All of us make mistakes. Airlines do too. But, passengers tend to end up footing the bill in one way or another in either case. Airlines rarely forgive simple passenger mistakes while airline mistakes result in delays and misconnections.
Last week Delta Air Lines made the headlines for accidentally sending two children to the wrong airports.
On more mundane notes, I have recently had gate agents put a family with children in exit rows (necessitating a delay in departure and a missed connection for a client), an airline reservation agent waitlist an upgrade on the day after the traveler’s flight was booked and another airport agent accidentally issue a new ticket for a client who was trying to exchange her original ticket for a penalty.
In all those cases, the problem eventually got fixed, or will be fixed. (The ticket that should have been exchanged will eventually have to be refunded through customer service.)
As frustrating as all the situations were and as as much hassle and extra time was involved, on some level they go down as “people are human, stuff happens.”
That’s if the airline makes a mistake.
Now, sometimes it’s the passenger’s or travel agent’s error — a small name misspelling, typing JUL for July instead of JUN for June, reading an 8 for a 3 or a 0 (this last especially towards the end of the day). The list goes on.
Do most airlines have any sympathy whatsoever for those mistakes? Not exactly.
Now, I completely understand when a mistake is discovered the day before a flight and the plane is full, or even when the traveler has no-showed a room or flight and it cannot be resold.
In those and other cases it could cost the supplier real revenue to help out, and while of course it would be good public relations, it’s understandable that they don’t want to pay for someone else’s mistake.
But, when its a simple name change, or a date mistake discovered quickly, or any small error, it seems reasonable that the airlines should be as understanding as they expect the traveling public to be.
Same with delays. An airline can cheerfully delay a flight for hours with no compensation, but miss a check-in cut-off due to traffic or a car problem, and you are lucky if you get on a plane the same day without a penalty. Or, even to get on a plane that day at all.
Short of reregulation, this inequality isn’t going to change. But in a time when all airlines are both fighting for revenue and trying to build customer loyalty, which of course results in more revenue, maybe a little more leniency might not be a bad experiment?
And comments from readers on this one especially encouraged.
Editor’s note: This issue is dealt with by the proposed rulemaking issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT). They have proposed a 24-hour rule that will allow passengers to get refunds to tickets within a 24-hour period and to make small changes if necessary. To to www.regulationroom.org, register and add your comments to the website that sends your concerns and thoughts directly to DOA. This is the first time that the government has tried this kind of direct reachout to consumers via the Web. Take advantage of it.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
