Guaranteed airfare....NOT

[giantfan]

The freaking Giants won the Super Bowl and not the Eagles


I have to tell you this, I haven't flown US since late June and frankly I'm not for sure I'm returning when the next trip comes. I have the luxury of accepting whichever training assignments I desire. Lately I've decided to just travel to customers that are driving distance. This way I make a few pennies every mile I drive on mileage reimbursement and avoid the dissapointment of flying US Airways. How long I can make this work? I'm going to try to stay off US for a good long while.

I do miss the folks I've met along the way, however how long to I allow myself to be a doormat for Doug Parker?

All I can say is that I hope Tempe sees the error of their ways soon...and starts kissing the arses of our FF's and tries to lure them back......

and as far as the Superbowl goes....at least the NFC East won, right? Isn't that any concillation for the Eagle fans? Like my avatar????

 

[eolesen]

This is one reason I still buy refundable tickets.....

If I am not mistaken, the change fee was originally intended to only apply if you changed the actual flight

Yes and not really. Most airlines apply the change fee whenever re-ticketing is required, which in the e-ticketing world, is on any change.

I've usually found that the change fees don't apply if you're upgrading the fare to a higher class of service. Sort of like upgrading your cell phone service...

I cannot think of another company (besides airlines) that guarantees a customer the lowest price but then charges them to get it....can anyone give me an example?

Mortgage companies for one. Want a lower rate? No problem. We'll even roll the closing costs into the new loan so you don't pay anything out of pocket. But you bet you're going to pay for it.

 

[Art at ISP]

Eolsen.

Actually, the airlines have been charging the change fee EVEN if you want to upgrade your class of service. Only one is considering an adjustment to allow for it based on my request--in cases where a traveler is bound by corporate policy to fly the lowest fare but chooses to foot the bill for F or C on his own after the fact...to me that would be leaving revenue on the table if it were not allowed under specific and limited circumstances.

That said, I have no doubts that other industries like mortgage banks charge for just changing the rate etc., but it still violates the principle and concept of a "lowest fare guarantee", and no matter what the history or who else is doing it, it is still misleading, and in my opinion and very close to fraud.

 

[as the prop turns]

had a chairmans call to check the price of a ticket he purchased 3 weeks ago roc/las/roc... pax paid 579.50......it priced today at 400.50. naturally pax req refund...i explained we quarantee the lowest fare however we charge $150.00 to change tkt to lower fare so his refund voucher would be for $29.00.......................needless to say he flipped out.

Sounds to me that a res agents doesn't know their job nor the rules of airfares.

 

[ITRADE]

No kidding. Some agents are very good - others.....Well....

I had an agent tell me that it takes 60,000 miles to upgrade a coach class ticket. She wanted to charge me 15,000 for every segment of the round trip.

SAY WHAT??!!! :unsure: :unsure:

 

[as the prop turns]

Being that I was a res agent in Pittsburgh before transferring to the ATO, (prior to any HP infiltration), USAir always issued a refund. Period. Also, the ticket counter agents are very upset they no longer have drafts (checks) to issue refunds immediately to our pax. Because of HP policy, ALL refunds must go through revenue accounting, and it takes FOREVER to get that refund! Micromanage and deceive. The HP way!

 

[eolesen]

Micromanaging it may be, but I know of people who remodeled their kitchen, paid for vacations, or simply gave themselves bonuses using local refund checks. They'd run a few off on someone else's die plate, and hold 'em for a rainy day....

Call it deceptive to charge for the refund, but the fact is that not every line of business gives everyone the same price for the same service or product. I'll guarantee that there are people who paid less for the exact model Jeep I'm driving, and that's to their credit. I still feel that I got a fair price, otherwise I wouldn't have paid for it in the first place.

If you want to chase every dime and penny on airfare, go for it, but there's a cost to the airline for issuing the refund, and I don't see it being unreasonable for the airline to recapture that. Sure, the fees are a lot higher than the $25 that everyone used to charge, but you can't argue that the cost of those fees hasn't also changed a lot of inappropriate purchasing behavior by customers.

 

[tea42]

Being that I was a res agent in Pittsburgh before transferring to the ATO, (prior to any HP infiltration), USAir always issued a refund. Period. Also, the ticket counter agents are very upset they no longer have drafts (checks) to issue refunds immediately to our pax. Because of HP policy, ALL refunds must go through revenue accounting, and it takes FOREVER to get that refund! Micromanage and deceive. The HP way!

hmmm... this counter agent is NOT upset over it.....

 

[jets_2573]

Sounds to me that a res agents doesn't know their job nor the rules of airfares.

u missed the point...we are not talking refunds per se.....we are talking guaranteed lowest airfare that has a fee of 150.00 to get if the price of your ticket goes down.....just so you know i have 35.6 yrs seniority all in res and i am 12 days to retirement.

 

[eolesen]

The guarantee is still there. Getting a rollover refund is still possible. We just have to pay the cost of issuing the new ticket and the partial refund. That's been in the not-so-fine print since the policy changed for rollovers. It's not dishonest or deceptive when someone is ignorant of the policy and gets pissed off about not knowing how the process works.

Enjoy your retirement... After 36 years, you deserve it.

 

[as the prop turns]

u missed the point...we are not talking refunds per se.....we are talking guaranteed lowest airfare that has a fee of 150.00 to get if the price of your ticket goes down.....just so you know i have 35.6 yrs seniority all in res and i am 12 days to retirement.

I stand corrected. I only have 27.8 years. Enjoy your retirement!!!

 

[as the prop turns]

No wait...I will not stand corrected. That is total Bu!! Sh!t. We NEVER did that, however to be honest, if there was a change, I don't ever remember reading about it or ever being briefed about it. That sounds unethical and immoral. You pax out there need to do SOMETHING about this. Penalized because the airfare went down and you want a refund. If the booking class of service is available and you qualify for the fare, this should be pretty much a no brainer! If I were a pax, I would contact the DOT and consumer affairs or better yet DoUgies office until I got my refund; and in a timely manner!

 

[jets_2573]

No wait...I will not stand corrected. That is total Bu!! Sh!t. We NEVER did that, however to be honest, if there was a change, I don't ever remember reading about it or ever being briefed about it. That sounds unethical and immoral. You pax out there need to do SOMETHING about this. Penalized because the airfare went down and you want a refund. If the booking class of service is available and you qualify for the fare, this should be pretty much a no brainer! If I were a pax, I would contact the DOT and consumer affairs or better yet DoUgies office until I got my refund; and in a timely manner!

as a matter of fact the chp was going to contact Dougie....he said he had him on speed dial!

no consumer should be guaranteed the lowest price and be monetarily penalized to get it...i find it very hard to believe it costs $150.00 to reissue an etkt.

 

[ANDROMEDA]

For your information,
anytime that an agent touches or modifies a ticket (nomatter what airline), there is a change fee associated. If the change is initiated by the customer, then the change fee applies. If there are circumstances outside of the control of the customer, such as weather and/or involuntary denied boarding(overbooked flight) or others alike, then that change is done for free.

United Airlines did exactly the same when I was a ticketing agent for them.

Welcome to the world.... smell the coffee.... this has been in place for many, many years.... 🙂

 

[Art at ISP]

It may have been there all along, but that doesn't make it right. If there is a lowest fare guarantee, that policy is in direct conflict with the change fee.

It's misleading at best and fraud at worst--if you want to keep the change fee for EVERYthing, which is wrong unto itself, then dump the lowest fare guarantee, because in essence, you are NOT guaranteeing anything of the sort.

You can't have it both ways....

I am surprised an attorney general somewhere hasn't got hold of this.
My friends in the press are VERY interested in learning more.

To be clear, my distaste for this practice is not aimed solely at US, it is at ALL carriers who charge this fee for EVERY change--it's just wrong. Also for any carrier with a similar low fare guarantee, they should be held equally to task.

It's just wrong.........