Airlines , Their Policies and Gouging of a Common Person
My ordeal (a slightly harsh word) started after I booked a return flight from Atlanta to LAX for a personal business. I had to mention that because this is not a business trip that some corporate entity will pay for nor am I a small business owner that could write off air fares while I claim I conducted 50% business on a weekend trip so as to claim the expenses on my taxes. By the way, I owed Uncle Sam and the Governator for the 2006 tax year.
Happy that I would be able to make the trip to reconnect with friends and relatives after 3 months absence from Los Angeles, I went out to throw a half-size football with the kids. Just before I sat down for dinner, I though I check the itinerary and to my shock and annoyance, because I know there would be no favorable solution, I noticed I have booked the return flight on the same day! That will leave me only two hours to spend in Los Angeles, on that same Friday. Unless you were a drug dealer completing a deal or that other "t" word person planning to cause some havoc, a two hour trip is not what a lot of people do and it should raise eyebrows. This is going to be a weekend trip to attend an event that Saturday and to return to Atlanta on Sunday.
I called Expedia immediately patiently explaining my plight (no pun) and the attend on the other end (India, I think) of the line listened carefully and explained the policies of Expedia as the agent and AirTran, the airlines. I was place on hold, but the attendant came back at about 10 minutes intervals to let me know she was sill on hold for a helpdesk support. After about 90 minutes, during which I surprised myself with my patience, I decided to take my case to the airlines directly at the suggestion of my polite Expedia attendant.
As expected, AirTran, citing contract with the agent, Expedia, claimed there is nothing they could do to assist.
I knew I would have to pay for my stupid mistake, which I admitted to all the customer service people to whom I spoke. I did not blame my skinny fingers for mistyping, or my keyboard for missing keys. What get me is that all these businesses are so hard and fast with their policies and rules and the service people quite politely advices you of the polices, a way of telling you before hand that, you screwed up, you are poor and there is nothing I can do for you. Not only the airlines, every businesses that cater to the public, banks naturally comes to mind, have these policies that they cannot waive even in exceptional cases. One is just a number on their SQL database.
I resolved to take th trip anyway and in the end I had to pay the difference in flight of $85, which wasn't there when the whole thing started barely two hours earlier. I paid AirTran change fee of $60 but Expedia was so kind to waive their change processing fee of $30.
Strangely enough, earlier this year I had developed flight phobia and now every possible thought is running through my phobic mind. I hope the whole trip is worth it.
Happy that I would be able to make the trip to reconnect with friends and relatives after 3 months absence from Los Angeles, I went out to throw a half-size football with the kids. Just before I sat down for dinner, I though I check the itinerary and to my shock and annoyance, because I know there would be no favorable solution, I noticed I have booked the return flight on the same day! That will leave me only two hours to spend in Los Angeles, on that same Friday. Unless you were a drug dealer completing a deal or that other "t" word person planning to cause some havoc, a two hour trip is not what a lot of people do and it should raise eyebrows. This is going to be a weekend trip to attend an event that Saturday and to return to Atlanta on Sunday.
I called Expedia immediately patiently explaining my plight (no pun) and the attend on the other end (India, I think) of the line listened carefully and explained the policies of Expedia as the agent and AirTran, the airlines. I was place on hold, but the attendant came back at about 10 minutes intervals to let me know she was sill on hold for a helpdesk support. After about 90 minutes, during which I surprised myself with my patience, I decided to take my case to the airlines directly at the suggestion of my polite Expedia attendant.
As expected, AirTran, citing contract with the agent, Expedia, claimed there is nothing they could do to assist.
I knew I would have to pay for my stupid mistake, which I admitted to all the customer service people to whom I spoke. I did not blame my skinny fingers for mistyping, or my keyboard for missing keys. What get me is that all these businesses are so hard and fast with their policies and rules and the service people quite politely advices you of the polices, a way of telling you before hand that, you screwed up, you are poor and there is nothing I can do for you. Not only the airlines, every businesses that cater to the public, banks naturally comes to mind, have these policies that they cannot waive even in exceptional cases. One is just a number on their SQL database.
I resolved to take th trip anyway and in the end I had to pay the difference in flight of $85, which wasn't there when the whole thing started barely two hours earlier. I paid AirTran change fee of $60 but Expedia was so kind to waive their change processing fee of $30.
Strangely enough, earlier this year I had developed flight phobia and now every possible thought is running through my phobic mind. I hope the whole trip is worth it.
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