LATEST: Rethinking government air travel costs
It’s no secret that the U.S. government wastes huge amounts of money on airfare, and that waste has been institutionalized. So it’s hardly a surprise that Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has done the same, as an Associated Press story pointed out yesterday. Although he didn’t break any rules, perhaps it’s time for the rules to change…
BROWSE COLUMNS BY DATE
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008
JAN 09: DOT keeps false ‘each-way’ airfare ads
2011
DEC 20: Fighting airlines’ attempts to overcharge
DEC 14: FareCompare guts airfare search tools
DEC 07: Airlines still think customers are stupid
NOV 22: Questioning conventional airfare wisdom
NOV 11: India tries to blackmail Star Alliance
NOV 02: Carriers lose appetite for Tokyo Haneda
OCT 26: Airlines neglect non-flying experience
OCT 18: U.S. fares now filed four times a day
OCT 05: The benefits of non-airline credit cards
SEP 19: Consider options before giving up airline seat
SEP 14: How much slack do the airlines deserve?
SEP 06: Is the travel-agency model sustainable?
AUG 23: Is media coverage of air travel helpful?
AUG 08: Air India had no chance with Star Alliance
AUG 02: United steps up fake ‘direct’ flights
JUL 26: 17 hours of tax-free airline tickets
JUL 13: ExpertFlyer boosts airfare transparency
JUL 05: British Air, Iberia’s dysfunctional merger
JUN 21: My book ‘Decoding Air Travel’ is out
JUN 08: DOT cracks down on airfare advertising
MAY 25: Should airline booking codes be secret?
MAY 18: British Air loses bags on $12,000 ticket
MAY 04: American’s antiquated ticketing process
APR 27: Airlines, want better GDS model? Unite!
APR 19: Singapore Air’s inept agents, dark side
APR 14: What are your hotel pet peeves?
APR 07: American wins first battle in data war
MAR 30: Proper airfare advertising comes to U.S.
MAR 23: Hilton tries hard to lose my business
MAR 16: Kralev International launches website
FEB 24: Delta SkyMiles needs new leadership
FEB 14: US Airways denies StarNet blocking
FEB 10: GDS travel-booking model faces change
FEB 01: Wyndham today, Sheraton tomorrow
JAN 12: The risks of third-party airline bookings
JAN 04: When airfares jump on you for no reason
In September 2008, the “On the Fly” column first exposed United Airlines’ previously secret practice of massively blocking “award” seats otherwise made available for mileage redemption by its partners in the global Star Alliance, such as Lufthansa, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines.
The practice became known as StarNet blocking — a reference to the alliance’s award “middleware” that provides access to those seats by any carrier on a first-come-first-served basis. It caused an uproar and was denounced by loyal United customers as deceitful. In frustration, some of those passengers have turned their backs on United, depriving it of valuable revenue. Some of them canceled corporate contracts with the airline, while others stopped using their United co-branded credit cards.
Apparently, the carrier saves more money by not having to compensate its partners for their “award” seats than it loses by driving some passengers away, so the blocking is still alive and well. Many unsuspecting travelers accumulate thousands of miles in their United Mileage Plus accounts, only to discover later than those miles can’t get them the “award” tickets they hoped to book.
This is one of the most misleading and dishonest practices in the U.S. airline industry, and it hurts customers every day. It’s time we did something about it.
“Direct” flights have been around for more than two decades, and by now frequent travelers know that they are not the same as nonstop flights. But because the Department of Transportation never provided a legal definition, airlines have bent the concept to the point where many “direct” flights are no different from connecting flights. As a result, the advertised benefits of “seamless travel” for passengers have all but vanished.
Here are some of the main disadvantages of “direct” flights:
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Missing the second part of your flight — during weather delays and other disruptions, the second leg of a “direct” flight often leaves before the first leg has landed, just like any connecting flight;
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Losing upgrades — if an upgrade is available on your first leg, but not on the second, under normal circumstances you would be able to confirm the first and waitlist the second. However, when you are booked on a “direct” flight, both legs must be available at the same time. The problem is that often, by the time an upgrade on the second leg opens up, the first is no longer available;
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Losing frequent-flier miles — some airlines give you credit for a nonstop flight, which is often shorter, instead of awarding you the actual miles flown.
