Just Upgraded for $25
Sep 20, 2016, 10:25 am
#17
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: YUL
Programs: Super Elite 100K
Posts: 830
Sorry for being a fare class newbie, but why is there no fee involved in making this change? Because you are moving from Economy to Business?
"The agent did not know at first that this type of change does not require the $200 change fee so he called AC to confirm."
"The agent did not know at first that this type of change does not require the $200 change fee so he called AC to confirm."
Sep 20, 2016, 10:39 am
#18
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: YUL
Programs: AC SE (*A Gold), Bonvoy Platinum Elite, Hilton Gold, Amex Platinum / AP Reserve, NEXUS, Global Entry
Posts: 5,711
Sorry for being a fare class newbie, but why is there no fee involved in making this change? Because you are moving from Economy to Business?
"The agent did not know at first that this type of change does not require the $200 change fee so he called AC to confirm."
"The agent did not know at first that this type of change does not require the $200 change fee so he called AC to confirm."
Sep 20, 2016, 10:49 am
#19
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,667
And it's much easier to apply a blanket "waive the change fee" policy than it is to come up with rules on exactly which situations should waive it.
Sep 20, 2016, 12:57 pm
#20
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: YUL
Programs: Skymiles Silver Medallion
Posts: 955
It's simple. The airline wants you to upgrade from the lower fare to the higher one. It's more profitable for them to have you paying the hire fare. Why would they use fees -- which exist to discourage consumer behaviour -- for a behaviour that they want to encourage?
Sep 21, 2016, 12:26 am
#21
Join Date: May 2013
Location: west coast best coast
Programs: TINDER GOLD, STARBUCKS GOLD, COSTCO EXECUTIVE!!
Posts: 3,993
Jack, your Tango4Life philosophy is all well and good for a leisure traveller who books flights months in advance and has flexibility in schedule.
But I really wish you would acknowledge and appreciate that not everyone lives in the same world.
For those of us who travel on business, tickets often need to be booked on short notice. At that point, your analysis of $900 for <3 hours in Y is irrelevant. The questions are:
If the answer to the last question is yes, then the ticket will be purchased. That's why AC (and every other airline) has expensive last-minute fares.
I've gone to IAH last-minute on more than one occasion where the lowest economy fare was >$1100 (for a 4-hour flight in Y on a CRA). Would I ever do that my own dime? Probably not, because I wouldn't be looking to go to Houston on a Monday morning with 3 days' notice. But if I did, I would go through the same list I did above. And if the alternatives weren't much cheaper (or the inconvenience wasn't worth the money), and I really needed or wanted to go, I'd do it.
Carping about what you see as the poor value of the OP's flight doesn't add anything to this discussion.
But I really wish you would acknowledge and appreciate that not everyone lives in the same world.
For those of us who travel on business, tickets often need to be booked on short notice. At that point, your analysis of $900 for <3 hours in Y is irrelevant. The questions are:
- What is the cost?
- What is the cost of alternative routes?
- Does the value of going to the meeting/conference/whatever exceed the cost?
If the answer to the last question is yes, then the ticket will be purchased. That's why AC (and every other airline) has expensive last-minute fares.
I've gone to IAH last-minute on more than one occasion where the lowest economy fare was >$1100 (for a 4-hour flight in Y on a CRA). Would I ever do that my own dime? Probably not, because I wouldn't be looking to go to Houston on a Monday morning with 3 days' notice. But if I did, I would go through the same list I did above. And if the alternatives weren't much cheaper (or the inconvenience wasn't worth the money), and I really needed or wanted to go, I'd do it.
Carping about what you see as the poor value of the OP's flight doesn't add anything to this discussion.
- What is the cost of flying into Houston Hobby vs Houston Intercontinental