airfare

U.S. warns airlines on fare mistakes

Airlines are among the few businesses that sometimes want customers to pay for their mistakes. Every once in a while, a carrier cancels issued tickets after it deems its own published fare was an “error.” The Department of Transportation tried to teach such companies a lesson last week — sort of.

Both U.S. and foreign airlines have filed mistake fares in recent years, as has been reported in this column. Some of the airlines, such as United Airlines and Alitalia, have honored purchased tickets, but others, such as Swiss International Airlines, have not. The DOT’s Wednesday ruling was directed at British Airways…

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Unlimited prepaid airfare comes back

Bargain airfares have been abundant this year and rarely make news anymore, but it was fairly easy for JetBlue Airways to grab headlines last week with its very generous “all-you-can-jet pass.” The question is: Does this prepaid pass make sense for you?

If you have no plans or desire to travel between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8, you are not likely to benefit from the low-cost carrier’s offer. On the other hand, if you have several trips in mind — even if you’ve already bought tickets for some of them — the new $599 airpass can be your best friend for a month. Although it went on sale Wednesday, demand has already exceeded JetBlue’s expectations…

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Openness rattles airline industry

This is, no doubt, the era of glasnost or openness in the airline industry. Thanks to the Internet, once tightly held data on fares and available seats is now more transparent than ever, which seems to have caught the industry unprepared. So, to stretch the Soviet-era metaphor, will glasnost lead to perestroika — real change?

In order to answer this question, a simpler one must be asked first: Should the airlines fear the transparency they didn’t seek? Is the ability of any of us to directly access real-time data on fares and seats without the help of a travel agent bad or good for the carriers? Although some executives have done the politically correct thing and publicly embraced the transparency, in reality the so-called legacy carriers are still struggling to make up their minds…

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What to do with empty premium seats?

Have you flown in business or first class lately? How many empty seats did you count? With so-called premium traffic falling faster that airlines can cut capacity, what should they do with the growing number of unsold seats?

Should they drastically lower the high prices they charge for them? Should they open up more seats for mileage redemption? Or should they offer free upgrades to their most loyal customers? First and business-class fares have come down somewhat, but a wide dramatic decrease is yet to be seen. Many carriers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to install expensive lie-flat seats and entertainment systems, so they rightly want a return on those investments…

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Round-the-world fares rise — still a deal

Have you ever taken a trip around the world or does that prospect sound too extravagant amid a global recession?

Despite a significant price increase that took effect Sunday, if you need or want to travel to several international destinations at a price much lower than regular published fares, a round-the-world ticket is the way to go. Thanks to global airline alliances, booking such tickets has become relatively easy in the last few years. The close partnership among alliance members also makes flight connections, baggage handling and earning frequent-flier miles more convenient for passengers…

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Should airlines honor fare errors?

Have you ever taken advantage of a suspiciously low airfare — say $300 to Europe in business class — that turned out to be a mistake? Did the airline cancel your ticket or did you fight to keep it? If you gave in, it might have been premature.

Like any human activity, filing fares is prone to errors once in a while — a few times a year at most, which is too much for the airlines, but not enough if you ask bargain-hunting travelers. In the most recent reported example, on Dec. 27, a traveler looking for a ticket stumbled upon a Swiss International Airlines business class fare of $0 plus tax from Toronto to several European cities. It was available on various booking engines, including Swiss’ Web site and Travelocity…

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Get refund if airfare drops

Are you angry at yourself for buying a plane ticket for the holidays too early and the price is now lower? Do you even know whether the fare has dropped? Either way, you may be able to get some of your money back.

For years, travelers were warned against procrastinating when it comes to holiday trips, since conventional wisdom held that air fares usually get higher the longer you wait. But this year, wild swings in the price of oil and a global financial meltdown have shattered stereotypes about air travel. Although many U.S. carriers have resisted lifting the fuel surcharges they imposed when oil was much more expensive, fares have been cautiously coming down of late…

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Fare sales often lost in translation

Why is it so difficult for major U.S. airlines to be upfront with their customers? Their practices of advertising fares and marketing services remind one of that mysterious “Twin Peaks” revelation, “The owls are not what they seem.”

Last month, I wrote about fake “direct” flights — two or more separate flights that are sold as one under the same number, but are operated on different aircraft and sometimes require changing terminals. That often sends unsuspecting passengers running across the airport to catch what they discover is a regular connection. Knowing that “direct” flights are not what they seem helps to avoid unpleasant surprises during a trip. To avoid such surprises before travel, you should also know that airfares, as advertised by the so-called legacy carriers, are not what they seem, either…

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