rc7

I searched for a while but couldn�t find a similar situation, so I�ll be short & to the point. I work for a Dept of Defense contractor in Europe. We have completed our contracts & the company is flying us & our families back to the U.S. They are, and I have in writing confirming, that they are intentionally purchasing round trips in lieu of one way tickets solely because they�re cheaper. This is happening for literally dozens of tickets as people must leave March 1st . I advised my company that this was in violation of the carriage contract w/ Delta & was advised, again in writing, that the gov�t is aware of the practice, and I'm �forbidden� to use the return trip.

I called Delta about this & the phone agent said that it�s ok because it�s cheaper for companies to do this. She said that she was aware that Delta explicitly prohibits this action and that she would make a note on the actual purchaser of the tickets, but was nonchalant about it. Does Delta really not care about throwaway tickets on int'l flights, especially when it�s done in large numbers, or was it just the phone agent? And yes, I know it�s ridiculous of me to have contacted Delta about it, but it�s because of unrelated reasons. And also, they purchased full fare one-way Y class four years ago when they brought me over.

Beckles

The reality is that throw-away ticketing is impossible to enforce except in the case of repeated violations.

rc7

Well, I guess that's what I'm trying to say w/o writing a book. I know my company has done with with scores upon scores of tickets the past couple of years. I've read that they're obviously not interested in the individual traveler as there's no real value of return, but the focus was meant for purchasers of multiple tickets such as companies or travel agencies.

roknroll

Not sure how it works with a government or large corporation contract, but when the return portion is canceled will you be able to use the value of that portion, minus the international change fee, to book some other ticket in your name?

Sabai

The only real "consequence" is if one expects mileage credit for the portion that was actually flown.

Given DL's risible IT, even that may be possible.

Dieuwer

It's a win-win situation for Delta. They get to sell roundtrip tickets and can sell the return no-show to a walk up person or just overbook the return. I'm sure Delta has plenty of data that shows them who buys throw-away tickets and what the effects are.

RacingJunkie

And if you do?

Just call and cancel the unused portion and get a credit in your account.

sfozrhfco

Why do you even care? A one way is likely more expensive than a round trip. Cancelling the return would just forfeit the ticket anyway as between the change fee and little to no value left on the ticket, it would be a throw away anyway.

Companies buying many tickets on DL is better for DL than companies not buying any tickets on DL. If they get the revenue and get the bonus of not having the transport you back to you starting point, it is a win for them and your employer.

exwannabe

Of course this is OK, and always has been. Though I am surprised it actually exists anymore in today's pricing models.

What is not allowed is buying A->B connecting via C with the intent of using this as an A to C ticket. But that is not the case here.

Beckles

No, it's not okay, it's specifically prohibited by Rule 100(G)(3)(B) of the Contract of Carriage. It is less common that it's a concern in today's pricing models as you refer to, but I believe with international tickets it's still not unusual for round-trips to price less than one-ways.

Edited to add: And I mean it's not okay by the letter of Delta's rules. I don't have a problem with someone doing this and don't think it at all unethical, but that's another debate for another thread ...

TheRoadie

Unless you're looking to score a $10,000,000 whistleblower's award after you invest $150K in legal fees after your company fires you, I see no upside. If you believe your company is acting unethically, and that bothers you enough to find a new job, then just go get a new job. Getting fired over tattling to Delta isn't worth it.

jb008

It technically violates the CoC, but it's at Delta's discretion whether to act or let the violation go. I'm betting when it's a gov't agency, they'd rather turn a blind eye and maintain status as an approved/preferred vendor.

Think of it like a cop pulling you over for going 7 mph over the posted speed limit, or maybe better, a cop watching you go by at 7 mph over and choosing not to act. They could do something, but they don't.

I'm not even sure it's even a whistleblower case since it's not violating law, just a contract with another company at no penalty (and thus no cost) to the government. Debatable, but if you forced them to stop the practice you could argue that ethically you now owe the gov't the difference in fares since it would cost the gov't more to follow the contract to the letter. This also assumes that some modified agreement wasn't reached at some point between signatory officials that allowed for no penalty on violating the throwaway ticketing for your company.

In this case, I'd argue that a gov't entity has a higher responsibility to save money for taxpayer vs. responsibility to follow a CoC with an airline when the airline is choosing not to penalize.

Added in edit: Just because your ticket says Y fare doesn't mean that it was a full-priced Y fare. I believe some negotiated corporate rates are marked as Y, but are priced at a negotiated discount rate.

exwannabe

My bad. Learn something new every day.

FWIW, I do see the airlines having some ethical grounds on the hidden city prohibition, but agree with you on tossing a return leg.

rc7

Thanks for the life advice Roadie. Not looking to "score" anything as I'm to be working elsewhere explicitly because of their unethical actions.

As I mentioned, I did some searching in past posts on this website about the subject. After reading, the consensus was the Delta looked the other way w/ small numbers, but may be more keen to these actions when dealing with entities that purchase large numbers of tickets. Like I mentioned, it's dozens of tickets from my company, well over 100 in the past two years. It's international & the difference is what, roughly $1k a ticket difference? Added up, that's a chunk of change in my book.

It's been written that Delta reserves the right to seize the balances in one's SkyMiles account for this action. Yes, I'm a measly FO, but I have almost 300k SkyMiles & my family has around 150k miles each in their own respective accounts. Not a lot of miles compared to many of you folks, but I'd certainly be upset were they to be zeroed out for something like this.

It's not as much a whistleblower thing as it sounds. Again, I'm trying to be as succinct as possible. But regarding the Y fare when they brought me over, no, it was full fare as I still have a copy of the $2304 ea (4 total) receipt because my contract stipulated what I had to pay back on a depreciating monthly scale if I failed to complete my 4-year deal.

BER Flyer

On a sidenote: these parts of the T&C's are not valid and enforceable here in the EU, as the trip starts in the EU there is very little DL could do. 10000's of passengers using throw-away tickets here every day, no travel agency sells you expensive one-ways if the return ticket is cheaper. Also most european airlines have changed their pricing model in many markets to basicely sell you two one way tickets when you book a return. No that they did this in favour of their customers - they were simply forced to do so by the LCC's.
BUT: It's use it it or loose it - no credit given for the unflown segments.