Sensible traveler Destinations Where they went Travel gear Student travel
E-tickets ousting paper, like it or not
Some customers feels sorely tried
By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 09/15/02
|
|
||
|
Sensible traveler Destinations Where they went Travel gear Student travel |
||
The couple has been burned twice: once, when the record of Paul's seat assignment was missing and he had to fly standby, and a second time, this month, when Dorothy's sister was left stranded by her electronic ticket.
Paul and Dorothy purchased a round-trip ticket from Tampa, Fla., to Boston on Midway Airlines for Dorothy's sister, Esther. Esther flew to Boston in July, but when she called to confirm her return flight on Sept. 5, she learned that Midway was no longer flying. None of them had seen news reports about the halt to Midway's operations on July 17 (the Globe ran a story on Midway's problems inside its Business section two days later), nor had the airline contacted them by phone or e-mail.
They learned that US Airways, itself in bankruptcy protection, would honor the Midway tickets since Midway is planning to become a regional affiliate of US Airways, flying between North Carolina and Boston, New York, and Washington.
But first the electronic Midway ticket had to be converted into a paper Midway ticket before it could be converted to a US Airways ticket. Unfortunately, Midway had already closed its airport counters, and converting the tickets via mail or even e-mail would have taken too long.
Esther ended up flying home as scheduled, but on Air Tran. The one-way ticket cost $209, which was $20 more than she had paid for her round-trip Midway ticket.
Cass said he avoids electronic tickets whenever he can, but he used one in this case because the ticket was being used by his sister-in-law and he didn't want to take the risk of sending a paper ticket through the mail.
"I didn't think it would be much of a problem, but I was wrong," he said, vowing to stick with paper tickets in the future.
That may be difficult. Airlines are making it harder and harder to buy a paper ticket, largely because they save more than $5 each time they issue an electronic ticket. Eighty percent of all airline tickets are electronic now and the percentage is likely to increase.
Most airlines charge a premium of $20 to $25 for paper, and some, including American and United, are phasing it out entirely.
The airlines say they are merely playing catch-up with other industries. Travelers don't need a ticket to book a hotel room or reserve a rental car, so why should they need one to fly?
Unfortunately, sometimes they do. When a flight is canceled, many big airlines shift passengers to the next available flight, even if it's on another carrier. But to make the shift, the passenger often needs a paper ticket, which can mean a long wait in line. Airlines are trying to make electronic transfers seamless, but the system isn't foolproof yet.
US Airways, for example, doesn't have any agreements with other airlines allowing passengers with electronic tickets to move back and forth. A paper ticket is still required to make the shift.
David Castleveter, a spokesman for US Airways, said that despite the occasional glitches an electronic ticket is the best way to go. He said shelling out the extra money for a paper ticket ($25 at US Airways) is the equivalent of throwing your money away.
Castleveter said the glitches are few and far between and only a temporary inconvenience as the industry makes the transition to full electronic ticketing. He promised to have a US Airways representative contact Cass to see what can be done.
Cass, however, is still not convinced electronic tickets are an improvement. "You say that my experience was the exception to the rule, but not to me it wasn't," he said. "All things being equal, a check is equal to cash but people still like to have dollars in hand. Tickets are the same way."
hdbriefAir traffic down
el.2l
if12xr
In July, the three airports serving Greater Boston continued to see fewer passengers, although Manchester (N.H.) Airport remains slightly ahead of last year's pace.
Boston's Logan Airport was off 14.1 percent for July and 15.9 percent for the first seven months. Manchester was off 3.04 percent for July, but remains 1.55 percent ahead of last year's pace. T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., was off 9.6 percent in July and down 6.62 percent for the year.
Green also raised its parking rates in July. The daily short-term garage rate jumped from $17 to $19, the long-term lot from $12 to $13, and the weekly rate from $48 to $56.
hdbriefDelta reaches out
el.2l
if12xr
Asking its customers for their advice on service, Delta Airlines recently launched an online survey program targeted at frequent fliers.
Delta officials say nothing specific prompted the program, but the goal is to learn what customers like and dislike. "It's a tool we will use to develop customer-driven products and services," said Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes.
The company had no problem persuading customers to sign up for the advisory panel. Offering 250 to 1,000 bonus SkyMiles for each completed survey, Delta attracted more than 16,000 panelists in just a few hours. Only SkyMiles members in Delta's e-mail program received invitations.
rrBruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.