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PrintHelp Me Hank: Changing Airline Tickets
The Whitehead family had it all planned: A trip to Universal studios where they could pretend to be in Jurassic park, in Earthquake, in Twister, but as fast as you could say "the adventure begins"
Mr. Whitehead was in the real General Hospital.
A disastrous spill from his spirited hunter had fractured Mr. Whitehead's kneecap, leaving him out of commission in a full leg brace.
"So you couldn't bend your leg at all?"Hank
Mr.
Whitehead"Cannot bend at all."
So while other families were on the river adventure, Mr. Whitehead was on the phone, this doctor's note said Orlando was out of the question, he had to change their flights.
"I didn't think that would present any major obstacle."Mr. Whitehead
It was all downhill from there. The Whitehead's tickets were cheap, but clearly said non-changeable. Then the bombshell: the only way they could change them was to pay a fee of $75 each -- for each leg of the trip!
"I was shocked!"Mr Whitehead
Do the math-- 4 tickets: cost $800. To change them would cost $600 more!
"It was like buying the whole set of tickets over again and…?Mr. Whitehead
"So were you willing to pay that?"Hank:
Mr. Whitehead
Still he didn't want his family to miss the fun, so he wrote, explaining it was a medical emergency. He called, to convince them to change the tickets. The airline company wouldn't budge.
"’Unless you pay the 75 dollars, no luck Charlie.’"Mr. Whitehead
That's when he called "Help Me Hank."
Now we understand the airline biz, cheap tickets with many restrictions keep costs down and planes full. Many airlines are reluctant to bend the rules even for medical emergencies. But we called the company and reminded them, it was months before the trip, plenty of time to fill the seats. The company said: they'd call me back.
Would the Whiteheads trip go up in flames? Get washed out? Shot down? Finally, the airline company "phoned home" and did allow the Whiteheads to change flights: at no extra cost.
They're now headed to Orlando later this summer. So what consumer battle are you fighting? Maybe I can help! Send it to helpmehank@whdh.com