Q. My husband bought a ticket on Southwest, using his credit card, for our son to come and visit us. Now, as it turns out, our son cannot make the trip at all, due to job issues.

May my husband use the same confirmation number and put the credit towards a new ticket in his own name, since he's the one that paid for it?

And for the record, why are airlines generally so opposed to changing the name on a ticket anyway?

A. Yes, your husband can use the credit for your son's ticket and apply it towards another ticket, within a year of the original date of purchase. There are no fees for this, just the matter of paying the difference, if there is one.

Southwest is the only airline that allows such a thing, and --we might add -- one of the only airlines around these days actually making a profit. As for the others, there really isn't any reason why they shouldn't also allow for transferrable ticket credits. If pleasing passengers isn't motivation enough, they at least stand to make some money from the fees that they'd certainly charge, just as they do for a change of date. Short-sighted, we guess.