Dear PHXFlier,
I would like to address some of your comments. You wrote, "It's not that they [United] refused, it was that they were unable to," when I asked United to put me on a more timely flight, in this case, a Southwest flight.
As I wrote originally, United could have made the purchase for me. Or they could have immediately refunded my money and I could have made the purchase. There are many things they could have done, yet what they did was to strand me for 10-12 hours. Why does the flying public allow this? I believe "airhead" provided the best answer... "As long as people keep buying the tickets, the airlines will continue." I am posting to this forum in the hope people will stop buying tickets under these condition. As consumers, we can demand better treatment.
You answered "airhead's" post with: "Blah blah blah, Monopolies, blah blah blah, Fortress Hubs, blah blah.. Same tired old argument on every thread. Can't you at least come up with something new?"
Why something new? The flying public is treated like this because we don't have a market-based system. It is monopolistic, or oligopolistic if we want to be technical. Why do we allow this? Maybe a return to a a nationalized, regulated system, would create better conditions.
You also claim I wasn't punished for buying early. You added that United can't "possibly know 8-9 months out if the schedule they publish will need adjustments." Then, United shouldn't make the offer. Once they list a flight, once the consumer pays their money, then United is the obligated party. It's basic contract law. One party makes an offer -- a flight at a certain time, on a certain day, and delivery at a specific time. The other party accepts the offer and makes the payment. Deal done!
In addition, this is why theoretically the CEOs and top execs are paid as well as they are -- because they are taking risks on future performance. They pull their economists together and decide how many travelers they can expect; how many planes they will need, etc. They then make offers and people accept and pay. I doubt you're making the millions per year; I'm not. I assume that is due to the fact that they are more skilled than the two of us. Let's not bail them out. Nobody is forcing their hand. They do not have to offer what they cannot support. Offer less flights. When they fill up, add another plane or route.
Instead, United offered too many flights. They got caught by the looming recession. Therefore, they punished those who put down their money early by moving them (unilaterally in my case, since they failed to notify me) to other flights. This is a violation of the basic contractual concept.
You continue to argue that the passenger should constantly watch this. I disagree with you. I am a small business owner. When a client hands me their money, they expect me to shoulder the burden of responsibility. This is how it works in a market economy. If I had a monopoly in my area, I suppose I could push my weight around. Yet monopolies are un-American and un-democratic. This is why we have the sophisticated anti-trust laws in our society.
I know you are trying to be helpful, but the air travel system is broken. If you saw their long lines of stranded passengers that I saw, you would agree. If you look at the overall economic status of these companies, you also would agree that this industry is very ill. We need massive restructuring!
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