Getting Into The Air Never Used To Be This Complicated Article

	1888 Articles Home \| Travel Articles	Travel RSS
Getting into the air never used to be this complicated

The article looks at the problem for airlines to maintain their revenue when the recession is keeping passengers away. The answer is to offer good discounts but hide the charges that will recover the profit if you do not read the small print.

Author: David Mayer

Article Tools:

In the good old days when business was booming and credit cards were still giving out cash, it was easy to buy a plane ticket. You just picked up the telephone or went on line, and paid. Only the few people on limited budgets were interested in tracking down discounted fares. Fast forward to today and it's a whole new ballgame with even the most conservative of airlines suddenly offering deals to tempt passengers on to planes. But, as with any sale offer, the devil can be in the small print. Check out the internet or, if you still buy one, the newspapers and you will see special deals on standard routes. But when you look a little more closely, these less extensive tickets are non-refundable, their use is more limited and there will probably be "conditions" to meet before you can order. That means it's a caveat emptor situation. You have to get your magnifying glass out and see what the catches are.

One of the standard problems is change fees. Many of the offers are for some weeks or even months in advance. People check their diaries and decide they are free. But life is never fair. Circumstances change. So you pick up the phone to change the date and you're told, "That's no problem. When would you like to travel?" Except you find you can only change to flights on a Tuesday when there's an 'r' in the month, and there's a fee of $150 per person to change the ticket. These charges are a way of recovering lost profit. Airlines gamble that enough people will need to change their tickets so they can get the usual revenue for a fully loaded plane even though a proportion of the passengers were originally sold tickets at a discounted price. These "hidden" fees are increasingly common. More airlines are now charging for baggage handling and the additional comforts of an in-flight blanket, pillows, etc. Some even have premium rate telephone numbers for you to call if you want to make a change or book extras. This adds to their bottom line. The fact that all these changes may damage reputations in the long term does not change the short term need to cover costs.

So when you're looking for cheap air flights, whether domestic or international, always remember the old rule, If it looks to good to be true, it usually is. That means you have to be on the alert to protect your interests. Never just go by the first quoted price. Always read the small print to find out whether you're going to be asked for more money when you get to the airport. It could be just a little thing. Check-in online, no price change. Check-in at the airport, pay a charge. In a year's time, this may be a public relations disaster, but if the airlines are still solvent, this was a good way to sell cheap air flights.

About Author

Professional writers like David Mayer appreciate it when they have a ground for helping people learn more about things. http://www.flightsteam.com/getting-into-the-air-2.html is just the place for David Mayer and other professionals share their knowledge with others.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-david-mayer-16158.html

Getting into the air never used to be this complicated