dcutcher

In all my years of trying to find an itinerary ("market," if you will) that was fared to reflect a discount--of any percent--for pax 65 years old or more, I have *never* succeeded.

True enough that I haven't checked every possible alternative to or from LAX, whether for domestic or international, and I suppose it's possible that I was shown what was in fact a discounted fare when I attempted to ticket online; however, none was ever identified as such.

But for sure I never had a phone agent say anything other than, "not in this market" when I attempted bookings for my Dad.

GO ask Alex, and she'll tell ya:
"We offer discounted fares to several (bolding mine) destinations for travelers 65 and older. When booking your flight online, select Advanced Search then enter the number of seniors traveling in the Who is Traveling section."

From my experience, I'd say, ....maybe...but ....Really??

Or maybe "several" means 2-3?

According to senior discounts.com the "big 5" claim to participate.

slawecki

i'm 76. in the past 10 years, i am zero for probably a couple hundred, maybe more.

Ari

This the DOT could actually fine them for!

WineCountryUA

And if UA could document just a handful situations for just a few routes, it would go nowhere.

RNE

Seriously, is this a capacity controlled discount, or what?

Ari

That's a big if. I haven't seen these in a while. If anyone encounters such a fare, please share.

ecosse3

I have posted many a thread where the information you all have provided me has been vital and trip-saving. This is not one such thread. No complaints, no issues...just simple curiosity here:

I just finished booking UA tix for my parents. When doing so, I noticed that there was the option to chose the passenger as "adult 18-64" or "senior 65 and up" (a category they fall into) along with various children age selections. There was no difference in fare when trying adult vs. senior. No special options were offered upon continuing with the booking as a senior. It shouldn't be a data collecting/demographic collecting issue since we are required later to provide a DOB which would provide UA with much better/usable demographic information.

So I was just curious....does selecting "senior" ever have any impact on anything?

relangford

Not as far as I know. I click the "senior" button without any effect on fares, etc. Maybe they just want to know which of us might kick off during the flight ?

ecosse3

I'm so curious now??!!

fastair

During the 1st 2-3 decades after deregulation, airlines often published "child" or "senior" fares that one would of course, have to qualify for. Not so much anymore...They may still exist, but I'm unaware of them at this time.

if1km

United still claims that there may be senior fares (discounts?) to "selected travel destinations."

http://www.united.com/web/en-us/cont...s/default.aspx

dank0014

Could also be just in case you end up on one of *A airlines, where they may offer various discounts (e.g. child fare). Don't know off the top of my head with UAs partners, but I know on Delta with their alliance partner, Korean Air, children are 75% of an adult fare and you get that rate even if you book on Delta.

ecosse3

Once I saw the option for seniors, I almost expected to be prompted for some special assistance, but that didn't happen. I wonder if there are actually any real discounts for seniors to any/select destinations?

mikelcf

Just guessing, but maybe it is for exit row seating purposes (e.g., children may not be seated in the exit row)?

WineCountryUA

Us seniors get to sit in exit rows.

A decade or so ago, senior fares were common. {Don't say SilverWings too loud, you will stir up a hornet's nest}. Today it is an anachronism.