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Students,

Traveling abroad, but not exactly sure about your travel dates? Well, changing your itinerary after a booking can be quite expensive, if not simply non-refundable!

My advice here is simple: Most students can't afford to buy "Flex-Tickets", 1st class, or business class -- these bookings usually have no penalties for changes or cancellations.

So, how can one plan for the unplanned?

The best advice is to know the restrictions and the rules that apply to the fare(s) you are purchasing. The fine print is annoying, but can save you hundreds of dollars in the event that you have to make a last minute change.

Interesting to note is that each airline has a unique policy for refunding your money. Importantly, the amount you will be given back is tied to the promotion, the type of fare, and if you called to cancel BEFORE the flight has left the ground.

Some examples that will be unique depending on the specific airline include:

1. Some tickets (biz class, 1st class) are fully refundable -- these are usually very expensive.

2. Usually, if the flight is in the past -- you are S.O.L! There are exceptions to this... *See my story at the end of this article regarding a recent experience I had with SwissAir.

3. Online promotions are often not refundable -- an example includes those rock-bottom rates I told you about previously through Generationfly.com . I tried to cancel one of these the other day and the only refund I received was ~$40 for the taxes that I had paid.

So, based on the 3rd example just above, this brings up another good point: If you miss a flight or need to cancel -- DON'T just blow it off. If you miss a flight, and don't plan to use that flight, then at least call to get the paid taxes returned to you. Taxes can be quite a bit of change!

TRAVEL INSURANCE is also available with some airlines.

For example, SwissAir will throw in "Cancellation Insurance" for CHF 40 (about $34 as of 19 September 2007) for cancellation of your flight. They provide the following ... a quote from a recent receipt of mine: "As a precaution, you have purchased a cancellation cost insurance for all passengers and flights. This insurance provides you with full cover for the cost of your flight tickets in the event of illness."

I have never had to use this insurance, but from what I understand from talking with the booking agent at Swiss Air, this is an actual insurance policy that you are purchasing, it is NOT a 'Swiss Air refund Policy'.

Based on this, if you do cancel, I'm sure that you will have to provide a legitimate doctor's note (as proof of your illness) if you plan to file a claim to get your money back. As an aside, many family or PCP physicians will write you a note if you simply explain to your doctor (upon your return to the USA) that you were too sick to fly and need a note to file the insurance claim in order to get your money back.

If you are booking a flight through a travel agent, insurance coverage for cancellation is also available -- and may, in some policies, cover more than "Flight Cancellation for Illness". Some policies will cover medical expenses, injury, flight cancellations, and more. Check with your local travel agent to find out what you can get covered -- A cheap policy could save you a bundle of moola.

Policies are usually less than $50-$100, depending on how much coverage, length of stay, and other factors.

So, I mentioned above that I'd tell you about a recent experience I had with Swiss Air. Here's the 411: Recently, I had to cancel two RETURN flights, one was with Lufthansa and another with SwissAir.

Since the first one through Lufthansa was a student online promo via Generation Fly, I received back my taxes only! They emphasized that I could not receive a full or partial refund since I had taken the OUTBOUND flight already.

On the second Swiss flight, I had also already taken the OUTBOUND leg of my flight. However, SwissAir, agreed to let me take the RETURN flight anytime within then next year, between the same cities, and for a fee of only CHF 200!

SwissAir went on to mention that if I wanted to change the cities as well, there would be an additional penalty fee for that change. The point being, I was able to preserve the RETURN leg of the flight for ONE YEAR and for only CHF 200!

In terms of cost: The round trip ticket cost me $856 -- and since I could not return, I thought I would definitely be losing $428 (half the fare). Instead, the agent at Swiss said I could keep the $428 for up to one year, and whenever I planned to use it in the next 365 days, I'd simply have to shell out the CHF 200 (~$169). This might sound like a rip off -- but, it's better than flushing the $428, right? Note: The SwissAir change fee of CHF 200 is not expected to vary. Instead, the cost in USD will vary depending on a fluctuating future exchange rate.

By the way, with the exception of AirIndia, I've flown with almost every airline in the Industry. And I have to say that my experiences with SwissAir have been Impeccable.

The synopsis: Know the travel fare rules and regulations that apply to your tickets.

Some flights are non-refundable. Others will return taxes paid only. Online promotions often are 'rock-bottom' and thus are sunk costs and you'd have a better chance of shipping a snow ball through Malebolge then fighting with the airline to get your money back!

Know the rules that apply to your fare before you buy -- plan for the unlikely event that you may get sick, or may need to return early, or simply find that you want to travel on to a different country via a different route ... and your original itinerary just doesn't fit anymore.

Your Traveling fiG,
- Professor Gary
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Gary Plourde is an independent author. He writes about Traveling, Sailing, Inventions and the Patenting process. Patent your new idea and explore an opportunity to generate revenue for your business, scholarship, study abroad, or sabbatical.