Using your confirmation number with the airline
Once your trip is paid in full, your airline confirmation number appears on your trip page in Trips. It's the code the airline uses to find your reservation, so you'll use it to check in and to look up your trip on the airline's app or website.
From then on, date and time changes are made directly with the airline, under its own fare rules, and so are cancellations. There are still a few things you can do in Defera too, like adding seats or bags.
How do I find my trip with the airline?
Here's how to look it up:
- Find your confirmation number. Open Trips and tap your trip. Your confirmation number is on your trip page.
- Check which airline flies each flight. If a flight shows "Operated by" another airline, a partner airline flies it, and that airline's app or website is usually where your trip lives.
- Look up your trip. On the airline's app or website, look for the option to find or manage a booking. Most airlines ask for your confirmation number and the traveler's last name.
Use your airline confirmation number here, not your Defera booking reference. Your booking reference is the code at the top of your booking confirmation email. It's how we find your trip at Defera, but the airline can't look it up.
What does "Operated by" mean?
Airlines often sell seats on flights that a partner airline flies. Your itinerary shows this as "Operated by" and the partner airline's name. The operating airline flies the plane and runs check-in, and it usually sets the baggage rules and seat map.
It's completely normal, and it doesn't mean anything is wrong with your booking. What is a codeshare flight? explains more.
Why does my confirmation number have two codes?
If your trip uses more than one airline, your confirmation number may show two codes separated by a slash. There's one code for each airline, in the order you fly:
- The first code is for the first airline you fly.
- The next code is for the airline that operates your following flight or your return.
Use each code with its own airline. For example, if you fly out on one airline and home on another, use the first code with the airline that flies you out, and the second with the airline that flies you home.
How do I change or cancel my flights?
Once your confirmation number is released, date and time changes are made directly with the airline, using your confirmation number. So are cancellations.
What's possible depends on the airline's fare rules. Fares are generally non-refundable, and some allow an airline flight credit. Only the airline can tell you what your fare allows.
If the airline tells you to contact the travel agency or company you booked with, that's us. The airline told me to contact the third party explains what to do.
On Defera Zero, can I still cancel for a refund?
Yes. On Defera Zero, you can still take 75% of your payments back to your card, up to 24 hours before departure. You do it from your trip in Defera:
- Open the cancel screen. Open your trip in Trips, tap Flight Options, then Cancel.
- Check the amount. Tap Cancel & receive 75% refund. The screen shows the exact amount before you confirm.
- Confirm. The refund then runs automatically.
Once the refund is sent, your bank decides when it shows up on your card, typically within 5–10 business days. What you get back when you cancel has the details.
What can I still do in Defera?
- Add seats or checked bags. From Flight Options on your trip, tap Purchase Seats or Purchase Baggage. This works whether your plan is still running or paid in full.
- Download your Trip Statement. It shows your airline confirmation number once your trip is paid in full. Tap the download icon in your trip's header row.
- Get help with anything on your trip. Chat with the Defera Concierge, our AI concierge, or contact us.