Timeline for answer to What’s the point of flight ticket cancellation charges? by Kate Gregory
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Aug 21, 2020 at 2:36 | comment | added | eggyal | Quite apart from some of the other points already made in comment on this answer, I think it’s also logically flawed. Charging for fare difference addresses the first point re short notice changes, but even if it didn’t, fares would not be what “i need to fly this week” tickets cost today: if every seat was sold for that price the airlines would be making a helluva lot more profit; take today’s premium for such “fly this week” tickets and spread it across all the other seats, and you’ll find the averaged price is much closer to today’s discounted rates. That’s where it would settle. | |
| Aug 20, 2020 at 14:01 | comment | added | Kate Gregory | @IanKemp they may be a small fraction of the flyers on any given plane, but their miles and dollars are what keep the airlines profitable. And if airlines forget about them, they won't be profitable because the decision process of the ultra frequent flyer is not like that of you and me. As for being biased, don't be ridiculous. If someone says "why does a private company choose to X" of course the answer will be "because it helps them in the following ways". An airline is not a public library or school, run for the benefit of us all. It does things that benefit itself. | |
| Aug 20, 2020 at 13:29 | comment | added | Ian Kemp | This answer entirely fails to address airline overbooking, which is a crucial component of the economic equation. It also ignores the fact that, like people who cheat on welfare, people who game the airline ticket system are a tiny minority - it probably costs more to circumvent their efforts, than it would to simply ignore them. In short, this answer seems biased towards airlines - who, at the end of the day, are out to make a profit. | |
| Aug 20, 2020 at 10:13 | comment | added | Andrew Savinykh | @rici do you know that your ticked does not even guarantee you a sit on the flight you are hoping to take? And I'm not talking about force majeure like cancelled flights. I'm talking about the fact that they routinely oversell and your sit can be taken by someone else when you show up. | |
| Aug 20, 2020 at 8:59 | comment | added | guest | I don't understand the connection between the question and this answer. The questioner does not talk about "no cancellation fees" at all. | |
| Aug 20, 2020 at 2:24 | comment | added | Kate Gregory | travel.stackexchange.com/questions/37439/… | |
| Aug 19, 2020 at 21:07 | comment | added | rici | While we're thinking about alternate realities, how about a world where when I buy a ticket, it's actually mine, like any other commodity. If I decide I'm not going to use it myself, I can sell it, or trade it for something else, or donate it to charity, or whatever. Now, I'm not really an economic liberal or any type of libertarian, but it puzzles me that people who fall into those categories object to the transaction which, on the surface, seems to be the most liberal. (Of course, I can see why airline owners might not like the idea. But presumably that's not a majority.) | |
| Aug 19, 2020 at 19:04 | comment | added | Kai | just want to point out that your first paragraph isn't necessarily realistic. Prices would still go up closer to the date of flying | |
| Aug 19, 2020 at 18:39 | comment | added | gota | I think you missed the point of the question. the OP was not asking why didn't airlines reimbursed cancellations. The OP was asking why don't airlines encourage customers to signal that they will not fly a non-reimbursement-already-paid ticket | |
| Aug 19, 2020 at 17:04 | comment | added | Stack Exchange Broke The Law | @TooTea If the flight is anywhere near full, please don't use up seats that other people could get. | |
| Aug 19, 2020 at 14:18 | history | answered | Kate Gregory | CC BY-SA 4.0 |