I flew Song a while ago from MCO - JFK, and I was early, and there was an earlier flight with almost 70% seats open. They would not budge and let me on for free. It was $25. Period.

I see both sides....the airlines are desperate. But as a business standpoint, the company wants the customer happy. If a plane is about to leave, and a person has a ticket on the next plane, and the one about to leave is 1/2 empty, there is no reason they shouldn't let a paying customer on.

My reason is - it makes the customer happy, and it's costs the airline nothing. Second, if a problem should occur to the aircraft for the next flight, that person is a new liability for the airline, when they could have had their contract with them over with earlier. Everybody wins. Second, if the flight he was originally on is full, or delayed, it releases just one more seat that isn't a new problem for the airline should they have a mechanical, etc. Stupid business in my mind.


I ended up caving in and paying the $25 on Song for an earlier flight. And it was EMPTY. It's not about the $25, but about the company lost nothing by getting me home earlier, and it cost them no more, and possibly saved them money.

Oh well!