Airline Cancellation Policy

[Shepdogg]

I have a buddy that called me last night and told me he had. 30 minute layover in Charlotte. I told him I could meet him in the terminal so we could grab a couple beers. I have the Fromtier go wild pass, so I purchased one way ticket for $15 and met him in the terminal and we had our beers and when I went to cancel the ticket, they charged me $150 cancellation fee (I selected the furthest back middle seat). I thought at most I would be out $15, so I had to go through 3,levels of management and then had to tell them I was an attorney and a Dr, note violated HIPAA laws. I know it sounds stupid, but she fell for it and waived the fee. It was not easy though, and I wondered why such a high cancellation fee on a $15 ticket. You may say they could have sold that seat, and you would be correct, but I purchased it and it was mine to use or not use. I am sure I was in the wrong, but just wanted to vent on a bye week. I miss Papadwaux’s seafood kitchen…

 

[Midnighter]

Trying to follow along - you bought a ticket departing from Charlotte for $15 and you used that to get through security to meet him for a drink while he was on an layover and then cancelled? Is that the gist?

 

[razpsu]

Trying to follow along - you bought a ticket departing from Charlotte for $15 and you used that to get through security to meet him for a drink while he was on a layover and then cancelled? Is that the gist?

How was a ticket 15 bucks.

 

[Shepdogg]

Yeah, needed the ticket to get through security. Thought I had the world by the balls and it would be easy peasy, but it was anything but. Tied up most of my afternoon. I would have been fine paying the $150 if it came to it, but thought Icwould buck the system. I have made changes in the past, but they really wanted to put the screws to me.

 

[MtNittany]

*

 

[Nittering Nabob]

I have a buddy that called me last night and told me he had. 30 minute layover in Charlotte. I told him I could meet him in the terminal so we could grab a couple beers. I have the Fromtier go wild pass, so I purchased one way ticket for $15 and met him in the terminal and we had our beers and when I went to cancel the ticket, they charged me $150 cancellation fee (I selected the furthest back middle seat). I thought at most I would be out $15, so I had to go through 3,levels of management and then had to tell them I was an attorney and a Dr, note violated HIPAA laws. I know it sounds stupid, but she fell for it and waived the fee. It was not easy though, and I wondered why such a high cancellation fee on a $15 ticket. You may say they could have sold that seat, and you would be correct, but I purchased it and it was mine to use or not use. I am sure I was in the wrong, but just wanted to vent on a bye week. I miss Papadwaux’s seafood kitchen…

I love your posts. They are like puzzles... a reader needs to focus on every word to determine whether there is an end.

 

[Shepdogg]

How was a ticket 15 bucks.

Frontier Go Wild, I paid $300 last fall and can order my ticket the day before travel (basically standby) for airport taxes which are about $15 bucks. It is good until next April. Have flown a ton on it since I am flexible and my wife doesn’t really care.

 

[barry j fenchak]

Yeah, needed the ticket to get through security. Thought I had the world by the balls and it would be easy peasy, but it was anything but. Tied up most of my afternoon. I would have been fine paying the $150 if it came to it, but thought Icwould buck the system. I have made changes in the past, but they really wanted to put the screws to me.

I would have eaten the $15 to avoid the hassle of dealing with a refund.

 

[ClydeKickstand]

LOL, so if you didn't cancel, you'd have only been out fifteen bucks?

 

[Nittering Nabob]

Yeah, needed the ticket to get through security. Thought I had the world by the balls and it would be easy peasy, but it was anything but. Tied up most of my afternoon. I would have been fine paying the $150 if it came to it, but thought Icwould buck the system. I have made changes in the past, but they really wanted to put the screws to me.

I think I know your mistake....trying to get your $15 back.

You should have stood in line with your friend, scanned your boarding pass and then exclaimed to the gate agent that you forgot something at Pappadeaux's.

Frontier now thinks you're on the plane, but you're not. You're headed home without cancelling.

Pre-flight, the stewardesses are off by a count of 1 (you). They then remember that someone forgot their bag and decide to depart anyway.

 

[Shepdogg]

Maybe I shouldn’t have cancelled and just no-showed, but I thought it was the ethical thing to do. Ethics went out the window with the $150 cancellation fee though. Makes me not want to meet people for layovers anymore.

 

[WVilleLion]

30 min layover. How many beers did you all pound in that short of a time?

 

[Shepdogg]

30 min layover. How many beers did you all pound in that short of a time?

Haha, I grabbed a beer waiting for his flight to come in, we grabbed two a piece and split one while his flight was boarding. I wanted him to miss that flight and take a later one, but he said the government is pretty persnickety about changes.

 

[barry j fenchak]

Maybe I shouldn’t have cancelled and just no-showed, but I thought it was the ethical thing to do. Ethics went out the window with the $150 cancellation fee though. Makes me not want to meet people for layovers anymore.

There is no legal obligation on you to use that $15 ticket. Consider it the price of admission to the concourse. That is a cheap deal to meet traveling friends for layovers.

 

[Midnighter]

Yeah, needed the ticket to get through security. Thought I had the world by the balls and it would be easy peasy, but it was anything but. Tied up most of my afternoon. I would have been fine paying the $150 if it came to it, but thought Icwould buck the system. I have made changes in the past, but they really wanted to put the screws to me.

Ok - what happens if you just don’t use the ticket?

 

[1995PSUGrad]

I will start by saying that I get extremely stressed at the airport, so I would never schedule a flight with only a 30 minute layover--my minimum is 1 hour, but I prefer more time that than. However, that has nothing to do with my question. If the layover is only 30 minutes, aren't they already boarding the flight? I had a layover in Paris this morning an we started boarding at 2:05 for a 3:15 flight.

 

[op2]

Two things in this don't make sense to me.

One is, how can you get a plane ticket for $15? The flight was from Charlotte to where? Even if it is to whatever airport is closest to Charlotte it's an incredibly cheap flight.

Secondly, you paid $15 to get on the concourse and then tried to get a refund afterwards? Why not just go home? It's not worth the time for a measly $15. You have two beers at the airport and airport beer is probably $15 a pop. Parking for an hour or two was probably $15-$25.

Also, as I recall, Charlotte airport is big and spread out. A 30 minute layover is short enough but in a place like Charlotte where your connection could be far away, your friend must be a real optimist to schedule a meeting for a beer during those 30 minutes.

 

[Shepdogg]

Two things in this don't make sense to me.

One is, how can you get a plane ticket for $15? The flight was from Charlotte to where? Even if it is to whatever airport is closest to Charlotte it's an incredibly cheap flight.

Secondly, you paid $15 to get on the concourse and then tried to get a refund afterwards? Why not just go home? It's not worth the time for a measly $15. You have two beers at the airport and airport beer is probably $15 a pop. Parking for an hour or two was probably $15-$25.

Also, as I recall, Charlotte airport is big and spread out. A 30 minute layover is short enough but in a place like Charlotte where your connection could be far away, your friend must be a real optimist to schedule a meeting for a beer during those 30 minutes.

K, valid points. The way I got the $15 ticket is because I did the Frontier Airlines Go Wild program last September where you pay $299 up front and the you fly as much as you want for .01 per flight until April 2927, but you pay the taxes which are about $15 in most airports on the east coast. It is one way and you can book available flight that pop up at 12:00 AM the day before you want to travel, so it is kind of like a buddy pass to fill seats. Charlotte has a daily flight to Philadelphia every day and vice versa. You have to be flexible, sine I work from home, It really does not matter when my flight is. I also got the Barclays card that gives me gold status so I can pick my seat, board first and have free carry on.

My buddy is a government contractor flying in from Fayetteville annd they did not have a direct flight to Maryland and they purchased the ticket for him. I think it was about an hour between flights with 30 minutes of boarding. Time was short because he arrived at gate E, and then we had to hoof it to A, so we really only had about 20 minutes.
It was a short visit, but it was great to see him since I had not seen him in quite a while. I did have to pay for hourly parking, and the $70 bar tab, which was expected, but I thought I would cancel my ticket since I had gone through security and was not making my flight. That was a mistake because I thought at worst I would eat the $15, at best they would credit my account (which is what ultimately happened) but Frontier hit me with the $149 cancellation fee, which I guess is their normal fee for a regular price ticket. I now know not to cancel, and just no show if this happens again.

 

[Lil Nicky Scarfo]

I would have eaten the $15 to avoid the hassle of dealing with a refund.

No doubt. Time = money.

 

[s1uggo72]

Haha, I grabbed a beer waiting for his flight to come in, we grabbed two a piece and split one while his flight was boarding. I wanted him to miss that flight and take a later one, but he said the government is pretty persnickety about changes.

Sounds like $200 in beers

 

[JoeLion]

Did you try to get a gate pass? I’m wondering if they are still available. I used them in the past, no fee was ever charged.

 

[Nittany1997]

Tough situation to be sure.

 

[Lion84]

30 minute layover the next flight was probable already boarding when he landed. Never flown Frontier but seems like the new Spirit.

 

[AvalonJohn]

Your first mistake was flying Frontier. There are some airlines you just don't fly, even if free. Additionally, you have to read the fine print especially with the discount airlines. Usually, the cheaper the ticket the more restriction and fees charged if you cancel or don't go by the guidelines.

 

[olelion]

I have a buddy that called me last night and told me he had. 30 minute layover in Charlotte. I told him I could meet him in the terminal so we could grab a couple beers. I have the Fromtier go wild pass, so I purchased one way ticket for $15 and met him in the terminal and we had our beers and when I went to cancel the ticket, they charged me $150 cancellation fee (I selected the furthest back middle seat). I thought at most I would be out $15, so I had to go through 3,levels of management and then had to tell them I was an attorney and a Dr, note violated HIPAA laws. I know it sounds stupid, but she fell for it and waived the fee. It was not easy though, and I wondered why such a high cancellation fee on a $15 ticket. You may say they could have sold that seat, and you would be correct, but I purchased it and it was mine to use or not use. I am sure I was in the wrong, but just wanted to vent on a bye week. I miss Papadwaux’s seafood kitchen…

Ah! The airline industry is almost unique in the way they beat the **** out of their customers. They've been doing it for years and hide it by selling their "on time performance".