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Airline Ticket Changes Will Hit Passengers In The Wallet

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United Announced Increase Of At Least $200 For Changes On Domestic Flights .Passengers on United Airlines who need to make adjustments to their schedules will be hit with a fee of at least $200 for domestic flights.... (www.aero-news.net) 기타...

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WALLACE24
WALLACE24 6
Bring it on! Raise prices all you want. Then watch what happens.
kaisermon
we used to laugh about spirit and ryanair with their oddball fees, but no more. Can't wait for UA mgmt to make the grand announcement in the near future that changes are not permitted at all, you forfeit your ticket if you cant fly the exact itinerary you booked.
AccessAir
AccessAir 2
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
sparkie624
sparkie624 4
Not good... It will come back to haunt them.
grahbag
grahbag 4
It certainly doesn't go toward improving on-time performance or improving any other aspect of the customer experience, but it is what it is...
AccessAir
AccessAir 2
These change fees are a bunch of crap. Its all a policy to deter people from making changes, thats all it is.
homburge
homburge 2
I would think it's actually that the airlines realize that people do change tickets all the time. So they charge for something that is inevitable and unavoidable.

Delta has eliminated even the concept of standby -- they want you to pay $50 as a "same-day change fee". So even if you're early and they have an empty seat, they want more dollars. Truly absurd. Especially when the person most likely to change is the short-notice business traveler whose base fare is higher than even a change fee added to the leisure guy's fare who's sitting next to you.

These change fee policies are reasons why both UA and DL are my airlines of last choice, and in UA's case, I won't fly them anymore.

And I agree with the posting below that the government in some fashion is going to have to get in and start re-regulating at least this portion of air travel. It's clear that the executives of the US airlines have no desire to protect their customers' interests and are using monopoly-like positions for economic advantage.

All the industry needs to do is learn how to properly price its product and deliver a quality experience for the price.
grahbag
grahbag 2
Service was so much better on Continental!!
jbbooks1
Some of the fees are such that you can't get around them and the bastards know it.
joelwiley
joel wiley 1
So what happens when the Airline changes your seat? Do they still charge the $200? (Wouldn't put it past them) Do the pay the pax the $200? (Don't hold your breath)
boughbw
boughbw 1
I think some folks are missing the reason for this: the Sequester has started bumping travel back and now airlines are all delayed as a result. They are rebooking in huge numbers - and now they are jacking up the prices. If I were more optimistic, I would side with the airlines raising their fees to cope with additional workloads brought on by the Sequester. But I'm not -- they're jacking up the fees because they are taking advantage of the public's frustration with the government.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I can understand a RATE difference, and I could understand a SHORT NOTICE change, but to point/click several weeks in advance is nothing but a ripoff, but what else would you expect from Chicago?

RRKen
Case in point: My trip in June took four hours, and looking at quite a few combinations with multiple carriers in order to make connections, and get to my destination at a decent hour (before 1 am). Do you really think business types have that kind of time to play around with computer tag? The folks I know don't even deal with those kinds of details. They call their travel department (if they have one) who contacts the outside contractor, who takes care of it all.

Besides, an operation that makes money based on full seats, cannot plan capacity/services when customers change their mind on short notice. So are they supposed to just take the loss?

And if one really needs to be there on short-notice, there are plenty of for-hire craft out there who can get you point A to point B faster than any scheduled carrier can ever hope. The more important the business person, the less apt he or she is going to use commercial.
pilot62
With the majority of these fees being paid by business travelers, and most often starting Wednesday nights and Thursdays, when those of us who can attemp to get home a little early if possible. With the change fee nearing the cost of most mid to hi hotels , it doesn't make my (world wide company) any money to get an employee home early.

Good luck United, I think I'm out... for AA and One World next year !!!
preacher1
preacher1 1
While not having to fool with it much anymore, if a meeting wound up early and you had multiple flights, it used to be a simple matter to check in early and grab an extra seat on an earlier flight that might get you home earlier. DAL started screwing that up with their same day change thing/fee and then everybody started tightening capacity so in a lot of cases, those seats just weren't there anyway, besides the increased fees. As Scott says, they are at the cost of a good hotel.
pilot62
@ access air - sorry not true - companies every week are paying millions in change fees.
How do you think people get re-routed when the plan or job doesn't come thru ???
louisjames
lou nagy 1
** REMEMBER BACK IN THE DAYS when airlines issued paper tkts, and they EVEN HAD TICKET OFFICES to change a tkt and pay addl amnt if you had to, but i guess the EXECS of United and now USAIR dont remember back then. Today, its "E" tkt and takes just a "point and click" of the computer to change, so WHY is their such an ENORMOUS FEE for doing so!! I even remember when the "sell-up" type fare had in their fare basis code ..Q25; meaning if you had to change your "PAPER" tkt, they charged you 25percent penalty plus any addl fare on the nonrefundable tkt. I can just 'vision' on what "may" happen. Folks will search/call and find the cheapest ow fare on 'somebody'...and you can just 'guess' what may happen to the other part of the original tkt. CONE ON NOW, $200 to change; ie, for a funeral, illness in the immediate family, etc!!! You might want to say, that they really make a "LAUGHING STOCK" of themselves in this industry. THANKS
oowmmr
oowmmr 0
The news caught my ear on the radio about the money that is made on these change fees. It was over 1 billion like 1.5 billion a year or around there!!! Mmmm, lots and lots of changes, eh.
jdriskell
Greed is the great motivator. It costs absolutely NOTHING to change a reservation on-line if it's far enough in advance. Last minute changes are a different matter, but I think again it's greed on the part of the carrier.
bees31ballard
Can someone in the Government watchdog Consumer Protection Agency please help us. What is their purpose. These fees have gotten out of control. My example: I have a flight scheduled roundtrip from CLT to BWI in June. Got a great price. Thankful for that. Some family situations have changed and I have to attend a military basic training graduation that same weekend in Illinois. So I have a choice. Get hit with a rebook fee to change flight (no suitable alternatives to MDW or ORD, and/or get credit for another flight (which will not even be worth it after cancellation fee) or just watch $160 float out the window). The flight is full and overbooked already. How can they do that?? We are getting trampled on with these fees and it is never ending. We are being held hostage to time and distance by the airlines. No respect for things that happen in peoples lives that plans change. I know, just buy a refundable ticket!! Another ripoff. The Plane is still going same place, why does it cost more. It was overbooked anyway.. Dang.. Help CPA.. I know they won't. Just asking. And oh by the way.. careful checking bags by the curb when you have to pay for EXTRA baggage (as if 1 bag is extra). They sometimes double charge you. Discovered that recently when I could not reconcile a credit charge. had to go through Mother and Earth to get that resolved. In the end, it was a waste of my time and effort to get the money back. that is what they are banking on.. You give up and they keep your cash..
RobSJC
Management already get too much in salaries and bonuses, while taking credit and successes of those who actually interact assisting the passengers face to face .... This fee, let alone the increase, is absolutely absurd .. Further reason, not to fly United. Once worked for TWA ... In the day of no bag fees, no change fees, you could book space and not even have to buy the ticket, until the day of the flight .. And the fare did not go up and was guaranteed ! Today's airline management, need to seethe passengers revolt and not fly for about a week ... And let the planes just sit .. . We need federal regulation now .... It has gotten out of hand .... Simple to regulate ... They don't agree, they don't fly.

[This poster has been suspended.]

WALLACE24
WALLACE24 2
Keep the Feds out for sure. Pricing of fares will be set by the pax and the competition. I have never been able to figure out how somebody working for somebody else could be worth 10m a year. That's not only a ripoff to the employees but to shareholders too. If the company goes broke they just take a hike. WRONG in lots of ways.

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