Comments on: Proposed airline duplicate-booking software may catch innocent travelers

By: z

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:57:43 +0000

the airlines would be so much better off if they let the traveling public deal with these ridiculous rules in a way that we could to take advantage of the rules. whats wrong with a “back to back?” why dont they like money they WILL be getting instead of the money they wont get? if I could get a b2b for $300 total instead of $1000 or more, I would fly, if not, I dont go or I drive and they get nada.

the airlines with the ludicrous fare rules are killing themselves. go back to SIMPLE fares. One way is one way. round trip is 2 one ways. and get rid of the sat night stay! why should that be cheaper??????

By: ajaynejr

ajaynejr — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:12:01 +0000

If the airline cancels a legitimate reservation because of its computer’s mistake then the airline should compensate the passenger, or better yet forcibly rebook the passenger when he shows up, and ask for volunteers if needed.

By: mark

mark — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:11:59 +0000

Not sure if AA has already implemented this software, but I did get called this week. I fly about 3-4 trips a month and do about 150,000 miles on AA/year, and have to occasionally ditch the return portion of a flight.

I have a round trip to Vegas scheduled by a client for next week. Another client needed me in Orlando, and the only way I could make the second meeting was to fly directly there not using the return portion of the first ticket. AA called me and asked me which flight I was taking; the return portion, or the one way.. I told them I cannot cancel the return portion unless I take the outbound leg, and they seemed to understand. Strange I have to modify my return portion about 10 times a year, and have never gotten called previously.

Mark

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:39:01 +0000

I have a relatively common name, and I am often caught up in poorly designed name matching algorithms (TSA’s algorithm for flagging passengers requiring extra screening is one of them). And I am disgusted by the Airlines’ continued attempts to nickel-dime us….

If I buy a ticket and not use it, the seat should be vacant – and the airline gets the savings of carrying a seat full of air to the plane’s next destination. Why should they care if I buy a second, more valuable ticket later on, if the empty seat has been paid for? They have already captured the (possibly non-refundable) revenue….

Of course, the airlines (as a group) wants us to think prices are lower than they are to travel. So they come up with schemes to artificially depress published ticket prices without decreasing the costs of traveling which consumers must pay. And as a result, I have avoided discretionary flying for several years, traveling on Southwest or JetBlue whenever possible. (I’d rather pay an honestly priced fare, than to be hit with a lot of surcharges and extra fees for standard service.) Heck, I even travel Amtrak along the Northeastern Corridor now – as I don’t have to put up with the security headaches of the post 9/11 world….

If the major airlines want my business back, they will have to return to the honest pricing policies of the past, and drop the “al a carte” price model now in vogue. And I don’t think I’m alone in this. It’ll be a happy day for me when the next major carrier goes bankrupt – as maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally see a major go out of business – removing both the extra capacity, and pressure on the rest of the players to present artificially low fares to the traveling public.

Chris

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:59:46 +0000

Odds of 2 different people being snared in the web are pretty good. I read that they will look for duplicates on different airlines at different times. I would guess that the chances of 2 people with the same name traveling between NY and Wash DC on any given day are pretty good. I, like you, Janice, am skeptical that this will be in the interests of passengers or in the long run airlines, since they will have to deal with the consequences of correcting errors.

By: Mel

Mel — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:05:01 +0000

Why do we allow the airlines to limit our choices as consumers? With today’s fewer flights, and with the likelihood of standbys using many of the seats that are not filled at the last moment, their claim of losing large amounts of revenue are suspect at best. Regarding back to back tickets, the airline has been paid for the second flight on each ticket. Often, but probably not always, they can sell the unused seat at the last minute, most probably for a higher fare. How is this losing revenue? Just another example of planned gouging by the greedy airlines!! If they aren’t making money, then raise the fares. Frequent travellers will understand, and the once a year traveller will simply have to accept the reality.

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:32:17 +0000

If American spent as much money improving their service as they are apparently going to spend trying to snare passengers into their exhorbitant change fees they would probably make more money in the long haul!

By: dcta

dcta — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:02 +0000

Although one situation you describe is “churning” and good Travel Agents have cut that our a long time ago – I don’t allow clients to “churn” – all tickets are set in my system (Apollo) to cancel at the ticketing deadline if they are not ticketed. A client who misses said deadline and then calls later to re-book is booked in an entirely new PNR (record) and takes his/her chance that the fare has not gone up. Agian, there will be an autocancel in there on the appropriate date/time.

By: John M

John M — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:56:54 +0000

Just a new revenue stream for the airlines since they will be debiting agencies for supposed duplicate bookings.

By: Joel Wechsler

Joel Wechsler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:12:04 +0000

As usual, Janice, you have hit the nail right on the head with your last paragraph. More work for the TA and more problems for the consumer.