Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel
We welcome reader feedback on issues related to travel generally and frequent flyer programs in particular. Please use this link to submit comments.
Disappearing Delta Prices
"As I indicated to Delta staff (Eric, and Ms. Jan, a supervisor) and in email note, I am writing you with my concerns. They center on 2 issues:
"1) Price gouging. Price fare increases once logged into Delta website under my account number (I fly them frequently, and have been Platinum with NWA and now Delta over 10 years), that when I put in an itinerary and get an initial price, by the time I get to 'purchase,' the price has jumped, in various instances 15 to almost 300%!! My data are stored in their data base so I have very little to enter additionally to complete the transaction, less than 2-3 minutes, yet each in the past 2 days I am faced with increases, some just laughable, i.e., from $1165 to $2900 for same itinerary.
"To me, it is tantamount to 'bait and switch,' which I didn't experience at NWA nor multi-domain agents (e.g., Travelocity or Expedia). A supervisor explained the volatile fluctuation of airline fares, but once a client logs in, that initially presented price should be held valid for a reasonable amount of time. This practice needs regulation. Could you address it and also let me know of the proper section of FAA to which I should address my concerns?
"2) Delta does not speak with a singular voice (in person or electronically) on the same issue. This pertains to an upgrade request I pursued for a flight tonight to EVV. On-line said there were 2 upgrades left; the in-person reps said there was none. This is poor communication at best." [Gaetano G.]
[FrequentFlier.com replies - I'm not sure it will have any effect in the short term, but such issues should certainly be registered with the DOT. If enough similar feedback is received, they might make it an investigative priority. As a side note, we're seeing this complaint with increasing frequency.]
British Air's 100,000-Mile Credit Card Bonus
"I signed up for this card... actually I signed up for two, one for me and one for my wife. We live in Tampa, Florida and fly to London fairly regularly. BA is the only airline offering direct Tampa to London (Gatwick) flights, so it seemed like a good idea. Having fulfilled all the conditions, we received each our 100,000+ points, good for 4 round-trip tickets.
"However, it turns out the deal is worth less than it would appear. BA, like other airlines, plays the game of restricting award seats.
"Although there are seats available during the non-summer months, there were no seats available during June, July and August, when I checked on April 18, 2010.
"I realize it is a busy time, but it would be nice if a few seats were made available for their award passengers.
"So, nice points... just don't expect to use them in the summer for the Tampa to London route." [Martin L.]
The Logic of Standby Fees
"Please let us know the rationale for considering charging a fee for standby for a flight.
"It seems to me that standbys are helpful to airlines as well as fliers because they fill seats that would otherwise be empty and free up seats that might generate extra revenue on later flights." [Leise M.]
[FrequentFlier.com replies - Is desperation a rationale? Seriously, the airlines are assessing fees because they can, and because they need the extra revenue. And the numbers are big -- United in 2009 generated $1.1 billion from such fees.]
Free Travel and Erupting Volcanoes
"The next issue for the newsletter should be dealing with the volcano with the unpronounceable name. Having decided I can live with the uncertainty of an airline strike, I don't think I can cope with the chance of either having my trip canceled at the last minute when my hotel deposits will be forfeit, my TGV tickets will be useless and it's too late to make good alternate plans here or, worse, being stranded in Europe, having to pay for additional food and lodging and kennel fees for our dog, losing more time from work and perhaps be ingforced to fly home in coach (which would be incapacitating for me).
"But I guess the question for you is whether the airlines will refund the taxes I paid for my 'free' tickets or at least allow me to apply them to the same trip next year. AA told me when I booked that I could change the dates without penalty but there would be a charge for changing the route. Right now I'm leaning toward cancelling our trip to France for this year in the hope of doing it next year." [Mary-Lynne F.]
[FrequentFlier.com replies - We put the question to American and, while they skirted the question regarding taxes and fees, they offered the following: "We're allowing customers to have their miles reinstated (i.e., cancel their award ticket and have the miles re-deposited into their account for later use) at NO CHARGE." Good news, that.]
Until next week...
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