Hello,  

I already booked my return flight from Bangkok to Munich for September 15th. However, some things have changed, and I would like to stay longer in Thailand. Unfortunately, the travel agency I booked through says the flight can no longer be changed or canceled.

 

Do you know of any possible way I could still change the flight or get a refund?  

For example, could I visit a doctor to get a medical certificate to delay the flight?  

Is it possible for someone else to use my ticket?  

Or do you know of any other ideas that might help in this situation?

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited September 3, 2025Sep 3 by Drogan777

It’s really up to the vendor you purchased the flight from.  If the TA is telling you no go, then it’s mostly likely you’re stuck with it.  This is why it’s always best to read the terms and conditions and accept them before buying.  Also why it’s typically better to book directly with the airlinе.

Tickets are nearly always non transferable … so giving it away or selling it to someone else is unlikely to help.  Trip insurance (assume you don’t have) would be interested in a medical note, but the TA won’t care.  

You could try contacting the airline(s) directly and see what they can do.  They’ll most likely tell you to contact the TA, but if you persist you may be able to extract at least partial credit for a future flight.  A full refund is not a reasonable expectation.  Whatever you receive would be considered good will as you’re  not entitled to anything with a non refundable/non changeable ticket.  

8 minutes ago, Drogan777 said:

Hello,  

I already booked my return flight from Bangkok to Munich for September 15th. However, some things have changed, and I would like to stay longer in Thailand. Unfortunately, the travel agency I booked through says the flight can no longer be changed or canceled.

 

Do you know of any possible way I could still change the flight or get a refund?  

For example, could I visit a doctor to get a medical certificate to delay the flight?  

Is it possible for someone else to use my ticket?  

Or do you know of any other ideas that might help in this situation?

 

Thanks in advance!

I have been lucky with this sort of thing in the past and found that it is better to speak to the airlines directly. Of course it really depends on the airline though in the end 

1 hour ago, Drogan777 said:

Unfortunately, the travel agency I booked through says the flight can no longer be changed or canceled.

Since you bought the ticket through a travel agent there will likely be terms and conditions that stipulate either no changes or refunds or charges that enable you to do this. Read the terms and conditions to find out which of these options are applicable and if there are charges, whether it is worthwhile paying them or not.

This is the reality of paying for a ticket through an agent. You can sometimes get decent deals, but they might come with conditions attached.

1 hour ago, Drogan777 said:

For example, could I visit a doctor to get a medical certificate to delay the flight?  

See above. Maybe, although unlikely. If you claim to be sick they (probably) wouldn't change it on that basis, and would (probably) direct you to your travel insurance.

 

1 hour ago, Drogan777 said:

Is it possible for someone else to use my ticket?  

No it is not, and whatever anyone says do not be tempted to try going down that route. Trying to do that could actually get you and the other party in serious trouble.

On the face of it the best bet is to find out what the cost would be to amend the flight, and weigh that cost up with the reasons why you want to extend your stay to see if it's worth it or not.

Edited September 3, 2025Sep 3 by Dalef65

2 hours ago, Drogan777 said:

However, some things have changed, and I would like to stay longer in Thailand.

Lets see a picture of her then

 

Anyway, go direct to the airline and ignore the travel agency using your 6 character booking reference (PNR). It really is up to whoever answer the phone whether they let you however you will need to pay a rebooking fee and from memory it's $150 USD and Lufthansa (assuming?) say €150-€300. You are going to pay nearly the same cost as a one way economy flight. 

1. Ask them to change the flight direct and pay the fee
2. Ask if you can upgrade but change flight date.
3. Book one way ticket 
4. Book return tick with some return to BKK flight next year (flexible obvs) committing a return to the girl you are in love with whose picture you are about to post. 

For the first two, be unbelievably sweet and nice to who ever answers the phone and make up some nonsense like having to return to a temple for a pray or something on an auspicious day. 

1 hour ago, Hamchang said:

Lets see a picture of her then

 

Anyway, go direct to the airline and ignore the travel agency using your 6 character booking reference (PNR). It really is up to whoever answer the phone whether they let you however you will need to pay a rebooking fee and from memory it's $150 USD and Lufthansa (assuming?) say €150-€300. You are going to pay nearly the same cost as a one way economy flight. 

1. Ask them to change the flight direct and pay the fee
2. Ask if you can upgrade but change flight date.
3. Book one way ticket 
4. Book return tick with some return to BKK flight next year (flexible obvs) committing a return to the girl you are in love with whose picture you are about to post. 

For the first two, be unbelievably sweet and nice to who ever answers the phone and make up some nonsense like having to return to a temple for a pray or something on an auspicious day. 

And if you don't get it changed with your call, wait a few hours, and call again, you might get someone who will go out of their way to help you out. 

9 minutes ago, freedom42 said:

And if you don't get it changed with your call, wait a few hours, and call again, you might get someone who will go out of their way to help you out. 

Agreed.  HUCA is standard with airline call centers, especially with the influx of newer agents post Covid. 

32 minutes ago, freedom42 said:

And if you don't get it changed with your call, wait a few hours, and call again, you might get someone who will go out of their way to help you out. 

Exactly. They do keep notes and record though (hence data centres being more populous than white dog shite these days) however if the first one doesn't help, wait, call again, and start with an NLP trick with a line such as "I'm in a very bad place and I need help. Please help me sort this situation out. I called a while back, but I need you to help me" which triggers a difference response to the typical call centre "another cunt on the phone" response. 

4 hours ago, Drogan777 said:

 

Do you know of any possible way I could still change the flight or get a refund?  

No refund but you can contact the airline and request a change on the date, they will make toy pay a penalty but its better then losing your ticket.

when you call to check with them be sure to ask them if its better to change your flight since you are highly contagious or is it ok to travel and risk infecting everyone on board.

Maybe call airline directly. They might be able to help you. Did this last trip where I didnt want to come home yet and extended my flight back another week. Had to pay an extra 100 USD but it was worth it. 

A question I haven't seen asked yet: did you use a travel agent OR a third party booking site/consolidator (like CenTrav or AranGrant)?

If you used a consolidator, your odds may be even worse.

I hope you take the time to report back and let us know how it goes @Drogan777 -- it could be helpful when someone else ends up in the same situation.

40 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

A question I haven't seen asked yet: did you use a travel agent OR a third party booking site/consolidator (like CenTrav or AranGrant)?

If you used a consolidator, your odds may be even worse.

I hope you take the time to report back and let us know how it goes @Drogan777 -- it could be helpful when someone else ends up in the same situation.

Thats a good question for clarity actually. 

When I made my earlier post upthread answering the OP`s question I had assumed what he meant was third party booking agent (even though the actual words he used was  travel agent).

Consider using the existing-ticket outbound, and buying a new one-way ticket for a later date, for your return ?  Should be cheaper than a complete new return-ticket ?

Also hope the airline cancels one of the return/connecting-flights, this does sometimes happen, and book a much-later date for your new return  ...  at no extra cost ?

But you do need to be a bit of an optimist !  😎