Posts tagged as:

bait-and-switch

The low airfare that vanishes in a click

by Christopher Elliott on March 9, 2010

When you’re airfare shopping, attractive prices can vanish in a split second. Just ask Jim Doll, a systems engineer in Atlanta, who recently tried to buy a ticket to San Francisco on AirTran Airways’ Web site. He found a one-way fare for just $130, but by the time he’d toggled over to Orbitz.com to see if he could do better there and then clicked back, the price had changed.

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“Pay an additional $800 or you can’t board the ship”

by Christopher Elliott on June 24, 2009

Timing is everything when you pull a bait-and-switch. Most of them happen just before or after the purchase – an “oops-the-price-isn’t-available” or a “sorry-did-we-forget-to-mention-a-fee” stunt. But for Mary Hoefs’ Royal Caribbean cruise, she didn’t find out until she tried to board.

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Unfair fares: 5 secrets for avoiding the bait-and-switch

by Christopher Elliott on November 17, 2008

Andy Daniel thought he had found a terrific airfare from San Francisco to Miami for Christmas. Instead, he found a terrific disappointment. When Daniel tried to book a $400 ticket advertised on Expedia, the price suddenly more than doubled.

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