Jet Blue is pissing me off

[drjeff]

Continuing saga of our attempt to get to Utah for February break. In August Delta cancelled our direct return flight from SLC to Boston that I had booked in May, sending us via JFK. This weekend that flight was also cancelled and we are now routed Salt Lake to Los Angeles to JKF to Boston. By this stage I am ready to give up on the whole trip but the outbound flight with Jet Blue as well as the 50% deposit on the condo at the Canyons is non refundable. They refused to move us to another direct Delta flight as there were only full economy seats left and I had booked basic (still a lot for a family of 4). So I got mad and cancelled the return flight.

So now we are walking back from Utah to Boston......

The costs and crazines are certainly there!

Just booked a trip down to Florida for my kids April break. Tickets on Southwest, which used to be say $400 or so per person round trip for the same Providence to Orlando or Tampa that we're doing, were roughly $1000 per person round trip. Add into the cost of hotels at Disney and Universal for a few days (the reality for my wife and I with our oldest off to college next Fall is that this may very well be the last real family vacation that the 4 of us have together, so we're going a bit overboard, and what both parks are getting for tickets, and its absolutely crazy what this trip is going to cost compared to similar past trips.

I get that there are about 1001 reasons why costs of most everything have gone up lately. I also wonder when the ceiling is going to be reached and then we will start to see prces return a bit more towards levels that we're used to - Again I get that there are about 1001 things that have to happen for that to occur as well

 

[jimmywilson69]

$1000/person round trip in April on Southwest? are you buying business select?

I know for my son's roundtrip from Tampa to Baltimore at Thanksgiving it was a little shy of $600. I burned 40k points as opposed to spending the cash.

I have the SW credit card and can pay for my sons college with no added fee. so We've been rolling with the Companion Pass for 2 years now. so when I fly someone flys for free with me. even if I use points. Which I typically horde...

 

[2planks2coasts]

Sorry to hear this, but a perfect example of why you should never book a BASIC fare on ANY airline. They bit you with it, but you are treated like stowage class was during the oceanliner era. They don't care and don't give you great service when things go bad. Also, booking 9 months out is a sure way to have plans unravel. They shouldn't allow you to book that far out.
Not sure on JetBlue cancels, but I bet BlueBasic doesn't get the same as a Blue fare or higher.

Yeah. Basic fares don't usually end up being the deal they appear to be. If it's an airline you have status on, they can be ok, since you typically keep your baggage/ seat selection/ lounge perks. Otherwise, you're at the back of the Airbus.

 

[abc]

Sorry to hear this, but a perfect example of why you should never book a BASIC fare on ANY airline. They bit you with it, but you are treated like stowage class was during the oceanliner era.

Frankly, I don't care if I'm treated like stowage class! As long as the price is right, I'll be flying in the same plane (or ship, as in the example of ocean liner era). But unlike in the ocean liner era, I'm only in the plane for a few hours, not weeks! And unlike an ocean liner travel, which the "journey" is itself part of the enjoyment (to rub elbows with your own class in the "right" dining room), a plane ride is just a means to get from point A to point B.

So no, I don't pay extra for the "privilege" in first/business class. Unless my company is paying, that is.

They don't care and don't give you great service when things go bad. Also, booking 9 months out is a sure way to have plans unravel. They shouldn't allow you to book that far out.
Not sure on JetBlue cancels, but I bet BlueBasic doesn't get the same as a Blue fare or higher.

The lack of rebooking priority is more a risk management premium.

By booking 9 months ahead, you take your risk with the low fare. Or pay the risk premium at a higher tier.

Nothing to do with being "stowage". You get the same drink and overpriced sandwiches with others in the same cabin.

 

[abc]

Yeah. Basic fares don't usually end up being the deal they appear to be.

Actually, I consider the deal as exactly "they appear to be". It's just I know what I'm buying into, no more, no less. Perhaps not what some people think it is.

Otherwise, you're at the back of the Airbus.

Which is exactly the deal!

If you don't want to be in the back of the plane for a few hours. Pay up to be up front.

 

[Boxtop Willie]

To echo what Machski said, booking way out (6-9 months) is almost a guarantee that the airline will muck around with your itinerary. Also, it's no guarantee that you'll get the best price. The yield management algorithms are getting increasingly sophisticated. I'm seeing many instances where the the price 6 months out is on the high side, as if the algorithm is testing the high-end to gauge demand and see who bites. Then the price declines over time to find the sweet spot. In my experience (I book 100-130 flights a year, both domestic and International) the best prices are found 50-60 days out. Just my $0.02.

 

[Smellytele]

Steerage not stowage

 

[2planks2coasts]

Frankly, I don't care if I'm treated like stowage class! As long as the price is right, I'll be flying in the same plane (or ship, as in the example of ocean liner era)..................

Nothing to do with being "stowage". You get the same drink and overpriced sandwiches with others in the same cabin.

Sort of. United doesn't even let basic fare passengers bring a full size carry on. In the event of an oversold situation where they don't have enough volunteers (uncommon, but I saw it happen on Monday) basic fares are gonna get bumped first. You're also pretty likely to be enjoying that sandwich seated apart from your traveling group. You obviously seem to understand all the various restrictions and deem them worthwhile for the cheap fare. I get it. I LOVE scoring cheap fares (flew MAD-BOS last friday for $158 all in!), but they are often listed in a way (particularly on third party booking sites) that doesn't make such restrictions and extra costs clear.

To echo what Machski said, booking way out (6-9 months) is almost a guarantee that the airline will muck around with your itinerary. Also, it's no guarantee that you'll get the best price. The yield management algorithms are getting increasingly sophisticated. I'm seeing many instances where the the price 6 months out is on the high side, as if the algorithm is testing the high-end to gauge demand and see who bites. Then the price declines over time to find the sweet spot. In my experience (I book 100-130 flights a year, both domestic and International) the best prices are found 50-60 days out. Just my $0.02.

In the airlines defense, this is probably the most volatile travel market in history. Predicting not only travel demand, but their own capacity to operate a schedule more than a few weeks out practically requires a crystal ball right now.

 

[drjeff]

$1000/person round trip in April on Southwest? are you buying business select?

I know for my son's roundtrip from Tampa to Baltimore at Thanksgiving it was a little shy of $600. I burned 40k points as opposed to spending the cash.

I have the SW credit card and can pay for my sons college with no added fee. so We've been rolling with the Companion Pass for 2 years now. so when I fly someone flys for free with me. even if I use points. Which I typically horde...

Not quite sure which SW fair class my wife booked. Pretty much all I heard from her is that at the time of booking atleast, we had only direct flights, at travel times that she wanted, she booked them, and they are refundable.

Traveling around Easter Weekend, as well as a time when so many schools in the Northeast have their spring breaks, certainly kicked the supply/demand side of the equation to an even higher level of the demand side right now.

Plus, for certainty of things, my wife is the type of person where she wants to have everything taken care of as far in advance as possible, so she doen't have to worry about it later. Heck, just yesterday Disney rolled out their new Genie ticketing reservation system, and apparently she already made our park reservations 6 months in advance!

 

[jimmywilson69]

ok if its around Easter I can see that. Also if they are refundable they likely aren't the lowest tier.

 

[drjeff]

ok if its around Easter I can see that. Also if they are refundable they likely aren't the lowest tier.

I do remember her saying that there was absolutely nothing available with their "want to get away" lowest tier prices.

Fingers crossed that in the next 6 months they can get some more planes in the air flying more routes than they currently area and kick the supply and demand curve a bit towards the excess supply side and re-book at a lower rate!!

 

[thetrailboss]

I do remember her saying that there was absolutely nothing available with their "want to get away" lowest tier prices.

Fingers crossed that in the next 6 months they can get some more planes in the air flying more routes than they currently area and kick the supply and demand curve a bit towards the excess supply side and re-book at a lower rate!!

Yeah, agreed. It seems between the staffing issues and people being asshats on flights that travel has gotten really weird. It is too bad but this is why we can't have nice things.

I also see that SWA is walking back its vaccine mandate...at least partially. I am so surprised to see that they are really having as many issues as they are. I think it shows that they have gotten too big. As Herb used to say, "think and act small and we'll get bigger. Think and act big and we will get smaller." It certainly seems that they are in the latter lately.

 

[Kingslug20]

Basic fair...class 5 seating..last on the plane..last row...

 

[jimmywilson69]

I fly SW exclusively and its fine. this will be my 4th time this year. Sure they had a hiccup 2 weekends ago for whatever reason. Its just like everything else the supply chain is stressed. If they get a crew that tests positive that can throw the entire operation out of whack. Their planes just don't do loops back and forth between cities. I've tracked my incoming plan on flightaware many times and it usually hits at least 3 cities before it picks me up. my plane today is going from CT to Raliegh to BWI to Raliegh to BWI to Tampa.

I agree though, people need to stop acting like such assholes. Those that do need to be thrown in jail and prosecuted to the letter of the law. Flying is a privilege not a right.

 

[thetrailboss]

I fly SW exclusively and its fine. this will be my 4th time this year. Sure they had a hiccup 2 weekends ago for whatever reason. Its just like everything else the supply chain is stressed. If they get a crew that tests positive that can throw the entire operation out of whack. Their planes just don't do loops back and forth between cities. I've tracked my incoming plan on flightaware many times and it usually hits at least 3 cities before it picks me up. my plane today is going from CT to Raliegh to BWI to Raliegh to BWI to Tampa.

I agree though, people need to stop acting like such assholes. Those that do need to be thrown in jail and prosecuted to the letter of the law. Flying is a privilege not a right.

I, too, love using Flightaware and other apps to track my plane and where it came from and goes for fun. You are right that SWA's flight routes are pretty interesting.

 

[VTKilarney]

Demand for leisure travel to Florida is through the roof. This is because it's the one warm weather destination that people are confident will stay open and remain easily accessible.

I know someone who tried to book a small business convention in Florida and the first seventeen hotels he called wouldn't even talk to him. The don't want to offer convention rates when they are booked to the gills with leisure travelers willing to pay top dollar.

 

[jimmywilson69]

and rental cars...

I for the 3rd time this year rented at an offsite location. Saving myself hundreds of dollars.

 

[Kingslug20]

Rental car prices are through the roof. I paid 400 for a thursday to Monday in SC..if I kept it past 10am Monday it would go up to $1000.00.

 

[crystalmountainskier]

Sort of. United doesn't even let basic fare passengers bring a full size carry on. In the event of an oversold situation where they don't have enough volunteers (uncommon, but I saw it happen on Monday) basic fares are gonna get bumped first.

Uncommon is an understatement. United's involuntarily bump rate is less than 1 in 100,000 passengers. They virtually eliminated the bump after the Dr. Dao fiasco by paying people up to $10,000 not to board voluntarily. Delta routinely goes months without a single denied boarding, Basic Economy or otherwise.

At Delta, The Dreaded IDB Is Now A Thing Of The Past

In the second quarter, Delta Air Lines did not have a single involuntary denied boarding, meaning no passenger was forced off a flight due to overbooking.

www.forbes.com

I fly Delta Basic all the time and it's not bad at all. Same baggage rules as Main Cabin and you get whatever seats are left. Some of the time that is Comfort+ if not enough people paid to upgrade. You arrive the same time as everyone else on the plane and save money.

 

[chuckstah]

I paid about $60 round trip Boston to Orlando on a recent trip. Delta basic, free bag, good seats. Planning a January trip now. Looks like about $72 R/T on Spirit or Frontier, about $100 on Delta. I'll probably go with Delta again for the better experience, and free bag. . I don't remember ever paying more than a couple hundred R/T to Florida. 1K ? Not happening.