Five things you don't know about your airline ticket

[straitman]

These are interesting and probably known to most people around here but possibly way outside the knowledge base of many infrequent travellers.

Your airline ticket

By Carl Unger, SmarterTravel.com
You probably think of your airline ticket as nothing more than that: A piece of paper that gets you onboard a plane and onward to your destination. But that simple definition belies the complex rules and restrictions hiding in the fine print. You're better off thinking of your ticket as a contract, thick with legalese and subtitles, between you and your airline.

Here are five things you may not know about your airline ticket, and the ways in which they can have a major impact on your travels. Some of this might seem obvious at first glance, but the devil is in the details. (Editor's note: Delta's contract of carriage is used extensively in the following text, but this should not be taken as an indictment of Delta. All airline contracts of carriage are virtually identical.)

 

[samh004]

Delta sounds like a fine airline. Granted, the overselling of tickets happens not just at Delta…

 

[JohnK]

You aren't guaranteed travel, you aren't guaranteed a seat, you can be kicked off a plane, you can get a refund (sort of) and your ticket is not transferable.

So what do you actually get when purchasing an airline ticket?

 

[Fantic125]

So what do you actually get when purchasing an airline ticket?

The opportunity to spend;

• quality time with people you have no interest in meeting.
• eating lukewarm food that you wouldn't normally eat.
• r e l a x a t i o n time leading up to you flight. You know, when you get to the gate and it's delayed by 20 mins. Then 40 mins. Sorry, cancelled.

But you can also have a fun time and meet interesting people!

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