Comments on: One airline ticket for the price of two? http://www.elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/one-airline-ticket-for-the-price-of-two/ Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott's site. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ajaynejr http://www.elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/one-airline-ticket-for-the-price-of-two/comment-page-1/#comment-26916 ajaynejr Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:39:28 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=9356#comment-26916 If airlines publish a fare of X dollars to get you from point A to point B, then the airlines have the obligation to get you from point A to point B for no more than X dollars. In the scenario as described United had no business charging the passengers for the new ticket. If airlines publish a fare of X dollars to get you from point A to point B, then the airlines have the obligation to get you from point A to point B for no more than X dollars. In the scenario as described United had no business charging the passengers for the new ticket.

]]> By: Bob http://www.elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/one-airline-ticket-for-the-price-of-two/comment-page-1/#comment-26841 Bob Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:11:25 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=9356#comment-26841 This story is a great example of why service levels have been declining, there are (rightfully) now fees for everything and anything extra, and customer satisfaction is very low: It's because most customers care only about ticket price and everything else comes second. And as I said, this story is a perfect example of that. I mean, who in their right mind would book such a ridiculous itinerary unless they really only cared about saving a few dollars? It's one thing to fly something like LAX-PHX-DFW on US but it's completely different to have something like (this is just a hypothetical example) LAX-DEN on US operated by UA connecting to DEN-DFW on F9, and then the return DFW-PHX on US and PHX-LAX on UA operated by US. This is madness! I can almost guarantee that this person could have paid a little more and flown on AA nonstop, or possibly UA nonstop, both ways. Instead, she chose to save some money and purchase this ridiculous itinerary. Well again, this highlights the problem that all airlines are struggling with today: the demand from passengers for the lowest fares while also getting first class, all inclusive service. And Chris, by the way, I disagree with you that Hotwire "had no business" giving her such an itinerary. Like all airlines/agencies, Hotwire searches for the cheapest option. In this case, this was almost certainly the cheapest although, as I said above, I'm certain the other, more convenient flights (i.e. nonstop) were also presented to her but she just chose not to take them. This story is a great example of why service levels have been declining, there are (rightfully) now fees for everything and anything extra, and customer satisfaction is very low: It’s because most customers care only about ticket price and everything else comes second. And as I said, this story is a perfect example of that. I mean, who in their right mind would book such a ridiculous itinerary unless they really only cared about saving a few dollars? It’s one thing to fly something like LAX-PHX-DFW on US but it’s completely different to have something like (this is just a hypothetical example) LAX-DEN on US operated by UA connecting to DEN-DFW on F9, and then the return DFW-PHX on US and PHX-LAX on UA operated by US. This is madness!

I can almost guarantee that this person could have paid a little more and flown on AA nonstop, or possibly UA nonstop, both ways. Instead, she chose to save some money and purchase this ridiculous itinerary. Well again, this highlights the problem that all airlines are struggling with today: the demand from passengers for the lowest fares while also getting first class, all inclusive service.

And Chris, by the way, I disagree with you that Hotwire “had no business” giving her such an itinerary. Like all airlines/agencies, Hotwire searches for the cheapest option. In this case, this was almost certainly the cheapest although, as I said above, I’m certain the other, more convenient flights (i.e. nonstop) were also presented to her but she just chose not to take them.

]]> By: Not Really Barbie http://www.elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/one-airline-ticket-for-the-price-of-two/comment-page-1/#comment-26765 Not Really Barbie Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:14:30 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=9356#comment-26765 So - they bought 2 tickets originally for $447 which were refunded but they had to pay for the $235 tickets [for a total fo $470?] that they bought later? That makes no sense to me. So – they bought 2 tickets originally for $447 which were refunded but they had to pay for the $235 tickets [for a total fo $470?] that they bought later? That makes no sense to me.

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