Newsletter
When Flying Airlines Is Like Three-Card Monty
Date: 09/22/2009By Dan Prescher
September 22, 2009 -- You’ve found the perfect place to live, and now you’re ready to get your feet on the ground and explore Paradise for yourself. All you have to do is survive flying airlines to get there.
As airlines economize the hassles of traveling multiply, and some of the most annoying things airlines do are things they’ll never tell you. Here are a three of them with ways that you can fight back.
1. Lying luggage scales. At JFK last year, 14% of luggage scales were improperly calibrated. A full 10% of scales at Logan gave false readings. Weigh your luggage at home, and if the airline scale disagrees, demand to have it weighed on another scales. Chances are you’ll win.
2. Your non-stop flight is stopping. Airlines can and do cancel non-stop flight and rebook passengers on flights with layovers and connections. If this happens to you, ask to be rebooked on an existing non-stop flight. If this doesn’t work, threaten to use another carrier. If all else fails, airlines should refund your ticket price if you refuse an indirect flight that won’t get you where you’re going within two hours of your originally booked arrival time.
3. Seat assignments? Ya, right. Airlines are not required to honor your seat assignment, plain and simple. When you buy a ticket, you’re buying a fare, not a seat. The illusion of a real seat assignment is comforting, but false. But you can improve your chances of getting the seat you want by checking in online 24 hours in advance and printing your boarding pass. When you arrive at the airport, you’ll at least have a document with a seat assignment on it to help you argue with the flight attendants.
Fortunately, there are places in the world that really are worth getting to. And if you play your cards right, once you’ve arrived you’ll never want to leave. And that can make all the hassles worth it.