United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
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United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
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Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#2It's not clear why exactly the airlines are so upset about this. If the passenger isn't present they can just shoehorn a standby onto the flight, or at least save on fuel costs.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#3It's not clear why exactly the airlines are so upset about this. If the passenger isn't present they can just shoehorn a standby onto the flight, or at least save on fuel costs.
The airlines are losing money by having passengers circumvent the price discrimination.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#4It's not clear why exactly the airlines are so upset about this. If the passenger isn't present they can just shoehorn a standby onto the flight, or at least save on fuel costs.
Because a ticket from x->y->z sometimes costs less than a ticket from x->y. Presumably this has something to do with how much the markets in x, y, and z are able to bear. As in, people in X and Y will pay more for tickets than people in Z, so tickets terminating in Z are cheaper.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#5One very interesting thing here is how they're using the credit score system to blackmail people. If this continues, any company can hold you hostage by threatening to ruin your score, without any recourse from you.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#6Passengers who save hundreds of dollars should get a credit boost for their demonstration of financial savvy.
I'd sooner give a loan to that person than some reckless spender.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#7I doubt UA would follow through considering it is illegal to submit known false debts.
Plus they're outright wrong that it constitutes "fraud," if for no other reason than the person skipping additional legs didn't profit from it, instead they simply limited UA's ability to further profit off of their travel.
If this was "fraud" then any other airline discount or saving would be too. Shop around for the cheapest price? That's "fraud" since UA didn't make as much. Didn't check bags for $50+ and instead overload your carry on? That's "fraud" since UA lost the checked bag fee. Fly to a smaller airport instead of a larger one, then take the bus? That's "fraud" too, UA deserves that money.
UA's creative use of the law here is nothing more than an intimidation tactic. They've run out of ideas so instead are just trying to muddy the waters enough to stop this becoming overly popular. I guess that's easier than re-examining how you ticket/what your business model is.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#8I'm surprised we haven't seen more companies abuse the credit reporting system like this. Recourse is painful for the customer, and I imagine a non-trivial number of them will just pay off the debt. I'm guessing with the gutting of agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau we'll see a rise in these type of practices.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#9It's not clear why exactly the airlines are so upset about this. If the passenger isn't present they can just shoehorn a standby onto the flight, or at least save on fuel costs.
Because the person was supposed to pay more for the privilege of skipping that flight leg and just staying at that intermediate destination. That customer is robbing the airline of their god-given entitlement to extra revenue.
Re: United Airlines Threatens to Engage Collections for Passengers Who Skip Segments
#10 I did this earlier this year flying to Europe. My plans had changed a little so I realized that it would be easier to get off in Amsterdam instead of taking the next flight. It never occurred to me that this could be a problem but the agent gave us a really hard time when I asked to get our bags checked only to Amsterdam.
I honestly thought they would be happy to be able to give our seats to someone else.