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Airline load factors (that is, the percentage of available seats that are occupied) consistently hover around 80 percent. It's a rare flight that runs 3/4 empty (i.e. 25 percent load factor), much less half of all flights.
I remember reading awhile back that a popular domestic airline (can't remember which one) was having such a problem with skiplagging on one of its popular routes (think it was some flights to cities in Florida) that planes were flying with as little as 1/4 occupancy or sometimes even less.
But I do not follow the topic regularly, so this may be far from the norm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roodd279
This is not the problem of skiplagging. The problem is when the plane leaves with that seat empty. Maybe someone tried to buy it last week, but it wasn't available. Potential profit - lost.
Profit or airline motives/protocol/accounting aside, IMO skiplagging is an unethical and underhanded practice on the part of passengers. One might argue there are just as many or maybe more unethical/underhanded airline practices, but that may also be a separate argument and again, IMO, does not justify the practice of skiplagging.
In the long run, I think it will prove detrimental overall for all airline passengers going forward if it is not significantly curtailed or stopped.
why can't the person just say they got sick during the layover and could not continue on the flight.
how can the airline possibly determine say that it was "planned" versus "got sick and could not continue." or "received a distressing phone call or message or email or text and had to change their plans."
i've had to decide including at the last minute not to board a plane because of getting ill or developing symptoms. once this was after i had checked in, but had not yet boarded the plane. for decades i had chronic recurring ear aches and sinus infections and my doctor told me in no uncertain terms do not fly ever if there were certain specific symptoms.
i know once this happened (when i could not fly at the last minute), and even though i had paid for the flight and did not get a refund, they would not award me the "flyer miles" earned. which seems crazy to me and unethical.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tzaphkiel
i know once this happened (when i could not fly at the last minute), and even though i had paid for the flight and did not get a refund, they would not award me the "flyer miles" earned. which seems crazy to me and unethical.
You didn't FLY the miles? correct?
No, they won't award you miles for tickets purchased, but not flown. (refund or not)
You DIDN'T Fly, so no BIS (Butt-in-seat) accumulation of award miles.
You didn't FLY the miles? correct?
No, they won't award you miles for tickets purchased, but not flown. (refund or not)
You DIDN'T Fly, so no BIS (Butt-in-seat) accumulation of award miles.
which as i said to me is unethical. i stopped flying that airline altogether.
i don't like unethical business practices. as a consumer i vote with where i take my business, and in the several decades that have elapsed since, they have lost that business.
I heard that people do this on cruise ships, and it's against the rules.
Specifically, there was a tour of the Hawaiian Islands that started and ended on Oahu. If you lived on, say, the Big Island, you had to fly to Oahu, do the cruise, then fly home. Much easier to jump ship in Hilo and save time and money. But the cruise line didn't agree.
I wonder if they had a deal with Hawaiian Airlines, which pretty much had a monopoly on interisland flights for several years. Things may have changed since more airlines now offer service.
Cruise lines are regulated and taxed as something other than common carrier.
By picking up a passenger at Port A, and letting the passenger disembark at Port B, they are no longer a crusie line, but a common carrier, and have another whole swatch of rules, regulations and taxes to deal with.
sure it is. It's already sold. There is absolutely NO ONE standing at the gate waiting for standby who has not already paid for a flight - a different flight. They're on STANDBY for a number of reasons, cancellations and delays of other flights being the main reason, other reasons apply.
Actually, not all standby passengers paid for a flight.
Some standby passengers are either airline employees or friends and family of airline employees, going on a personal trip and using one of the few benefits of working for an airline, getting to fly for free, when a seat is available!
I know people (friends and family members of airline employees) that have waited all day at airports, trying to fly standby, sometimes they get an open seat, sometimes they don't. I think nowadays with technology, people using this "fly free" benefit, can find out how likely flying standby is for various flights and go after the ones with a high probability of getting on via standby.
I be curious though if the person actually informed the airline when getting off at midpoint that the seat can be given to someone else, not only the airline does not have to worry about leaving someone behind at a connection point but able to give the seat to a standby or another person? Of course one shouldn't check luggage for this nor allow their bags to be gate checked. Gate checking bags causes a heaps of issues for any people as there are legitimate issues why the customer didn't check the bag in the first place, i.e having lifesaving medications or devices inside(checked bags gets lost from time to time for days), glass or fragile items(that may shatter under baggage handling), believe it or not there are also some items prohibited in checked luggage that are allowed on carry on for safety reasons that may put the aircraft at risk, etc, also some less travel savy people might pack essential travel documents in there, not a wise idea but i it happens. Ironically back in the days airlines and security measures were much laxer on carry on amounts allowing two 22inch bags bins seldom fill up.
Some standby passengers are either airline employees -
Yep - absolutely true - I had that in my post, but deleted it as it wasn't really my point - still true though!
Most folks in that position "have an app for that" so they know ahead of time what the odds are - if they're flying standby, it's almost a certainty some seats are going to be vacant.
Anyway, lots of other odd bits in this thread:
why can't the person just say they got sick during the layover and could not continue on the flight.
They absolutely can - and do. You can miss your connection - you're just not supposed to plan on it ahead of time. THAT is where you get into trouble. So make up any excuse you want - folks often flying for the first time simply refuse to get on the next leg - that works, once. The main thing is habit, pattern, and confession. Avoid those things, you'll never be caught.
which as i said to me is unethical.
It's unethical that you didn't get miles for a trip you didn't take? AFAIK, ALL airline programs require that you actually take the flight to get the miles. And it's in the terms - that YOU AGREED TO.
By the same logic, a burger shop could protest if I buy a large order of fries and only eat half.
100% true - if you signed a paper that agreed to such terms before you ordered.
I also don’t think that a person can sell the ticket for one of those legs of the trip to another person for security reasons.
How would the person you're selling it to get into the airport? Their name isn't on the boarding pass.
and then getting off halfway and leaving the luggage on the plane.
No one (intentionally) does that. They just "carryon" - no luggage. But - in the USA - If you try to stay behind - and you checked a bag - that bag is going without you. USA baggage (believe it or not) is fairly well-checked for explosives and such - so the "terroristic" thing isn't really a concern. HOWEVER _ outside of the USA _ if you do not board - they will almost certainly delay the flight until they dig out your baggage from below.
If you feel that your eyesight and lack of migraines is just too damn good and you really need to abuse yourself for no good reason. Spend a bit reading through it.
Several things in there that would apply here
Quote:
Your ticket is valid only when:
Travel is to/from the cities on your ticket and in your trip record
Quote:
Your ticket is not valid when:
We find that the ticket was bought using an exploitative practice
Quote:
Reservations made to exploit or circumvent fare and ticket rules are prohibited.
Examples include (but are not limited to):
Purchasing a ticket without intending to fly all flights to gain lower fares (hidden city ticketing)
One other thing that people generally raise a stink about..
Quote:
If we sell a fare in error, we have the right to cancel the ticket. This includes fare errors, computer errors and third party errors (human or computer). We try to prevent, detect and correct errors as soon as possible.
When we issue a mistaken fare, we'll void the ticket, give a full refund and notify you within:
72 hours after we learn of the mistaken fare
At least 24 hours before departure if you bought the ticket less than 72 hours before departure
There are websites out there that search for these 'fat finger fares'.. A flight from.. Say Atlanta to Oahu that's normally $1000 gets posted for $100. My opinion on those.. If you booked the flight and it was 'too good to be true', and a 90% off fare falls under "too good to be true".. Then you're not entitled to anything other than what you paid back.
If, however, a fare error is reasonable.. Where that line is, I can't say for certain. But, a fare is normally $1000 and it's up there for $600.. That's 40% off.. Which.. Is NOT outrageous. and.. In a case like that.. I think the airline should honor the ticket.. And in most cases, they will.
But, there are websites out there that track fares and direct users to book a $15k fare that is listed at $150. If you book that.. Nope.. Good Day to you, sir. You get nothing. Well.. Ok. you get your $150 back. But you don't get the seat.
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