"waiving" $100 Change Fee For A Schedule Change?

[JS]

What is going on with this airline? I had two tickets, one with a LGA-BWI flight arriving at 8:30 AM, and another ticket departing BWI two hours later. US dropped the morning LGA-BWI flight, leaving me with a PHL connection to BWI arriving at 10:00 AM. As a 20 minute connection is illegally short, I called US Airways to move the second flight to the next one departing BWI (11:35 AM).

The agent said she would waive the $100 change fee just this once, but not to expect that in the future. I asked why they would charge a change fee when it's a schedule change and not a voluntary change, and all she did was repeat her previous statement.

If I should interpret this to mean "in the future, fly an airline that doesn't charge change fees for schedule changes", sure, I can do that. I'm not married to US Airways.

 

[tadjr]

If they were purchased as two separate tickets, the flight change on the first one would not automatically generate a schedule change or waiving of a change fee on the second one. This is probably what she was implying, but since I wasnt there, I cant say for sure. I've had people who have purchased two tickets and then have a delay, etc make them miss the connection and since they were booked in separate pnrs at separate times we didnt know they were continuing on. Even if they were purchased in the same record, if the fares were point to point, it would constitute two separate tickets and a change on one might not necessarily require a change on the second.


Another stupid thing the company is doing.....tis the season to give US Gift Certificates, but if you come to the airport to purchase one of these, we're going to charge you $10 on top of whatever you spend on us as a gift to ticket them.
Morons in charge. :down: Sooner or later someone with some smart ideas has got to take over this place.

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

If I should interpret this to mean "in the future, fly an airline that doesn't charge change fees for schedule changes", sure, I can do that. I'm not married to US Airways.

[post="227501"][/post]​

Yes

 

[USFlyer]

If they were on separate PNRs, that was a dangerous way to book the ticket. Were you trying to beat the system in some way?

 

[Schatzee]

Happens all the time. Book the trip as two separate tickets and put on the " " look when they are told the tickets are treated as stand alone even though both the passenger and agent can see what is going on. Usually done to get a lower fare.

 

[Finish or Ignore]

JS
Please excuse my french but that is what pisses me off about this airline and the people running it.
Airline employees are the cheapest people on the planet. They expect and look for the cheapest deal wherever they go. But they expect YOU to suck it up and pay full fare and enjoy it. You purchased a ticket that we offered for sale. After you purchased it WE changed the schedule. Common sense would say change the ticket and instead of a bunch of lip you should have been given an apology for the inconvienence. Don't expect many employees to agree with this. And don't expect US to make it without a culture change.

 

[Schatzee]

But they expect YOU to suck it up and pay full fare and enjoy it. You purchased a ticket that we offered for sale. After you purchased it WE changed the schedule. Common sense would say change the ticket .....

[post="227530"][/post]​

And US would suck it up if JS had one ticket that was changed due to the schedule. But if JS has bought 2 tickets and only one has a schedule change, only one will follow those rules, the other ticket is a voluntary change and carries the penalty. Most people do this type of ticketing to break the system and pay a much cheaper fare. It does work sometimes.
View attachment 2253View attachment 2253[attachment=22
3:attachment]

 

[youngblood]

JS
Please excuse my french but that is what pisses me off about this airline and the people running it.
Airline employees are the cheapest people on the planet. They expect and look for the cheapest deal wherever they go. But they expect YOU to suck it up and pay full fare and enjoy it. You purchased a ticket that we offered for sale. After you purchased it WE changed the schedule. Common sense would say change the ticket and instead of a bunch of lip you should have been given an apology for the inconvienence. Don't expect many employees to agree with this. And don't expect US to make it without a culture change.

[post="227530"][/post]​

What pisses me off are people who assume. First and foremost, why was it booked the way it was originally? If JS had business in BWI, what business can be conducted in two hours? If the ticket was legitamate, it should have been booked on one PNR;therefore, making it a conjunctive ticket and there would not have been a problem. It sounds to me that the agent wasn't giving "a bunch of lip" but avoiding an escalated situation. Maybe the agent was trying to avoid the escalated situation because they knew they were putting their rear end on the line and didn't it going to a sup and risk getting in trouble. How about thanks for doing something you shouldn't have done and risking getting fired? Would be nice, but nooooooooooo........ we have to complain and try to make the agent look bad when in fact they did JS a FAVOR. The way this company is going, there is a very good likelyhood that this particular agent may still get the shaft if travel hasn't been completed yet and he calls back to make yet another change.

As far as airline employees being the cheapest people around............... you know where you can put that remark. No further explanation needed except that if I have time to shop around for an item to get the best price I do. If I don't and it is a necessity, I pay the asking price. I don't make the fares and I don't agree with alot of the fares, but I sure as Hell am not going to rub salt in a wound when someone is purchasing a full fare for $1200. As a matter of fact, when I quote something like that I usually cringe because I know what the response will be.

 

[Finish or Ignore]

"And US would suck it up if JS had one ticket that was changed due to the schedule."

Suck what up? Did it actually cost US anything? Did money come out of the cash drawer?


"Maybe the agent was trying to avoid the escalated situation because they knew they were putting their rear end on the line and didn't it going to a sup and risk getting in trouble. How about thanks for doing something you shouldn't have done and risking getting fired?"

Very well put. Agents shaking in their boots. All for a simple ticket change. Getting into trouble for something "WE" started. Had "WE" not changed the product he purchased we would'nt be having this conversation. As I said, Common sense aint so common. Fear/intimidation - Gangwal lives thru Crelin!

 

[Hope777]

Bottom line was JS tried to pull the wool over our eyes by purchasing TWO tickets and he got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Oh well.......this is a perfect example of why airlines do not make money.

 

[Winglet]

It won't matter in a couple months anyway.

 

[JS]

Sigh... you know the saying about "assume"? It makes an ... of you and me?

This is for business travel, and I don't book end-on-end tickets when flying on business to save money. I pay the stated fare and expense it. I have booked end-on-end travel for myself, and I always allow plenty of time between tickets.

On this trip, for accounting purposes, I split up the two real destinations (a circle trip) into two open jaws using BWI to tie them together. If I had booked it as one ticket without BWI, I could save three hours of travel time, and it would have cost less.

That's right, I am spending MORE money as well as more time just to have two receipts. While it would be nice to do accrual accounting with airline tickets, suffice it to say that it's a lot easier to just buy two tickets and expense them separately. I guess you could say US Airways isn't the only large corporation with strict rules that "save" money.

 

[bobcat]

Bottom line is one ticket has absolutely nothing to do with the other. A schedule change on one ticket does not constitute a change fee waiver on another ticket if there is going to be a misconnect. The agent did you a favor, period. Next time, if there is a next time, do yourself a favor and save yourself money, aggravation and time and book on the same ticket.

 

[whlinder]

Even if they were purchased in the same record, if the fares were point to point, it would constitute two separate tickets and a change on one might not necessarily require a change on the second.

[post="227516"][/post]​

What if the only way to book a certain ticket is with end to end fares with a connection, and the first leg has a schedule change? Is the passenger still expected to make the connecting flight, or pay a change fee?

What if an end to end connection is booked and the first flight is delayed, forcing the passenger to miss the second flight. Is US not liable for rebooking because it was priced as two end to end fares? IMHO that doesn't sound right to me.

If you buy two itineraries seperately (two different tickets), but you need them to "connect", can't you call and have the PNRs linked?

 

[bobcat]

If all is on the same ticket and there is a misconnect, no matter what the fare, US will re-accommodate to next available flight at no charge.

No, you can not tie together two separate tickets. Either book all on one ticket or you have two separate individual tickets with two different ticket numbers with their own individual set of rules and restrictions.