Discussion
Just been through the polarva of booking a flight on the internet and over the past few weeks I've constantly been comparing prices and keeping an eye on seats left on planes etc.
It is common practice for airline companies along with the rest of any seat/room/cabin booking arrangement to constantly miss-lead the customer?
What I mean here is that one plane had only 4 seats available one day, then the same day in the afternoon it went down to only 2 seats available, then an hour later it went down to only 1 seat left. So I gave up on that flight route as I needed two seats. Only to check again about one week later to find that there were plentiful supply of seats on the same flight.
Roll back to a few years ago when I took a long haul flight and remembered that it mentioned limited seats available on the website booking only to find a plane less than half full.
Next instance is on the P&O ferries last year. I booked a cabin from the website that stated only 1 club cabin left. Only to find again the boat was less than half full with what looked like at least four or five club cabins near to mine with nobody in them.
Do these companies play this game all year round?
I was speaking to a work colleague and he was saying that these companies can get away with it because they only release 'packets' of seats/cabins/rooms at one particular time. So say on day 1 you check the website you may see 10 seats available, then on day 3 you check again and there are only two seats available, then this means they released 10 seats out of the 100 seats on a plane (for example) and they advertise this small 'packet of seats' only. When these all get sold then the next packet of seats is released.
If this is what is actually going on then its playing an uneasy game with their customers when booking. I don't like it!
It is common practice for airline companies along with the rest of any seat/room/cabin booking arrangement to constantly miss-lead the customer?
What I mean here is that one plane had only 4 seats available one day, then the same day in the afternoon it went down to only 2 seats available, then an hour later it went down to only 1 seat left. So I gave up on that flight route as I needed two seats. Only to check again about one week later to find that there were plentiful supply of seats on the same flight.
Roll back to a few years ago when I took a long haul flight and remembered that it mentioned limited seats available on the website booking only to find a plane less than half full.
Next instance is on the P&O ferries last year. I booked a cabin from the website that stated only 1 club cabin left. Only to find again the boat was less than half full with what looked like at least four or five club cabins near to mine with nobody in them.
Do these companies play this game all year round?
I was speaking to a work colleague and he was saying that these companies can get away with it because they only release 'packets' of seats/cabins/rooms at one particular time. So say on day 1 you check the website you may see 10 seats available, then on day 3 you check again and there are only two seats available, then this means they released 10 seats out of the 100 seats on a plane (for example) and they advertise this small 'packet of seats' only. When these all get sold then the next packet of seats is released.
If this is what is actually going on then its playing an uneasy game with their customers when booking. I don't like it!
AJI said:
I was speaking to a work colleague and he was saying that these companies can get away with it because they only release 'packets' of seats/cabins/rooms at one particular time. So say on day 1 you check the website you may see 10 seats available, then on day 3 you check again and there are only two seats available, then this means they released 10 seats out of the 100 seats on a plane (for example) and they advertise this small 'packet of seats' only. When these all get sold then the next packet of seats is released.
If this is what is actually going on then its playing an uneasy game with their customers when booking. I don't like it!
This is one of the things happening, yes.If this is what is actually going on then its playing an uneasy game with their customers when booking. I don't like it!
There are lots of tricks that the punter can use to verify information though. Websites like www.seatcounter.com (currently 'down for maintenance') tell you all the buckets of seats available and how many are left in each one. Each bucket is allocated a code letter. Some of the obvious ones are F for First and J or C for business. Each airline does have variations though.
Final mini-rant for today.....
why are there so many limitations on a flight ticket?
For example.....if I have a return ticket and somehow I miss check in on the flight out, then the return ticket becomes invalid.
Also for example, if I miss check in and there is ample space on the next flight, I won't be allowed to get on because the ticket is for one seat at a particular time on a particular plane only.
With all the delays that happen due this that and the other I'm guessing a significant percentage of people miss connections and check in times throughout the day at an airport. Free money as far as the airline operators are concerned, and simple tough shyser for the customer.
But do we have the choice to use another airline with better T&Cs on their tickets?....no.....they are all the same!
why are there so many limitations on a flight ticket?
For example.....if I have a return ticket and somehow I miss check in on the flight out, then the return ticket becomes invalid.
Also for example, if I miss check in and there is ample space on the next flight, I won't be allowed to get on because the ticket is for one seat at a particular time on a particular plane only.
With all the delays that happen due this that and the other I'm guessing a significant percentage of people miss connections and check in times throughout the day at an airport. Free money as far as the airline operators are concerned, and simple tough shyser for the customer.
But do we have the choice to use another airline with better T&Cs on their tickets?....no.....they are all the same!
You do have the option of paying more for a flexible ticket...
The one time I've missed a flight (M4 was closed) bmi were very understanding and moved me on to the next flight, free-of-charge. That was the very first business flight I ever took, and earned bmi 7 years of loyalty from me (sadly they no longer fly where or when I need to go!).
The one time I've missed a flight (M4 was closed) bmi were very understanding and moved me on to the next flight, free-of-charge. That was the very first business flight I ever took, and earned bmi 7 years of loyalty from me (sadly they no longer fly where or when I need to go!).
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