At a glance
This document forms part of the agreement between you and Zeptotravel LLC (“Zeptotravel”, “we”, “us”). It applies to every booking made through this website or through our telephone reservations desk.
Effective date: 28 August 2026 · Governing law: State of Delaware, USA · Questions: legal@zeptotravel.com
1. Who you contract with
1.1 Zeptotravel LLC trading as Zeptotravel is a travel agency and booking intermediary. We are not an airline and we do not own, operate or control any aircraft. When we issue a ticket we act as your agent in arranging carriage, and as the airline's agent for the limited purpose of ticketing and collecting payment.
1.2 Two agreements arise on every flight booking. The first is between you and us: the booking service, our fees, and the accuracy of what we quote. That agreement is these terms, read with our general Terms & Conditions.
1.3 The second is between you and the airline whose code appears on your ticket — the carrier's contract of carriage (outside the United States, its conditions of carriage). It governs the flight itself: boarding, refusal of carriage, delay, cancellation, rerouting, baggage liability and compensation. Where these terms and that contract conflict on a matter of carriage, the carrier's contract prevails. Fare rules and carrier conditions are disclosed before payment and referenced on your confirmation; ask the advisor if you want the full text of a rule before you commit.
2. The ticket, coupon sequence and validity
2.1 An electronic ticket is issued in the traveller's name and is not transferable. It cannot be sold, reassigned or used by another person under any circumstances.
2.2 A ticket is made up of flight coupons, one per flown segment, and they must be used in the order printed. This is a condition of nearly every published tariff, not a Zeptotravel policy.
Skipping a segment can void the rest of the ticket
If you do not fly a coupon — you miss the outbound, or you deliberately end the journey at a connecting point ("hidden city" or "throwaway" ticketing) — the airline is entitled under its tariff to cancel every remaining coupon, refuse the return, recalculate the fare to the higher applicable one, or invalidate the ticket outright. We cannot restore a ticket that has been voided this way, and no refund arises. If your plans change, cancel or change the ticket before the first missed departure.
2.3 Unless the fare rule states otherwise, a ticket is valid for travel for one year from the date of issue, and a partly used ticket for one year from the date of first travel. Changes must normally be completed, not merely requested, inside that validity.
2.4 Some fares are filed as a single unit that only prices correctly with both directions present. Cancelling one direction on such a fare does not leave the other intact at the same price.
3. Names, government ID and Secure Flight data
3.1 The name on the ticket must match the name on the travel document you will present at the airport — for US domestic travel a government-issued photo ID accepted by the TSA, for international travel the machine-readable passport. Match the given name and surname exactly as printed on the document. Middle names, suffixes and hyphens matter.
3.2 You are responsible for checking the spelling on the confirmation we send you. Tell us immediately if anything is wrong. Small corrections caught within a short window after issue are usually straightforward; the same correction two weeks later often is not.
Airlines treat name corrections very differently
There is no industry-wide rule. Some carriers permit a one-off correction of a few characters at no charge. Some require the ticket to be reissued, which triggers the carrier's reissue fee and any fare difference at the time of reissue. Some do not permit corrections at all on the fare you hold and will only cancel — subject to that fare's refund rules — and resell. Assume a correction may cost money and may not be possible; do not assume it is free. Our own handling charge for the work is in the post-ticketing service fee schedule.
3.3 For flights to, from, within or overflying the United States, the TSA Secure Flight programme requires full name as it appears on the ID, date of birth and gender before a boarding pass can be issued. Redress and Known Traveller numbers are optional. Supplying inaccurate Secure Flight data can prevent boarding.
4. Fare rules and branded fare families
4.1 The price you pay buys a specific fare basis, and that fare basis carries its own rules on changes, refunds, seating, baggage, upgrades and mileage accrual. Two people in adjacent seats can hold entirely different rights.
4.2 Most carriers now sell in branded families. The general shape of the market is set out below; the operating carrier's filed rules for your specific ticket always take precedence over this summary.
| Fare family (typical) | Seat selection | Changes | Refundability | Checked bag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic economy | Usually assigned at check-in; paid selection sometimes blocked | Commonly not permitted at all | Non-refundable after the risk-free window | Rarely included; carry-on may also be restricted |
| Standard / main economy | Free or paid, depending on carrier and status | Most US carriers no longer charge a domestic change fee; fare difference still applies | Non-refundable, but usually convertible to a credit | Usually chargeable on domestic, often included on long-haul |
| Flexible / full economy | Included | Permitted, normally without penalty | Usually refundable | Usually included |
| Premium economy / business | Included | Varies widely by fare basis within the cabin | Discounted cabin fares are frequently non-refundable | Higher allowance set by the carrier |
4.3 Displayed prices are indicative and subject to availability until a ticket number is issued. Fares, taxes and carrier-imposed charges can change up to the moment of ticketing. Our position on pricing errors and repricing is set out in Price Accuracy & Fare Rules.
5. Baggage
5.1 Baggage allowance, size and weight limits, excess charges and rules on sporting, musical and oversized items are set by the operating carrier, not by us. Where a journey involves more than one carrier, the allowance is usually — but not always — that of the carrier operating the first international sector, under the applicable interline resolution.
5.2 We publish the general framework and the questions to ask on our baggage information page. It is a guide. The carrier's published allowance on the day of travel governs.
Separate tickets are not interlined
If your journey is issued on two or more separate tickets, the carriers have no obligation to check your bag through to the final destination, to protect you if the first flight is late, or to honour each other's allowances. You must collect your bag, clear customs where required, and re-check. We will tell you when an itinerary is on separate tickets and why we are proposing it — normally price or availability — so that you can decide whether the saving is worth the risk.
5.3 Claims for delayed, damaged or lost baggage lie against the carrier and must be filed with the carrier, usually before you leave the baggage hall or within the short window set by the applicable convention. We will help you assemble and submit the claim; we cannot pay it.
6. Schedule changes and involuntary changes
6.1 Airlines re-time, re-route, re-equip and cancel flights. This can happen months out (a schedule change) or on the day (irregular operations). Neither is within our control.
6.2 We monitor bookings we hold and notify you by email, and by telephone where the change is material or the departure is close, using the contact details on the reservation. Keep your email address and mobile number current with us. If a carrier notifies you directly first, contact us before accepting an alternative — accepting a rebooking online can waive better options.
6.3 Where a carrier makes a significant change, its tariff normally offers rebooking onto its next available service, rerouting, or a refund. What counts as "significant" is defined by the carrier — commonly a change of several hours, a change of airport, or the addition of a connection. We present the options and request the best one available on your behalf. US carriers are additionally subject to Department of Transportation rules on customer service commitments and prompt refunds for cancelled and significantly changed flights.
7. Voluntary changes, cancellations and no-shows
7.1 A voluntary change is any change you request that is not caused by the airline. The cost is the carrier's change penalty (where the fare has one) plus any difference in fare and taxes at the time of reissue, plus our post-ticketing handling charge. The fare difference is frequently the larger number.
7.2 Changes are only possible while inventory in the same fare class, or a class the rule permits, is available. A "changeable" ticket is not a promise of a seat on the flight you want.
7.3 No-show. If you do not present for a flight and have not cancelled beforehand, most fares are forfeited in full — including fares that would otherwise have allowed a change or a credit. Cancelling even minutes before departure usually preserves more value than not turning up. Call us as soon as you know, and if the desk is outside its published hours, cancel directly with the carrier and tell us afterwards — preserving the value matters more than who actions it.
7.4 Our fees for changes, cancellations, reissues, refund filing, seat and bag purchases and name corrections are published in the post-ticketing service fee schedule and are separate from, and additional to, any airline penalty.
8. Refunds, credits and the 24-hour risk-free window
8.1 The 24-hour rule. Under US DOT regulation, air transportation to, from or within the United States must be either held at the quoted fare without payment for 24 hours, or cancellable without penalty within 24 hours of purchase — provided the booking was made at least seven days before the flight's scheduled departure. We operate the cancellation version of the rule and we do not charge our own service fee to exercise it.
8.2 The window has real limits, and we would rather you knew them now: it runs from the time of purchase, not from midnight; it does not apply where the ticket was bought fewer than seven days before departure; and it applies to the itinerary as purchased, not to a modified one.
8.3 Outside that window, refundability is determined by the fare rule. A "non-refundable" ticket usually still has residual value as a carrier credit, minus any penalty, subject to the carrier's expiry and rebooking rules — but some deeply discounted and basic-economy fares carry no residual value at all.
8.4 Refunds are processed by the carrier, not by us, and are returned to the original form of payment. The carrier's processing time governs; card issuers then add their own posting time. We file the refund, track it, and chase it. Full detail sits in our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
8.5 Government taxes and certain airport charges are frequently refundable even on a non-refundable ticket, because they are only due if you fly. We will file for those where they are recoverable and worth more than the cost of recovering them, and we will tell you when they are not.
9. Check-in, cut-offs and boarding
9.1 Check-in, bag-drop and gate cut-off times are set by the carrier and the airport, vary by station, and are enforced. A cut-off missed by one minute is missed. The general guidance we give is to arrive two hours before a domestic departure and three before an international one, longer at airports with known security queues — but the carrier's published times are the ones that count.
9.2 Being at the airport is not the same as being checked in. Failure to check in by the deadline, to be at the gate by boarding close, or to hold the required travel documents is treated as a no-show under clause 7.3.
9.3 Online check-in windows differ by carrier and are sometimes unavailable on agency-issued interline or codeshare tickets. A failed online check-in is not in itself a sign of a problem — call us and we will confirm the booking status.
10. Travel documents, visas and border requirements
10.1 You are responsible for holding valid travel documents. That includes passports with sufficient remaining validity (many countries require six months beyond the date of entry), blank pages, visas, transit visas, electronic travel authorisations, onward-travel evidence and any health documentation in force at the time of travel.
10.2 Requirements depend on your nationality, your residence and your route including any technical stop, and they change without notice. We provide general guidance as a courtesy; it is not immigration advice and it does not transfer the obligation to us. Verify with the relevant consulate or official government source before you travel.
10.3 Carriers transmit Advance Passenger Information (API) to border agencies and may refuse carriage if the data is incomplete. Denial of boarding or entry for a document failure does not create a right to a refund.
11. Oversales, denied boarding and delay compensation
11.1 Airlines routinely sell more seats than the aircraft holds. When more passengers present than can be carried, US carriers must first ask for volunteers, and must give passengers who are involuntarily denied boarding a written statement of their rights and, in defined circumstances, denied boarding compensation calculated under the DOT oversales rule as a multiple of the one-way fare, subject to caps and to arrival-delay thresholds. Compensation is not payable where the carrier gets you to your destination within the short delay window the rule defines, nor where the flight is cancelled or downsized for operational reasons rather than oversold.
11.2 On flights departing an EU or UK airport, and on some arriving there on an EU or UK carrier, the passenger rights regulation commonly called EU261 may additionally give fixed-sum compensation for long delays, cancellations and denied boarding, plus rights to care and rerouting. It does not apply to every itinerary we sell, it is subject to an extraordinary-circumstances defence, and the claim lies against the airline.
11.3 We do not pay compensation under either regime and cannot guarantee an outcome. We supply the booking evidence, identify the correct carrier entity and escalate through our trade channel.
12. Special assistance, minors, pets and service animals
12.1 Disability assistance. On US carriers, and on foreign carriers operating to and from the United States, the Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing rules govern wheelchair assistance, seating accommodations, carriage of assistive devices and the handling of service animals. Tell us what you need when you book, not at the airport: wheelchair category, whether you can walk to a seat, battery type for a powered chair, and any medical equipment you will carry. We enter the request in the reservation, confirm it with the carrier, and tell you if a carrier declines part of it.
12.2 Unaccompanied minors. Age thresholds, permitted routings, whether connections and overnight stays are allowed, mandatory service fees and required paperwork are set by each carrier and are not standardised. Many carriers refuse unaccompanied minors on connections, codeshares or the last flight of the day. Book these by phone.
12.3 Pets and service animals. Carriage of an animal in cabin or hold is at the carrier's discretion, capacity-controlled per flight, may be embargoed in extreme temperatures, and is subject to breed, container and destination import rules. Trained service dogs are treated distinctly under the applicable regulation and normally require the carrier's forms in advance. A pet booking is not confirmed until the carrier confirms it against the specific flight.
13. Who is responsible for what
The single most common misunderstanding on a flight booking is which party owes what. This table states our position plainly.
| Matter | Zeptotravel | Operating carrier | Traveller |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quoting the total payable price | Responsible | Files fare and taxes | Confirms before paying |
| Issuing the ticket correctly | Responsible | Validates the ticket | Checks the confirmation |
| Name spelling on the ticket | Enters what you supply | Sets correction rules | Responsible for supplying it correctly |
| Operating the flight, delay, cancellation | Not responsible | Responsible | — |
| Baggage allowance, damage, loss | Assists with the claim | Responsible | Files at the airport |
| Denied boarding compensation | Escalates the claim | Responsible | Keeps documentation |
| Passports, visas, entry permission | General guidance only | Checks at the gate | Responsible |
| Arriving in time for cut-offs | Advises the times | Sets and enforces them | Responsible |
| Refund and credit processing | Files and tracks it | Pays it | Provides card details used |
| Our service and handling fees | Discloses and charges | Not involved | Authorises them |
14. Limitation of liability
14.1 Carriage by air is governed by the Montreal Convention 1999, or by the earlier Warsaw Convention system where Montreal has not been adopted between the relevant states, together with the carrier's tariff and any applicable domestic law. Those instruments define and limit an airline's liability for death and injury, for delay, and for baggage, and they impose strict time limits for bringing a claim — commonly two years.
14.2 As an intermediary, Zeptotravel is liable for its own acts and omissions in performing the booking service: a ticket issued to the wrong date because we mis-keyed it, a fee we failed to disclose, a refund we failed to file. We are not liable for the acts, omissions, default, insolvency or operational decisions of an airline or any other supplier, nor for events outside our reasonable control including weather, air traffic control restrictions, industrial action, closure of airspace and government action.
14.3 To the extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability on a booking is limited to the service fees we charged on it, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss — missed connections on separate tickets, lost earnings, non-refundable accommodation or missed events. Nothing here limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
14.4 We recommend travel insurance appropriate to the trip, purchased at the time of booking. Cover for cancellation is typically widest at that point and narrows as departure approaches.
15. General provisions
15.1 These terms supplement our general Terms & Conditions and should be read with our Refund & Cancellation Policy, post-ticketing service fee schedule and Price Accuracy & Fare Rules. Where a general term and a term on this page conflict on a flight booking, this page prevails. Where the same booking also includes a vehicle, the vehicle element is governed by our Car Rental Terms & Conditions; these two documents are the only vertical-specific terms we publish.
15.2 We may update these terms. The version in force is the one published on the date you make your booking, and the effective date is shown at the top of this page.
15.3 More on how flights are booked and serviced through us is on the flights hub. Questions about any clause on this page can be put to an advisor on +1-888-555-0119 during published desk hours, by email to support@zeptotravel.com, or in writing to legal@zeptotravel.com.