In the same vein, many airlines will refund a ticket, even a
nonrefundable one, for good cause. Medical emergencies, jury duty, and
a death in the family generally qualify as a good cause for not using
a ticket.  Some sort of proof must be provided (death certiicate, note
from doctor), and it is completely up to the airline as to whether or
not the particular instance warrants a refund. But it doesn't hurt to
ask, even multiple times. Some airlines may issue a new ticket or
provide a flight credit voucher instead of offering a refund.

If you don't have any luck in getting a refund when talking with the airline
ticket agent or their supervisor, try asking your travel agent for
help. Sometimes they can succeed where you can't. You can also try
talking to someone at the airline's downtown ticket office in person,
and writing to their national office. It never hurts to ask, even
multiple times. If you're making no headway at the airline's downtown
office, try turning on the tears. This is especially effective if the
person who is preventing you from getting a refund is of the opposite
sex. Nothing makes a person try harder to help than seeing someone
start crying because of them. 

A useful trick for normal circumstances: When they ask for your name
for printing on the ticket, use your first initial instead of your
full first name. (Many airlines now require your full first name, even
if you purchase the ticket through a travel agent.) Thus if you can't
use your "non-transferrable non-refundable" ticket, your spouse or
some other member of your family might be able to.

[Airlines do not allow name changes on reservations and tickets, to
prevent travel agents from buying up cheap fares with dummy names in
anticipation of selling them to real people later. For this reason, it
is important when traveling overseas to make sure you give your name
to the travel agent exactly as it is listed on your passport. The name
on your tickets must match the name on your passport, and once the
reservations are made and the tickets issued, there's nothing you can
do to correct the name. The travel agent will have to cancel the
reservations and rebook the full itinerary using the correct name,
assuming the seats are still available at that fare. If the tickets were
non-refundable, there's nothing you can do.]

Another trick is to have your travel agent talk to the airline,
assuming you used him to purchase the ticket. Sometimes they will be
able to swing a deal.

Nontransferable tickets may still be useable by other people in your
organization, if the address listed on the ticket was your business
address, or if your organization's name appears on the ticket.

If the passenger named on the ticket died before the flight, most
airlines will allow a name change, and many will even refund a
nonrefundable ticket.

Unused nonrefundable tickets can often be applied as a credit toward
another nonrefundable ticket of equal or higher value on the same
airline, less a small reticketing fee of $35 to $50. You'll also have
to pay any difference in the fares, and you can do this for up to one
year after the date of purchase. (Note that if the new ticket costs
less than the old ticket, you probably won't be credited with the
difference.)  So if you bought a non-refundable ticket and decided to
not use it, don't throw it away. If you only used part of the ticket
(e.g., the originating flight but not the return), you probably can't
do this; these policies are for completely unused tickets.

If you lose your tickets, most airlines will require you to buy new
tickets, and then issue a refund after 30 days, less a fee of $30 to
$50. Thus 'losing' your tickets is not an effective means of getting a
refund for non-refundable tickets.

Full fare tickets (e.g., unrestricted coach, business class, or first
class), of course, usually allow changes without charge.

Normally a reservation will cancel out automatically if you don't
purchase a ticket within 24 hours. However, if you ask the airline to
invoice you, usually this timeout is extended to 10 days to allow
enough time for the invoice to reach you. You can still pay the
invoice using a credit card. If you don't pay the invoice, the
reservation cancels out at the end of the 10 day period. I was once
able to get the 10 day period extended, but that was because the
airline had transposed digits in my zip code, causing the invoice to
arrive after the 10 day period had expired.

Being hostile to airline personnel is the one sure way to prevent you
from getting a refund or change. Be nice to them -- it doesn't hurt
you, and probably will help you get what you want.