Everyone has his or her favorite “stupid airline trick.” There are so many, it’s tough to keep track. Here’s my latest — not necessarily my favorite.
I’m booked on a 5 p.m. US Airways shuttle flight from LaGuardia to Washington National, connecting back home to Orlando. I get to the airport at 3 and the 4 p.m. shuttle is wide open.
“Can you put me on the 4 p.m. instead?” I ask naively / stupidly at the gate podium. “That way, if my flight’s late, I won’t miss my connection.”
“Sure, but you’ll have to pay an extra fee to go earlier.”
Why on earth would I want to do that? To give the airline an extra seat to sell on the 5 p.m. shuttle? To improve my connection time so they don’t have to put me up overnight if they go out late for any reason? Or to give US Airways more money “just because?” No, none of the above.
“But your flight is showing on-time, so you won’t miss your connection,” says the woman behind the counter.
Look, she’s only following “the rules.” But in this case, the rules are stupid. I ask (politely): “Do you know how many ‘on time’ flights I’ve had that land three hours late?”
“Well, sir, those are the rules.”
Okay, I’ll sit in one airport (LGA) for an extra hour instead of another (DCA). And if I miss my connection for any reason, US Airways will pay for an overnight in a hotel and two meals, because of “the rules.” (Unless of course they can dredge up a stupid excuse for not paying — “Well, the aircraft had a mechanical delay because of weather last Wednesday in Wichita.”)
Ah, me. They’re looking everywhere for ways to gouge people for additional revenue, because they need it. But one logical place — “save money by moving passengers earlier whenever possible” — is ruled out. Because of “the rules.”
