If we did not issue it, we cannot change it
This is not a policy choice. A ticket lives in the system of the seller who issued it, and airline rules only let that seller reissue or refund it. An agency that did not touch your booking has no access to it at all. Here is how to work out who does.
Step 1 — look at your reference
References issued on airflightsearch.com begin with AFS. If yours has a different prefix, or is a plain six-character code, it came from somewhere else. Your confirmation email’s sender domain is the other reliable tell.
Step 2 — work out which of these it is
Bought on the airline’s own site
The airline holds and services the ticket. Use their app or call them directly — they will usually be faster than any intermediary.
Bought through an online agency
That agency holds the ticket. The airline will normally refuse to change it and send you back to the seller. Go to the agency first.
Booked by an employer or travel manager
A corporate booking tool holds it. Your travel manager or the tool’s support line has to make the change; you often cannot do it yourself.
Redeemed with miles or points
The loyalty programme holds the award. Changes and redeposits go through the programme, under its own fee rules.
Step 3 — the one exception
Once you are at the airport on the day of travel, the operating airline’s staff can act on almost any ticket regardless of who sold it. If your flight is today and something has gone wrong, go to the airline, not the agency.
What we can still do
- Tell you plainly what your rights generally are under the relevant rules.
- Explain the difference between the refund you are owed and the credit you are being offered.
- Price and book a replacement itinerary if you need to travel and the original seller is not moving.
Call (855) 820-3470 and say up front that the ticket was issued elsewhere — it saves both of us five minutes.