I recently had to change an airline ticket. The original ticket, from Greensboro to Seattle with a layover in Houston, was about $230. A pretty good price, really.
The ticket was booked through Orbitz. The airline used to get to Seattle was Continental, and USAir was to be used on the way back to Greensboro. I called Orbitz to change the ticket and I was told they couldn’t help me because Continental “owned” the ticket or somesuch – I forget the exact term they used. I called Continental and was able to get the ticket changed without much hassle.
Now, the fees.
There was a $25 fee for Orbitz, a $150 change fee, and a “difference in price” charge of $177, for a total of $352. Recall that the original ticket was only $230.
The “difference in price” charge? Can’t really dispute that. But the Orbitz fee? They’d already made their money on the original purchase, and they couldn’t help me with changing the ticket. What makes them entitled to any kind of extra fee?
And the $150 change fee? Highway robbery, plain and simple.
If we, as passengers, have to change our ticket, doesn’t that by definition imply circumstances beyond our control? When was the last time you were compensated by an airline for a delayed flight? No, airlines can’t control weather. Weather is a circumstance beyond their control, just like with passengers needing to change their ticket. If passengers have to pay for altered circumstances, isn’t it only fair that airlines do the same?
Why is the relationship between airlines and customers so lopsided? Is there any better collective example of companies that get customer service so completely wrong than airlines?
