Originally Posted by jasamuel
I am most concerned that Independence feels they are able to treat college students as second class travelers, as I can't imagine them feeding an adult traveler the type of disrespect and miserable customer service that I was served up.
First of all welcome to FlyerTalk...
Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with your bags. I can't remember where I saw it, but I am pretty sure that I heard that GLiDE passes were not eligible for the "Happy Bags" promotion. Don't quote me, but I believe the reason given was that since your base fare was $0 and the Happy Bag doesn't refund taxes or fees, there would be nothing to refund. I know this doesn't take into account the $249+ you have already dropped on the pass itself, but from that angle it really isn't that different from policy's at other carriers (example - certaiin fares may not be eligible for upgrades, FF miles, etc...). I know you are upset, but the idea that FLYI treats college students flying on this pass as "second class travelers" is pretty far out in left field. If anything FLYI wants to retain these travelers so that when they graduate college and move on they will become loyal FLYI customers... and despite any negative experiences (which are inevitable from time to time) I think you will find that FLYI tries to bend over backwards for the customer... HOWEVER, you have to draw the line somewhere. Just as other carriers set rules and policies in place for their fare codes (as mentioned above) FLYI must do the same.
Originally Posted by jasamuel
My most pressing concern is the availability of Glide flights.
Once again, I'm sorry for the inability of flights... however, once again I fail to see how FLYI is "taking advantage" of college students on this one. If you go to the FLYI website and look up the GLiDE program rules #2 states very clearly:
2. While $0 fare seats will be available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, they are limited and may not be available on all flights and heavy demand may cause some Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to sell out early.
FLYI made it very clear that the seats were limited and might sell out.
The summer travel season is historically busier than most times of the year, and when you add that to the HUGE popularity of the GLiDE program (more people looking for those discounted seats), it makes sense that the flights would be limited... that is why they stressed flexibility.