Cancelling non refundable air tickets

[FlossieLondon]

It is looking inceasingly like I won't be able to go the States with my husband for a family wedding, as I have to stay home to care for our son. (See previous thread.)

We've been on to the airline to cancel my tickets (to reclaim tax) to be told that this can't be done for one person on the booking - it is both of us or nothing. We can't do that my husband is best man, he needs to go out on the flight we booked.

After a lot of pleading the airline has finally agreed to cancel my ticket if I want, but the admin fee means that we only get a few pounds back. This is only a matter of changing the booking on a computer? What the hell? I am bloody furious.

Keeping the ticket for the moment... hoping and praying that another seat will become available so our son can come with us.

Bearbehind I've agreed with most of your posts on this thread but now you're making extrapolations that just aren't there.

I didn't read the op saying 'we haven't told mum yet' that they're going to tell her at all. I read it as they're not going to tell her at the moment, since her sick leave will have ended before they go away, but might decide to if her sick leave ends up extending into the time they are going to travel.

Why would you come to the conclusion you did?

Op you've not helped yourself by being rude but credit to you for coming back and apologising. I agree with the poster who says to drop it now and wait and see what happens. If you lose the ticket so be it but no amount of money is worth this amount of stress.

OP I'm another one in the "let it go" camp. A transatlantic flight with a 3 year old is not much fun, and then he'll be jet lagged for the wedding. Yes it's disappointing, but the lovely break you'd planned with your DH isn't going to happen. Accept that and move on.

Have a lovely week with him and your DH can enjoy the wedding without having to take care of DS.

Google "sunk costs fallacy" and it will explain why you're not really losing money on the flights.

OP, what has your mum currently being off work got to do with anything?

Why do you thing you can make a claim against her being ill?

dh often flies long haul for work, and often goes to america, he tends to go either british airways or american airlines and says there usually are a few spare seats on the planes. holding out for a standby ticket for ds may be still worth doing.

Hermione I had never heard of sunk costs fallacy before so I googled it. Perfect: a cogent explanation of the futility of chucking good money after bad (where money isn't necessarily money but other resources too, like peace of mind, goodwill etc etc)

Why would you come to the conclusion you did?

Because the OP's mother being ill should have no bearing on whether the Op gets a refund on her flight. If the OP chooses to persue that route she is just using her mother and adding to her stress.

OP, another one here saying let it go.

Her mum's illness is relevant because travel insurance usually covers 'illness of close relative' as a reason to cancel, though there'll probably be a list of medical conditions they do/do not cover.

It's not applicable in this case though is it?

A confession.

My husband's first wife is going to be there, with their (teenage) children. I didn't break up their marriage but she has never stopped trying to get him back, and continually causes us problems.

That's why the stress.

Congratulations Flossie this is not so much a drip feed as an award-winning deluge.

Of course we (I) can now see where your stress is coming from. All the more reason for you to let it go. She is an irrelevance in your life now.

But even if she's going to be there if you trust your dh that doesn't have to be an issue does it? Although I do understand why this adds to your stress and disappointment at not being able to go.

Having said that, going with your ds, who may well play up because of age and jet lag, so you might have to leave early or not join in fully might actually make it more stressful to be there is this situation.

...and I can see that this may well be a non starter and a ridiculous suggestion, but if she really is a trouble maker, would your DH ever consider not going; and would his brother understand if he did back down?

Don't shoot...it's just a feeble suggestion!

Do you trust your DH? If so, not sure what the issue is.

Agree it's down to trusting your DH.

Even if you were at the wedding, by a certain point of the evening you'd have to leave to put your ds to bed and presumably stay with him (assuming you simply because it's your dh's family event) so it's not like you could stand guard over your dh the whole time anyway.

I think that's what is known as karma.

Why is your husbands ex going to be at the wedding of his brother?

Drip feed much

The ex is going because the DB is uncle to the kids from 1st marriage. Do you not trust your DH

Good question Whilewild

If the brother wants the nephews there, why wouldn't their father be taking them?

So why wouldn't you have wanted to go with your son??

How can/does she cause problems?

It is entirely possible that as the mother of the dc she is still very much in contact with the wider family. There is no law which says you can't keep friendly with ex in laws.

This story just gets weirder and weirder

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this or if it can be done but if you paid my credit card can't you claim the money back via that route....

More of a torrential downpour than a drip feed