Need to take outward flight to avail of return flight?

Ficheall

My father has booked a flight to Tanzania with KLM, but is unable to take the outward flight. It's understandable, I suppose, that he can't get a refund or change the date of his flight. Instead he had intended to arrange an alternate outward flight, but it seems that the return flight which he has paid for is unavailable to him unless he has taken the outward flight it was booked with.

Is this common? It strikes me as a little unfair.

BuffyBot

Yes, very common - most airlines operate that way.

amdublin

Yes. Once you don't take outward the inward will be cancelled.

Equally on a two leg journey.

Standard proceedure.

Ficheall

And the airlines' reasoning is...?

mikedragon32

It's a return ticket, as opposed to budget airlines which well you two one way tickets. Standard for most full-service operators. Unfair, yes.

killbillvol2

A return ticket includes a discount on each leg of the journey. Try booking a one way ticket with any full service airline and it will be considerably more than half the return fare.

Ficheall

Yes, but surely if one has paid for both the outward and return journeys, even if one cannot make the outward journey, then one should still be entitled to the return journey?
If I bought a return bus ticket, for example, to somewhere but ended up getting a lift instead, I would certainly expect to be able to use the return "part" of the bus ticket which I had purchased.

P. Breathnach

I'm sure that if you read the Terms & Conditions governing the sale of the ticket, you will find the rule set down. It doesn't matter why they have the rule (and, in any event, the methods that airlines use to maximise their profits are arcane). Neither does it matter if the rule meets your idea of fairness.

That said, it's worth making a phone call to see if the airline might co-operate with your father. If there is a good reason why he cannot make the outward flight, they might be persuaded to make some leeway for him.