US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Article on CNN.com about getting screwed for standby

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TRAVEL/10/07/airlines.fees.ap/index.html

Listed under the headline "Frugal Fliers vs. Penniless Airlines," the article tells of one man who finished work early and attempts to get home on an earlier flight, only to find that his $98 ticket required a $250 change fee. He was able to call reservations and "moan a bit" and get the standby for the "reduced fee of $100."

At least the issue is getting coverage, though the article stops short of denouncing the changes as stupid.

S.

Why wasnt he offered the $100 standby fee directly from the agent at the airport?

I forgot- NOBODY knows the new rules.

So, did Mr. Baer save considerable money, even with the added change fees, over the price of a fully refundable/changeable ticket? That's the question I would've like to have seen addressed...

My guess is that indeed he did.... Bottom line is that the price differential between a nonrefundable and a flexible fare is so much that, even with an added fee here or there, nonrefundable fares are still worth the "risk".

I wish the story would've dwelved more into how silly the pricing structure is.

[This message has been edited by Arrzee (edited 10-07-2002).]

That was a really lame article.... first of all, he was flying the shuttle where one now can stand by as long as the ticket falls within the time period for the fare. But this probably happened before they changed that rule. Actually, I just realized that he would not have been allowed to standby on this fare according to the old rules either!

The $98 fare is only valid 7 pm Friday until 3 pm Sunday. Obviously, he flew out Sunday afternoon and booked a return on Friday at 7 pm. So the only option is to buy a new $218 full fare U class ticket. (Probably is $256 after tax.)

If he wasn't a super cheapskate he could have bought the $118 fare, which lets you fly during any off peak time. Then he would have been allowed to take the 2 pm shuttle! Also, he could have taken the latest shuttle to LGA on Sunday evening rather than 3pm...... Penny wise and pound foolish.

I am 90% on US Air's side on this one......

I am completely against US on this one...The shuttle ALWAYS has open seats...does it really matter to US when you fly? No! If they have empty seats they should let you on, it's as simple as that. This complicated Standy-By crap is just scaring away people who already have other options (train, bus, car) between BOS and LGA. To spend $100 for a $98 ticket is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

I think Congress needs to pass good passenger bill of rights!

There is nothing illegal about them ruining good DM programs, just bad business...

BUT, when they mess with standby rules to the point where agents can't get the rules straight, I think the government should step in.

I think Congress or the FAA should mandate that airlines MUST give a year's notice before rash provisions like "NO standby" go into effect at the very least... This would prevent these stupid "overnight" policies from messing up the traveling public. This should be done AT THE VERY LEAST.

But I think "standby" should be required by law. I don't see the point of punishing people when there are flights open. They could justify this under the "commerce clause" in the constitution as the airline rules effects interstate commerce by messing up business travelers.

What does everybody think? I'm all in favor of them making money, but I think public carriers should be held to a higher standard of care.

[This message has been edited by bfunkjeep (edited 10-07-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by hscottm:
Why wasnt he offered the $100 standby fee directly from the agent at the airport?

I forgot NOBODY knows the new rules.</font>

The $100 s/b fee isn't in effect yet. After Oct. 10, we can buy the coupons but until then, there is NO standby on non-refundable fares.

I think the s/b stuff is crap too but time-specific fares on the Shuttle are a very different thing-- I think US is within the acceptable to ask him to buy up. In fact, I think their "offer" to let him on for $100 is bull****. They should have made the guy buy up or sit around until 7 pm.

Actually MaineFlyer16, I think the Shuttle is the one place they SHOULDN'T allow simple standby. It makes perfect sense to have peak and off-peak fares here and they should charge according to the flight taken.

I agree with gnaget that this fellow was penny-wise and pound-foolish.



[This message has been edited by kv99 (edited 10-07-2002).]

The crux of the issue is that the low fares are too low and the unrestricted fares are too high. This guy turned a weekend fare routing on its end for a business trip. US should probably restrict this fare to a 2-day return to prevent this from happening. However, they do offer the reasonable $118 fare which is valid at any time off-peak with 7 day notice. This is a response to Acela, driving and competition from Delta.

It would be much better if they had unrestricted walk up fares on the Shuttle ranging from dirt cheap at off peak to very expensive at 5 pm. Implement some complicated algorithms based on demand. A Shuttle should not have lengthy pre-purchase requirements -- it defeats the purpose.

I usually fly off-peak but flew peak DCA-BOS the other week and it was full at 5 pm on Thurs and again at 5 pm on Sun. I was booked at 6 pm and arrived early -- the WL was huge.
It's possible that LGA-DCA is hurting because of the competition whereas DL no longer offers comparable service on BOS-DCA.

Actually, in the old days you had IAD-BOS shuttle on US and UA had close to hourly service on the same route and a proper DL shuttle DCA-BOS. Discounted fares were $13x vs. $200 today. Actually, fares jumped up in early 2000 prior to the UA-US deal.

I tend to agree that the shuttle routes (and the few left to BWI - which dont allow standby to IAD/DCA) make sense for restricting standby. And thus this press story is not a great example.

However, the fact that it was an AP story that got picked up all over the place and generally makes US look bad is fine with me. As others have mentioned, I am waiting for the family of 4 getting stuck over Thanksgiving and being told to ante up thousands for new tickets. Whats worse, missing a confirmed flight in many routes will mean getting there a day or so late anyway AND paying big bucks for new tickets.

If CNN had visited a Southwest Airlines gate, they would have found exactly the same thing. Every Southwest route is basically like the Shuttle -- frequent service, time-specific fares, and *no* all-day-long standby for free.

The Shuttle is one thing US Airways does pretty well -- like a mini-Southwest. Time-specific fares are true supply and demand. There may be demand for 21 day advance purchase seats or Saturday-night stay seats, but there is no supply of seats like that. The only way to supply seats on a route is through time of day (and of course day of week, same idea).

Yeah, but WN tops out at $160 for a peak flight BWI-PVD whereas US charges $600 for unrestricted peak DCA-BOS. Huge difference! Also, this guy would have been able to credit his $98 to upgrade to a $160 ticket on WN. That's sane, fair and reasonable.

I am not up on the details, but WN has caused huge headaches in the California shuttle market for UA. Wish they could do the same in the Northeast.

If I desperately have to go to Boston on my own dime tomorrow then I am heading to BWI -- I am not going to fork over $600.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JS:
If CNN had visited a Southwest Airlines gate, they would have found exactly the same thing.</font>

No they wouldn't have. They'd have found happy customers who aren't being screwed at every turn.

This "SWA does it so it must be ok" line is silly. The "major" airlines need to make up their minds -- if they want to be just like SWA then that's what they should do -- but applying all of the heavy handed restrictions that they imagine SWA and all the other low fare carriers have on their tickets without any of the benefits (like low top end fares and fungibility of the ticket) isn't competing with SWA. That's like offering Yugos to compete with minivans. It's driving customers to the low cost carriers -- pax aren't as stupid as airline exec's.