If it really didn’t make business sense, then no airline would ever make exceptions at any time whatsoever. Clearly airlines have become stricter about making exceptions, but they do make them. Which means that sometimes it is considered to be good business sense, at least to them. Even if it is “just this once”.

And comparing airline tickets to a Wii? That’s pretty apples to oranges. An airline ticket is a service, not a product. One of the advantages of purchasing a physical item is that if I don’t want it any more, I can sell it to my brother or to a stranger for a price that the market will bear (sometimes even at a profit). That way I can completely avoid restocking fees. Can’t do that with the type of ticket being discussed here – if I don’t want that particular ticket anymore, I’ve either completely lost the money/points or have to pay an additional fee. Limits options somewhat more. Making the analogy somewhat weaker than perhaps suggested.

And I do have a nice Christmas story. Went to a beautiful, boutique hotel in the south of France for 2 days during a Christmas trip last year as newlyweds. We paid for a standard room, but on each night we were upgraded to a suite with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. Seems this hotel had the policy that, if a better room went unfilled by a certain time (we figured it was 7 pm), they automatically upgraded guests to fill them up. The hotel has a very small number of rooms (under 20), so it was probably easier for this to be handled then at a larger property. We had never stayed there before, so it wasn’t done due to loyalty – mostly just a way for them to build customers.

@ Allison- It really is sad, isn’t it? Guess there will always be grinches out there.

Everyone step back from the baggage claim!

A butterfly flaps his wings in Africa
The war lost for want of a nail
Knocked over by the domino fall an hour ago
All in the elevator affected by one fart
Here lies old age
Fifteen years older than me
RIP
Nobody was faster

And, since most of the airlines have taken government bailouts in recent years, and since most of us here are frequent business travelers, we have a vested interest in seeing airlines that have a good business model.

@Eric and others – the $150 change fee is not charged for the 90 seconds of work it takes to initiate the change. It is the hedge the airlines make that because you were holding onto a seat and now, since you want to change flights, that seat has a better chance of going unfilled/unpaid.

So, like Chris always says, if you want to stop seeing fees from airlines, then you better learn to figure out that a significant quantity of airline tickets are sold for a loss of profit. If you don’t want to pay fees, then buy the full or one of the refundable economy fares that better reflect the true cost of flying your butt from point A to point B. Otherwise, it is a gamble. If everything works in your favour, then you have purchased a ticket that (at least if you look historically) is at least 30% less than what it should cost. If everything does not go well with your reservation gamble, then you need to reimburse the airline for that loss of profit that you just caused.

Here’s a good example from another walk of life. Let’s say you go to a big box store and purchase the last Wii on the shelf before Christmas. You hold onto it, and, for whatever reasons, your plans change, and you decide you don’t want the Wii. Chances are, when you return the Wii to the store, the store is going to charge you a “restocking” fee running somewhere between 10 and 30 percent of the product’s value. Do you really think it costs $30 for an employee to walk the Wii back to the shelf (ie, the “90 seconds of work”). No, you are reimbursing the store for their loss of profit opportunity. The store had a much better chance of selling that Wii before Christmas than it does after Christmas (unless it is marked down). Just like the airlines had a much better chance of selling your seat prior to two weeks before the flight than they do the day before the flight.

So, if you don’t like fees, then prepare to pay the fair market value of an airline ticket every time you fly. Then we also won’t have to deal with government bailouts, baggage charges, drink charges, and probably crew strikes due to cost cutting measures.

Then I read his bit about how if he were booking F class tickets, and they had upgrade seats available, he’d ask for a “complimentary” upgrade. As they say, WTF? You’re begrudging a woman United waiving her change fee, but you’re willing to ask them to waive your upgrade fees? I realize you’re a Platinum/Carbonite/Diamond FF member and so maybe you feel that people below that status should be grateful that the cattle car they’re herded into these days actually goes to the place you paid for and not some work camp, but really, I don’t think United’s being nice to an older lady with a progressive debilitating disease, even if she knew she had it when she booked the tickets, is going to erode the benefits you already get from your exalted status.

People ask businesses with whom they’re dealing for special things all the time. As long as they don’t expect it out of a sense of entitlement, I don’t begrudge the business making a decision to accommodate someone, even for free.

I can understand the argument that United didn’t have to do what they did. They didn’t. But there wasn’t anything saying that the son couldn’t try to help out his mother. Good son, and you bash him?

BTW, I’m not sure why you assert that asking the Platinum Desk for an upgrade is never done “since it never works” – just last month I did this and was given one – over Thanksgiving, no less! I’m only 40 and in good health, which should make it *more* difficult to achieve with your logic, but I had no problem.

Simplistically put, one just has to be willing to ask, and then ask nicely. Reading Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” will open up worlds of opportunities for anyone who has trouble doing this.

Now, they had all the right in the world to make a request, just as UA, had all the right in the world, to continue to deny them. But if they’re going to make the exception to these people who booked knowing all the rules and regulations, then they need to be just as accomadating to the next person, disabled, healthy, young, or old, pink or purple. It would be only fair.

Nothing was different from when they booked; there was no acute illness, no one had died, they did not get stuck in traffic on the way to the airport, the aunt had not passed away in the meantime – the facts remain:
a) – the pax booked a ticket with a long layover
b) – that pax had a chronic illness which was progressive;
c) – the pax knew at the time booking it would be a long day flying home
d) – free ticket? Yes ‘ here is the quote: ‘This year she booked early [b]using miles [/b] but was only able to get a connecting flight back to Chicago, extending her travel time from 4 hours to almost 12= ‘using miles’ strongly implies a FREE TICKET;
e) there was a change fee – clearly disclosed on EVERY single free ticket I have ever used and clearly disclosed here as well;
f) it is not relevant that ‘it is insane to charge $150 for 90 seconds work on a computer’ because, thems the rules. End of story;
g) the change was SOLELY for the comfort of the passenger. Again, end of story, pay the fee.

and you know what Eric, I rarely speak with anyone at AA – 95% of the upgrades and interactions are done automatically. Calling the platinum desk to ask them to open up another seat simply is not done – since it never works. Now, if I am booking F class revenue upgrade tickets to Hawaii – and they have 2 upgrade seats available, then I will call and ask if they will complementary upgrade me – and then use the 2 upgrade seats for my family -= thats about the only time I ever ask. And usually is it granted – so I guess I am not that evil a person to deal with.

I am sure when I am elderly I’ll try to milk every situation I can, but its not really in my nature. If you have a program, great, if not, or if it required groveling and begging and making an example of my saggy, elderly self, I’d probably choose to pay the $150 . . .