We were able to move to an earlier Aeromexico flight for a reasonable fee, despite flying on a very restricted basic economy ticket that seemingly did not allow for a same-day confirmed change. It never hurts to ask…
Same-Day Confirmed Change On Aeromexico: A Success Story In SJD
We arrived into SJD Terminal 1 at 11:55 am and I was hoping to get seats on the 12:48 pm flight to Mexico City (having decided not to go into town). I went to the SkyPriority check-in desk and unfortunately, the agents spoke no English, so my toddler-level Spanish had to suffice.
Rather quickly, though, it was communicated to me that basic economy tickets could not be changed. That’s fair enough, as the terms and conditions for these tickets do say:
- Changes on the day of the flight are not permitted.
But I was told to wait a moment and the agent went to a back office and was gone for several minutes. When she came back, she said that we could move to an earlier flight for 500 MXN each (about 25 USD), but that the 12:48 pm flight was full…we’d have to take the 4:53 pm flight.
Done.
It took several minutes to make the change, but my credit was charged (via a small handheld unit) and our boarding passes were issued.
We proceeded through security and to the lounge, where we spent the next few hours working (and Ausugtine resting).
It’s still unclear whether an exception was made for me or there actually is a policy in place for same-day changes, but I was very happy to spend the 50 bucks to get into Mexico City at a decent time.
We are fairly spoiled here in the USA with same-day changes, a concept that has not caught on in most of the world. Even so, it never hurts to ask and in my case, I think both Aeromexico and me came out ahead…Aeromexico got an extra 1,000 pesos and we got into our hotel four hours earlier.
I’m on the final portion of my SAS Million Mile Bonus trip, with a quick trip to Mexico that I’m sharing about real-time style.
And Aeromexico eliminated the risk that the operation of the later flight on which you were originally books would be interrupted, requiring that they take care of you. Allowing same day changes is simply a wise business move – it allows an airline to discharge is responsibility earier and get the passenger out of their hair.
I 100% agree, but for some reason, most non-US airlines don’t see it that way. The only time I’ve managed to do it was on BA when my flight was delayed and there was an agent in the US lounge, which I suspect made the difference because we were in the US, where it is obviously ubiquitous in similar circumstances..
BA does this all over Europe .
How did you manage to ensure the booking code would still earn you the miles you need to complete the SAS challenge? I would be concerned in making a change and messing up the ability to get the challenge done.
The good thing about Aeromexico is that all fare classes, even basic economy, earn SAS points.
After 36 of marriage to my wonderful Mexican wife, I barely speak toddler level Spanish (she really only speaks Spanish with her older family memebers). I’ve really come to rely on Google Translate when traveling internationally. It started in Brazil when I realized that Portuguese is really not like Spanish. I used it extensively in Japan a couple of weeks ago.
You used Portuguese in Japan extensively ?
Do you think the money actually went to Aeromexico? Sounds more like a bribe.
It did go to Aeromeixco. I see the charge pending from Aeromexico and also recieved a reciept on AM cardsotck.
I’ve never done a same day change in the US. And, a quick reading of the rules/fees makes me wonder: why not make it easier in cases where it can advantage the airline? If the 3pm flight is full and someone asks to get on the 1:30pm that’s at 80%, why not encourage it?
Earlier this year I was flying BNE-SYD on QF. My original flight went from a 737 to 330 back to 737, which put me in a middle seat on a plane showing every seat taken. On the way to the airport, I opened the app, selected my flight, and it queried if I’d like the flight before instead. I’d arrive in time, so I hit “yes” and was changed to the earlier flight at zero cost. While they put me in a middle seat, I could change to an aisle. All this done in app. So, one less empty seat on my new flight and one more to sell or one less bump on the original flight. I have no staus or even FF# on QF.