[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by scottgoold

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.

If United is unable to issue a ticket for travel on Southwest just how would you propose they go about purchasing a ticket for you? I don't think the staff at the airport carry corporate credit cards with which they could walk over to Southwest and buy your tickets. As I said before if the situation were reversed Southwest certainly wouldn't have purchased tickets for you on United. This is a losing argument. Airlines simply don't do this. Stop beating this dead horse and get over it.

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!

Still don't get how more regulation would have done anything to change your situation. Even in the "days of regulation" (which, by the way were 30 years ago - so don't hold your breath for a return to that level of regulation anytime soon, or ever) airlines would publish a schedule for flights 330 days out but the schedule was always subject to adjustments.

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.

How do you know the number of flights were reduced versus the schedule adjusted? Did you check the OAG schedule published when you purchased the ticket and compare it to the current schedule? Fact is, you don't know if you were impacted by capacity reduction, schedule change, or both. You are obviously not an educated consumer because you never bothered to check your itinerary until 24 hours before your departure when it was too late to do anything about it. You also ignored any notification United sent to you. I know you claim you were not notified but if you got the e-mail for the initial confirmation and the e-mail to check-in at the same e-mail address then you most certainly did receive notification of the schedule change. The fact that you dismissed it as junk or advertising is you own fault. Sorry.

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.

And just how is United or any other airline a monopoly? I just went on Kayak.com and asked for fares from ABQ to HNL and was given options on American, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways. If you so desired you could book a flight on Southwest from ABQ to PHX, SAN, LAX, SFO, SLC and another airline from any of those cities to HNL. So, just how is there a monopoly when so many choices exist?

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!

Restructuring will occur with the market, not by government intervention. It's already happening at US Airways. Once loyal customers are leaving them in droves. They are tired of the a-la-carte pricing structure (bags, beverages including water and cofee, snacks and meals) and the ageing dirty aircraft they fly. I don't think they are very long for this world unless they drastically change their busines model.

Originally Posted by jimworcs

Couldn't agree more Scott...

Except for one little line...

You might want to read some of PHX's other posts and see if you think they are consistent with that statement!!