A disturbing new poll says 51 percent of air travelers say they’d rather fly while infected with the flu than pay a $150 airline change fee.
The survey, conducted by TripAdvisor.com, asked travelers if they would fly while they’re sick in order to avoid paying a booking change fee. A total of 2,327 users responded.
Airlines have resisted calls to loosen their highly profitable change-fee requirements in the face of the H1N1 epidemic. They apparently prefer a Band-Aid solution to the problem.
Change fees are a critical part of the airline industry’s ancillary revenue picture. But it’s not the only part. Remember, airlines also charge a fare differential when a ticket is changed, which can bring in even more revenue.
TripAdvisor’s general manager of new initiatives at TripAdvisor, Bryan Saltzburg, seemed genuinely horrified by the poll results.
While the thought of paying a $50 to $150 ticket change fee may cause heartburn for many travelers, we strongly recommend against flying while you’re sick with the flu, both as a courtesy to yourself and your fellow travelers. If you’re worried about getting sick this season, you may want to take a look at trip insurance for flights being booked during peak flu months. Be sure to read the fine print in the policy to make sure it covers the flu, though, as some only offer reimbursements for major illnesses.
That’s good advice, to a point. I don’t know a lot of people who take out trip insurance on a roundtrip flight to visit Grandma for Thanksgiving. Plus, insurance on airline tickets tends to be ridiculously overpriced and virtually impossible to make a successful claim on.
There’s only one fix to this: Airlines must drop their onerous change fee requirements during flu season. Or we will all suffer the consequences.
(Photo: kitty meets goat/Flickr Creative Commons)
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Not all airlines are ogres–one of my buddies was supposed to fly last week, but alas, he came down with H1N1 several days before. A call to United Airlines took care of that–they cheerfully cancelled his ticket, and applied his fare to a trip he scheduled in January. No change/cancellation fees. No hassle. And this from an airline not always known for its customer service.
That’s good advice, to a point. I don’t know a lot of people who take out trip insurance on a roundtrip flight to visit Grandma for Thanksgiving. Plus, insurance on airline tickets tends to be ridiculously overpriced and virtually impossible to make a successful claim on.
********************************************************
Insurance cost is based on the cost you are insuring and the age of the passenger. For the basic trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s for Thanksgiving, the cost is less than the change fee.
Keep in mind that the airlines also have unrestrictive fares. By purchasing a nonrefundable fare, you are making a decision to pay a fee if you have to change or cancel. Everyone wants their cake and to eat it, too.
While this one flu is a hugh concern today, other flu, chicken pox, streph throat and other contagious illinesses are around us all the time and should keep you from flying if you have them, too. These can hit you at any time, not just in the winter. Do you want the airlines to waive their fee to you if you have a bad cold, too?
Years ago, the airlines allowed for changes. Then they allowed changes with doctor’s notes. But people cheated with their reasons for changes and got falsified doctor’s notes. We all pay the price for their actions.
I can’t imagine why this is a surprise to anyone. Years ago when AA created their “More Legroom Thru Coach”, I switched from my former airline to them for that very reason. Shortly afterwards, they put back the cramped seats as their studies showed that people will not even pay $10.00 more to fly more comfortably. So why would they now pay $100. – $200. to change their flights if they have the flu?
Bodega,
Yes,unfortunately there are always going to be some people who will cheat the system, but your suggestion that flyers have brought these iron-clad policies on themselves doesn’t hold true. The airlines have brought on their own demise, starting with already overpaid CEO’s that give themselves multi-million dollar salaries and bonus’s and then require the flight crews to take paycuts because profitability is down. Clearly, they give themselves the cake, and lots of sweet icing too!