Beware of Buddy Passes

[700UW]

Article

Beware of airline 'buddy passes'
Airline workers often sell the passes they receive as perks from their employers. Buying them can be a pain.
By Edward Colimore

Inquirer Staff Writer

When Rick Schroeder and Jason Chafetz spotted the Internet post selling airline "buddy passes," they thought they had found a bargain.
Airlines issue the passes as perks to employees, who use them or give them to friends and family to fly standby for a fraction of the normal cost. Schroeder and Chafetz would only have to pay taxes and fees on their flights, saving thousands of dollars on a planned July vacation.

The friends met their hookup, a US Airways customer-service agent, at Philadelphia International Airport last month and paid him $200 each, said Schroeder, of the city's Fishtown section. They immediately applied the passes to round-trips to Germany for an additional $282 apiece.

 

[luvthe9]

Old news!!! been going on forever

 

[Harry Callahan]

I never ever let ANY ONE use my except family. Oh they won't fly US (even non rev) unless they have no choice.

 

[The Bagfather]

I think the actual cost for those two would be closer to $2,500. So for buddy
passes they paid $400. Then for the non-rev tickets they paid $500. That's
$900. So their savings is more like $1400 not "thousands". Those guys are
lucky they cxld their trip. Travel to Europe in high season with the lowest
standby priority? I'd say the buddy passes are priced about right without
the "starving US employee surcharge".

 

[YVINTERN]

As a frequent user of these buddypasses...It's hard to get around these days as a SA7P and lately there has been a decreasing number of SA9Ps from OALs around...It is not worth it to buy buddy passes then use it...I don't do that after all I have ACTUAL friends but it's sad to see this kind of capitalistic venture from the employees who do sell their passes...I can't blame them but Tempe for providing low wages...

700UW You need to grow up and stop stirring the pot w/ old news.

 

[Lynn]

What????!!!!! Are you kidding me????!!! I find it very interesting that none of you mentioned the fact that you WILL...not can....WILL be fired for selling and making a profit off the buddy passes you are given as a privilege!!!!!!!

 

[US1YFARE]

From what I read here, getting fired would be a blessing in disguise.

Exactly...why not make a few extra bucks on the way out.

 

[flyJOE]

I'm looking at the picture of Jason Chafetz in this article and I am almost 100% certain that he worked for US Airways in the mid-90s in PHL while I was there. If memory serves me correctly, he was a SAR (special assistance rep) that drove the carts & helped push wheelchairs. I want to say he was in his early 20s then, which would make him 33 that the article said. He would have had buddy passes back then as well and would know the routine.

This might be nothing more than a publicity stunt to attract recognition to his business. I'm going to call BS on this Inquirer article. Any of you other PHL cust. svc. on here remember him?

 

[wildirishrose]

From what I read here, getting fired would be a blessing in disguise.

LOL good one

 

[flyingcat]

This might be nothing more than a publicity stunt to attract recognition to his business. I'm going to call BS on this Inquirer article. Any of you other PHL cust. svc. on here remember him?

So by your logic someone will read the article and will suddenly think to hire him? :blink:

He would have better luck wearing a billboard while the camerman took his photo.

 

[flyJOE]

So by your logic someone will read the article and will suddenly think to hire him? :blink:

He would have better luck wearing a billboard while the camerman took his photo.

I don't know what his reasoning was, but he used to work in cust. svc. with US in PHL and had full knowledge of how the buddy passes worked, the lower boarding priority, non-revving to hotspot destinations (MSY in Feb, Europe in summer, etc...). So none of this should have been a surprise.

The BS part is getting the Inquirer involved who have not been overly US friendly, sometimes well deserved to make it look like US is the bad guy.

Maybe it was a stunt, for publicity, 15 minutes of fame... who knows.

 

[Doc]

I'm looking at the picture of Jason Chafetz in this article and I am almost 100% certain that he worked for US Airways in the mid-90s in PHL while I was there. If memory serves me correctly, he was a SAR (special assistance rep) that drove the carts & helped push wheelchairs. I want to say he was in his early 20s then, which would make him 33 that the article said. He would have had buddy passes back then as well and would know the routine.

This might be nothing more than a publicity stunt to attract recognition to his business. I'm going to call BS on this Inquirer article. Any of you other PHL cust. svc. on here remember him?

One already suspended to date (don't want to say which station) it's about 70 buddy passes so far I guess the hub can't stop at eight.

Pay peanuts get monkeys

 

[YVINTERN]

One employee actually used 70 buddy passes? Must be BOS...

 

[The Bagfather]

From what I read here, getting fired would be a blessing in disguise.

Where's the diguise?

 

[WCT]

Exactly...why not make a few extra bucks on the way out.

US1 I love your new avatar! Never looking so good Sherry. Hot indeed!