A fee to reduce your fee if you rebook on American Airlines?

[marmar]

:wtf:



t seems to be never ending, all the fees the airlines are charging their passengers. Here's the latest one.

Today American Airlines announced a fee to sit in the front row in coach. American's new Express Seats will cost as much as 39 dollars per flight for choice spots in the first few rows in the cabin.... the bulkhead seats right behind the galley, where there's more leg room.

Those passengers will board in the first group of general boarding, likely reducing the amount of elbow jockeying for overhead space.

The fee is the latest in a long line of a la carte fees in the industry, bringing billions in revenue to airlines dragged down by high oil prices and the economic recession.

Tired of the airline fees? American is now offering to reduce them.... for a fee.
Among other things, it's "boarding and flexibility package" will take $75 off the regular $150 fee if you need to change your flight. All for an additional fee of $9 to $19.

What will airlines think of next? Pay toilets on their planes? Actually, one discount airline over in Europe is already planning on doing that. Don't forget to take some quarters on that flight.


http://www.ktul.com/Global/story.asp?S=13012149

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. the first airline in the US that puts in a pay toilet...

well, i will immediately book a flight (on the maiden flight of the equipped plane) and proceed to piss in my seat...more than once if i can.

sP

[tridim]

2. But first ask for an empty water bottle or something.

"I don't have a quarter, should I use the barf bag?"

CYA is probably a good idea before doing the actual deed.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

13. or I could just stand by the door beggin' for change...

either way! ;-)

sP

[joeybee12]

3. Reminds me of the Onion article where American was charging people a non-passenger fee

for not flying with them.

[mike_c]

4. my airlines story of the day....

My partner's 17 year old son graduates from Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego in a few days, so it's very important that she be there for him. No worries, we have a nice regional airport within minutes of our house. There aren't many airlines flying out of it, but there are a couple, including United Airlines, who happily sold her a ticket to San Diego.

A few days ago we began to hear rumors that more than the usual number of flights were being canceled or rerouted from our local airport, so we looked into it. Turns out there are some pretty major infrastructure problems-- we live on California's north coast where fog is a daily fact of life, and the airport's instrument landing system has apparently been down for some time. We tried to call and talk to them about it, but the airlines cite "security reasons" for denying ANYONE access to an airport ticket counter telephone, the local airline offices, and even the airport staff.

That's right. We cannot call them. The airport is not listed in any local telephone book. The airport manager's telephone number is a state secret. That's only the beginning of the craziness.

We cannot call them, so a friend visited the airport on our behalf and spoke with the ticket agent. Yes, he confirmed, they have canceled "more than seventy-five percent of flights in recent months." Huh? They've been canceling the majority of their flights for MONTHS, but the airline is still blithely selling tickets to routes that in truth are no longer flight routes so much as they are occasional excursions. The situation is so bad that the local newspaper has run editorials urging people not to take out their frustration on airport employees. Hundreds of travelers are being bilked every week.

My partner's travel plans are time sensitive-- her son cannot reschedule his boot camp graduation ceremony-- so she called the airlines and requested that her flight be moved to another local airport, about two hours distant (but much closer than, say, major airports in Sacramento or San Francisco, which are both about six hours away). And while United admits that her chances of getting there on the original ticket THAT THEY SOLD HER are very low-- certainly less than twenty-five percent-- they demanded a $230 ticket change fee anyway, AND put her on a flight that will require her to miss pretty much an entire day's work just to get to the airport on time. Their reasoning? Her scheduled flight hasn't been canceled YET-- they cancel them within minutes of boarding-- so it's not their fault yet, even though they recognize that the flight most likely WILL be canceled eventually, and that she MUST change the ticket in order to make her appointment in San Diego. If we wait for United to cancel the flight, there won't be time for her to make a rerouted connection two hours distant. She will miss her son's graduation.

I'm livid. This is deceptive business, at best. We paid the fee, and she's taking Thursday off to travel, but by the time it's all said and done we probably could have driven to San Diego in about the same amount of time and with considerably less hassle than it has cost us dealing with United Airlines.

United Airlines, you suck. Arcata-Eureka airport, you suck too. :grr:

[ejpoeta]

5. can she go to the media? if the media picks up on the story

about a military mom trying to get to her son's graduation maybe the airline will quit dicking her around.

[mike_c]

6. we're writing a LTTE even as we speak....

Copy to United Airlines customer service and the airport board of directors.

[WolverineDG]

12. Remind them that "United breaks guitars"

Do something creative & put it on YouTube, just like that guy did.

dg

[Edweird]

7. If she paid by credit card cancel and dispute the charges. Rebook with someone else.

[mike_c]

10. we tried-- the ticket is non-refundable....

As far as we've been able to find out, there aren't any choices. She bought the ticket weeks ago, in good faith, obviously. There isn't anyone else to book the flight through unless she drives to larger airports in Sacramento or San Fran, both options that we normally use when we want to travel because the local airport is so much more expensive. In this case, time is of the essence and we thought it better to fly out of a local airport, only minutes from home, rather than risk the long road trip before the flight with all of its attendant opportunities for things to go wrong. In retrospect, flying out of Sac would have been better, even if it is a six hour drive to the airport. It CERTAINLY would have been hundreds of dollars less expensive!

[ProdigalJunkMail]

14. canceling the charges in a case like this would likely no be allowed...

and the credit card would certainly reinstate them if they allowed them to be disputed/canceled in the first place.

sP

[Hannah Bell]

15. that's amazing. completely deceptive & predatory. jesus christ.

things in the us are increasingly reminding me of the complaints people used to make about doing routine business in third world countries -- how simple things were convoluted orwellian exercises, how you had to resort to bribes ("fees") to get what you wanted, etc.

income & power concentration & the resultant corruption.

[AnArmyVeteran]

8. There will be an additional fee to sit in a pressurized cabin with oxygen.

The rest in the non-pressurized section will have to breathe from the overhead masks if they can afford the $5 per ten minutes of use. If they run out of money they are out of luck, and life.

[AnArmyVeteran]

9. There will be an additional fee to sit in a pressurized cabin with oxygen.

The rest in the non-pressurized section will have to breathe from the overhead masks if they can afford the $5 per ten minutes of use. If they run out of money they are out of luck, and life.

[haele]

11. So the handicapped who might need the larger "choice" area have to pay a fee?

We try to get bulkhead not because we can get off the plane easier, but because if my husband can't stretch his legs out, he's unable to stand up, let alone walk after ten minutes in a normal airline seat. If bulkhead isn't available, then we try aisle - and aisle seats are the next "choice" seats to go, and I suppose the next seats to get fees.
Other people with wheelchair requirements, or the elderly who need assistance getting in and out of their seats will have to pay a fee just to be able to fly, I suppose. Or fly first class. Or just not fly at all.

Oh well, it's not like there's any other mode of transportation available to get one across country or long distances within a day or so. And we don't "have a right" to travel by air, even if there is a family or job emergency. As for the transportation options - it takes two/three days to go cross-country by rail, even longer by bus. Airlines like this have you where they want you.
Guess the travel option to see family in the future for most Americans will be "back to the future" - to travel by train. Between the difficulty getting seats that won't cripple and the increasing cost for basic services, trains are becoming the most economical way - be it based on financial and/or medical reasons - way to travel. Even though one will need to schedule 4-6 travel days, instead of two when they plan a trip. At least the bathrooms are bigger and you can sleep in the seats, so it's no too bad even if you can't afford a sleeping berth.
Hmm - 3 adults Amtrak, 31 hours each way to San Antonio from San Diego, change trains in LA (2 hr layover to, 45 minute layover from) - round trip - $1,085. In comfy chairs with fold down tables, lounge car, ability to get up and walk around, easy access to bathrooms, big windows to see the scenery, free checked baggage, and space for bring-on food/drink as well as carry-ons. Little chance of being bumped, and ridership still fluctuates enough that there are generally a few empty seats to spread out on.
3 adults Airline, lowest fares on Southwest, American, Continental - around 7 hours each way, (with at least a 1 hour plane change/layover in Denver, Dallas/FW, SLC, Phoenix, LA, or Las Vegas depending on airline and flight) - Round trip $900 - $1200, plus baggage fee, cramped seats, close quarters. Possibility of being bumped due to overbooking, or sitting on the tarmac for hours due to weather, limitations to food, drink, and carry on necessities.
The train is starting to sound way more attractive as time goes on.
Which means for our travel options in the future - as air travel restrictions and fees go up, and I don't get much in the way of available vacation time periods (pretty much only one week at a time max), it's just going to be my husband and/or the kidlet traveling to meet relatives over the holidays. :(

Haele