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Timeline for answer to What’s the point of flight ticket cancellation charges? by Kyralessa

Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0

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Aug 22, 2020 at 10:18 comment added Rawling @KevinKeane think you missed the "without a refund" bit.
Aug 22, 2020 at 5:20 comment added Kevin Keane @I'mwithMonica "The seat could then be sold again, at current rates". That's a situation the airline would want to avoid. First, they may not find anybody to buy that ticket. Second, selling a ticket costs the airline money they don't get back, and those costs can be quite substantial. For instance, credit card fees. Expedia et al don't work for free, either. Even their own Web site costs them money. A cancellation means, either paying twice the costs, or having an empty seat (i.e., zero revenue) and still having to pay the cost of sale.
Aug 21, 2020 at 15:09 comment added I'm with Monica This misses all cases where the penalty is higher than the original price of the ticket, and thus there is an absolute disincentive for cancellation. It would do nothing to the revenue stream to just cancel that ticket, free of charge, without a refund. The seat could then be sold again, at current rates. - But it will not, because a no-show is cheaper for the customer.
Aug 21, 2020 at 2:39 comment added eggyal Interestingly, in English contract law at least, penalty clauses are generally unenforceable. Would be interesting to see someone try arguing that point in court against these charges...
Aug 19, 2020 at 15:27 history answered Kyralessa CC BY-SA 4.0