On Thursday I get a call - my boss is in a pinch. He needs me to fly from Denver to Atlanta on Sunday night. It is last minute, and I know the flight will be expensive. I bought the lowest fair listed on kayak.com as I have done hundreds of times over more than ten years.
Kayak called the offer a "hacker deal" because it booked two separate one-way flights. The flight to Atlanta on United airlines, three days out, cost more than $300. The flight from Atlanta on Frontier airlines, seven days out, cost $59 and was booked through Orbitz.com. The flight to Atlanta was fine. The work situation was resolved - everyone was happy and I was on my way home. I was waiting at the gate when they announce over the intercom, "if you have two carry-on items, then you need to come to the counter." I have a 'rolley' bag that is exactly the dimensions that a "carry-on item" is allowed to be. It is the same carry-on garment bag I have used on every other flight. It fits nicely in the overhead compartment. It matches perfectly to the Airport provided aluminum measuring device that sits next to the gate counter. I also have a small backpack for my laptop, which would not be safe in a garment bag. I go to the counter. There is a $60 fee for a second carry-on item. I get the idea of it. They are trying to be a low cost alternative by reducing the services they offer. They have additional rules that the other airlines do not. I remember when Delta and United made a big public splash when they changed the fees for checked luggage. Which, in turn, encouraged travelers to use carry-on items. Let me be clear, this isn't a TIFU because I had to pay an extra 40 bucks. It's a TIFU because of the leverage they had against me to enforce my immediate payment: #1 - I had already been through a long TSA line. The US government had double-checked my documentation, scanned all of my items and body. Any interference with my travel plans would send me through one or more rounds of screening. And with terrorists on all the news, everyone is afraid to make a peep at airports. Me and everyone around me felt very uncomfortable protesting this sudden extortion. #2 - She said, "Do you want to talk to a supervisor?" (first mention of a supervisor) I say, "Yes, I would." She explains that if I wait for the supervisor to get to the gate, then I will miss my flight. I say that I am okay with that. She explains that if I miss my flight there will be a $100 fee to transfer my flight. "So, I need to pay $100 to talk to a supervisor?" I ask. #3 - Was I supposed to be aware of this surprise fee because of their marketing, or their brand, or what? Where did I go wrong? How is it that I could have arrived at the conclusion that I should have prepared for their flight in any other way than the hundreds of other flights I have taken? Over and over they explained that it was my fault for not reading the fine print, or Orbitz fault for not communicating to me that there would be new requirements. Maybe it was in the fine print. Does it all chalk up to a user interface failure then, or my lack of research? I feel like they sent me an email and are expecting that I am responsible for having received, read and agreed to it. Except that the TSA is their muscle!! **whoa** #whoa In the end, the gate attendant offered me $20 off, and I took it. A supervisor did show up before I boarded. I gave him a talking to, but as much as I wanted to protest what I considered to be extortion, I could not afford to. Definitely not in an airport. There were other one-way flights available on Kayak that cost less than what I ended up paying. Had I known the full cost, I could have booked better arrangements. Should I blame Kayak or Orbitz or Frontier or myself? IMO just because you put up a sign, and someone walks past the sign, does not mean they are fiscally responsible for the rules you set forth in your sign. Legally you can not reduce your own responsibility by putting up a sign which may be too small for people to read. tldr; capitalism works by getting you to buy something now, that will force you to buy something later. -- ________________________________________________________________ ================================================================ =--------------------------------------------------------=-===-=-=-====-- +_+~_=_~--+__+=-^=-+_+_=^-+__+-=+_+~__=__~-_-____-=++=_--^-===-=-==-=-=-- =--------------------------------------------------------=-===-=-=-====-- http://bishopZ.com _______________________________________________________________________
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