Don't need them? Cancel them!

This one’s definitely worth bearing in mind. I’m sure a lot of us book flights as cheap as we can get them. This usually means getting the ones that can’t be changed, upgraded, moved, altered or cancelled without a complete loss of the ticket cost.

Note those two words at the end: “ticket cost”.

As I’m sure you’re aware, a vast amount of the cost of a flight these days doesn’t pay for your seat – it’s taxes. And these – to some extent – can be claimed back should you cancel a flight, even if it’s a non-refundable ticket.

I just cancelled the return leg on my recent flights, due to flying back from Tokyo ahead of schedule. My original booking was with Etihad through Expedia, a return from Heathrow to Bangkok. The overall price was £402.90 of which £198 was tickets and £204.90 taxes! I called Etihad to cancel the return leg, and they told me to contact Expedia to organise a partial refund of the tax. As the girl on the phone said, I won’t get it all back but something is better than nothing.

Given that the return ticket only cost £50 more than a single, if I get £50 or more back then I’ve effectively not spent any more than I would have booking only the outbound flight anyway. The downside is that it can take up to three months for the refund to come through. I’ll try to update you folks with the final amount when I get it.

Still, a good one to remember. If you’re not going to use it, cancel it. You may still get something back into your bank account.