Air ticket price protection?

[Flame_lily]

I was quite thrilled to book my March break tickets to Florida for $368/person. Day later tickets went on sale for $50 less/person = $150 wasted. Does anyone one if there's any price protection? This was with NWA and the tickets themselves are non-refundable.

[gman]

I don't think so. If you wait for one more day, you may not get your tickets at all.

[HighFlyer]

Depends on the airline. Some will refund you the difference in the form of an MCO (credit voucher), some will refund to your CC. AC is one airline that does not refund the difference on non-ref tickets.

Also, some airlines have a policy where they will cancel and refund your ticket if you purchased it on line in the last 24 hrs.

I have had fares go up the minute after I had booked mine, so in the end.... you win some, you lose some.

[PC-stuff]

I was quite thrilled to book my March break tickets to Florida for $368/person. Day later tickets went on sale for $50 less/person = $150 wasted. Does anyone one if there's any price protection? This was with NWA and the tickets themselves are non-refundable.

What does NWA say?

[Flame_lily]

NWA = Northwest Airlines (KLM & others)

Their Best Price Policy
"When it comes to finding the best Northwest Airlines' fare online, you can count on nwa.com. If you find a lower fare online for the same flight, itinerary and cabin that's at least $10.00 lower on the same day after you purchase your nwa.com ticket, file a claim and we'll refund the difference and give you an Electronic Credit Voucher (ECV) for future travel in the amount of $100.00 USD for each eligible ticket."

So even though I found it on the same day, I didn't submit a claim. May have to suck it up. The RFDer in me is mourning.

[Daphne]

I was in a similar scenario about a year ago, where I booked a flight online (non-refundable tkt) with AC, and the price dropped $150 the next day. I called AC and explained my situation, and the CSR mentioned that if the tkt was booked within 24 hrs, they can refund the tkt. The CSR was nice enough to hold while I rebooked the flight online at the lower price before she cancelled my original transaction and processed my refund to ensure I have a seat.
It is best to call NWA and see what they can do for you. Good luck.

[Flame_lily]

Thanks! That's reassuring. Will give that a try.

[Flame_lily]

No luck here. Called NWA. They say it has to be on the same day, even though they can confirm that the New Year sale was within 24 hrs of my booking. She was going to try re-booking, charging me the change fee & refunding me the difference if any. No bookings available. Oh well, lesson learnt.

[jerryhung]

Nope

Received this mail from Air Canada on my request to get back ~$100 difference for my $400 flight to Florida.
Honestly, why bother even

Dear Sir:
We have your request to match a fare you saw one week after booking.
We do not match fares if a cheaper fare becomes available.

We regret to deny your claim.
Colleen Tomlinson
Air Canada Refund Services

[pitz]

$368 for a roundtrip flight from Canada to Florida, and you're complaining you didn't squeeze another $50 out of them?!?

Do the math...Florida is at least 1000 miles away Ontario/Quebec. Reasonably modern airplanes get ~40 seat miles to the gallon. A gallon of jet fuel is pushing $2.70 tonight. So more than $135 in fuel alone to operate the flight roundtrip.

And then there's the payments on the $50 million dollar airplane to pay, the mechanics to pay, the pilots and flight attendants to pay, etc. Navcan charges, FAA charges, US Customs/Canadian Customs. Terminal rents and landing fees. Worldperks points. Non-revenue travel for the employees. Plus somewhere along the line, the people who put up all the capital to start the airline deserve some return on their investment.

Consider it a miracle that your ticket was 'only' $368, and don't you dare complain. When the supply of fools who are willing to invest their hard earned money into wealth-destroying airlines runs out, kiss your cheap, safe, and reliable air travel goodbye.

[Flame_lily]

$368 for a roundtrip flight from Canada to Florida, and you're complaining you didn't squeeze another $50 out of them?!?

Do the math...Florida is at least 1000 miles away Ontario/Quebec. Reasonably modern airplanes get ~40 seat miles to the gallon. A gallon of jet fuel is pushing $2.70 tonight. So more than $135 in fuel alone to operate the flight roundtrip.

And then there's the payments on the $50 million dollar airplane to pay, the mechanics to pay, the pilots and flight attendants to pay, etc. Navcan charges, FAA charges, US Customs/Canadian Customs. Terminal rents and landing fees. Worldperks points. Non-revenue travel for the employees. Plus somewhere along the line, the people who put up all the capital to start the airline deserve some return on their investment.

Consider it a miracle that your ticket was 'only' $368, and don't you dare complain. When the supply of fools who are willing to invest their hard earned money into wealth-destroying airlines runs out, kiss your cheap, safe, and reliable air travel goodbye.

lol..
I kinda see you point. I flew to Timmins from Ottawa & paid $500+/person. Traveled in a 15-seater tincan. Aweful experience. (Still have to fly back). So $368 Florida roundtrip I can live with.

[dinfinity]

I don't see asking refund for something you plan ahead should be ripped off for granted. This is what I see wrong.....I can understand Pits point of us complaining when we've already got a very cheap ticket. (Their money aren't the only money that's hard earned~) Think of this way....if it was so cheap, how would they be able to drop the price even more? Just trying to get rid of the remaining seats? I do not agree with this. If someone plans things ahead and buys their ticket way ahead, this not only guarantees the airline that they've gotten their tickets sold and they've got their money in the pocket. Why should these nice customers suffer being rip off by the airline? So obviously they're trying to take the maximum advantage on their passengers, if they can rip off as much from the people who book early, they'd love to do it. So if you plan things early and help them make sure they have their tickets sold at high profit price....you're the sucker. If you are a last minuter and couldn't get a ticket you want and have to book higher classes with higher prices.....you're a sucker too~no matter what they wins~

[MrIcu]

Just and FYI,

Both NWA and Travelocity.ca have the following policy on refunds or exchanges (from my own experience in the past 3 months):

Both companies with allow you to give you a credit for any cancellation or refund if a lower price is found provided that you call them within 24 hours or within the same day (whichever comes first ).

This pretty much means you have until 11:59pm on the day you purchase your tickets to claim a partial refund or cancellation regardless of what time you booked your tickets with these companies.

[rpeatt]

Anyone look into Credit Card price protection on this?

[Mother of Three]

There's no protection on this. In fact, if you booked and the prices go UP due to circumstances other than ticket price, they can charge you the difference. Case in point : Trip to Thailand from Hong Kong in August 2008. 13 of us going, last minute airline fuel surcharge (I don't know what that means), we ended up having to pay an extra $1500HKD ($230CDN) for the 13 of us after we paid everything in FULL already. Not bad, but unexpected.