MAX8 concerns trigger "no fare upcharge" changes for *everyone* systemwide thru 3/31
Mar 14, 2019, 9:34 am
#61
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,353
It's kind of amusing to watch, imagining the half-baked discussions that must have gone into the wild swing from "No [free] changes allowed" to "Everyone can change any flight to anywhere at anytime", probably because that's all they could arrange for their systems to do on short notice, to "Oh crap, now that the plane is grounded we have to modify the schedules anyway and could have just methodically rebooked/allowed changes to affected people. Maybe that would have been cheaper if we'd done it in the first place, and we'd have looked very safety proactive".
Yeah, it would be good if people more carefully read the notices and put them in context, but that is what it is. Boeing's marketing in hindsight is probably cringing at the decision to name the MAX series in a way that overlaps with the existing 737 series, leading to even more confusion between 737-800 and 737-MAX8 etc.
Yeah, it would be good if people more carefully read the notices and put them in context, but that is what it is. Boeing's marketing in hindsight is probably cringing at the decision to name the MAX series in a way that overlaps with the existing 737 series, leading to even more confusion between 737-800 and 737-MAX8 etc.
Mar 14, 2019, 11:03 am
#62
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 760
Not a stupid question at all. I wondered the same thing and was surprised to find no discussion of that on this thread so far. I'm guessing that because there has been no report of an official announcement, the only way to answer the question is through trial and error. Given the 24-hour refund policy, it's a no-risk experiment. Who wants to give it a go?
Works on points reservations, and also works for co-terminals (at least DCA/IAD/BWI). Had a bunch of travel for the family lined up for the last week of March. Rebooked everyone and saved a bunch of points.
Mar 15, 2019, 3:54 am
#63
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Stupid question: if I bought the cheapest fare possible tomorrow to a destination I want, would I be able to change it to something better (closer airport / better time of day) that’s typically more expensive, or would this be limited to existing reservations prior to the announcement?
I had a flight booked early morning one day next week and actually wanted to change to a nonstop at 12:30 pm and was willing to pay the difference.
Was offered my choice of any flight that day free.
Mar 15, 2019, 9:48 am
#64
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 2
You have identified the bottom line problem. No way to tell at this point whether your MAX aircraft will be replaced (and then how many will need to be bumped) or whether, if you change to another flight which is not currently a MAX, that flight will be cancelled and the aircraft assigned to perform another flight.
You could just wait for things to settle down, but then you risk not finding space on other WN flights or even being able to buy tickets on AA (WN does not have interline agreements).
You could just wait for things to settle down, but then you risk not finding space on other WN flights or even being able to buy tickets on AA (WN does not have interline agreements).
Just a datapoint for anyone with a future scheduled max flight. My flight is next Saturday the 23rd. I was watching the same flight for this Saturday the 16th, which was cancelled yesterday or this morning and now has been removed from the booking schedule.
I figured that was bad news for me, so I went to take another look at mine, and now the plane type on the schedule has been changed from a max to a 737-800.
So that givers me some hope. Still know I could get moved around at the last minute, but more willing to take my chances.
Mar 16, 2019, 1:26 pm
#66
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,286
Protecting every single flight through the end of the month was a dumb implementation to begin with, and it really backfired on them, causing confusion and generating unnecessary calls/tweets/emails. I assume they're at work trying to figure out how to better address the grounding issues moving forward, and if they can do that before the 31st I bet they'll pull down the current advisory. If not, I can't see it lasting past then in any case.
Mar 16, 2019, 4:12 pm
#67
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I greatly benefited from this policy as I had buyers remorse about the flight I chose, but the change was huge dollars when I looked to change and then suddenly - no charge.
Mar 17, 2019, 1:04 am
#70
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problem is that website/ticketing system doesn't know what flights are max. due to subs, day of issues, etc
in fact, website doesn't even always know when flight is cancelled. Often cancellation email comes in, it has occasionally shown same flight on sale (and is willing to ticket a booking even hours later, etc). Also, some flights with cancellation emails that DO show cancelled on flight status page STILL allow for a new online checkin to be done. Crazy
Mar 17, 2019, 7:00 pm
#71
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Why in the world did it take the bloggers so long to figure this out? It was obvious as soon as the WN policy was announced. Do you think some people were taking care of themselves and their own first (and perhaps using paid subscription feeds or paid subscription email updates?) and then spreading the word among their readers?
Mar 17, 2019, 7:57 pm
#72
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Why in the world did it take the bloggers so long to figure this out? It was obvious as soon as the WN policy was announced. Do you think some people were taking care of themselves and their own first (and perhaps using paid subscription feeds or paid subscription email updates?) and then spreading the word among their readers?
Mar 19, 2019, 6:17 pm
#73
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Of course they will kill this policy as soon as they can address it from a software standpoint. There is no reason for the policy since the max planes are now grounded.
I greatly benefited from this policy as I had buyers remorse about the flight I chose, but the change was huge dollars when I looked to change and then suddenly - no charge.
I greatly benefited from this policy as I had buyers remorse about the flight I chose, but the change was huge dollars when I looked to change and then suddenly - no charge.
Mar 19, 2019, 6:30 pm
#74
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Mar 19, 2019, 8:22 pm
#75
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