text doesn’t say that. She doesn’t realize her ticket is for the 15th—she assumes it’s the seller’s mistake, that it should be for the 15th instead of the 16th as shown on the ticket itself or the reservation. But she doesn’t know for sure.

Michel

But she doesn’t know anything about it.

Meaning she’d know the flight time, but not the day? Is that even possible?

Or maybe she has a ticket for the 16th with the times of the 15th? That could explain why she wanted to change it to leave on the 15th (by correcting the date) or to leave on the 16th (by correcting the time)…

When we advise against using a middleman… Especially since this one seems *really* sketchy.

For example, Frenchbee has an evening flight from Saint-Denis to Orly, daily, and sometimes—not every day—a morning one too, the BF703. In my opinion, they sold him a flight on a day, the 16th, when it doesn’t operate. Indeed, on the 15th, this BF703 does run. I’ll take my chances with Frenchbee, but it might be another airline. Anyway, it could match.

Michel

Hi Kola,

This kind of discussion that makes us brainstorm over a textbook case for a member who might never come back to provide useful details is one of VF’s fascinating classics. 🙂 Michel

Hello, And I confirm, I’m fascinated too! ¾ Anyway, I better understand the 50,000 messages now!