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USAIR anywhere ticket
Question:
A couple days ago, I posted a question regarding a trip from Pgh. to Fla. several months ago when my husband and I volunteered to be bumped. We were originally going to Ft. Lauderdale and ended up in Miami ten minutes early. We were given two free tickets and , for months, tried to get non- stop tickets to Fla. for mid-Dec. I was feeling "ripped off" and asked if this was standard. When I read the responses, it became clear that I must have "miscommunicated" and that I asked a "stupid" question. I’ll try again. My husband and I are not frequent flyers, had no idea that people actually "liked" to get bumped, etc. We were asked if we would be willing to get on the next flight because ours was full. We agreed to do so because our original flight was already late and we were anxious to get to Fla. Even though we did arrive ten minutes early, wedid have the inconvenience of dealing with the rental car business due to the change of airport. None of this is a *huge* deal, but for us it was a hassle. My husband and I booked the flight months before and the airline overbooked. It was my obviously naive perception that we were doing the airline a favor – not the other way around. We weren’t looking for a freebie! In contrast to the responses I got on this newsgroup, I also thought that the airline (because of their mistake) would make every effort to "make up" for their mistake by accomodating us with tickets that were as good as or better than the ones we had. Obviously, I didn’t understand. Would someone please explain where I missed the boat?? I don’t see myself as "whinning" and I do understand, now, that more than four months is required to book a non-stop flight to Fla. from Pgh. in mid-Dec. – at least a non-stop. It seems to me that Don and I have arranged trips to Fla. in Dec. on less notice, but perhaps things have changed. My point is this: We booked and paid for our non-stop tickets to Ft. Lauderdale. We weren’t looking for a freebie and the change of airports was a hassle we didn’t anticipate. Our free tickets expire in Jan. and its not likely that we’ll be able to use them, now, because we are simply not willing to take the flight (lots of stops and layovers) that is available. I mean no offense to anyone – we all have different priorities. For us, the thought of stops and layovers is a nightmare. We often pay more money to avoid that. We are not the folks that drive to Clev., etc. in order to secure a substantial savings. We travel strictly for pleasure, so we make our plans in accordance with that. I said that I felt "ripped off" and I still do. Does everyone understand how this bumping thing works except me?? Why doesn’t the airline view overbooking as *their* mistake ? Am I the only one who just wants to get to where I’m going in the shortest amount of time? I would have thought that the airline, in business to make money, would wish to satisfy customers and keep them. Anyway, this isn’t a joke – I really don’t get it. Marcy —
Response:
I tend to support the view of the original poster. The airline
is not doing the passenger a favor by giving them a free ticket
when they are bumped. They are required by law to provide compensation. If the poster had not agreed to the compensation offer and USAir had to involuntarily bumped someone, they would have been required by law to fork over $400 cash to each bumper passenger. It seems to me that if airlines
are offering compensation to passengers that agree to be bumped
they should be perfectly clear about what they are offering.
Most likely, at the time they were seeking volunteers, they told passengers they would be given a free trip, but did not
bother to tell passengers that the trip is extremely restricted
and difficult to use. Unless they were upfront about this, the passenger should be able to secure reasonable seats. It does
not seem reasonable to me that they should have such difficulty
if they were giving four months notice. WHile it may be reasonable
that they not get their absolute first choice of seats, it
is a problem if they can not get flights reasonably close to their first choice (ie, within one day, or a flight with
only a brief layover).
I suggest the passengers call US Airways to complain. At a minimum, they should have the time allowed to use their tickets extended. If USair is not reasonable, they should
call the FAA consumer hotline at 800-322-7873 to register a
complaint. (Each passenger should call separately so this can count as two complaints in the statistics.) — Posted using Reference.COM http://www.reference.com Browse, Search and Post Usenet and Mailing list Archive and Catalog. InReference, Inc. accepts no responsibility for the content of this posting.
Response:
>A couple days ago, I posted a question regarding a trip from Pgh. >to Fla. several months ago when my husband and I volunteered to
>be bumped. We were originally going to Ft. Lauderdale and ended >up in Miami ten minutes early. >We were given two free tickets and , for months, tried to get non- >stop tickets to Fla. for mid-Dec. I was feeling "ripped off" and >asked if this was standard.
First, you volunteered to be bumped. You could have taken the plane you’d booked on but chose not to. Second, you were given vouchers for two free tickets — you were not given a guarantee that you could get two free tickets on CERTAIN flights (the non-stop ones) on a very popular route in the highest season. You had many months (not a year???) to use the vouchers. I really don’t see why you feel ‘ripped off’. Sorry. >When I read the responses, it became clear that I must have >"miscommunicated" and that I asked a "stupid" question. I’ll >try again. >My husband and I are not frequent flyers, had no idea that people >actually "liked" to get bumped, etc. We were asked if we would >be willing to get on the next flight because ours was full. We >agreed to do so because our original flight was already late and >we were anxious to get to Fla. Even though we did arrive ten >minutes early, wedid have the inconvenience of dealing with the >rental car business due to the change of airport. None of this >is a *huge* deal, but for us it was a hassle. My husband and I >booked the flight months before and the airline overbooked. It >was my obviously naive perception that we were doing the airline >a favor – not the other way around. We weren’t looking for a >freebie!
So then why did you volunteer to be bumped? You could have stayed on your original flight into FLL and arrive late, for which the airline would owe you NO recompense, or arrive on time in an airport 21 miles away and get two free tickets for your trouble. YOU chose the latter. If you weren’t looking for a freebie, what were you looking for? >In contrast to the responses I got on this newsgroup, I also >thought that the airline (because of their mistake) would make >every effort to "make up" for their mistake by accomodating us >with tickets that were as good as or better than the ones we had.
The airline made no mistake with respect to your booking. They did what they always do and you volunteered for the bumping. I’ve never heard that there’s a required ‘accommodation’ level in such cases. You got what you agreed to accept. >Obviously, I didn’t understand. >Would someone please explain where I missed the boat?? >I don’t see myself as "whinning" and I do understand, now, that >more than four months is required to book a non-stop flight >to Fla. from Pgh. in mid-Dec. – at least a non-stop. It seems >to me that Don and I have arranged trips to Fla. in Dec. on less >notice, but perhaps things have changed.
Perhaps you paid for the tickets on those previous flights? It makes a difference, you know… >My point is this: >We booked and paid for our non-stop tickets to Ft. Lauderdale. >We weren’t looking for a freebie and the change of airports was >a hassle we didn’t anticipate.
If they didn’t tell you that the flight you were agreeing to take instead of the one you were ticketed on arrived in MIA, then you do have a beef — is that the case? If you knew that it was going to MIA when you volunteered to be bumped, then I would think the change of airports is a non-issue. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Our free tickets expire in Jan. >and its not likely that we’ll be able to use them, now, because >we are simply not willing to take the flight (lots of stops and >layovers) that is available. >I mean no offense to anyone – we all have different priorities. >For us, the thought of stops and layovers is a nightmare. We >often pay more money to avoid that. We are not the folks that >drive to Clev., etc. in order to secure a substantial savings. >We travel strictly for pleasure, so we make our plans in >accordance with that. >I said that I felt "ripped off" and I still do. Does everyone >understand how this bumping thing works except me?? Why >doesn’t the airline view overbooking as *their* mistake ? Am >I the only one who just wants to get to where I’m going in the >shortest amount of time? I would have thought that the airline, >in business to make money, would wish to satisfy customers and >keep them. Anyway, this isn’t a joke – I really don’t get it.
Well, I don’t either — I can’t believe you thought that volunteering to arrive 21 miles from your original destination was a guarantee of two free seats on a particular flight on a particular date to a particular location. Sorry. .
Response:
<snip> > Would someone please explain where I missed the boat?? > I don’t see myself as "whinning" and I do understand, now, that > more than four months is required to book a non-stop flight > to Fla. from Pgh. in mid-Dec. – at least a non-stop. It seems > to me that Don and I have arranged trips to Fla. in Dec. on less > notice, but perhaps things have changed. My point is this: > We booked and paid for our non-stop tickets to Ft. Lauderdale. > We weren’t looking for a freebie and the change of airports was > a hassle we didn’t anticipate. Our free tickets expire in Jan. > and its not likely that we’ll be able to use them, now, because > we are simply not willing to take the flight (lots of stops and > layovers) that is available.
Let me first say that I’ve never been bumped and don’t know the procedures for using the compensatory tickets. I have booked several award tickets, though, and my guess is that anything involving non-revenue travel needs quite a bit of advance planning. Your vouchers are very likely subject to the same capacity controls as FF award tickets. In other words, only so many seats are available for free travel, just like only so many seats are available at the lowest advertised fare, only so many first class seats are released for free upgrades, etc., etc. Treating this like an award ticket, then, I can say the key is to be flexible with dates and times, and to plan far in advance. Obviously, the latter is not an option for mid-December. I don’t know how flexible your plans are as far as dates, but perhaps you have checked a range of a few days for both the trip down and the trip back. It appears from your writing, though, that there is an itinerary available, albeit not the non-stop you would expect when flying USAirways out of this fortress hub. I can’t imagine how they would put in "lots of stops and layovers", though. Maybe one plane-change in Charlotte, and perhaps one other stop at most? I’m only guessing, though. Anyway, this would obviously add significantly to the travel time. But it’s free. (I remember my first award on United. I flew from here to Chicago, then to Denver, then to San Diego with very little time between my connections, but I made it, and it was free.) Stops and layovers are not the nightmare you might think; in fact, they are reality for probably hundreds of thousands of people every day. I certainly wouldn’t sell myself short just because of a layover. On the other hand, if the absolute most important thing to you is the non-stop flight, without regard to cost, then the way to go is pay for it, whatever the going rate will be for booking it at this time. If your ticket expires in January, then it becomes rather worthless that way, but you seem to be making a case that the price isn’t too important. The fact that you are rather infrequent fliers (your freebie was issued a year ago in January, yes?) actually hurts you in some respects. The airline may have been more willing to accomodate you if there was a significant amount of business at stake. I’m not saying it’s right, but it is reality. I don’t know to what extent you have pursued this. As far as the airline is concerned, you accepted the voucher, and its conditions, as compensation for your prior inconvenience. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try to get something better. If you’ve been dealing over the phone, perhaps a trip to one of the city ticket offices would be worthwhile. Maybe you can get them to accept the voucher as dollars off towards a paying fare, which could lower your cost even if the fare it comes off of is not the absolute lowest paying fare. Try anything. Tell them how ripped off you feel, ask them if they’ll extend the life of the voucher since you can’t use them when you want. Write a letter. (Find out the name of an appropriate person at the home office.) You never know what you might get, maybe nothing, but at least you’ll have tried. Good luck. Greg Pacek | orangy-yellow and dimpled on the outside, Pittsburgh, PA, USA | wet and squidgy in the middle. It’s got | pips inside, too. Oh, and some people have | half a one for breakfast." –Ford Prefect
Response:
> I tend to support the view of the original poster. The airline > is not doing the passenger a favor by giving them a free ticket > when they are bumped.
I’m sure many of the passengers who use their free ticket seem to think otherwise. I even have had people buy a ticket on a full flight and then volunteer just to get the free ticket. The problem here is that the passenger didnt understand or wasnt explained the rules for using the free ticket and feels cheated. Many people who know the system use it to their advantage. They are required by law to provide > compensation. If the poster had not agreed to the compensation > offer and USAir had to involuntarily bumped someone, they > would have been required by law to fork over $400 cash to > each bumper passenger.
Not necessarily. It depends on when they get the bumped pax to their destination and how much they paid for their ticket. $400. is the MAXIMUM compensation required, but with many of the special fares it could end up being a lot less. They try to get volunteers, as opposed to having to involuntarily bump someone, to give a ticket to someone who wants one who is flexible and to get everyone to their destination with as little inconvenience as possible. You dont have to take the free ticket. You can ask for a cash voucher instead (usually $200.) which you can use off any purchased fare. If you think you want to traval during the holiday take this option. If you are going to travel off season somewhere and can be flexible about the travel take the free ticket. It seems to me that if airlines > are offering compensation to passengers that agree to be bumped > they should be perfectly clear about what they are offering. > Most likely, at the time they were seeking volunteers, they > told passengers they would be given a free trip, but did not > bother to tell passengers that the trip is extremely restricted > and difficult to use. Unless they were upfront about this, the > passenger should be able to secure reasonable seats.
But the pax said she was offered seats, just not on a nonstop. She said she was not WILLING to take the flight that WAS AVAILABLE because it had lots of stops and layovers and they werent willing to do this. This means US had seats offered for free tickets during this time. I checked for a lady last night from PHL-TPA during the week before XMAS through the week after New Years for an excursion fare. There were seats available, but not on a nonstop. During the holidays and busy travel times all of the "cheap seats" are gonna go quick. Not just the freebies, but the special excursion fares too. It does > not seem reasonable to me that they should have such difficulty > if they were giving four months notice. WHile it may be reasonable > that they not get their absolute first choice of seats, it > is a problem if they can not get flights reasonably close > to their first choice (ie, within one day, or a flight with > only a brief layover).
Even if they were paying for a ticket there is no guarantee that this would occur. I know they said they found a flight they wanted, but if a flight is during heavy season chances are that not everyone is going to get their first choice. > I suggest the passengers call US Airways to complain. At a > minimum, they should have the time allowed to use their > tickets extended.
Round Trip Flight Credits can be extended in time. I havent worked the counter in a while, so I’m not positive of the extension time or the amount that may be involved, but it would still be cheaper than buying another ticket somewhere. You can call reservations and they should be able to look it up and advise of the extension policy on the RTFC’s. If USair is not reasonable, they should > call the FAA consumer hotline at 800-322-7873 to register a > complaint. (Each passenger should call separately so this > can count as two complaints in the statistics.)
Reasonable as in how? Overriding the policy and changing the yield management system during a busy time to accommodate a free ticket or reasonable as in maybe seeing if they could exchange the free ticket for a cash travel voucher instead to use on a new flight? I dont know if this is a possible solution, but have you tried this yet? Try calling the consumer affairs dept and see if maybe they can work something out. Don’t COMPLAIN. Instead, just tell them what happened when you volunteered and that you didnt understand that the seats were limited on the free ticket (if the agent who gave them to you didnt explain this tell them that) and you were planning to use them for the cruise and you wanted to see if something could be worked out instead to use them on a flight you’ve already booked with them for your next trip. I dont know what they will say and it may be no, but it never hurts to try. As far as everyone wondering why the airlines overbook anyway, its because people make reservations and dont canx them when their plans change. I know traffic, flat tires cause missed flights, but the overbookings are more to protect against Mr Businessperson (or certain Congressmen for that matter) making two or three reservations and just not showing up. The only solution to this problem would be to make all tickets immediate purchase and no refunds/cancellations, etc. If you bought the seat, its yours even if the plane goes without you. If you miss the flight, your ticket was for the seat on the plane that left. Buy a new one. Kinda see how this would go over? So the solution is to play the numbers game and overbook on flights by past experiences by day, date, time and hope that the numbers work out. Certain flights I’ve looked at during the upcoming holidays are not authorized over by any, and others by 20 or so, so not every flight is authorized to be oversold. If the airline knows on a certain flight from past records that usually 5 people wont show up and they dont overbook the flight, then they are not maximizing their revenue potential or helping to get 5 more people where they need to be. True, sometimes the numbers dont work out and volunteers are not available, but as compared to the numbers of passengers who ARE able to travel using this system as oppossed to those who cant, it makes good sense financially for both the airlines and the public.
Response:
: I don’t know to what extent you have pursued this. As far as the airline : is concerned, you accepted the voucher, and its conditions, as : compensation for your prior inconvenience. But that doesn’t mean you : can’t try to get something better. If you’ve been dealing over the phone, Hi Greg, In the original message, I believe the poster stated that they received the denied boarding compensation .. and were re-accomodated on another flight that got them back *before* the original flight. I’ve had this happen to myself as well taking a bump in RNO, getting compensation, and re-routed on a flight with an earlier arrival. Writing a letter to US Air(ways) could perhaps get it extended, but the fact they offered flights that were not non-stop US Airways still fullfilled their obligations. While a change of planes in CLT or a stop might extend travel time, there’s nothing wrong with it considering it’s a free ticket. As you said, thousands of people change planes every day. I change planes on most trips myself due to the nature of the airlines hub-spoke system unless my destination is a hub – or is serviced by an airline doing a point-to-point market. Best Regards, Steve