I guess I have been "burned" by the "extra comfort" concept. Bought tickets, one way, to KOA from SJC and paid up to extra comfort. Later that night, when I went to try and get different comfort seats, they gave me a notice on the website to consider buying up to first class. Wife has a medical problem, so she bugged me to take it. Original ticket price was $293.80, plus another $90 for the comfort seats. The price quoted for F class on the web site was $886.92.

I took the "let's chat" offer from the HA agent who agreed the fare was $886.92. Well, when I checked my Hawaiian Air Mastercard, they tacked on $593.12, for a total of $989.92. Furthermore, my invoice on the credit card has my itinerary parsed into 2 different ticket numbers--for both of us. Additionally, when I interacted with the chat agent, I asked if there were any hidden fees, charges, or whatever, for the exchange, and the guy said no.

I called back to protest, saying this defied common sense, that I would a purchase a ticket for $383.80 (parsed into $293.80 + $90) and was never told on the website that I was holding two different tickets, or that the $90 charge would be confiscated if I "paid up" to a different class. I requested a refund and was summarily denied. They offered me an opportunity to appeal to customer service, which I did. Seems a bizarre way to sell a pax a ticket for a flight.

Anyone else had this happen, or am I the first? It does make me feel like a fool to get duped by this technique.