Change of Booking

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Change of Booking

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

booking

Noun

ˈbʊkɪŋ

the act of reserving a ticket, accommodation, etc. in advance

Online booking for flights and hotel reservations has become standard.

I was able to upgrade my hotel room, thanks to a double booking.

fee

Noun

fiː

the money that a person pays to use something or get some service

Membership fees at this gym are very expensive.

I got charged late fees for not paying my credit card bills.

The conference fees were very high this year, but I came anyway.

I was surprised to find out that some of the wineries there now charge a fee for tasting wine.

Fees are subject to change without notice.

I don't have enough money for the bus fee.

fare

Noun

fɛr

the money that a person pays to travel on a bus, train, plane, etc.

You pay your fare at the front of the bus.

The fare for the taxi ride was ten dollars.

Taxi fares go up at night.

Please pay the bus fare when you get off.

I got a very low discount fare for my airline tickets.

Subway fares have recently increased.

local time

Noun

ˈloʊkəl taɪm

time in a certain area/time zone

The local time in New York is almost 4:00 pm.

Exercise 2

Useful Expressions

Would it be possible to change the date of my flight?

Could you tell me your flight number?

Just a moment, please.

I hope you’ll have a nice trip back home, too.

Exercise 3

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogue aloud with your tutor.

Mr. Adachi is at a travel agency, trying to change his flight booking.
	Clerk Good afternoon! What can we do for you today?
	Akio Adachi Hello. I have a problem. I booked a flight to Tokyo for September 15th, but I will need to stay in San Francisco for another day. So, would it be possible to change the date of my return flight to one day later?
	Clerk Yes, sir. That is possible if there are still some seats available for your desired date. But the fee for the change of flight would be $50. Also, you would need to pay for the difference in fare between the old ticket and the new one.
	Akio Adachi I understand.
	Clerk Could you tell me your flight number?
	Akio Adachi American Airlines, 537.
	Clerk Just a moment, please. Okay, so, you would like to leave on September 16th instead, is that right?
	Akio Adachi Yes, that's correct.
	Clerk There are available seats left for the flight departing San Francisco at 6:05 A.M. and arriving in Tokyo at 9 A.M., local time. And the fare difference is $125. So, that would be $175 in total.
	Akio Adachi That is okay. Can I pay by card?
	Clerk Certainly.
The clerk prints out the new ticket and gives it to Mr. Adachi.
	Clerk Thank you for choosing American Airlines. I hope you’ll have a nice trip back home too.
	Akio Adachi Thank you very much!

Exercise 4

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks to complete the dialogue.

Henry is at a travel agency, trying to change his flight booking.
	Henry Hello! I’d like to (1) of my flight, if that's possible. I booked a flight to London for March 13th, but I will have to go earlier.
	Clerk I see. Could you tell me your (2), please?
	Henry Just a moment. Here.
Henry shows the itinerary of the flight.
	Clerk Thank you. Okay, with the Economy ticket that you have, it is possible to change the date, but there is a (3) of $50.
	Henry That is okay. So would it be possible to (4) a flight on March 1st?
	Clerk Let me see. Yes, there is a seat available for the flight departing from Paris on March 1st at 11:15 A.M. and arriving in London at 11:30 A.M., (5).
	Henry That's perfect. What would be the difference in (6) between my old ticket and that one?
	Clerk The difference would be $55. So you would need to pay $105 altogether.
	Henry Okay. Can you book that flight for me?
	Clerk Certainly. It will take just a few minutes.

Choose answers from the options below that fit in blanks 1 to 6

Answer Pool (Questions 1-6)

book
change the date
fare
local time
flight number
fee

Exercise 5

Role Play

Role-play the following situation with your tutor.

Situation

You are at a travel agency and you want to change your flight from Barcelona to Moscow to a week later. Your teacher will be the travel agent.

Exercise 6

Discussion

How do you usually book your flight, online or through a travel agent?

Have you ever had to change your booking? If so, why?

Do you often change your travel plans?

Do you prefer booking a flight in advance or do you wait until you are certain that your plans won't change?

What do you think about the fees for flight changes?