Q. My son and his wife are having my first grandchild in September. I live in Mississippi and they are in Denver, CO. How do I go about pre-scheduling a flight from either Jackson, MS or Memphis, TN to Denver, CO when I don’t know the exact date that they may be having the baby? It seems that it is easier to schedule a return flight so I am not too worried about that one.
A. I always say that the only leisure travelers who will fly no matter how high fares go are expectant grandmothers. Congrats, by the way. Most airlines charge $150 to change travel dates on a non-refundable ticket. Your best bet is to book a flight on Southwest Airlines from Memphis. Uniquely, they’ll let you change your travel date with no penalty even with a non-refundable fare (assessing only any applicable fare increase compared to the time you originally bought your ticket). You could also buy a changeable, refundable full fare ticket on any airline, but that would be expensive.