Winging It

That's good to know that SW allows for free cancellations and rebooking. I wish they flew out to Palm Springs, CA (where my mom lives). I don't really understand why the cancellation fee is so high when airlines tend to overbook anyway. I don't mind as much the must use within a year (as long as I don't have to pick new dates immediately), so its not like the airline is losing your money/business. So why the high fee?

In defense of AirTran, I had a flight booked and paid for in February, but because of a hospital stay was unable to take it.

When I contacted the rep, I was immediately offered a rebate of the $75 fee if I would fax them my hospital bill or a note from my physician, which I did. I was credited the whole amount on my account at AirTran for use withing one year.

I believe that these things depend on the representative you get to talk with. If one has the authority to credit and the other to refuse, it is obviously not a requirement to get supervisory approval.

With each rep allowed to make opposing decisions on their own, it appears to be an 'attitude/ outlook' thing. My advice? Hang up, call back, and take your chances with another more thoughtful, kinder representative.

Cynthia Weiser
Philadelphia, PA

Dear Mr. Belden:

Several years ago I flew to San Diego for a conference. Hours afer touch down and before the meeting even began, I was overcome by a severe case of the flu as I walked from dinner back to my hotel. I could just feel the illness descend upon me.

The next morning I struggled to shower and dress to register for the meeting, only to immediately return to my room. The good news was the room had two double beds: the better to switch back and forth as perspiration soaked the first, then the second, then the first…

After a day of that, when my fever broke, I figured there was no point in staying at the conference since I remained mighty sick. I called American Airlines, explained my predicament and was told there would be a fee to change my date of departure. Determined not to incur that cost, but feeling well enough to dial, I proceeded to do just that throughout the morning. Each time I got a different customer rep and each time the news was the same: pay now or fly later.

But on the sixth call, I found a far more sympathetic soul. "Yes I can arrange for you to return today and, yes, we can waive the fee."

Being able to recover in my own bed at home would have been worth paying the fee, but I'm convinced that not paying the fee accelerated at least my psychic recovery. You're so right, persistence and the right connection are needed for ticket refunds!

Sincerely,

Tom Darr
Camp Hill, PA

Thank you for your column concerning changing airline tickets, and the special circumstances that often make it necessary to do so. Please note, however, that at least in the case of USAir, in addition to losing $200 per ticket at the outset, travelers have less than a year to use the remaining value of the ticket. You actually have a year from the date the ticket was purchased. So if you, reasonably, purchased a ticket three months in advance, you would have only nine months to go someplace, anyplace, before losing your money entirely.

As for your comment that "most airlines would probably do what AirTran did in the case of the death of a loved one--if you find someone to listen to the particulars," let me assure you that USAir is not most airlines. My husband and I purchased round-trip tickets to Milan in February of 2007 for a trip that was to have begun on May 2 of that year. The following month my mother became ill, and it was apparent that she would not live. We canceled our plans to travel shortly after getting her diagnosis, and my mother actually died on May 2.

We knew we had to forfeit $400, but I had hoped that we might have been able to extend the period in which we could use the remaining value of our tickets. A call to USAir by my travel agent yielded nothing, so I began what became a series of phone calls to USAir. Through persistence I did manage to connect to someone in an executive office who said that she would refund our entire airfare and that our travel agent only needed to call to effect this transaction. When he did call he was told by someone else that the person I had spoken to had no authorization to refund our money. I subsequently reached someone in what I will loosely call "customer relations" in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who suggested that, and I use her words, when my mother "passed," I might want to send a note from the undertaker to USAir to see what they could do. Finally I reached someone else who was a bit more sympathetic and did actually extend the period of value to one year from the date we would have flown.

Through yet more persistence I got the name and address of the CEO of USAir and wrote a letter to him about what had happened and how poorly trained I thought their personnel were. I expected at least a form letter in reply. Instead I got nothing. I appreciate your suggestion about choosing an airline with "the most flexible and least onerous change policies," but when flying internationally our of Philadelphia, your choices are limited. So in addition to having to pay for head phones and drinks on USAir, and in addition to poor service and amenities, and often lost baggage, if by some chance you are also dealing with the loss or illness of a loved one or another personal problem not of your making, you stand to lose a lot of money as well, and to be treated badly in the bargain.

Beryl Rosenstock, Philadelphia