It’s no secret that the major airlines are struggling. And that they need to charge some of the penalties and fees that they do to survive. But sometimes waiving a fee might be the best financial decision an airline can make.
For example, I had a college student client get confused on the International Dateline and asked me to book him coming back from Asia on one date to Los Angeles, then the following day home to Boston. I didn’t realize he got back to the U.S. the same day that he left. We discovered this two days after ticketing when I casually asked about his plans in Los Angeles. The travel was midweek in January – one of the slowest travel times of the year. I called American Airlines, and after much run-around with several airlines, was told, nope, sorry, it’s a $150 penalty. Period.
Now, I certainly understand when carriers won’t change a ticket to a busy flight, or when someone wants changes months after booking, but this was two days later. And it’s one client who probably won’t fly American again.
On the other hand, another client booked a ticket to Africa, returning to New York for two days, then was flying home on a separate American Airlines ticket from New York to San Francisco. She didn’t think about the new domestic baggage rules and brought luggage that fit the international rules, but not the domestic ones and she was running low on money. But a nice check-in agent looked at her international itinerary and waived the fees. This client will go out of her way now to fly American.
Sometimes airlines aren’t in a position to help out a client with a problem if a flight is really full or if the request is outlandish. But for the smaller stuff, a little goodwill and understanding goes a long way and it can make a big difference in future business.
