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“Ludicrous”

December 30, 2008

Air travel sure can be a confusing experience.

Just ask Patricia Lapadula, who recently bought a ticket on United Airlines through Cheaptickets.com. At least that’s what she thought.

The itinerary I chose was with United but operated by US Airways — whatever that means.

Cheaptickets asked me to choose seats (they even had a lovely plane seating chart showing what was available). I chose a window seat for all flights. So there I was thinking I had a window seat for my long flight, only to check a week or so before, and realize that I did not have a seat assignment.

Lapadula checked with Cheaptickets and United, but was ultimately referred to US Airways, which was operating the flight under a “codesharing” agreement.

They told me that they couldn’t assign seats over the phone, unless I was willing to pay for a “preferred” seat. So I’m supposed to pay $15 extra dollars for the “privilege” to sit in the emergency row and be responsible for the exit of hundreds of people while the plane is burning? I don’t think so.

They also told me that these sites, like Travelocity and Cheaptickets, don’t really have accurate and updated seating charts, so that choosing a seat with them is pretty useless. Why even present the chart during check out, and give people the impression that they are selecting their seats?

At this point, I need to clearly state my own bias: I think codesharing is dishonest and should be illegal. It’s like opening a box of Cheerios but finding Corn Flakes, buying a Chevy but getting a Ford, ordering a Coke but getting a Pepsi.

It’s wrong, wrong, wrong.

Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (PDF), which declares “deceptive acts” to be unlawful, puts these kind of codesharing practices on shaky legal ground.

Lapadula asked her father, who works at an airport, to help with the seat assignments.

He was told that because my reservation showed the tickets were bought through Cheaptickets, that I had no right to a reserved seat in advance. To quote my dad “they made it seem like you were not very important to them.” Just because I didn’t buy my tickets straight from them, and I’m not one of their frequent fliers.

Weirdly enough, the guy sitting next to me had bought his tickets through Orbitz, and on the print out of the reservation he had a confirmed seat for 24C (literally, it said “confirmed seat”), yet his actually boarding pass said 18E, a middle seat. It seems it is the norm to assign irrelevant seats when you purchase through these travel sites. That’s plain deceiving.

And also, my free drink selection on my four-hour flight? Delicious airplane tap water. Ludicrous.

Certainly, Cheaptickets shouldn’t be displaying seats that aren’t available. But beyond that, I think it’s time to stop this codesharing madness.

Maybe that’s something the next administration will take an interest in.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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27 comments

  • Vin

    You can take your record locator provided by CheapTickets and plug it into the US Air site, and manage your reservations this way…including reserving regular seats.

  • ptkdude

    This is why I always use the record locator I’m given to log into the reservation on the operating airline’s website. Once I do that, I can usually select a seat.

    For example, in March I booked a reward ticket on Northwest’s website, but the flight was operated by Delta. Northwest didn’t let me pick a seat, and their website wouldn’t let me change seats, but I was able to pull the reservation up on Delta’s site and pick any seat I wanted.

  • http://AmateurTraveler.com Chris (Amateur Traveler travel podcast)

    The other issue that I have found that can get sticky is if you have to change your reservation it can be more difficult if you are dealing with one airline through another.

  • Jennifer

    I’m not sure how codesharing is deceptive. The flight information said front and center it was operated by US Airways. I have never seen a codeshare where the airline operating the flight isn’t noted on the reservation. I don’t understand how Lapadula didn’t understand this. What did she think “operated by US Airways” meant? I usually don’t try to place blame (and I’m surprised Elliott hasn’t done so here as he usually does) but if she didn’t know, she should have called the airline or done some more research. Codesharing is fairly common with airline alliances. It also allows people enrolled in one airline’s frequent flier program to get miles when flying on another airline’s metal and allows an airline to sell tickets on a route it doesn’t fly. I’m sorry that I don’t understand how this is deceptive or illegal in the least.

    This is an entirely separate issue from the seat assignment issue which, I agree, Cheaptickets should not do. I use various online agents’ information (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity) but I always book on the airline’s website. Then this problem never arises. I also always check my reservation on the airline website several times before the flight takes off. In this day and age, when airlines change their schedules all the time, it’s just common sense.

  • adam, Dayton OH

    Jennifer ,
    Codeshares are deceptive because unless you read all fo the fine print, you think you are on one airline, when in fact you are not. What is the good of booking a United flight when it has nothing to do with United? A flight selection should simply display the airline and let the customer choose, instead of trying to make it complex and confusing.
    If I were to book a flight and wanted to be on a United flight, I should be able to easily see and choose that flight. There is no need to say it is United operated by Usair. Just show it as a USAir flight in the beginning and be done with it.

  • Jasper

    1) There is no reason to not collect of every single air mile you can get our hands on. Just sign up for every one of them. I get great magazines from the ones I travel less frequently on.

    2) Code sharing is deceptive.

    3) I flew to the Caribbean for Christmas this year. I bought a weird ticket through Travelocity. Out with US Air, and back with Continental. I wasn’t sure how this would work out, but it was reasonably priced, so what the heck. Now, luck seemed to be on my side this time. My US Air flights were actually flown by United (yet through Charlotte). The US Air guy pretty much laughed at me for having read my tickets print out in stead of having seen their “obvious” sign explaining that all US Air flights >7000 are code shares with United.

    Anyway, flying United, I could use my premier associate United Miles pass to avoid US Airs and United luggage fees. And, I my drink on board of the United flights in stead of having to pay on US Air.

    Now, Continental was a whole different story. They are awesome! They didn’t even weigh my suit case and just labeled it and let me check in. No fees. And they even gave me a hot sandwich in flight! It feels a bit silly to be happy about that, but I realize I was lucky. I managed to fly to the Caribbean and back without paying luggage fees and I even got a little food. Go Continental.

    Now my question to Chris is: How come Continental can do this? Are they just a soundly organized airline? Why do I never hear them whine about all these things we hear United, US Air and Delta go booboo over? How come Continental doesn’t even appear in your tag bubble here?

    Are they the only decent airline left?

    Finally, I like the Cola comparison. I find that many poor customer service jobs really sound poor when translated into buying a bottle of cola. As a matter of fact, it enrages customer service reps wen you ask them: “Would you accept buying a bottle of Coke that’s been tampered with like my current situation, for the solution you offer me?” Because they only answer they can give is, “No, I’d go the the store next door and buy my bottle there”. To which you can reply: “Thank you, I’ll be doing that”.

  • John

    This person is just whining. USAIR and United have codeshared for years, and the whole seat thing is normal. You just take the record locater and plug it in and select your seat. Chris this was a waste of time to give this woman an audience to post her worthless complaints

  • Buck

    You buy your tickets through a web site called CheapTickets and you expect service? Now that’s the definition of insanity.

  • Mike

    I can understand one carrier using another for travel to destinations not serviced by them. I think I may have gotten on a plane at some point not operated by who I thought was on my original ticket purchase.

    I think the bog problem here is that she was given the option of choosing a seat which she did, then was told that she not only didn’t have her seat, but that if she wanted it, it would cost her an additional $15.

    Flights are bad enough many times, but having to pay $15 extra so you maybe can get a little privacy, arm room, or a view out a window so you don’t have a panic attack is going way over the line. BTW, what happens when nobody will pay $15 for the window seat? Do people just get to park their butts there for free?

  • Patrick

    What is actually amusing is that “cheaptickets” is a underwriter/sponsor of this website…..hmmmm……

  • Christopher Elliott

    Actually, Cheapflights is an underwriter. Not Cheaptickets.

  • Suzanne

    The interesting point about codeshares is that if you a little bit savvy you will find that depending on which airline site you start from, the cost of the ticket will be different. I don’t shop on Cheaptickets or Orbitz or Travelocity or any of those. But then again I am a 1K on United and an Exec Plat on American and tend to start with the same software system the airlines use or Kayak.com. But I do ensure that I have the least expensive variant of every ticket I buy, by checking out the codeshare flight values. They do change depending on who is issuing the ticket. I have found this to be true on Alaska and American, US Air and United, and even Delta and American Eagle. And don’t think that the elites on the biggest carriers don’t get mistreated. For all we fly we are no more than chattel to the airlines…

  • Joe Farrell

    Deceptive how? United is issuing the ticket but the flight is OPERATED by USAirways.

    Do you not know what operated means? Common sense definition means, in this context, that the airplane is flown by USAirways. How is that complex? The airplane has a USAirways logo on it. So, you will fly on USAirways. You check in at USAirways counter at the airport.

    Why, its like buying a Ford at a Chevy lot and getting . . . a Ford. Hmm.

    Now, when it comes to seat assignments – sure – the third party sites screw this up routinely. They do not tell you that, so sure, you have a beef with their websites.

    That being said, if you buy a ticket on a website, that is sold by one airline, to be operated on another, would common sense not tell you that perhaps you should contact the ‘operated by’ airline to assure yourself of a seat that you want?

    As for ‘preferred seats,’ join the party. You are just ignorant of the current rules the airlines use to raise revenue.

    Here is another tip – you’ll have to pay for soft drinks, checked luggage, preferred seats, seats in the front, window seats, aisle seats, pre-boarding, getting off the plane first, entertainment, and fuel, unless they’ve waived the surcharges. Should they disclose all this in advance, yep. Do they? Yep. In the fine print you never read because people who whine like you never make any effort to understand before something happens and then expect to be compensated for whining.

    And Christopher, you do attract a lot of whining.

  • Mike

    I recently had a beneficial code share. I had an Air Canada ticket and was trying to get out of Vancouver during the recent snow storms. After having Air Canada cancel flight after flight, I finally got to rebook onto a United operated flight using the codeshare number. That one got me home without a hitch. I had to call United to get a seat, but there were no issues with that.

  • Jennifer

    I simply disagree that the codesharing is in the “fine print.” Even the letter writer admitted the reservation said “operated by US Airways.” If some people think it’s deceptive, fine, but I don’t agree that it violates any law. Has anyone litigated this issue? Believe me, I wouldn’t want to fly on US Scareways again but if I selected a flight that said “operated by US Airways,” I believe you can reasonably assume the flight is being operated by US Airways. How do you get any other explanation out of this language? I guess we’ll just agree to disagree on this.

    The seat issue is a more pressing problem and CheapTickets should make this clear by not offering seat assignments on airlines where it can’t guarantee them and passengers need to do their homework and review their reservation with the airline on which it has a reservation.

  • Carver Farrow

    I don’t see how code sharing is deceptive. The beauty of code sharing is that it expands your universe of airlines that you can get perks and benefits on. Of course, Chris doesn’t really think much of loyalty programs.

    I think its great that I can use AA miles to fly for free in Europe, although AA doesn’t have a single flight that operates entirely within Europe. I think it awesome that I can fly BA and use the premier lines, the club lounge, and the security queue, even though I’ve never flown BA more than twice a year.

    And like many have said, code sharing is generally made very clear to the consumer.

  • http://www.patricialapadula.com Patricia Lapadula

    Oh boy, who knew my relatively small complaint would cause such debate. Let me be clear that, unlike most of the issues on this site, mine were pretty much non-issues, and Cheaptickets delivered on everything they promised, except the seat selection. But I thought it would be a interesting topic for discussion. Technically Cheaptickets didn’t promise me a seat, but by offering a seating chart and having me pick my beloved window seats, it does come across deceptive. It tells you that it’s submitting your seat request to the airline, but it never tells you whether they agreed or not, or any sort of follow up.

    And yes, I tried going to USAirways’ site (after trying United’s) and yes, they did have my reservation but I was not allowed to pick a seat. I called and was told the same thing. I even had a live human being go to their counter and ask, and he was told that no, I had to wait to check in to get a seat assigned. More importantly though, the implication that passengers buying through these travel sites are “second rate” to those who buy directly from the airlines is interesting. Something for everyone to consider if that’s the case.

    I don’t know much about codesharing, or how it works. As someone who doesn’t really buy tickets from these travel sites often, it was just confusing to figure out who to call if I had a problem (forget seat selection, what if my flight was cancelled? I would have lost valuable time calling, first Cheaptickets, then United, then USAirways…). Again, just a little more clarity on this whole codesharing deal would be useful to everyone, and clearly Chris thinks it’s scam.

    For all of you talking about frequent miles and whatnot… well, I just wanted my window seat! And maybe a Coke would’ve been nice…

    Happy travels everyone!

  • http://www.patricialapadula.com Patricia Lapadula

    In the interest of fairness, I’ll clarify that the first time I called, I was told I could pay for a premium seat, (emergency row, I’m assuming, because you know, of the leg room… but I’m compact, and probably of no help in an emergency). Unless I wanted to do that, I couldn’t pick any seat. Subsequent requests for a seat assignment were denied until I checked in online the night before (and what do you know, all window seats were gone).

    I’m moving on with my life now, I promise ;-)

  • Passing Through

    Thanks for not posting my comment. What you hiding?

  • Neil M Campbell

    I learned long ago that Cheap Tickets & Cheapo Air their sister site do not give seats. We were going on a long trip to Asia and I called Cheap Tickets and told them “no seat assignments – no sale” They told me to take a hike!!!!

    Why would you deal with such a company?

    With their booking fee they are no cheaper than other sites. You just have to dig a little harder.

    Happy Flying in the New Year!

  • Scott

    Codesharing — which is pretty clear as everyone has noted, but the main problem is that most people don’t read ANYTHING and expect someone else to take care of everything for them, despite wanting to pay nothing.

    Now, the seat issue from third party websites is a big deal. Absolutely they should not be offering seats that don’t get reserved. I work for an airline and this happens very often. But this complaint is with the website! And there is definitely a difference between third party websites. Much different between say, Travelocity and Orbitz, and then opaque sites like Priceline or Hotwire where you cannot even earn miles if you book through those sites.

    Read your itineraries people! Don’t be sheep!

  • David

    Hi folks, finally posting after passively reading the blog. :)

    I won’t comment the codesharing thing since the others have already done so, and people pretty much will agree and/or disagree. I thought I’d point out that Expedia also doesn’t indicate whether you’ll get the seat or not as I went through it earlier.

    I won’t be surprised if the other travel agencies’ websites don’t guarantee that either. It might be nice if they explicitly state that, but I guess some people don’t like being told what they don’t want to hear. (or read in this case…)

    Then again, I also guess the travel agencies never said they’ll guarantee such to begin with, and people will interpret whatever they want. It’ll probably be one of those never-ending debates.

    Speaking of which, Continental’s contract of carriage even says this on page 10 of their PDF:

    Seat assignments are not guaranteed and are subject to change without notice.

    Gotta love those disclaimers sometimes, although they’re arguably necessary anyway.

  • Carly

    I recently booked through Orbitz and was put a code-sharing flight. While on holidays, I had to change the date of my return flight. I was on the phone with “Orbitz” for more than an hour, long distance, while they sorted it out with the airline. The airline sent me a new itinerary, which DID NOT in any way, shape or form indicate that my new flight was a code share. No other airline name was anywhere on the itinerary. I showed up at the airport three hours early and showed my itinerary to an airline employee. They directed me to an unmanned ticket counter run by their airline. As the time of my flight got nearer, and the check-in didn’t open, I showed my itinerary to them again. They told me to keep waiting in their line as the flight was delayed. Needless to say, I missed my real flight, which was actually on another airline and left on time. I had to buy a new one-way ticket to make my second (of three) connecting flights home. When I got home I went through the formal complaint process, but all they would reimburse me for was the unused portion of the flight I missed. I lost $300 (which was a lot at the time as I was coming home from six months volunteering, unpaid, in a developing country) and a good chunk of my sanity! I’m not opposed to codesharing, but I am opposed to the way in which it is currently presented to consumers. Everything needs to be out in the open.

  • David Z

    I’m not opposed to codesharing, but I am opposed to the way in which it is currently presented to consumers. Everything needs to be out in the open.

    I think that’s what practically many, if not all, airlines and travel agencies do when it comes to codeshare flights. Sounds like something was amiss in your instance, though it might take forever to find out what went wrong.

    As for codesharing being deception, what might be really deceptive is if the airline or travel agency didn’t state the flight is operated by this or that. If codesharing were disallowed (which is highly unlikely anyway), it might create less options that some people…might not like.

  • Ian

    Whilst the seat thing is irritating, I’ll second the other comments about ‘UNITED- OPERATED BY US AIRWAYS’ being pretty clear. Codesharing is not exactly an innovation of late. When they work, codeshares are fabulous things however when something goes wrong it makes it too easy to shift the blame.

  • Seabee

    Oh Puh-leeeeze…..

    There is nothing deceptive about code sharing… its just people too lazy to read what they are clicking on…

    … and then come and say “Noone told me!”

    and the “Her father works at the airport and told her…” … as what? And if he asked at the ticket counter… was he capable af explaining to her what they REALLY said?

    Seat reservations are NOT guaranteed, they are a courtesy. Buy your ticket over some internet site choosing seats is simply saying “Choose a seat and we will see what we can do…. (but dont bet on getting it)”

    Do folks really think in the 2 minutes it takes them to bang in a reservation (and ignoring reading the details) that the internet site will be able to confirm it all through the reservation system? Internet site has to do a request with united, who have to do a request with US Airways… and all done by the time you hit enter?

    A bit naive folks ;-)

  • Daryl

    I have to agree with some of the comments here; the information was explicit and the passenger should have read the information. In Los Angeles, if I fly an Alaska Airlines flight (which does have codesharing with American and Delta), I see information that I should check in with the airline operating the flight. That way, I don’t show up to Alaska in Terminal 3 and find out that I have to walk around LAX to reach Terminal 4 (AA) or Terminal 5 (DL). Code-sharing has been around for years, and I think it really became prevalent after the airlines built their partnership networks (SkyTeam, OneWorld, Star Alliance) and allowed their members to easily earn miles within the network. I seriously doubt that, with route cutbacks and the state of the airline industry, codesharing will ever disappear.

    I also agree with the comments that, when you reserve through Expedia or other third-party sites, PLEASE go to the airline website and update your seat assignments. US Air and a few others have most of their aircraft as Preferred (read – pay me money for some perceived luxury because I *desperately* need it) seating. If a third-party site tries to assign a seat there without collecting the fee, the seat assignment is usually refused. US Air made headlines in every major newspaper about charging for drinks, so why would that be a surprise? (I wouldn’t drink the tap water on an airline, based on what I’ve read on travel sites…)

    Joe’s right, Chris; you do collect a lot of whiners. I’m sorry, but if you’re booking on Hotwire, Priceline, Cheap Tickets, and some of those discount places, you really should expect what you pay for. Now, that Delta story years ago that left you speechless, *that* isn’t whining.

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