Triangle Trip

Most US airlines have raised ticket change fees which make non-refundable tickets worthless. I had a USAir discounted non-refundable ticket for $198 but had to cancel the flight for personal reasons. After being routed to two India call centers, I was told that a credit will be issued under my name and I had one year to use it. The credit is not transferable and it will be worthless after one year from the date of issuance. Finally, the USAir call center rep told me that there will be a $150 change fee if I want to re-use my $198 credit for another flight.

After hearing the call center reading all the rules from his screen aloud to me for close to 2 minutes, I asked myself the following question:  “What is the point of issuing me a $198 credit, then take $150 away on my next booking. Why doesn’t USAir just tell me that I have $48 of credit to use for another USAir flight?”

At first I thought the $150 change fee was steep, then I learned UAL has recently up their fees as well. Ghetto Delta has always charged $150 for their itinerary change fee but now they are charging $250 for international change fees (check their ticketing FAQ).

Here’s what I have learned from this experience:

1.  If you see a cheap airfare and clicked on the “SUBMIT” button on a website, you better travel on those dates and times or your ticket will be worthless.

2.  Buy a refundable ticket or wait until a week before you are planning to take off if your plans are still influx

Airlines are obviously using change fees as an alternative way to get more revenue and stick it to its customers.

A follow up to my earlier post, Continental Airlines has succumbed to the pressure from United and American by offering double Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) today. Here’s the link to register if you’re interested. Continental is upping the ante by not requiring a ticket be booked during the promotion period. You just need to be onboard during the promotional period which is now until June 30, 2009.

Since all these EQM promotions wont’ take affect (credited into your frequent flyer account) until after the promotion, we will have a bunch of fliers with “cheater” status come July 1, 2009. For the record, it was USAir (US-Scare) that started all this… For those of you who hasn’t registered for US Air’s double EQM promotion, here’s the link. You’ll have until the end of March to get your double EQM offer.

So … will ghetto Delta be next to join this pack?  I am hoping for a better offer than what I have seen so far. The Sky Team needs to step it.

I just got an email from USAir [US-Scare] telling me that they are bringing back free soft drinks starting March 1, 2009. I was going to write a post blasting US-Scare late last year for charging me $2 for an orange juice that came from a can. I also saw the flight attendant charging another passenger for water. I was on a 5 hour flight (JFK to PHX). Holding your customers hostage on a 5+ hour flight to get another $2 to $4 (some may need two drinks) does not make business sense.

I am not sure who is running marketing at US-Scare but Doug Parker (the CEO) better start to look for a new head of marketing. Fernand Fernandez was the signer of the email but I am sure Fernand reports to another old guy in the industry who needs to be replaced. Emails like “We’re bringing back free drinks” will not work unless drinks mean Glenlivet 25!