I need help with changing flight dates with Cathay Pacific

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  1. #1

    I need help with changing flight dates with Cathay Pacific

    I'm flying to Hong Kong this October for 15 days, but I want to cut my trip down to 12 days. How can I change the flight date for my return trip back to Canada? Do I call my travel agency or Cathay Pacific if I want to change?

    Any service charge involved or deadlines?


  2. #2

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    You should contact your travel agent first. Any charge will depend on the booking conditions.


  3. #3

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    If you booked it through a travel agent then you need to call that travel agent. If you booked it through CX's website then you need to call the e-service centre (2747 2200).

    Change fees depend on the type of ticket you bought. The very cheapest tickets are not changeable at all. Slightly more expensive ones are changeable for a fee (normally HK$500), and the most expensive ones are changeable free of charge.

    There may also be minimum stay requirements on the ticket you bought, and you wouldn't be able to change it if the new date would break those requirements.

    Deadlines may also depend on the ticket type, but normally if it's changeable at all then it will be changeable any time up until you take the first flight, and, in most cases, up until the time of the flight as booked for the return.

    Remember that there is no guarantee that seats will be available on your new preferred date. CX only makes a certain number of seats available for each fare price level. Getting availability is easier if you have frequent flyer status with the Marco Polo Club, but I guess you don't since if you did you would likely know these things anyway.


  4. #4

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    I agree with PDLM's post for 99% of situations.

    However, if you have a real reason for a change (such as a death in the family or something serious) but have an inflexible ticket, then you can try ringing Cathay direct (after trying the agent first, of course) because sometimes the airlines bend the rules if there is a good reason. Obviously - just changing your mind does not fall into this category! Its worth knowing anyway - some airlines do require proof though rather than just accepting any sob-story you care to make up.....


  5. #5

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    Yes indeed - but I can't think of many such situations that are known about a month in advance...


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Yes indeed - but I can't think of many such situations that are known about a month in advance...
    I can think of a few - close family member having to go into hospital for an operation; close family member springing a surprise wedding etc. But I agree, not exactly common. I thought it worth noting in case others were browsing the thread in the future - I had not realised airlines had "compassionate" policies until my father-in-law died and I had to change a number of flights at very short notice. (One of them was a Virgin Blue flight - they were completely heartless - Qantas and Air NewZealand were both terrific).

  7. #7

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    Fair enough. I've also found Cathay to be pretty good in similar situations in the past, although I also had high status with them at the time so I'm not sure how much difference that made.


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Fair enough. I've also found Cathay to be pretty good in similar situations in the past, although I also had high status with them at the time so I'm not sure how much difference that made.
    Fair point - I too had high status at the time, although in discussion with Air NewZealand they did actually say they had a specific policy for just these situations which applied to everyone. And I think it's probably worth it - I have never flown Virgin Blue since and would never recommend them to anyone based on that one experience (it was very traumatic and they were particularly unsympathetic), but regularly recommend AirNZ and Qantas (AirNZ is a particularly good way to fly to the UK from Hong Kong; goes daily and it often the cheapest for BOTH economy and business class, yet has one of the best (imho) economy and biz products on the market.)

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by skynet2009:
    I'm flying to Hong Kong this October for 15 days, but I want to cut my trip down to 12 days. How can I change the flight date for my return trip back to Canada? Do I call my travel agency or Cathay Pacific if I want to change?

    Any service charge involved or deadlines?
    I bought a Cathay eticket through an online agency. From HK, I wanted to change an ongoing flight also on Cathay to an earlier date.

    The procedure was that I contact Cathay Pacific directly for schedule changes. They have a walk-in center in Kowloon, Gateway Towers, 18th Floor. There is a 150 USD charge.

  10. #10

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    I suppose ex-Canada rules are the same as ex-USA's. In ex-USA case, if the ticket is of booking class V or higher, the return segment can be changed provided the ticketed booking class is available for the new flight. There is no change fee unless you are changing from a weekday flight to a weekend flight.

    In general, before you fly your first segment, you should contact your TA for changes. After you fly the first segment, you should contact Cathay. (BTW, it is a lot easier and safer to make changes after the first segment.)


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