Airline tickets are not transferable on any major U.S. carrier. You cannot hand your reservation to a friend, spouse, or relative if you’re unable to travel. What you can do is fix a misspelling, update your own name after a legal change, cancel within the first 24 hours and let the other person book fresh, or in narrow circumstances receive a travel credit that itself can be transferred.
Why the Rule Exists
The prohibition sits in each airline’s Contract of Carriage, the binding agreement you accept at purchase. Federal regulations let carriers fold these terms into the transaction by reference, provided they give adequate notice and make the full text available on request.1eCFR. 14 CFR 253.5 – Notice of Incorporated Terms Inside those contracts, virtually every U.S. airline declares the right to transportation personal and non-transferable.
The commercial reason is revenue control. If tickets could be freely resold, buyers could snap up cheap fares and flip them when prices rose, and airlines would lose the fare-to-passenger link their pricing depends on. Attempting to work around the clause can void the ticket entirely, with no refund or credit owed.
Cancel Within 24 Hours and Rebook
The most useful federal protection when plans change is the 24-hour rule. Airlines must allow you either to hold a reservation at the quoted fare without payment, or to cancel without penalty, for at least 24 hours after booking, as long as you booked at least seven days before departure.2eCFR. 14 CFR 259.5 – Customer Service Plan The airline picks which of the two options it offers, but one must be available.
If you realize within that first day that someone else needs to make the trip, cancel your ticket for free and have the other person book their own reservation at the current fare. That two-step is the closest thing to a legitimate transfer most travelers will find. Past 24 hours, your options narrow to whatever the fare class and the airline’s own policy allow.
Name Corrections Are Allowed. Name Changes Are Not.
Airlines draw a firm line between correcting a name and changing who owns the ticket. Corrections are permitted; substitutions are not.
- Typographical errors: a misspelled first or last name, inverted first and last, a missing hyphen. Minor fixes are often free.
- Legal name changes: updates from marriage, divorce, or a court order. You’ll need documentation such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order showing the person on the ticket and the person traveling are the same.
American Airlines allows corrections for misspellings, married or maiden names, legal names, and inverted names, provided the date of birth and gender on file don’t change. Changing the ticket to a different person is prohibited.3American Airlines. Name Correction Guidelines – SalesLink Delta’s rule is similar: names generally cannot be changed on an existing reservation, and if a transfer is attempted the booking must be canceled and a new one made at current prices.4Delta Air Lines. Booking Violations FAQs
Fees vary. Minor typos are commonly waived; larger corrections may carry an administrative fee plus any fare difference if the original price is no longer available. Most online portals don’t handle name changes, so you’ll usually need to call the airline directly. If you booked through a third party such as Expedia, the agency has to coordinate with the carrier, and for some budget airlines you may be directed to contact the airline yourself.5Expedia. Request a Name Correction to a Flight or Package
Why You Can’t Just Hand Someone Your Boarding Pass
Even setting aside the contract, federal security screening blocks informal swaps. TSA’s Secure Flight program requires airlines to collect your full legal name, date of birth, and gender, and that data is matched against government watchlists before you reach the airport.6Department of Homeland Security. DHS/TSA/PIA-018 TSA Secure Flight Program At the checkpoint, the name on your boarding pass has to match your government-issued photo ID. A mismatch can lead to denied boarding, which is also why even innocent typos are worth fixing before the day of travel.
Travel Credits That Actually Transfer
When the ticket itself can’t move, credits sometimes can. Southwest Airlines is the clearest example among U.S. carriers. Cancel a trip booked on a Choice, Choice Extra, or Choice Preferred fare, and Southwest issues a Transferable Flight Credit that can be given to another person. Both you and the recipient must be Rapid Rewards members, the entire credit must be transferred at once, and only one transfer is allowed per credit. It expires 12 months from the original booking date.7Southwest Airlines. Transferable Flight Credits
Delta is stricter. Transportation credit vouchers issued since December 2011 can be used by another passenger only if the original voucher holder is also traveling on the same reservation, and vouchers are valid for one year from issue with no extensions.8Delta Air Lines. Transportation Credit Vouchers Terms and Conditions American’s AAdvantage program credits and benefits are tied to the member’s account and cannot be sold, bartered, or used by anyone else unless the airline specifically permits it.9American Airlines. AAdvantage Terms and Conditions
If you know at booking that plans might shift, check the fare class first. Southwest’s mid- and upper-tier fares are the most flexible domestic option for passing unused value to someone else.
The Communicable Disease Credit
One genuinely transferable right exists in federal law and most travelers don’t know it. Under DOT rules finalized in 2024, airlines must issue a travel credit or voucher that is both transferable and valid for at least five years when a passenger cannot fly due to a serious communicable disease.10eCFR. 14 CFR Part 262 – Travel Credits or Vouchers Due to a Serious Communicable Disease Three situations trigger it:
- Government travel restrictions: you’re prohibited from traveling or required to quarantine at your destination for more than half the trip length under a federal, state, local, or foreign government order tied to a communicable disease, and you bought the ticket before the public health emergency was declared.
- Medical advice during a public health emergency: a licensed medical professional advises you not to fly to protect yourself from the disease, and you bought the ticket before the emergency declaration.
- Personal diagnosis: a medical professional advises you not to fly because you have or likely have contracted a serious communicable disease and traveling would pose a direct threat to others. No public health emergency declaration is required.
Airlines cannot impose unreasonable restrictions on these credits, meaning no limits on transferring them to another person, no expiration shorter than five years, and no severe restrictions on booking by date, route, or class of service.10eCFR. 14 CFR Part 262 – Travel Credits or Vouchers Due to a Serious Communicable Disease
Award Tickets Follow the Same Rule
Tickets booked with frequent flyer miles are treated the same as cash tickets. American’s AAdvantage terms state that rewards and benefits are for the member’s personal use, cannot be sold or accessed by anyone else, and are not transferable among members, their estates, or assigns.9American Airlines. AAdvantage Terms and Conditions Other major programs read the same way.
Some programs do let you move miles into another member’s account before booking, sometimes for a fee. That’s a mileage transfer, not a ticket transfer. Once an award ticket is issued in your name, the correction-only rules apply. If someone else might end up flying, move the miles first and let them book under their own name.
When a Family Member Dies
Airlines don’t transfer tickets when a family member dies, but several carriers offer bereavement fares that waive change fees or provide discounted last-minute travel. Delta waives ticketing penalties for SkyMiles members flying within seven days of the death or imminent death of an immediate family member. You’ll need the deceased person’s name, your relationship, and contact information for the funeral home or hospital. Fare differences may still apply, and refunds are limited to unrestricted bereavement tickets.11Delta Air Lines. Bereavement Fares
These policies help you book new flexible travel, not repurpose an existing ticket. If the person who was supposed to fly has died, the original ticket is typically a loss; cancel it, take whatever credit or refund the fare class allows, and book the replacement separately.
What About Foreign Airlines?
A handful of mostly European budget carriers do permit paid name changes that effectively transfer a ticket. Wizz Air charges approximately €70 per change. Ryanair, easyJet, and Transavia also allow paid name changes under various conditions. No major U.S. carrier offers this. If transferability is important and your route is served by one of those carriers, the flexibility may be worth the tradeoff.