Can't change flight to a departure point with another currency
 

I have a KM booking from BRU to MLA paid in EUR. I just tried to change it to LHR to MLA and was told it is not possible because the new ticket would have to be in GBP and they can't change the currency of the booking.

There are no restrictions on the ticket. I can change to any other airport I like (subject to a fee plus difference in fare) as long as it's in the Eurozone! This sounds absolutely absurd to me. I asked him what would happen if I had a GBP ticket from LHR and he confirmed I would not be able to transfer it outside UK.

I've never heard of any other airline doing this. I'm pretty sure Easyjet don't. That's the only other airline I have regular experience of changing bookings for. Is this normal?

I would have thought that they would just convert it to Neutral Unit of Currency (NUC) and price your new itinerary in NUC and then into GBP. That's how we'd do it on SHARES.

Sounds sensible but apparently not. Maybe I just got someone on the phone that doesn't know how to do it.

The IROE (IATA Rate Of Exchange) is normally valid for a month. This can lead to currency losses (and gains) to the airlines if they are being used 'as a bank'. The currency system is in place to facilitate sales across borders but it can be used to 'attempt' to subvert currency export rules and benefit from currencies in a devaluation. So some airlines do restrict reissues that could appear to change the original currency of payment.

For example had your original ticket been paid for in Venezuelan money, changing the ticketing currency to GBP results in the airline having money frozen in Venezuela for months or years, before they can repatriate it at a serious discount.

Since you have no restrictions the original ticket can be refunded, and that amount used as (partial?) payment against a new ticket. It sounds complicated but it really isn't. Any airline or agency should be able to handle that. (Any currency restrictions on the original ticket, if any, may preclude the refund - but that doesn't apply to the euro)

When I said no restrictions I meant on changing the date and routing. It's a non refundable ticket but the date and routing can be changed for 40 EUR plus difference in fare. Still not heard of any other airlines doing this.

Ah, a rebooking is not always the same as a rerouting. Normally when rerouting the point of origin should be the same. I think this is fairly standard airline practice, but as I've been out of the ticketing environment for a few years, I can't say this with a 100% assurance that things havn't changed.

LCC pricing models are different too. Squeezy might permit this type of change but ...

These things are hard-coded into the airline's booking systems. Over the years airlines have lost significant sums from currency manipulations so they have programmed their systems to avoid such losses. Obviously they didn't intend to restrict a EUR/GBP transaction but better safe than sorry. Call KM again and ask them to see if they can't do a refund against a new issue. If they can override the NONREF tag, they should be able to apply the value of the original ticket against the value of a new ticket.

Good luck ...

Edited to say. A rerouting should be from a point in the same country, but exceptions apply for multi-country environments. Euroland is obvious, but this also applies to the CAF franc countries etc.

Problem solved. Went to the airport for lunch and changed it over the counter at the sales desk, no questions asked.

Seems like the call centre staff aren't trained as well as airport sales desk staff. IIRC their call centre is outsourced whereas the airport sales desk is airline staff. No surprise there then!

On a different matter, with a different airline (prestigious legacy) I could not get the call centre to help me sort a problem with their website. Neither did I have the confidence that they could get me the booking I wanted.

So I called in at the airport and even though there was a small surcharge for booking there - I got brilliant service, plenty of time and highly personal service. I walked away with full printouts of everything. Like you used to get when airlines were able to have high street shops!