I need to get on livejournal more..
I know I should read this thing more when I saw Lee's post about airlines and ticket cost. I deal with this everyday of my life in some form or other. Customers who are pissed that they have to pay fees for changes or that their flight price goes up and almost every time the words unfair, price-gouging or thief comes up. It can sap your strength explaining why fares go up or why your ticket cost more than the guy sitting next to you or why yesterday your fare was one thing and today another.
I find it crazy that when a passenger is told very clearly that fares are non-refundable they seem to let that go in one ear and out the other. I hear with regularity the following, "I am definitely not changing my plans." "This trip is on and I have to be back for (insert your family function that can't be missed here)." These are the same people who will call me from some distance far off piece of shit 3rd world country and insist that I work a miracle because they just have to change their ticket and have no money budgeted for the change.
Now I'm not bagging on Lee :) promise! I' m just saying that its the fine print that gets everyone but people have to realize the airlines are offering a product and when you change your flights and it happens to be within 24 to 48hrs they know they have prime space and that they can sell it for a premium. For example: 21 days in advance they sold the seats for 200, 14 days in advance they sold them for 250 and 7 days in advance they sold them for 300. But they still have seats and now with the economy in the tank the business class seats are filled with guys who are using their miles and they really haven't made a profit on this flight. Their profit, and its small, comes from last minute full fare purchases and people changing their flights. This is how the system works in a simplified fashion. If you don't want to get caught up in their quest for profit don't change the flights at the last minute.
Now you might say ,"But if I went on the internet I could get the flights for a way lower price and just scrap the old ticket." Let me be the first to say, YES YOU CAN! Airlines are using this as the second way to sell off unsold space. When available its a steal. I always talk my clients into buying the new cheaper ticket and applying the old ticket to another trip. At first they don't get it. They say "But the tickets non-refundable!" I say yes but the remaining value on the ticket can be applied to another ticket for up to a year from the date of issue. This is how you work the system. Just a bit of advise. Now I have never used Priceline but I would hope they would do the same thing. The only restriction should be that it has to be applied to the same airline and maybe the same cities. It depends on the fare.
Just thought I would drop a bit of info. Not sure if this would apply Lee's situation but it should apply to most travelers situations.
I find it crazy that when a passenger is told very clearly that fares are non-refundable they seem to let that go in one ear and out the other. I hear with regularity the following, "I am definitely not changing my plans." "This trip is on and I have to be back for (insert your family function that can't be missed here)." These are the same people who will call me from some distance far off piece of shit 3rd world country and insist that I work a miracle because they just have to change their ticket and have no money budgeted for the change.
Now I'm not bagging on Lee :) promise! I' m just saying that its the fine print that gets everyone but people have to realize the airlines are offering a product and when you change your flights and it happens to be within 24 to 48hrs they know they have prime space and that they can sell it for a premium. For example: 21 days in advance they sold the seats for 200, 14 days in advance they sold them for 250 and 7 days in advance they sold them for 300. But they still have seats and now with the economy in the tank the business class seats are filled with guys who are using their miles and they really haven't made a profit on this flight. Their profit, and its small, comes from last minute full fare purchases and people changing their flights. This is how the system works in a simplified fashion. If you don't want to get caught up in their quest for profit don't change the flights at the last minute.
Now you might say ,"But if I went on the internet I could get the flights for a way lower price and just scrap the old ticket." Let me be the first to say, YES YOU CAN! Airlines are using this as the second way to sell off unsold space. When available its a steal. I always talk my clients into buying the new cheaper ticket and applying the old ticket to another trip. At first they don't get it. They say "But the tickets non-refundable!" I say yes but the remaining value on the ticket can be applied to another ticket for up to a year from the date of issue. This is how you work the system. Just a bit of advise. Now I have never used Priceline but I would hope they would do the same thing. The only restriction should be that it has to be applied to the same airline and maybe the same cities. It depends on the fare.
Just thought I would drop a bit of info. Not sure if this would apply Lee's situation but it should apply to most travelers situations.