Comments on: Ticket tricks may be legal

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:53:39 +0000

I have done the hidden city trick when booking a one way trip from Rochester to JFK when I have actually wanted to go to Boston. The airlines have trouble catching this if you book the trip as one-way.

Now I’m looking for a routing from southern Florida to Boston that keeps going to somewhere else. Can anyone help me out with this?

By: Dale Laskey

Dale Laskey — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:09:05 +0000

The government should re-institute regulation over the monopolies they have created (that includes telecommunications). Their failure to enforce control over these inane airline policies is an abuse of their power. As passengers, we should be allowed to do whatever is necessary to keep OUR cost low. This includes b2bs and ability to resell our seat to someone else … if I buy a theater ticket and resell my seat to another that is fine … there are even services to enable that. These nickel and dime moves are short-sighted and will ultimately cause the airlines to collapse. A pity for everyone. Wake up airlines before it is too late.

By: Steve Mencik

Steve Mencik — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:36:04 +0000

You said, “Ask your travel agent for advice, but whatever you do, don’t impose on him or her to book the ticket. Airlines frown on agents that book these tickets and they can easily get into trouble.”

Are you going to pay your travel agent for that advice, or do you expect them to do that work for you for free?

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:27:17 +0000

I am in the travel industry and use to book b2b tickets all the time. This saved the company I worked for over the course of years, MILLIONS of dollars. However when the airlines started enforcing that b2b’s were illegal, one of my clients was billed $20000 by American for the true economy fare of the flights he booked. We fought American, but in the long run ended up splitting the difference with them. I do not understand how the airlines could have charged this amount, as my client used all tickets for both trips. I do not understand what is illigal about that. It goes back to the old story about buying a can of paint in the paint store and not using the entire can. Will the paint store come back and charge you?

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:49:24 +0000

It’s time to reestablish the Civil Aeronautics Board and regulate the airlines. The lower airfares promised as a result of 1978 deregulation are a memory. Sometimes, you need a little government intervention.

By: Crystal Griffith

Crystal Griffith — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 02:43:49 +0000

I used to do the Sat nite stay thing back in the 90s when I had regular trips to the same city, week after week. I “started” my trip in my work city coming to my actual home over the weekend and then “returned” to the work city the first of the next week. Worked very well and saved my boss a ton of money! There was enough variation that when that city was done, we were able to “change” my ticket to a different city with a small fee usually. Then, sometimes I would wrap my tickets. Buy one ticket from A to B for Monday of this week and returning on Friday of next week. Then buy a ticket from B to A leaving this Friday and returning on Monday. Much cheaper than the no Sat nite stay bit.

By: John Zumrick

John Zumrick — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 19:55:12 +0000

The airlines have brought such practices on themselves by creating excessivley complex fare codes, class of service, routing, and fequent flyer restrictions. In doing so they have created a system that the sophisticated travelor can game. Additionally the create problems for themselves when their own employees give wrong advise to travelers because of such complex rutes.

By: Chris Gordon

Chris Gordon — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 16:56:20 +0000

I have always questioned how the airlines came about these fares. I use to have to send my child from Dallas to Seattle to see his dad and the fares were sky high… I could have traveled to Europe cheaper than to get him to Seattle! Go figure.

By: Sonia Vining

Sonia Vining — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:01:39 +0000

If the airlines would stop playing ridiculous games with fares and set up a sensible, understandable system, passengers wouldn’t have a reason to try to circumvent the rules.