Group bookings - to be avoided...
Nov 28, 2015, 2:45 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Alaska Gold 75k, Marriott Amb
Posts: 66
Group bookings - to be avoided...
first off, i am loyal & love alaska air - i am about to be 75k, have been gold for ~7 years, my wife is gold and my 7 year old twins are mvps.
however, here is my tale of why i would tell anyone with status to avoid group bookings.
We had 12 traveling from seattle to hawaii for a thanksgiving break. my wife and i are gold & 2 of our kids are mvps as is my mother in law. i originally booked my family & grandparents (7 of us) but changed to a group booking with my wife's sisters family (of 5, none with status), making a total of 12 flyers. The fare rate was $20ph higher than when i looked to book the original 7 but i thought that'll work out with baggage fees and the ability to seat everyone in close proximity. all of this was booked by one person (me) under one credit card. I'll note here - if you book a group booking its not available in any of the online systems alaska and changes, at least for me, don't get emailed out.
We came to hawaii, no troubles except a few la nina bounces and the silliness of checking in with a large group with different surnames.
however, after our original flight, we were split into 12 separate bookings. fun checking in for out flight tomorrow. with no notification - i didn't know this until trying to check in & calling the 1800#. I thought we'd we'll work out on baggage fees because of the number of mvps. but it's a silly hassle that spent 60 mins of my time and at least 30 mins of alaska's agents time. i had to check everyone in separately any am worried whether they'll do something dumb like choose to put my 2 year old in a seat with strangers.
At the moment, i am hoping we'll be cool, alaska agents will recognize names that are the same and kids flying under 12 should not be moved.
what i'd ask alaska:
1) make the separation of group and normal bookings not the problem it is today. on the phone today, an agent said to me "this is a group booking, i am not sure i can help and they are not there today"
2) make group booking available in the online tools like all other bookings
3)make it clear when booking and in the booking email that its a group booking and its therefore different - no email i received made it clear that it was a really different case. Srsly, the one thing that pisses me off here, (aside from spending 30 minutes on the phone sorting this out and another 20 checking everyone in) is that "all group bookings get no benefits of the lead traveller"
4) if your systems break everyone apart (the incredibly helpful alaska supervisor i spoke to said it was a booking system issue), at least send an email with all the new conf codes...
6) if you break all out bookings apart, i don't want to be on the upgrade list, especially if my wife is 5 people below me. or my 2 year old is left in economy...
i am hoping we get a good flight tomorrow & nothing stupid happens. I believe we will. but i'll never recommend a group booking or do it again.
/iain
however, here is my tale of why i would tell anyone with status to avoid group bookings.
We had 12 traveling from seattle to hawaii for a thanksgiving break. my wife and i are gold & 2 of our kids are mvps as is my mother in law. i originally booked my family & grandparents (7 of us) but changed to a group booking with my wife's sisters family (of 5, none with status), making a total of 12 flyers. The fare rate was $20ph higher than when i looked to book the original 7 but i thought that'll work out with baggage fees and the ability to seat everyone in close proximity. all of this was booked by one person (me) under one credit card. I'll note here - if you book a group booking its not available in any of the online systems alaska and changes, at least for me, don't get emailed out.
We came to hawaii, no troubles except a few la nina bounces and the silliness of checking in with a large group with different surnames.
however, after our original flight, we were split into 12 separate bookings. fun checking in for out flight tomorrow. with no notification - i didn't know this until trying to check in & calling the 1800#. I thought we'd we'll work out on baggage fees because of the number of mvps. but it's a silly hassle that spent 60 mins of my time and at least 30 mins of alaska's agents time. i had to check everyone in separately any am worried whether they'll do something dumb like choose to put my 2 year old in a seat with strangers.
At the moment, i am hoping we'll be cool, alaska agents will recognize names that are the same and kids flying under 12 should not be moved.
what i'd ask alaska:
1) make the separation of group and normal bookings not the problem it is today. on the phone today, an agent said to me "this is a group booking, i am not sure i can help and they are not there today"
2) make group booking available in the online tools like all other bookings
3)make it clear when booking and in the booking email that its a group booking and its therefore different - no email i received made it clear that it was a really different case. Srsly, the one thing that pisses me off here, (aside from spending 30 minutes on the phone sorting this out and another 20 checking everyone in) is that "all group bookings get no benefits of the lead traveller"
4) if your systems break everyone apart (the incredibly helpful alaska supervisor i spoke to said it was a booking system issue), at least send an email with all the new conf codes...
6) if you break all out bookings apart, i don't want to be on the upgrade list, especially if my wife is 5 people below me. or my 2 year old is left in economy...
i am hoping we get a good flight tomorrow & nothing stupid happens. I believe we will. but i'll never recommend a group booking or do it again.
/iain
Nov 28, 2015, 9:34 am
#3
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I've split from group bookings to maintain my perks like upgrades. The biggest perk seemed to be negotiating a lower price for everyone. (or at least a uniform price). And yes, the perks don't extend to the whole group like bag fees.
I'm a bit confused as to why the whole PNR was split...was there irrops encountered? Or did they try to reconcile bag fees on the outbound?
Granted its been a # of years since I've been part of a group booking.
I've split from group bookings to maintain my perks like upgrades. The biggest perk seemed to be negotiating a lower price for everyone. (or at least a uniform price). And yes, the perks don't extend to the whole group like bag fees.
I'm a bit confused as to why the whole PNR was split...was there irrops encountered? Or did they try to reconcile bag fees on the outbound?
Granted its been a # of years since I've been part of a group booking.
Nov 28, 2015, 12:14 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Alaska Gold 75k, Marriott Amb
Posts: 66
1) when booking it wasn't made clear that elite benefits were not going to carry through. in fact i remember asking some questions about moving people to seats closer to the front, but were unable to due to availability.
2) the dumbest thing is we actually paid more for the group booking - $20 a ticket - but i thought it was worthwhile to get the above...
3) apparently the splitting a group is a normal thing for groups. seems like a strange policy - according to one of the service reps i spoke to its because groups run on an old system. but maybe they were trying to reconcile bag fees.
/i
2) the dumbest thing is we actually paid more for the group booking - $20 a ticket - but i thought it was worthwhile to get the above...
3) apparently the splitting a group is a normal thing for groups. seems like a strange policy - according to one of the service reps i spoke to its because groups run on an old system. but maybe they were trying to reconcile bag fees.
/i
Nov 28, 2015, 4:27 pm
#5
Formerly known as stellertony
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MEX
Programs: UA Gold, DL Gold, NEXUS, APEC
Posts: 1,146
I’ve never used group bookings before, but from the AS elite benefits page, http://www.alaskaair.com/content/mil...benefits.aspx:
(That page doesn’t actually say anything about preferred seating for companions).
It sounds like if this situation comes up again, the thing to do is make two reservations with your wife as the primary on one and you as the primary on the other.
Checked Baggage Fee Waiver for member and companions traveling in the same reservation on Alaska Airlines. Companion waiver does not apply to group bookings.
It sounds like if this situation comes up again, the thing to do is make two reservations with your wife as the primary on one and you as the primary on the other.
Nov 28, 2015, 4:46 pm
#6
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It's not just price, but flexibility. Unlike individual tickets, you generally have the flexibility to substitute a passenger up to X days before initial travel and you also generally do not have to pay the entire sum at the time of booking (generally a significant perk when you are booking for a group where you need to go out and collect).
Group bookings are not the same as individual bookings and it is critical to read the t&c of the booking very carefully.
In this case, I would not have done a group booking. If you don't need the flexibility on passengers and payment, you are paying a bit more for significant flexibility you don't need.
Group bookings are not the same as individual bookings and it is critical to read the t&c of the booking very carefully.
In this case, I would not have done a group booking. If you don't need the flexibility on passengers and payment, you are paying a bit more for significant flexibility you don't need.
Nov 28, 2015, 5:12 pm
#7
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That's true...it does preserve name changes well
That's true...it does preserve name changes well
Nov 29, 2015, 10:09 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Alaska Gold 75k, Marriott Amb
Posts: 66
turned out the checkin/flying experience was all ok - didn't get charged for extra bags and all seated together. but as tonei said, i'd do it as separate smaller bookings. but i still wouldn't do it again...
/i
/i
Nov 30, 2015, 12:31 am
#9
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I've flown with a group of 24 and still didn't use the Group Desk, because it seemed pretty clear beforehand that free elite bags wouldn't extend to all pax. Instead, we broke up into 3 groups of 8 (each with an MVPG primary passenger), so everyone got 2 free bags. We also soaked up all the cheap seats, whereas the group rate (while the same for everyone) was something like $30 more than the cheapest tickets, and none were more.
Mar 23, 2016, 7:36 pm
#10
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Seattle, Wa
Programs: AS 75K & BR Member- HHonors Diamond - Hertz PC - Marriott Titanium - IHG Ambassador
Posts: 2,379
What I learned today....
I am a guest as part of a group booking of 43 people.
The Group was booked via a travel agent called Mexico Unlimited.
Today was the T- 30 day mark so they finally had to ticket it ( even though Alaska has had our names in the system for a week already )
I dealt with the group Desk and had my traveling companion and I split off onto our own PNR so we will both have free bags and priority seats based on my status. We both got priority seats assigned and they assured me the baggage waiver would apply to both of us.
I initiated the conversation to upfare the OB flights down to LAX and on to Mexico from "Q" which is the booking class to "H" or whatever the lowest instant UG bucket is and Also to apply a couple GGU's to the return. Easy Schmeasy, right .....NOPE.
They said that due to the nature of the booking all they see is the taxes and have no $$ basis to establish what the upfare is and that I can only waitlist for UG... not allowed to either Upfare or apply GGU...
Hmm, Sounds legit I guess - I trust them, they asked a supervisor and have no reason to otherwise dissapoint me.
Anyone else have any info or experience like this?
Not like i had a choice on the whole group res deal and the trip is free so who am I to complain ( and i didn't)
Just trying to get those perks ya know
The Group was booked via a travel agent called Mexico Unlimited.
Today was the T- 30 day mark so they finally had to ticket it ( even though Alaska has had our names in the system for a week already )
I dealt with the group Desk and had my traveling companion and I split off onto our own PNR so we will both have free bags and priority seats based on my status. We both got priority seats assigned and they assured me the baggage waiver would apply to both of us.
I initiated the conversation to upfare the OB flights down to LAX and on to Mexico from "Q" which is the booking class to "H" or whatever the lowest instant UG bucket is and Also to apply a couple GGU's to the return. Easy Schmeasy, right .....NOPE.
They said that due to the nature of the booking all they see is the taxes and have no $$ basis to establish what the upfare is and that I can only waitlist for UG... not allowed to either Upfare or apply GGU...
Hmm, Sounds legit I guess - I trust them, they asked a supervisor and have no reason to otherwise dissapoint me.
Anyone else have any info or experience like this?
Not like i had a choice on the whole group res deal and the trip is free so who am I to complain ( and i didn't)
Just trying to get those perks ya know
Mar 25, 2016, 9:30 am
#11
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Haven't tried to upfare a group fare- but would imagine fare rules would make it rather *inflexible*
Haven't tried to upfare a group fare- but would imagine fare rules would make it rather *inflexible*
Mar 25, 2016, 10:06 am
#12
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The issue faced by Bulkie likely has nothing to do with the group, but rather with the nature of the tickets. Chances are that the travel provider is a ticket reseller and that these are bulk tickets. In this scenario, Mexico Unlimited has purchased perhaps thousands of tickets for use over a period of months at a fixed price. MU then resells those tickets to customers, whether groups or individuals, at a markup.
AS has no idea what any given individual customer paid for their ticket and does not care. AS was paid for the ticket by MU and AS' sole job is to take a name provided by MU and provide a seat.
The tickets are likely a great deal for the group which paid for the tickets, but are likely wholly inflexible (e.g., can't be changed for any reason by AS) and carry other restrictions. But, if the price is right....
AS has no idea what any given individual customer paid for their ticket and does not care. AS was paid for the ticket by MU and AS' sole job is to take a name provided by MU and provide a seat.
The tickets are likely a great deal for the group which paid for the tickets, but are likely wholly inflexible (e.g., can't be changed for any reason by AS) and carry other restrictions. But, if the price is right....
Mar 27, 2016, 9:18 am
#14
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The issue faced by Bulkie likely has nothing to do with the group, but rather with the nature of the tickets. Chances are that the travel provider is a ticket reseller and that these are bulk tickets. In this scenario, Mexico Unlimited has purchased perhaps thousands of tickets for use over a period of months at a fixed price. MU then resells those tickets to customers, whether groups or individuals, at a markup.
In any case, the rules on such tickets can definitely be different than normal tickets. It would be interesting to know if Junkie was indeed traveling with a group of 43 in his group or not. My guess from what it sounded like, yes.
Mar 28, 2016, 5:52 pm
#15
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