But you didn't miss your plane!!! You booked it for the wrong day!!!

Missing a flight is defined as missing it by a few minutes, or hours. It is normally a courtesy to put you on the next flight.

When you didn't show up for your flight, it is not really considered missing the flight!!

Most major carriers offer what's known as the "flat tire" rule which allows if you miss your flight, but show up within typically 2 hours (may vary and also at discretion of agent) they will reaccomodate you on the next available flight.

Most carriers also offer same-day standby which if you miss your flight and show up later, would allow you to keep your ticket intact.

But you're situation does not fall under either of these examples. Quite honestly, I'm a huge United fan, but the rep who said they would have just reaccomodated you was probably just saying something- I highly doubt that.

You wanted to travel on a different day than when you were booked. That's different than showing up at a different time on the same day. How does the airline know that perhaps that next day has lesser availability so you chose to take the cheaper flight?

Rules are there for a reason: it's one of the reasons I always double check all my itins. I make mistakes: just this past week I booked a ticket that had a 5 hour connection vs. one with 1 hour (in the same city-it was on LH, otherwise I would have just asked to go standby on the earlier one). But, I checked my confirm and called and managed to cancel (UA gives you a 24 hour window, free of charge).

I just don't get why you feel CO did something wrong even if they had seats available. What would stop everyone from just booking on the cheapest day and claiming they made a mistake the next day?

But, I'm glad UA was able to accomodate you. And, I think CO was actually accomodating given they did not cancel your entire trip.

Just wanted to add that CO is in fact included in the list of carriers that have this rule (or at least they did a couple of years ago). Therefore trying to say that CO is a bad airline because others let people take a later flight if there's an unexpected occurrence is an invalid argument.

Off-topic, but just for those who weren't aware, most airlines (CO included) also have a rule that says they'll refund a non-refundable ticket within 24 hours of purchase. In case, say, you book the wrong day and don't realize until you see your confirmation. I've actually had to use this one a couple of times due to unexpected changes in plans, and am quite grateful for it.

Well, it's not an invalid argument - just an opinion :eek: Like saying one company is bad because they don't offer a lifetime warranty on their product like a competitor.

As far as CO letting you refund a non-refundable ticket w/in 24 hours they no longer do this. I tried to do this for another trip and they charged me a $100 chang fee. And, believe me I asked about the refund w/in 24hours because I've used this w/ United before but CO does not have this policy anymore. At least when I tried which was abotu 9 months ago.

Providing good customer service shouldn't mean that any company providing a service should have to bend its rules. Having worked in consumer affairs for a major airline, I can tell you that I dealt at least once daily with a customer who found himself in a similar situation for whatever reason. The fact of the matter is, when a customer uses any airline website to make reservations and purchase tickets the customer is acting as their own agent. It is their responsibility to ensure that all the travel information that they input is correct. It's all right there in black and white. I'm glad that United was able to assist JPMaxMan and made him happy, but since Continental really did nothing wrong they were under no obligation to extend to him (or anyone else in a similar situation) a courtesy that was above and beyond what their Terms of Transportation outlines. As for an airline not paying its customers "thousands of dollars" when they have a delay or cancellation (whether the airline is at fault or not), all airlines protect themselves by not guaranteeing schedules. Caveat emptor. My best friend is a lawyer, and he once put it in perspective when he said that when you by an airline ticket, all you are buying are "possibilities."

JPMaxMan - You are technically 'correct' on the 24 hour rule regarding refunded a PURCHASED ticket with Continental.

One way around this is to call Continental reservations on the telephone and asked the reservation to be held for 24 hours and have the fare gauranteed. This is part of Continental's stated: "Customer First" policy and more details on this policy can be found here: http://www.continental.com/travel/po...2004102201.pdf

So, if you see a great fare and want to 'hold' it for 24 hours, just call Continental. Yes, you will be stuck with their $5 telephone reservation fee, but it does get around the rule (somewhat)

The way I look at it, paying $150 to use hard-earned miles at the last minute is screwing the customer, since that fee has no valid purpose. I'm not familiar with CO's policy but AA passes off the $75 per ticket for awards booked less than 7 days before departure as an "expedite fee." In this age of e-tickets, there's nothing to expedite - the $75 junk fee, just like $3000 walkup coach fares, is just an airline's way of extorting more money from customers with urgent travel needs.

My understanding is that if you miss your flight without giving the airline notice, then American and the other majors will consider the ticket lost and will not let you fly on the next flight without penalty. You have to notify them before departure time. Maybe your friend did this, so at least AA could use the seat. If not, has their policy changed? :confused:

Anyway, I am sorry for the situation all around. So far, you don't seem to be receiving much sympathy from this board, but I do understand that nice customer service is a pleasant surprise and can do wonders for customer loyalty.

JpMaxMan,

I agree with you that the treatment you were given was not endearing, albeit legal. I am surprised that the airline is not willing to give you any leeway, given the circumstances and the availability.

I have gotten leeway from United in Germany due to traffic delays on the autobahn which made my car journey 6 hours instead of 2. I had to stay in Germany for a few more days as we were a group of 4, but there was no charge to change the tickets.

I have read the comments about the airlines not being a charity as if that is a justification for the airline's behaviour. The airlines are businesses with intense rivalry. Your logical response when being taken to the cleaners is to take future business elsewhere. When circumstances and availability make it possible for the airline to be a hero, they earn trust and future business. It is short sighted for them to give up this possibility when they have the chance. They will get MUCH more money from you in the long run than through this one-time-soak.

I know you did not get much sympathy from this post, but I say stick to your guns, follow-up with a letter to HQ, and fly another airline. United, as they are in bankruptcy court, is probably the most likely to try to earn hero-points with their customers whenever possible as they need the business.

Rob