It’s events like this that make me think about swearing off the “legacy” airlines and flying Southwest. I just dropped $300 dollars to change a flight for Mrs MJ on Travel and I from 6am on a Monday, to 6am on the Friday before. At least there was only a small change in the fare. I buy a little bit of the argument that my holding the inventory that I’m now not going to use has cost the airline the opportunity to sell the seats I previously occupied. Seriously, I get it. But it’s not like the flight I’m changing is tomorrow, it’s almost 50 days from now. Somehow, a graduated fee system which starts at lets say $25 dollars and rises up to $150 dollars as you move closer to the flight seems more fair. Or perhaps $25 dollars up to 30 days prior to departure, and $150 dollars thereafter. Anything but the fleecing that I just took. In truth, the $150 dollar change fee per person is almost the same price as the fare we originally paid. Somehow, that just doesn’t seem cool. Yes, I sometimes think about swearing this game off and just flying Southwest. Then I remember flying premium class internationally for miles, whether in the past, or planned for next year, and come to my senses. But still…..
A Quick Rant About Airline Change Fees
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There should be a rule that change fees are reciprocal. If the airline wants to change a flight they should have to pony up the same, not just the change fee but the change in fare! AA recently rescheduled one of our flights to leave 1 hour earlier and arrive 1 hour later resulting in a 4 hour layover. I called to cancel the flight and re-book on another airline and was told that they would only offer a voucher for future travel and not refund the ticket since the schedule change was less than [x] hours. Supervisor eventually agreed to refund the ticked but what a crock!
Maybe you should fly WN, and buy miles from USAirways! You don’t have to deal with fees, and you can fly in premium cabins for low cash outlay. or you can do what everybody else seems to be doing, sign up for CREDIT CARDS.
Agree with all points Gary, especially the part about my ultimately paying the fees because I do think they’re worth it, having paid $600 dollars worth of them in the last 4 weeks with this and other flights.
But I reserve the right to rant about it to make myself feel better! 🙂
Be glad they allow changes at all, I’ve certainly flown on (non-US) fares that did not.
Southwest doesnt’ charge change fees, but try to do a change mid-trip and you’ll find yourself buying up to full fare which as low as there’s discount inventory available on your legacy carreir you won’t wind up doing…
Airlines certainly offer fares without those fees, they are just more expensive.
But the reason for change fees has very little to do with your squatting on inventory they can’t otherwise resell, although that’s certainly true.
The point of change fees is to segment market demand, to be able to charge more to people willing to pay more, otherwise those people would just buy cheap inventory early and swap flights when their plans firm. The entire pricing model breaks down without change fees…
And hey, you paid the fees, suggesting you thought they were worth it!
I agree with your frustration on change fees and it seems to equal my frustration with the misuse of me and I. Your sentence should read, “Mrs. MJ on Travel and me.” As written your sentence doesn’t flow (you wouldn’t say, “I just dropped $300 to change a flight for I”) and so I have to call you out as this typical misuse is so rampant. I hear it on tv shows, I see it on so many photo captions, “Frank, Dawn and I” for example, and I see it in so many internet articles that I want to scream. People will have typos (lets rather than let’s) and people will often confuse fewer with less or good with well, but I wish people would simply take the time to properly use me and I.
Thanks for commenting. My apologies for not making the most of my public school education.