What a fare actually allows on your ticket: changing the date or the route, cancelling, and getting money back — and when your rights as a passenger apply instead of the fare rules.
When something changes in your travel plans, the question you ask is usually one: “What can I actually do with this ticket?” But that question hides two different situations, with two different answers. One is “what does my ticket allow” — that’s decided by the fare rules attached to it. The other is “what am I owed if the airline cancelled the flight” — that’s decided by law, not by the fare. The difference between the two matters, and it decides whether you’re dealing with your ticket’s conditions or asking for something else entirely.
Who sets the rules
Every air ticket is issued under a specific fare, not under one general airline policy. That means two passengers on the same flight, sitting next to each other, can hold tickets with completely different rules on changes and cancellations — depending on when and how each one bought their ticket.
These rules aren’t hidden. They’re in the fare conditions attached to the booking, and any passenger can read them. That’s where the answer to “can I change this” actually lives — not in assumptions.
What “non-refundable” means
The label “non-refundable” sounds as if the ticket is worthless if you don’t use it. In reality, it most often means only that the portion of the price going to the airline isn’t returned. Government taxes and airport fees you didn’t use can often be reclaimed — but that depends on the airline and shouldn’t be assumed without checking. If your ticket is non-refundable, it’s worth asking specifically about that portion, rather than writing off the whole amount automatically.
Changing the date or the route
If you need to change your travel date, depending on your ticket’s fare rules, that most often means a change fee plus any difference in price if the new date falls in a more expensive period. Changing the route — for example, a different final destination rather than a different date — is most often treated differently, and with most airlines is priced as a new ticket, not as a simple amendment.
The same applies to passenger names: the ticket is personal, and the passenger’s name most often cannot be changed once the ticket is issued. If there’s an error in the name, it needs to be checked directly against your fare’s conditions, since practice varies between airlines.
If you cancel, versus if the airline cancels
This is the most important distinction in this whole article, and it’s worth being clear about.
If you decide to cancel your trip, your ticket’s fare rules apply — the fee, the refund conditions, everything described above. That’s your decision, and the consequences are defined by the fare, not by law.
But if the airline cancels or significantly changes the flight, the situation is entirely different. Then you don’t depend on the fare — you depend on your rights as a passenger, defined by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, which Macedonia has transposed into domestic legislation as part of its membership of the European Common Aviation Area. That gives you the right to rerouting or a refund, and in certain cases also the right to compensation. For a full overview of those rights and amounts, see the separate article on your rights when a flight is cancelled or delayed.
Similarly, if the airline itself changes the flight schedule, depending on its own policy and the fare, a free rebooking or a refund is most often available — but this comes from the airline’s policy, not from law.
If you believe your rights as a passenger haven’t been respected, a complaint in Macedonia is filed with the Civil Aviation Agency, after you’ve first contacted the airline itself.
The trap that costs the most: missing the first flight
If your trip has several legs and you don’t show up for the first of those flights, with most airlines the remaining legs are automatically cancelled. This isn’t a legal rule — it’s a common airline practice, but it’s a frequent and costly mistake. If you know in advance that you won’t use part of the trip, it’s better to check, or contact the airline or your agent, rather than simply not showing up.
Three things worth checking before you buy
Before you pay for a ticket, it’s worth taking a moment for three questions: whether the ticket is refundable or non-refundable, and what that specifically means for the taxes; how much a date change costs and whether a route change is treated differently; and whether the passenger name can be corrected if you spot an error. The answers to these three questions are in the fare rules of each specific ticket.
Where we come in
The fare rules are set by the airline, and we can’t change them. But what we can do: read them accurately, work out the price difference when a change is needed, and handle the task itself for you, rather than leaving you to fight the airline’s automated system. The service fee for this is agreed in advance, with no hidden costs.
If you need to change or cancel a ticket, see our change and cancellation service or send us the details and we’ll reply as soon as possible.
Fare rules for changes and refunds differ from airline to airline and are set by the airline itself, not by us. This article explains general principles; it doesn’t replace the conditions of your specific ticket.