It’s kind of like buying gas, if you buy it one day and it goes down the next, you can’t go back to the gas station and ask for the difference back.

The airline industry is the only industry in which this is an expectation.[...]

Actually, that’s not true. Let’s use your example. If I buy a Blu-Ray player and don’t use it. Then the exact same model goes on sale later, I can very well return the item and buy another at the reduced price.

Airline tickets aren’t fungible like other items. Whether they should be or not is another topic. If one could buy and sell tickets easily, this problem would not exist.

As for using the system, well, they’ve covered their backsides there too. Here are typical fare rules from Virgin:

IF THE NEW ITINERARY RESULTS IN A LOWER FARE THE
CHANGE FEE WILL APPLY AND NO REFUND WILL BE MADE
IN THE EVENT OF SUBSEQUENT CANCELLATION THE ORIGIN
NON-REFUNDABLE AMOUNT WILL REMAIN NON-REFUNDABLE.

>>The airline industry is the only industry in which this is an expectation. That is the price lowers, you’ll get your money back in the form of a voucher or possibly even a refund.<>But as defined by the airlines, they are part of the fare. <>What is fair anymore? Especially in this industry. We’d like to hear an answer that satisfies the airline’s need to survive financially with the passenger’s need for reasonable prices and service. None seems forthcoming from the industry.<<

What’s fair is the airline charging what is takes to operate their plane. Surcharges are a cop-out. They allow the industry to say “We’re soooooooooo sorry, here is the price we’d like to charge you…but the meany-faced oil peoples are making things soooooo expensive that we got to charge you extra. Hope you don’t mind! ”

By doing this the airlines give the illusion (a) that price increases are out of their control and (b) that these prices increases are temporary. Now in Mr. Gornick’s case (b) turned out to be a reality. The most fair thing to do is for Virgin to state that all passengers on flights after X date will not be required to pay fuel surcharges as we have determined they are no longer required. Passengers who purchased tickets for these flights who have paid fuel charges will be compensated in the form of…a discount on a future flight, partial refund, a free upgrade on a future flight…something besides “Sorry! SOL!”

But as defined by the airlines, they are part of the fare. They show up in a ticket in the fare calculation, and contribute to the base fare. They don’t show up in the taxes and charges on the ticket. Just like the airlines do not provide a refund when the fare goes up, why should they when the fare goes down when you agreed to the higher price?

Many companies, both in and out of the travel industry, choose to honor lower prices, often within a time period, but most do not. If you bought a Blu-Ray player, then came back two months later on Black Friday and it was reduced $100, the local department store is unlikely to give you the difference.

The airline industry is the only industry in which this is an expectation. That is the price lowers, you’ll get your money back in the form of a voucher or possibly even a refund. Of course, the travel industry is the only one where the people around you can be paying 20 different prices for the same seat. Or where the privilege of exchanging a service even the day after purchase results in a fee possibly more than the price of the service itself.

What is fair anymore? Especially in this industry. We’d like to hear an answer that satisfies the airline’s need to survive financially with the passenger’s need for reasonable prices and service. None seems forthcoming from the industry.

This causes all sorts of problems. As we see here. The fair thing to raise the price of the fare to cover the cost of providing the service. That being too simple, the travel industry creates even more ill will when it then refuses to refund money for something they never paid, like a high fuel surcharge when at the time of travel fuel costs are not high.

Its like the Budget RAC at Charleston, SC airport. When I looked at my bill I saw a ‘fuel surcharge.’ I asked what it was for – and was told with a straight face – for the shuttle.

The problem, you walk to your car this airport. when I pointed that out, the sales person got the manager who explained it was for the shuttle to brings cars and employees back and forth to the ‘yard.’ I objected again and it was removed. They’d charge rent for the space they park the car in at the airport if they could.

At least the cruiselines have put together a (complicated) system of awarding shipboard credits to passengers in order to offset the ill will of passengers. At the very least the airlines should offer something to people who are in Mr. Gornick’s position: a partial refund, discount on a future flight, etc.