pinniped

Mine originated in North America. I agree it's not shady...as long as it's clearly disclosed in a way that reasonable people would have a hard time missing it.

Often1

DL has been selling deeply discounted non-changeable domestic fares for some time now. Both UA & AA are in the process of introducing them. The DL displays are clear. Presumably UA & AA will be as well.

In any event, one can be forgiven for not having read most minute details of every fare rules. But, the basics such as refunds, changes, and fees deserve at least a glance and it is in the customer's own interest to check those.

pinniped

Agreed. Delta is pretty clear, and even when I've seen these in other travel portals there's usually an "Are you sure?" kind of step (a second click).

andox

I also just found one for BCN-BOS in June, and since it was a very good price, I was ready to purchase until I looked at the fare rules and saw that it was totally non-changeable. I'm used to 300 USD change fees on the O fares in this market, so it surprised me. Glad I looked though...

Dave Noble

It may have been common for bookings originating in the USA, but has not been the general case

NDFan

It's not just a "popular mantra" here, it quite clearly states it at the top of the fare rules page:

"The most restrictive set of fare rules applies to the entire itinerary."

However, you are quite correct that in further delving I did find the text you quoted that the changeable portion remains changeable.

It may not be new, but it is definitely a bit shady. Such a significant restriction should be made very clear upfront, as others have said. You, with your years of experience, may expect such an unusual restriction. I, having been an Advantage member since 1984, several years as EXP, was surprised by it, but at least knew to go hunting for it, though I am still confused by the contradictory terms, and the EXP agent's insistence that the O portion IS changeable.
The average traveller, or indeed somewhat above-average traveller, would likely be completely unaware of this restriction and would get a nasty shock if they needed to make any change.

Dave Noble

For *some* fares, the most restrictive rule applies, for others the rules of the fare component being changed applies

There is nothing shady about it at all and this is a rule that can find even on AA's business class fares. Book a $2658 r/t LHR-LAX in business class and no changes permitted ; this type of fare has been around on AA for many years

The part where changes permitted will be changeable - the other part will not be

Fa Hz

Interesting, i didn't know there could be non changeable tickets, I always assumed that airlines would be happy to charge the hell out of a change (change fee + fare difference) and make more money

ijgordon

No, they actually make more money if they require you to purchase an entirely new ticket. @:-) But for competitive reasons, they can't do that in all markets...for now.

pinniped

It's entirely how it's presented. If an airline is clearly describing and marketing these fares to passengers who want and intend to buy them, then I don't find it shady at all. For example, I find nothing whatsoever shady about Spirit: anyone who peruses their website for 15 seconds or more knows precisely what's being offered. Whether you like it or not may differ, but you can't reasonably show up at an airport and be surprised by what you find. You know in advance that if you can't fly your ticket, it's just gone. (Technically, they'll change it for a fee, but the fee is well higher than their typical fare.)

In the case of a legacy carrier offering unchangeable fares inside of their existing website of normal fares, then a user experience similar to what Delta does for Basic Economy is sufficient IMHO. The time I bought my AA unchangeable fares in the past, I initiated the search from a promotional landing page all about the fares. (The promo was tied in with Valentine's Day and I think they called them 'L'ove fares, in the L fare class.) By the time I was looking at a $350 R/T to Europe, I had passed through that page with the clear rules displayed in plain English, so that's perfectly fair game to me.

Eventually, I expect they'll be able to do it in any market with a ULCC, in addition to the markets outside the U.S. where they already regularly do it. I wonder if the legacies will shy away from them in markets where they *only* compete with other legacies. They could certainly launch no-change fare wars on each other, but it might be counterproductive.

3Cforme

Even that needs to be qualified:

(IV)CHANGE FEES WILL BE COLLECTED BASED UPON THE FARE COMPONENT THAT IS BEING CHANGED. THIS PROCEDURE APPLIES TO ALL DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL FARES: EXCEPT - FOR TRANS- PACIFIC AND TRANSATLANTIC WITH AREA 2/AREA 3 POINTS OF ORIGIN THE MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITION APPLIES.

Fa Hz

Interesting! I hope that doesn't become the norm in the future and if it does its because the fares are way cheaper

ssafro1

As a long time EXP and one who books (and usually changes w/ the penalty and fare difference) hundreds of tickets, I got burned by this for the first time on a business class fare from LHR-DFW roundtrip. It was an 'I' fare but I am told that isn't necessarily indicative.

I have spoken to several agents, AA.com web services, etc. and nobody can figure out where one can easily go to clearly confirm whether a ticket is a use it or lose it one. Highly annoying.

ijgordon

Well, "easily" and "clearly" are subjective, but you need to go to the fare rules, under "Penalties" (and/or sometimes "Voluntary Changes").
It probably requires greater than fifth grade reading comprehension, but to most people it should be clear.

I will not dispute that this type of fine print is still well hidden by AA, and I would encourage you file a complaint with the DOT regardless. Other airlines make the ticket flexibility/change fees much more apparent during the booking process, on one of the same screens. Kind of shocking AA gets away without doing this.

Dave Noble

It is easy to verify by checking the fare rules - if it says

ANY TIME
TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE.

ANY TIME
CHANGES NOT PERMITTED.

then the dates can neither be changed, nor can the fare be refunded

With an I class fare from LHR-DFW r/t I would be more surprised if it was refundable and chanegable