anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,669
Well, just dropped Mum off at BNE I; she's off to Malaysia for just over a month - flight leaves at 2355h.
On the way back from the airport, Dad and I were discussing his latest beef
(that's argument, not steak). He's booked on a BI ticket leaving this Friday BNE-BWN-KUL-BWN-BNE. It was booked as the cheapest Economy last November (quite a good price).
As it stood, Dad decided about four weeks ago to go to the Philippines and wanted to avoid having to buy KUL-MNL r/t and instead thought about changing his ticket so he had BNE-BWN-KUL, MNL-BWN-BNE.
He called BI and they told him that his original ticket didn't allow changes, so he would've had to cancel his old ticket and buy a new one. A new ticket would have cost about three times as much as he paid for the former one. Naturally, he took the offer as an insult (so he's now booked on an Air Asia KUL-CRK r/t with appropriate extras).
Whilst we were driving back, he argued the "stupidity" of his not allowing to change his ticket two weeks out. A snapshot monologue; I must warn you that my father hates being wrong and is a stubborn arguer:
I know we have discussed at length many times a lot of topics which cover these arguments, like yield management, terms and conditions of carriage, profits, security etc. etc., but as much as I'd like to tell him all that, could any of it be true?
I mean,
Now certainly my Dad can't run an airline, I can't run an airline, I don't know anyone that can run an airline and I'll put a decent dollar that there is no one on this forum who knows how to run an airline (although many of you can run various businesses, ranging from small to large; both public and private). It certainly doesn't stop anyone - here or anywhere - from making complaints or defending the industry in any sense of the word....
My Dad has never filed a complaint - he complains about everything, but he never writes a letter to the government, a corporation, etc.. He's never considered filing for litigation or participating on a public forum or activist movement. I guess I could say he's pretty gutless and a hypocrite, but one of the golden rules is that one should respect their elders......
Phew! Musings and ranting over.....
On the way back from the airport, Dad and I were discussing his latest beef
(that's argument, not steak). He's booked on a BI ticket leaving this Friday BNE-BWN-KUL-BWN-BNE. It was booked as the cheapest Economy last November (quite a good price).As it stood, Dad decided about four weeks ago to go to the Philippines and wanted to avoid having to buy KUL-MNL r/t and instead thought about changing his ticket so he had BNE-BWN-KUL, MNL-BWN-BNE.
He called BI and they told him that his original ticket didn't allow changes, so he would've had to cancel his old ticket and buy a new one. A new ticket would have cost about three times as much as he paid for the former one. Naturally, he took the offer as an insult (so he's now booked on an Air Asia KUL-CRK r/t with appropriate extras).
Whilst we were driving back, he argued the "stupidity" of his not allowing to change his ticket two weeks out. A snapshot monologue; I must warn you that my father hates being wrong and is a stubborn arguer:
- "It's not as if I was asking to change for free, or within 24 hours! It's two weeks and I was prepared to pay at least $200 for the change."
- "They could have had a chance to sell my KUL-BWN seat which would earn them more money in the end."
- He said something along the lines of people on the bottom are the ignorant ones; if he could reason with CEOs, they would understand.
- "People are flying more these days and have more imperative schedules. Why can't airlines adopt a more flexible model to selling fares?"
- Dad also complained at length about the costs and difficulty of obtaining unaccompanied baggage and left luggage services.
I know we have discussed at length many times a lot of topics which cover these arguments, like yield management, terms and conditions of carriage, profits, security etc. etc., but as much as I'd like to tell him all that, could any of it be true?
I mean,
- Is the current airline business model outdated or out of line/touch with the needs of the average passenger today? Could it stand to be more flexible? Could it be possible in the future to see an airline set a trend by offering fares which are substantially more flexible than the current models we see now?
- Are we in a society which values the profits and well-being of shareholders rather than maintaining the happiness of our customer base?
- Is the level of security in air travel excessive? With all the advances in technology in the world, why is it still relatively easy to compromise the security of an aircraft or airport today? (This applies to both passengers and the baggage they check in)
- Is the airline industry sufficiently regulated? If it isn't and customers are suffering badly, why can't the airline industry be subjected to as much scrutiny and given the attention it requires compared to other industries, e.g. hotels or banks? We see so many reports week in and week out about airline industry incidents - surprised to see that many online news sites don't dedicate a category for them - is the airline industry unique in its way that it can get away with so many indiscretions with minimal penalty?
- Are business generally too rigid these days, or do customers just argue the "lack of discretion" / "poor customer service" point too liberally?
Now certainly my Dad can't run an airline, I can't run an airline, I don't know anyone that can run an airline and I'll put a decent dollar that there is no one on this forum who knows how to run an airline (although many of you can run various businesses, ranging from small to large; both public and private). It certainly doesn't stop anyone - here or anywhere - from making complaints or defending the industry in any sense of the word....
My Dad has never filed a complaint - he complains about everything, but he never writes a letter to the government, a corporation, etc.. He's never considered filing for litigation or participating on a public forum or activist movement. I guess I could say he's pretty gutless and a hypocrite, but one of the golden rules is that one should respect their elders......
Phew! Musings and ranting over.....
Daylight savings can suck in subtle ways.
