Kip Powick Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Story about AC bumping 18 Passengers who were booked for Florida during March break. One family had booked 7 months in advance....needless to say they were very PO'd. No comment from AC.... but WJ said they have a policy where they do not oversell, so you will never get "bumped" if you are one of their guests. And so it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 The industry needs to change where there is NO OVERBOOKING and people realise that if they "no show" or try to change a booking there will be a fee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Well statistically speaking very few people get bumped but of course those that do are right to be PO'd. I didn't see the story, was there any background as to why they were bumped and how long was it before they made it to destination? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
better4me Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 The industry needs to change where there is NO OVERBOOKING and people realise that if they "no show" or try to change a booking there will be a fee! Actually, as a businessperson I depend upon overbooking to get me to my meetings at the last minute. No overbooking on WestJet means that my choices to Toronto are either early morning, late at night or the dreaded red eye. On AC I can buy a Latitude fare at the last minute and get to my destination and get business done. Guess who gets my money at the high premium of Latitude ($812 o/w plus taxes) on a flight at the right time vs WestJet at $500 base fare but at an inconvenient time. Also with regard to use it or lose it, that's another policy I cannot live with as a business traveler. Last month is good example, got word as I was packing that the deal I was working on fell through (temporary snag actually) and not to travel to YYZ. A quick phone call to Elite reservations and the latitude fare got put on hold with no penality. Same time the following weekend I get word the deal is back on and get to ASAP earliest possible time. I reactivated the dormant Latitude fare and got to YYZ next day. It is these kind of examples as to why overbooking and premium airfares are important to some people in making the choice of westjet.com or aircanada.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebean Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Actually, as a businessperson I depend upon overbooking to get me to my meetings at the last minute. No overbooking on WestJet means that my choices to Toronto are either early morning, late at night or the dreaded red eye. On AC I can buy a Latitude fare at the last minute and get to my destination and get business done. Guess who gets my money at the high premium of Latitude ($812 o/w plus taxes) on a flight at the right time vs WestJet at $500 base fare but at an inconvenient time. Also with regard to use it or lose it, that's another policy I cannot live with as a business traveler. Last month is good example, got word as I was packing that the deal I was working on fell through (temporary snag actually) and not to travel to YYZ. A quick phone call to Elite reservations and the latitude fare got put on hold with no penality. Same time the following weekend I get word the deal is back on and get to ASAP earliest possible time. I reactivated the dormant Latitude fare and got to YYZ next day. It is these kind of examples as to why overbooking and premium airfares are important to some people in making the choice of westjet.com or aircanada.com. Remember when WJ was 3x daily YYC-YVR? Now 12 daily? It's only a matter of time before WJA's frequency gives you the choices you think you need. That's the nice thing about an airline that grows at about 16% a year and has industry leading margins, currently about 3x higher than LUV. WJA isn't going to reduce capacity any time soon. The airlines that don't make money have to make those changes sooner or later. I'm not sure where you are flying from to get to Toronto, but if it involves a redeye, it's got to be from YVR or YYC because WJ doesn't operate YEG-YYZ on a redeye. WJA has 7x daily to YYZ from YYC with a nice balance thru the day and 5x daily to YYZ from YVR with a nice balance thru the day as well. The frequencies increase in the summer. If you don't use it, it's stored as a credit file for a year with a small service fee of $35 or some such thing. I'd say you are throwing away your cash if you think it's a better deal to pay $800 fare vs $500 and a $35 service charge if you change your plans. But then again, you must be one of the suckers that willingly overpays for everything, thereby allowing people like me to never pay full retail on anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innuendo Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 You know Bean, I'd have said you were a great salesman until you threw in the line that called him a "Sucker" But then again, you must be one of the suckers that willingly overpays for everything, thereby allowing people like me to never pay full retail on anything. Insulting the customer no matter how wrong you think he may be, destroys your pitch and drives him from your product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 ....I'd say you are throwing away your cash if you think it's a better deal to pay $800 fare vs $500 and a $35 service charge if you change your plans. But then again, you must be one of the suckers that willingly overpays for everything, thereby allowing people like me to never pay full retail on anything. Maybe his chargeable rate is very high and by taking a convenient time he can pack more hours into a day for his company. By taking AC he also gets a place to work at the airport and on the airplane so that even those hours can be chargeable also. You on the other hand suggest that someone should say "Sorry, but I have to take a WS flight this morning because it was a couple hundred bucks cheaper and can't work on the file. You will have to do without the $500 an hour that you could have got from selling my services". Many businesses realize the benefit of flying with a business friendly airline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newgirl Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Ac's policy is that employees on standby are seated after paying customers who are also on standby due to oversales or just wanting to leave earlier or later. Correct me if I have it wrong but I was led to understand that if a paying customer showed up at the airport hoping to get on an earlier flight, they would be boarded after any WJ employees who were registered to travel if there were still open seats? As a paying passenger, I would find that hard to swallow. As an employee , it sounds great. I am not a fan of overselling any flight especially in small bases as we tend to caught with nothing else to offer passengers until the next day. I can understand in the large bases why they continue the practice. I've been given a seat on a very oversold flight never thinking I'd get on only because a group of 20 connecting from overseas were late arriving and couldn't possibly clear customs without a major delay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaEH Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Correct me if I have it wrong but I was led to understand that if a paying customer showed up at the airport hoping to get on an earlier flight, they would be boarded after any WJ employees who were registered to travel if there were still open seats? They'd have the same priority code as a WJ employee. Equal status determined by time of check-in (for employees; no more than 3 hours prior). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted May 5, 2007 Author Share Posted May 5, 2007 Well statistically speaking very few people get bumped but of course those that do are right to be PO'd. I didn't see the story, was there any background as to why they were bumped and how long was it before they made it to destination? The only thing said was that the "bumpees" had to wait one day before getting their flight to Florida....The individuals made a few "not happy" comments...the only reason given was "oversell". Not much to go on but the article was the typical short news blurb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA@AC Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Lousy publicity, but these situations are rare. In almost all cases there are volunteers who are happy to accept denied boarding compensation and travel later. A friend of mine got a $500 MCO for being denied boarding on one of our flights to Asia and was thrilled to pieces. I flew 4 paid segments on AA over the US spring break. Tried my best DBC for every flight, but no luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 The only thing said was that the "bumpees" had to wait one day before getting their flight to Florida....The individuals made a few "not happy" comments...the only reason given was "oversell". Not much to go on but the article was the typical short news blurb. Here's the problem, Kip. Some of those "Bumbees" were going on a Cruise, leaving the same day. I witnessed the mess first hand. This Spring Break was a complete disaster, complete families, destined for the vacation of a life time, told "sorry you are denied boarding." Agents doing everything humanly possible (I even saw one break down into tears she felt so bad for the family) Mom and Kids crying...Dad swearing and threatening law suits. All Air Canada cares about is 'Load Factors,' at any cost. They do not modify the oversell for occasions like Spring Break, when there is virtually a zero no-show factor. Full fare paying customers, of the type who rarely travel, are not savy enough to know that you must get on the internet 24 hours prior to select seats (or be part of the oversell.) ...or know that if you purchase the lowest Tango fare you are not entitled to seat selection, but for $35 your can. ...or know that Flying to Florida and getting on a Cruise Ship in 3 hours is unrealistic in the new world. However, they think they are smart enough to save some money by doing everything via the Internet, which will give completely unrealistic connections. It was ugly, I'm surprised it took this long to make the news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 I've seen it too many times with people connecting to cruises. To go the day before, spend extra for the night in a hotel, a nice meal, and a few cocktails, and your vacation is a great experience. Travel the day of..... Worst I ever saw was in the early '90s, a 747 to MIA being deiced got clipped by a spray truck. No other uplift that day. Close to 250 missed their ships. 'Nuff said. Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yul07 Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 hate to break it you you but passangers are not in the mood to help the airline as often as they would in the past. Last month I was caught in a down gauge on YYZ-YUL when the aircraft shrunk from a a321 to an E-190. I did not have to go and the last flight was an hour later so I offered up my seat. They were swamped at the lift point, and folks were getting when more than few deadheads got on. When they called for volunteers people approaced the counter when they found out there was no compensition, ( " we dont do that any more " ) their body language was screw you, some said it outright. Lots of negative comments about the airline through out the crowd. The staff was stressed, in fact the system still showed the airbus until 20 min before departure . Even though you could see the 190 out the window. Manager-Manager. You can imagine the confusion as they had to off, and on load the passangers, for a while they were manually changing seats as the configs are different and all the middle seats disappeared. The show became part of my evenings entertainment, but if I had to travel and was one of the 35 who did not get on, I would have been :angaryangary: too. Suprisingly I felt sorrier for the AC front line staff than the poor passangers, who got bumped. As for WS I stood by after missing a flight last summer from YUL to YYZ. I knew the flight was only 50%, but it was odd to see the 6 employee stand-by's getting priority over a customer paying full fare. Thats the tier they don't advertise that allows for unlimited changes and full credit. I think they call it flexible something or other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homerun Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 They do not modify the oversell for occasions like Spring Break, when there is virtually a zero no-show factor. Johnny that statement is false. Read Montie's blog. The VP of network planning addressed this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.