Southwest to Stop Overbooking as United Uproar Echoes • Hacker News Board

Re: Southwest to Stop Overbooking as United Uproar Echoes

#331

Post by hueving » Sun, Apr 30, 2017, 10:59 PM UTC

Arizhel wrote: post #321

hueving wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling airline vouchers 'worthless to most people' is pretty stupid. The vast majority of the population would love to travel more and is constrained mainly by their budget. The proof of this is how Delta never seems to have problems and they constantly offer Delta dollars.

Most of the US population doesn't get very much vacation time from their employer. The problem isn't the cost of airfare (which is a tiny portion of the cost of any vacation compared to hotel, meals, rental car, etc.), the problem is a lack of time.

That's wrong. Most people get 2 days off every week. If you have a good priced airline voucher that means you can make a weekend trip to NYC, have dinner, see a Broadway show, spend the night and then fly back.

Flying out a Friday night and returning Sunday is the most expensive component of a weekend trip like that.

Re: Southwest to Stop Overbooking as United Uproar Echoes

#332

Post by hueving » Mon, May 01, 2017, 4:14 AM UTC

mikeash wrote: post #307

iLoch wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can ask them to pay you in cash as long as you don't accept the offer before hand. They're legally required to compensate you with cash if you ask.

Surely they would just say "thanks, but no" and keep looking for suckers who will take a voucher?

Where "suckers" are people that don't like what you like?

I like to travel so I would rather take the $1000 voucher than wait for a cash offer that someone like you would jump on before I could get a chance.

I've taken in over $5,000 of free air travel over the years and always used it to visit family and see places I wouldn't have otherwise. In the meantime people thinking like you got nothing because it was a "sucker's" deal.

I suggest you look into the study of economics and pricing to understand how people can get different levels of value from things. The you might understand why auction systems like that aren't magically lining your pockets with gold.

Re: Southwest to Stop Overbooking as United Uproar Echoes

#333

Post by Arizhel » Mon, May 01, 2017, 4:14 AM UTC

hueving wrote: post #331

Arizhel wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the US population doesn't get very much vacation time from their employer. The problem isn't the cost of airfare (which is a tiny portion of the cost of any vacation compared to hotel, meals, rental car, etc.), the problem is a lack of time.

That's wrong. Most people get 2 days off every week. If you have a good priced airline voucher that means you can make a weekend trip to NYC, have dinner, see a Broadway show, spend the night and then fly back. Flying out a Friday night and returning Sunday is the most expensive component of a weekend trip like that.

Oh please. Traveling is tiring for most people, especially with TSA and the hectic mess that is airports, and the severe discomfort of modern airplace seating; I don't know many people who really want to fly somewhere on a Friday evening right after work (meaning you get to your hotel somewhere around midnight if you're lucky, and you have to skip dinner) and return on a Sunday (meaning you get home late, leaving you exhausted for work on Monday).

Re: Southwest to Stop Overbooking as United Uproar Echoes

#334

Post by hueving » Mon, May 01, 2017, 4:17 AM UTC

spiraldancing wrote: post #254

ajdlinux wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could trivially spend it on a single international holiday if you felt like flying in business or first class...

Actually no, you can't, because they limit how much you can apply to a single flight. To use up $10k in vouchers, it's likely you'd need to make 20-100 flights, before they expired in a year.

Ugh, please don't make unfounded claims like that.

Re: Southwest to Stop Overbooking as United Uproar Echoes

#335

Post by hueving » Mon, May 01, 2017, 4:21 AM UTC

Arizhel wrote: post #333

hueving wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's wrong. Most people get 2 days off every week. If you have a good priced airline voucher that means you can make a weekend trip to NYC, have dinner, see a Broadway show, spend the night and then fly back. Flying out a Friday night and returning Sunday is the most expensive component of a weekend trip like that.

Oh please. Traveling is tiring for most people, especially with TSA and the hectic mess that is airports, and the severe discomfort of modern airplace seating; I don't know many people who really want to fly somewhere on a Friday evening right after work (meaning you get to your hotel somewhere around midnight if you're lucky, and you have to skip dinner) and return on a Sunday (meaning you get home late, leaving you…

Oh please, cramped seats? Use the voucher for economy comfort or first class. Have dinner in the airport if it's that inconveniently timed.

We went on weekend trips when I was little that involved driving for 4 hours each way. Most people aren't as pathetic as you are portraying.