Happy Saturday friends, and hooray, it’s finally the weekend! Here’s a recap of what’s gone on at YMMV this week. From what we’ve written to what others wrote that we really liked and wanted to share, it’s all here, in one convenient place!
Tag: Airlines
Why Do People Care That Mistake Fares May Disappear?
I’ve never managed to book a mistake fare for myself but when I was reading a post this week on Point Me To The Plane about new software that will make it easier for airlines to eliminate mistake fares, my reaction was a reserved, “So what?”
Backing up a bit, a mistake fare is when, for one reason or another, an unbelievably low airfare shows up in the airline booking systems. These are most often a result of human error (typing errors, incorrect currency conversions, etc.) and can result in huge discounts on airfare, like paying $300 for a ticket instead of $3,000. Once discovered by the internet, the rock-bottom airfare is booked by bargain hunter travelers as fast as they can type because it’s only a matter of minutes to hours before the mistake is discovered and removed from the system. Some people even book multiple trips because either they aren’t sure of travel dates or because the miles flown count for acquiring status and these fares are a cheap way to become a top-level flyer.
Then everyone waits. Once the airline discovers the error, they have a decision to make. Do they honor the mistake fare and let everyone who booked the cheap rate fly on those tickets or do they cancel the tickets and incur the wrath of the blogosphere calling them cheats and liars? Now that the US Dept. of Transportation allows airlines to cancel tickets booked for a fare which is obviously a mistake, there’s no rule for which tickets will be honored or which ones will be canceled. Some airlines even try to walk down the middle and cancel the tickets while offering passengers a higher priced, yet still discounted ticket to the same location as the mistake fare.
What I was really thinking about when I heard the news was, if mistake fares went away and never came back, who would be hurt?
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If The Airlines Treat Celebrities This Terribly, How Do You Think They’ll Treat You?
Airlines get a bad rap, often deservedly so. According to USA Today, in 2018, two of the twenty most hated companies in America were airlines, with United coming in at number 19 and Spirit, not surprisingly, getting the number 9 slot. I think this comes from many customer unfriendly policies airlines implement, ranging anywhere from non-refundable tickets, excess baggage charges, Basic Economy tickets and charging for everything from Wi-Fi to blankets and even sodas while onboard. I’ve read post after post of Facebook friends who have been treated horribly by airlines. But here’s a question – if airlines are willing to treat celebrities, sports figures and national icons horribly, what makes you think you’re any different? Please know that I’m writing this knowing that these celebrities are complaining about #firstworldproblems.
How To Learn About The Food On Your Upcoming Flight
When people fly nowadays, it’s pretty rare to get a full meal, unless you’re in First or Business Class, or are on a particularly long flight (and even then, especially on low-cost carriers, meals may only be available for purchase). If you know where to search, you can sometimes find out what a specific airline usually offers as a meal for your particular flight, but each airline “hides” this information in a different place on its respective website and it can take some time to find it if you’re not used to looking for such things. However, the mystery is now solved if you want to easily know ahead of time what food you may get on your next flight.
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All Incl. Resort in FL Keys Burns Down, New Cheap Way To Travel In NYC, % Of Americans Who Don’t Travel, & More!
Happy Saturday friends, and hooray, it’s finally the weekend! Here’s a recap of what’s gone on at YMMV this week. From what we’ve written to what others wrote that we really liked and wanted to share, it’s all here, in one convenient place!
