I hate change fees!

[seashoreCM]

For the most part, the flying public has made it clear that they will switch airlines in a heartbeat...

Isn't the OP going to do just that, or, heaven forbid, just finished doing that?

(And spending a boatload of extra money)

In my earlier lifetime I did a few less convenient (like non-nonstop) routines to stay with one airline (United). But once I got hooked on Disney, I started using and stayed with Delta because they had nonstops (from Boston) to Orlando while United did not have any.

Airlines, like other businesses, can choose to become niche businesses, say one specializes in east west coast to coast travel, another specializes in travel to and from Florida, etc.

 

[Propro]

Can't you just go same day standby for the nonstop and avoid any extra charges?

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

What I don't understand is why the OP isn't willing to simply suck it up and use his original flights... Inconvenient, perhaps. But hundreds of dollars' worth of inconvenience? Seriously?

Why is it that several months ago these flights were acceptable but now they are not?

 

[kaytieeldr]

They were acceptable, but not ideal.

The ideal flights were expensive. Now the ideal flights are reasonably-priced (or JetBlue released their fares - including nonstop - for the desired travel dates).

The OP chose not to wait for the perfect combination of price-and-flight.

 

[seashoreCM]

Can't you just go same day standby for the nonstop and avoid any extra charges?

Delta and several others charge extra for that.

Comment to self --- cutting off nose to spite your face.

 

[pumpkinboy]

What I don't understand is why the OP isn't willing to simply suck it up and use his original flights... Inconvenient, perhaps. But hundreds of dollars' worth of inconvenience? Seriously?

Why is it that several months ago these flights were acceptable but now they are not?

Yeah, I suppose I just need to suck it up and deal. Rereading my original post, I am realizing that I sound naive, childish and petulant, and for that I apologize to the good folks of the Transposrtation Board. My bad. We all want reality to conform to our fondest wishes, but we should not be surprised or disappointed when it does not.

I think I will just need to wait it out with my current configuration, or come up with the cash to change to the better flights (currently not in the budget). This drop in the MCO-BOS non-stops appears to have been created by our friends at JetBlue who appear to have added a ton of non-stop capacity at the end of February Break. I am gonna try again to switch to the non-stop and have them waive the fee (in the most polite and courteous tone, which works better anyway), and with no expectations, utilizing my best weasel skills.

So thanks for being the voices of reason. I still hate those "Gotcha" fees and will go out of my way to avoid them, but I realize I should have no expectation that they should make a special exception for me (tho it would be nice).

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well, there's the option of: have you accepted all the time changes as they've come along? If yes, you're probably stuck. If not, you may - repeat, MAY - have a bit of luck. You can TRY the "these changes don't work for us" ploy (and it is a ploy, since as you know, your ticket entitles you to passage from point A to point B on the given day, barring unforeseen circumstances), and see if the CSR can move you to the nonstop flight you preselected before that call, at no cost.

But it stretches the rules of your ticket, and at some point the airlines are going to clamp down on their generosity.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Yeah, unfortunately the time changes came in small increments, which I accepted, dutifully, along the way. I guess next time I am on a less-than-ideal itinerary, I'll hold-off on those acceptances. Oh well. Let's hope they change my itinerary again so I can weasel an ideal intinerary at a lower cost.

 

[seashoreCM]

So I can actually buy another flight on a competitor for less than I can change my current flight! That does not strike me as a reasonable business model.

Only a bad model if the airline wants to sell tickets way in advance.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I hope everything works out for the OP...

In the meantime, can we please stop calling these "gotcha" fees? They are spelled out for you BEFORE you purchase. There is nothing "gotcha" about them. They are standard industry fees related to insanely discounted (and highly restricted) fares.

 

[goofy4tink]

The funny thing is that now Delta has basically only two direct flights between Boston and Orlando..they used to have many. But for several years now...just the two. BUT...when I have been looking at flights with Delta, the direct/nonstop flights were less costly than most of the flights with connections or other stops. But those direct flights were at less favorable times with the connecting flights having good departure times. Go figure.

 

[pumpkinboy]

I hope everything works out for the OP...

In the meantime, can we please stop calling these "gotcha" fees? They are spelled out for you BEFORE you purchase. There is nothing "gotcha" about them. They are standard industry fees related to insanely discounted (and highly restricted) fares.

Thx for the good wishes.

As for the Gotcha fees, sure they are spelled out, but they're still gotcha fees. Prior to Dodd-Frank, the banks clearly spelled out that if you had a $1 overdraft on your debit card, you would owe a $25 overdraft fee. These little niggling fees along the edges where most people are not paying attention; yeah, they are spelled out, but it was still a gotcha fee. Most ordinary folks don't read these contracts either on their airline tix or their bank accounts. You and I do, but most folks don't.

...and Goofy4Tink, yeah, it is interesting the inroads that the discount carriers have eroded Delta's market share on these routes. They held their own when they ran Song as a sub-airlines, and wasn't that great? But it looks like they have given up on dominating the BOS-Florida routes, while JetBlue has eaten their lunch there. Of course, the business routes are Delta's bread & butter, so I suppose sticking with their more profitable business routes made economic sense. But now my peers and I are taking JetBlue much more often for business, so perhaps conceding that market niche has given them a wedge to pry business from the legacy carriers.

If and when I make a chage or have another conversation with customer service, I'll update here.

 

[kaytieeldr]

...and Goofy4Tink, yeah, it is interesting the inroads that the discount carriers have eroded Delta's market share on these routes. They held their own when they ran Song as a sub-airlines, and wasn't that great? But it looks like they have given up on dominating the BOS-Florida routes, while JetBlue has eaten their lunch there.

Not at all. Delta made a CHOICE.

As for the fees? I agree with ExPirateShopGirl - and I buy the nonrefundable fares. They're not "gotcha" fees. I know what I'm buying beforehand. MY choice. I don't expect the airline to make an exception for me under any conditions.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I can understand both sides in this one. I now usually book SW even if I have to take connecting flights (although I try very hard for noon-stops when I have my special needs adult DS with me). With SW's "no baggage fee" rule, it can still save me $$ to pay a higher fare. But mostly I use them for the "insurance" that I can reschedule or cancel a trip so painlessly.

But the airlines can really tick me off, here is a good one. A few years back, DH had a flight booked with a friend, DH paid for both seats. Last minute, friend could not go. DH could not get a refund, so he wanted/expected that seat next to him to stay empty. He PAID for it after all, and he could have a little more comfort in exchange (DH is a big guy, 6'1", 230 pounds). NOPE. The airline said no, and re-sold that seat, I guess to a standby. This seemed unfair; if no refund, at least let DH use the 2 seats he paid for..... He argued but had to give up or get kicked off the flight.

 

[clanmcculloch]

... and with SouthWest flying out of Boston now, Delta is gonna have trouble retaining my business (plus JetBlue has waived change fees whenever I have asked).

Since you're wanting non-stop flights, SWA out of BOS will not work for you for travel to MCO. You could look at PVD or MHT for non-stops but currently there are no non-stops out of BOS. I'm watching to see if there will be any changes once the AT/SWA merger is complete; maybe we'll see some non-stops out of BOS at that point since SWA will be able to significantly expand their BOS operations at that time.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

It's still not a gotcha fee. An overdraft is an overdraft is an overdraft, whether it's $1 or $10,000. Can you imagine if the banks waived overdraft fees unless the amount was $100 or more? Every other account would be in the red.

As far as non-refundable airline tickets go... think of it this way. Instead of getting none of your money back, you could possibly get a portion of it to pay for ANOTHER non-refundable ticket.

Thx for the good wishes.

As for the Gotcha fees, sure they are spelled out, but they're still gotcha fees. Prior to Dodd-Frank, the banks clearly spelled out that if you had a $1 overdraft on your debit card, you would owe a $25 overdraft fee. These little niggling fees along the edges where most people are not paying attention; yeah, they are spelled out, but it was still a gotcha fee. Most ordinary folks don't read these contracts either on their airline tix or their bank accounts. You and I do, but most folks don't.

...and Goofy4Tink, yeah, it is interesting the inroads that the discount carriers have eroded Delta's market share on these routes. They held their own when they ran Song as a sub-airlines, and wasn't that great? But it looks like they have given up on dominating the BOS-Florida routes, while JetBlue has eaten their lunch there. Of course, the business routes are Delta's bread & butter, so I suppose sticking with their more profitable business routes made economic sense. But now my peers and I are taking JetBlue much more often for business, so perhaps conceding that market niche has given them a wedge to pry business from the legacy carriers.

If and when I make a chage or have another conversation with customer service, I'll update here.

 

[DebbieB]

I totally agree with you on Delta's change fees. They are a PITB and the highest in the industry.

They are the same as the other legacy carriers - United, Continental, USAirways.

...and Goofy4Tink, yeah, it is interesting the inroads that the discount carriers have eroded Delta's market share on these routes. They held their own when they ran Song as a sub-airlines, and wasn't that great? But it looks like they have given up on dominating the BOS-Florida routes, while JetBlue has eaten their lunch there.

The question is does Delta want to compete on this route or are they more profitable using their planes elsewhere? The Orlando market is competitive with leisure travelers who want low fares. Most airlines make the most profit on business travelers who don't mind paying $500 for a ticket, usually last minute. So they decide rather than losing money by lowering fares on this route to compete, they will move those planes to other markets will they will make more money. They are not the only ones. Southwest walked away from their non-stops at IAD and DTW rather than compete. They also chose not to compete at BOS for MCO.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Southwest walked away from their non-stops at IAD and DTW rather than compete. They also chose not to compete at BOS for MCO.

I think that actually has more to do with no competing with themselves (at MHT and PVD). They seem to be wading, rather than jumping headfirst, into the BOS metro market.

That will likely change when/if the AirTran buyout is approved.

 

[sam_gordon]

But now my peers and I are taking JetBlue much more often for business,

I'd just like to point out that earlier in the thread you said if Delta helped you on the change fee, you'd have more loyalty to them. But now you're saying you're using JetBlue more already (before this controversy). I assume you're choosing JetBlue because of cost or flight times (or a combination).

So are you saying if Delta waived the change fees for this trip, you'd pay more or take not ideal flight times?

This is why a threat of "I'll never use your company again" IMO falls flat. You've already moved away from Delta.

 

[goofy4tink]

They are the same as the other legacy carriers - United, Continental, USAirways.



The question is does Delta want to compete on this route or are they more profitable using their planes elsewhere? The Orlando market is competitive with leisure travelers who want low fares. Most airlines make the most profit on business travelers who don't mind paying $500 for a ticket, usually last minute. So they decide rather than losing money by lowering fares on this route to compete, they will move those planes to other markets will they will make more money. They are not the only ones. Southwest walked away from their non-stops at IAD and DTW rather than compete. They also chose not to compete at BOS for MCO.

Absolutely. I doubt Delta wants to try and stay competitive in some airports. And I won't fly SW out of Boston...fare are too high for non-direct flights. I'll take my little self south to TF Green.