Letter to airline requesting flight date change

The task

You have bought an airline ticket, but for some reason, you will not be able to travel on the day scheduled.

Write a letter to the airline compan. In your letter:

→providing the details of your flight
→explaining the situation, reasons why you cannot travel
→saying what you expect the airline company to do

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8177 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Customer Service Team,

I am writing regarding my upcoming flight, reference number AB12345, scheduled for departure from London Heathrow to Dubai on 15 November at 10:30 am.

Unfortunately, I am no longer able to travel on this date. Yesterday, I received urgent notification that I must attend a mandatory professional certification examination that has been rescheduled to the same morning. As this qualification is essential for my current employment, I have no choice but to postpone my travel plans.

Given these unforeseen circumstances, I would like to request a change to my booking. I am hoping to reschedule my flight to 18 November or any available date within that week. I have reviewed your terms and conditions regarding ticket modifications and am prepared to pay any applicable fare difference or administrative fees. Please let me know the procedure for processing this change and if there are any specific forms I need to complete to facilitate this adjustment.

I appreciate your assistance in resolving this matter and look forward to your prompt response.

Yours faithfully,

Julian Thorne

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Write a letter, get a band free →

Examiner's view

Why this scores well

This response achieves Band 8 by fully addressing all bullet points with a professional, consistent tone and clear, logical paragraph structure. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to provide specific flight details or neglecting to explicitly state what outcome the writer expects from the airline.

→Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
→If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
→No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

reference number
a unique code identifying a specific booking
mandatory
required by rules or law; compulsory
unforeseen circumstances
unexpected events that cannot be predicted
postpone
to arrange for something to happen later
administrative fees
extra charges for processing a service request
facilitate
to make an action or process easier

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?+

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How many words should an IELTS General Training letter be?+

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

More request letters

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