Air Tran Customer Service isn't..
 

I am an A+ member of Air Tran which only means I can get a free one way ticket, not benefit of policies or considerations for being a faithful member. Anyway, here is the situation. I bought tickets for my family to go to Florida. My one daughter said she could not leave on the same date due to work change. So, I called Air Tran and was told a new one way cost $213 and the original $75 one way ticket would cost $75 to change plus cost of new ticket... So, I was forced to buy a new one way ticket and lose the original $75 ticket. Recently I was checking flight costs and discovered Air tran had a non stop for $169 (same day as new ticket I bought). So, I called Air tran customer relations and a man informed me Airtran did nothing wrong, it followed policy. He ended by saying prices change and there was nothing he could do for ME.. so I said what about when a flight is overbooked? You make changes then! And I said, there is a cheaper price! He said, I could have given you a credit for the difference but that price is not available now. I said it is still on my computer screen and he said if you refresh you would see it sold out while we were talking... I said this must be a joke! I asked to talk to someone higher up and he said he was it. I continued to plead my case and finally he admitted there was another person but she was not there. I insisted on leaving a message on her voice mail which he allowed. (One out of 10 requests isn't bad is it?) Not sure if I will get anywhere with the new person but I have to try since this seems more hostile then friendly customer service. I don't call my experience with AirTran very good, in fact it was a poor experience. I think the customer Rep had the power and ability to do something, don't you agree?? Would you fly on AirTran only for the price while hating the policies and customer service?

The agent you spoke with could have easily tied up some inventory at the lower price to make it appear as though the fare you were seeing online wasn't available. Big thumbs down to AirTran! Of course some on this board would say that I'm just manufacturing this assumption so I won't go any further but in reality reservations agents have the ability to temporarily remove seats from inventory to inflate prices. If AirTran has a 24 hour cancellation policy (which I'm not sure it does) you could have booked and paid for the new ticket and cancelled it after talking with the representative.

In all cases I am a firm believer in the "if you don't get the response you want, hang up and call again" rule. I was recently trying to reschedule a trip on Continental out of Newark airport. I went online and have access to real-time inventory. I saw there was one seat left at a discounted price and then the rest would be at full coach "Y" fare. My first call the agent tried to up-sell me to that Y fare. I told her that I was aware of the one seat available at the lower price (same fare bucket I was already booked into) but she said "I just don't see it." I thanked her, told her "nevermind" and called back. Low and behold the second agent I spoke with was able to book me into that 1 remaining seat with no additional fare. Amazing!

This can happen on any airline. It's possible that if there was one or two seats left that someone was pricing it out at the time. What happens is, when you ask for a fare, they look up the flights, and have to "grab" the seat in order to get the price. It's just like when you are looking up fares on line, you select the flights you want and get the flight. While you have those flights selected, you are holding those seat from inventory.

As for this case, I can tell you for a fact that the agent did not do this. It would take a lot of technical explanations of their computer system, which is the same system used by a few other airlines, but the important part is when the res agent looks up the flights, they only see the lowest fare unless they do a whole LOT of digging. The airport side is a bit different.

Actually, most online booking engines don't grab the seat out of inventory they simply take a "snapshot" of the availability from the GDS and display the flight options and fares. It's only when the user actually goes to purchase that itinerary that the seat is actually taken out of inventory. Sometimes you will see this when you shop online and get a message that "while you were shopping, availability and price has changed." It happens all the time, especially on Delta's website. I've noticed that sometimes when there is one seat left in a fare bucket DL.com will default to the next higher fare bucket. You actually have to call to get the lower priced ticket but then pay a fee to book it by phone. Robbery!

The online systems may not, but in the res centers and airports it does. Same goes for travel agents if they are booking an airline that uses the same system they do.

PHX did you just admit that Continental Airlines tried to rip you off? I am feeling faint..

Both Continental AND Delta. But I know the "ins and outs" of the system and can avoid such trappings. Yes, they did try to fleece me and No, I didn't allow it. Experience has taught me to be persistent, but not overbearing. If you loose your cool you can, as Butch Cassidy has described, be hauled away to Guantanamo Bay in shackles and legirons! I'm kidding of course - but it does pay to keep your cool. Honey traps a bunch more flies than vinegar!