Airfare Coupons

[Lucky]

I have vouchers, or coupons from both Delta and United. The Delta vouchers, $100 and $50, were given to compensate significant problems I endured with one of their flights. The United coupon came as a bonus for signing up for their credit card.

Guess what? All of the coupons are virtually worthless, which is to say, they don't apply on any of the flights I tried them out on. Sure, if you want to fly to Podunk at 2 am, you might be able to use one. And that's it.

So, when the airline is offering you that voucher for giving up your seat, read the fine print, twice!

[Guest zipperzone]

So, when the airline is offering you that voucher for giving up your seat, read the fine print, twice!

Spoken like a true lawyer

[RA1]

The airlines are having a lot of problems but they are also having many self inflicted. You note one or more of those. I only wish they did not have to be federally controlled to avoid these situations but it appears that they must. They were controlled for so many years in where they flew, how often they flew and what equipment they used that they seemingly have no "real" regard for how to do things differently.

All those fees are just ridiculous. Their attitude is ridiculous. I am so sorry to have to say these things.

I wish I knew how to solve the airline problems but I don't. Getting rid of the TSA would be a good start.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest CharliePS]

The only time I ever got a voucher was 5 years ago, when I gave up my seat on a DEN/PHL United flight on Easter. They not only put me on the next flight to PHL, in first class, but I was able to use the voucher, with no hassle, for a cross country roundtrip several months later. I guess things are not as good as they used to be.

[MsGuy]

RA1, any industry with high fixed costs, low marginal costs and multiple players acting independantly is structually unstable. All it takes is one firm breaking ranks to trigger a self-destructive race to the bottom. The problem is inherent in the business model.

[Guest jimboivyo]

you're not making sense. help me understand this.

when taking a 'bump' from an airline, the compensation they give you can be used on ANY open seat they have in their available inventory. How in the world would that only be at 2 am for podunk? What you got was a voucher from their customer service department for some error during your travel, not for giving up your seat. Getting bumped and the rules that follow aren't based on the airline. they're based on FAA rules. much more strict and the payoff is much greater.

but as you said, read the fine print. know your rights as a commercial flier before you get on that aircraft. just another form of being prepared.

[RA1]

MsGuy-

I have never observed any idustry so competitive as the airlines. This was so even before de-regulation. When Crandall was head of AA, during good years, he stored up money with the express purpose of trying to put competitors on various routes out of business. He would pick a route like DFW-MCI and lower the price below the cost of possibly breaking even if if the aircraft were full, a rarity in those days.

Competition is a good thing but driving another out of business is anti-competitive, isn't it?

The airlines have never learned during my career and I fear they never will.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest CharliePS]

MsGuy-

I have never observed any idustry so competitive as the airlines. This was so even before de-regulation. When Crandall was head of AA, during good years, he stored up money with the express purpose of trying to put competitors on various routes out of business. He would pick a route like DFW-MCI and lower the price below the cost of possibly breaking even if if the aircraft were full, a rarity in those days.

Competition is a good thing but driving another out of business is anti-competitive, isn't it?

The airlines have never learned during my career and I fear they never will.

Best regards,

RA1

Competition is good as an abstract principle for the consumer, but no company ever wants competition: they want control of their market. Therefore, they try to drive their competitors out of business, or they try to take them over (AT&T/T-Mobile, anyone?), and eventually, in any field, if there is true rather than managed competition, one or two strong players will succeed in controlling the market. De-regulation almost always leads to eventual lack of competition. That's why government usually has to step in to reimpose competition somehow, or the consumer gets screwed.

[lookin]

RA1, any industry with high fixed costs, low marginal costs and multiple players acting independantly is structually unstable. All it takes is one firm breaking ranks to trigger a self-destructive race to the bottom. The problem is inherent in the business model.

Competition is a good thing but driving another out of business is anti-competitive, isn't it?

Competition is good as an abstract principle for the consumer, but no company ever wants competition: they want control of their market. Therefore, they try to drive their competitors out of business, or they try to take them over (AT&T/T-Mobile, anyone?), and eventually, in any field, if there is true rather than managed competition, one or two strong players will succeed in controlling the market. De-regulation almost always leads to eventual lack of competition. That's why government usually has to step in to reimpose competition somehow, or the consumer gets screwed.

Thank you all for the logical framework and economic underpinnings of why we're all getting screwed so much these days.

Here I was thinking it was just a run of bad luck.

[RA1]

Charlie PS-

True. When deregulation of the airlines first took place there was a prediction that there would only be 3-5 flag carriers left in 10-20 years. While there are more "technical" flag carriers still in existence, the main one now seem to be DL, AA, UA, US and CO. Some of those likely will merge before it is all over.

lookin-

I think you probably do your best to escape "bad luck" by avoiding the airlines as much as possible.

Just like I do.

Best regards,

RA1