{{Short description|Contractual requirement in the tourism industry}} In tourism, '''reconfirmation''' is a contractual requirement that the traveller must explicitly re-notify to the seller that they still intend to use their reservation.<ref name="OxfordTravel2012_reconfirmation">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191733987.001.0001/acref-9780191733987-e-4950?rskey=2u5mA5&result=4941|title=reconfirmation (preview)|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Oxford Reference|last=Beaver|first=Allan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803063228/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191733987.001.0001/acref-9780191733987-e-4950?rskey=2u5mA5&result=4941|archive-date=2021-08-03|url-status=live|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|at=A Dictionary of Travel and Tourism|language=en}}</ref><ref name="IANA2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.iata.org/contentassets/c33c192da39a42fcac34cb5ac81fd2ea/iata-passenger-glossary-of-terms.xlsx|title=IATA Passenger Glossary of Terms|date=2018-07-15|access-date=2021-08-03|website=IATA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803065520/https://www.iata.org/contentassets/c33c192da39a42fcac34cb5ac81fd2ea/iata-passenger-glossary-of-terms.xlsx|archive-date=2021-08-03|url-status=live|at=Row 665 "Reconfirmation"|language=en|format=xlsx}} (link can be found on the right bar under "Related Links" on [https://www.iata.org/en/programs/workgroups/passenger-standards-conference/ IATA Passenger Standards Conference (PSC)])</ref> If the traveller fails to reconfirm, their reservation might be cancelled. The term is mostly used in commercial aviation.<ref name="OxfordTravel2012_reconfirmation" />
== Airlines == Several airlines require the traveller to perform reconfirmation procedures, even though the airline ticket has already been reserved, paid, confirmed, issued, partially checked-in and flown. A typical reconfirmation rule is: for each flight (or more precisely, a "leg"<ref name="OxfordTravel2012_reconfirmation" />) within the trip, the traveller must explicitly re-notify ("reconfirm") to the airline,<ref name="USDOT_FlyRights_Tickets">{{Cite web|url=https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Schedules-and-Tickets|title=Schedules and Tickets|date=2019-10-04|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Fly Rights – A Consumer Guide to Air Travel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719124912/https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Schedules-and-Tickets|archive-date=2021-07-19|url-status=live|publisher=US Department of Transportation|language=en}}</ref> by telephone or at the airlines' counter,<ref name="USCAB1976" /> that the traveller still intends to take the reserved flight. The call must be done within a determined range of time in advance of the flight. Example deadlines are: 6<ref name="Frederick1955" /> to 72<ref name="USDOT_FlyRights_Tickets" /> hours. The earliest acceptable timing is not mentioned, but merely checking-in the previous part of the trip does not count as a reconfirmation for the latter part. If the traveller fails to reconfirm their flight reservation, the airline may cancel it.<ref name="USDOT_FlyRights_Tickets" /> This also means that if the traveller is forcefully deboarded ("involuntary deboarding", or "bumping", in jargon) from a flight because of the airline's overbooking, the traveller can not receive the standard compensation.<ref name="USDOT_FlyRights_Bumping">{{Cite web|url=https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Overbooking|title=Overbooking – Involuntary Bumping – exceptions|date=2019-10-04|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Fly Rights – A Consumer Guide to Air Travel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719124912/https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Overbooking|archive-date=2021-07-19|url-status=live|publisher=US Department of Transportation|language=en}}</ref>
The reconfirmation rule is an attempt to reduce no-shows.<ref name="Frederick1955">{{Cite book|title=Commercial air transportation|last=Frederick|first=John H|publisher=Richard D. Irwin, Inc.|year=1955|location=Homewood, Illinois, USA|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015023079653&view=1up&seq=444&skin=2021&q1=reconfirmation|edition=4|page=418|language=en|chapter=15. Airline passenger handling – Reconfirmation|hdl-access=free|hdl=2027/mdp.39015023079653?urlappend=%3Bseq=444}}</ref> Airlines tried several penalties such as reconfirmation, and no-show penalty charges. The reconfirmation system began in 1952.<ref name="Frederick1955" /> It was hated from the beginning, and the policy was frequently revised and inconsistent.<ref name="Frederick1955" /><ref name="Cherington1958">{{Cite book|title=Airline price policy; a study of domestic airline passenger fares|last=Cherington|first=Paul W.|publisher=Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University|year=1958|location=Boston, USA|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015023100541&view=1up&seq=469&skin=2021&q1=reconfirmation|page=431|language=en|chapter=Appendix IX-D – The "no-show" penalty problem|hdl-access=free|hdl=2027/mdp.39015023100541?urlappend=%3Bseq=469}}</ref>
During the 1970s, travellers were strongly advised to reconfirm,<ref name="USCAB1976">{{Cite book|title=Air travelers' fly-rights|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|year=1976|location=Washington D.C., USA|pages=13|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c101988132&view=1up&seq=15&skin=2021&q1=reconfirmation|edition=Third revised|language=en|chapter=VI. Reconfirming|hdl-access=free|hdl=2027/uc1.c101988132?urlappend=%3Bseq=15}}</ref> as cancellations actually happened,<ref name="USCAB1976" /> even on domestic flights.<ref name="GAO1978">{{Cite book|title=Airlines passengers: are their consumer rights protected? : By the Comptroller General Report to the Congress of the United States|publisher=U.S. General Accounting Office|year=1978|location=Washington D.C., USA|pages=5, 8|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112012413966&view=1up&seq=17&skin=2021&q1=reconfirm|editor=Comptroller General of the United States|language=en|chapter=2. How tariffs affect passengers – Tariffs an infringe on consumer protection – Case A|hdl-access=free|hdl=2027/uiug.30112012413966?urlappend=%3Bseq=17}}</ref> Since the 1990s, some guidebooks told that domestic flights do not need reconfirmation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Birnbaum's Great Britain, 1990|last=Birnbaum|first=Stephen|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1989|isbn=9780395511480|pages=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9TYpQ5AWzfMC&q=Reconfirmation|language=en}} (URL is Google Books)</ref> By 2000, there was a notion that reconfirmation became something of the past, and travellers who actually did reconfirm may have decreased.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Airline customer service : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, second session, June 28, 2000|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=2004|location=Washington D.C., USA|pages=47|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b5183360&view=1up&seq=51&skin=2021&q1=reconfirmation|hdl-access=free|hdl=2027/uc1.b5183360?urlappend=%3Bseq=51}}</ref> However, {{As of|2021|lc=y}}, it is still allowed to mandate reconfirmation, so the risk of being cancelled remains.<ref name="USDOT_FlyRights_Tickets" />
Each airline has different reconfirmation policies, which are stated in their ''Contract of carriage''. For a ticket that contains multiple flights operated by different airlines, one flight may not require reconfirmation, yet others may do. Each airline and each flight have different rules. * Delta Air Lines: {{As of|2021}}, "reconfirmation" is mentioned in their Contracts of carriage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.delta.com/us/en/legal/contract-of-carriage-dgr|title=Contract of Carriage: U.S.|date=2021-02-18|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Delta Air Lines, Inc.|at=E) Compensation For Involuntary Denied Boarding|language=en}}</ref> * American Airlines: {{As of|2021}}, "reconfirmation" is mentioned in their Contracts of carriage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/conditions-of-carriage.jsp|title=Conditions of carriage|date=2021-04-29|access-date=2021-08-03|website=American Airlines|at=Oversold flights – Involuntary denied boarding|language=}}</ref> * Lufthansa: {{As of|2021}}, Lufthansa flights do not need reconfirmation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/support/search/search-result?query=reconfirmation|title=Do I need to reconfirm my Lufthansa flight?|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Lufthansa|quote=It is not necessary to reconfirm your booking for Lufthansa flights.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/business-terms-and-conditions-1|title=General Terms & Conditions – Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage (flight ticket GCC)|date=2021-07-01|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Lufthansa|publisher=Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft|at=5.5 Reconfirmation of Reservations|language=en}}</ref> * United Airlines: {{As of|2021}}, "reconfirmation" is mentioned in their Contracts of carriage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/contract-of-carriage.html|title=Contract of Carriage Document|date=2021-04-13|access-date=2021-08-03|website=United Airlines, Inc.|at=Rule 25 Denied Boarding Compensation – Compensation for Passengers Denied Boarding Involuntarily – d. EXCEPTIONS|language=en}}</ref> * Airlines which explicitly mandate reconfirmation: Ethiopian Airlines,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/us/services/help-and-contact/frequently-asked-questions|title=Do I need to reconfirm my online reservations?|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Ethiopian Airlines|at=Frequently Asked Questions – Online Booking|language=en}}</ref> Kenya Airways<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kenya-airways.com/Guest-Support/Flight-Reconfirmation-Requirement/en/|title=Flight Reconfirmation Requirement|access-date=2021-08-03|website=Kenya Airways|language=en}}</ref> * British Airways: as of 2025, "reconfirmation" is mentioned in their General Conditions of Carriage<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 October 2024 |title=British Airways - General Conditions of Carriage |url=https://www.britishairways.com/content/information/legal/conditions-of-carriage/general-conditions-of-carriage |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=www.britishairways.com}}</ref>
== References == <references />
Category:Civil aviation Category:Airline tickets