Airlines used to have to be nice to their customers, but that all changed after September 11, 2001, when they became martyrs. No other industry is as coddled by federal governments. They can pretty much do anything they want to you, and if you dare even raise your voice a notch, you could find yourself thrown to the ground and handcuffed by a bunch of burly guys! One of the prime directives of today’s airline companies is to take as much of your money as possible and above all else, never, ever issue a refund! Here are a few of their favorite tricks…


The Voucher trick:

As we mentioned before, airlines don’t like to return your money. Even if a ticket is non-refundable, there are situations where the airline is at fault and you’re owed money. If you can get them to pay that is! Their favorite trick to not return any of your money is to issue vouchers instead. Typically, these are vouchers that you can use against future flights you book with that airline, but it could also be for severely overpriced airport food. The problem with vouchers is that they’re non-transferable and have an expiration date, usually a year from the time it’s printed. If you’re not a frequent traveler or won’t be using that airline within a year, your voucher is worthless.

Getting a refund at the ticketing counter just isn’t going to happen, but if you’re persistent and extremely patient, you could eventually see your funds returned on your credit or debit card (if you used cash to buy your ticket, pray hard!) If it’s a situation where you have to cancel your trip because of a death in the family, or you’ve fallen ill, you’ll pretty much have to accept the vouchers they offer you, since this is a situation where the airline has all the discretion. However, if your flight was canceled or the fare got cheaper since you bought your ticket, most airlines will still resist ferociously before giving you anything else than vouchers, even though you’re fully entitled to a refund.

The amount of money airlines are saving this way surely amounts to millions of dollars a year!


The Baggage Trick:

First the airlines started limiting the weight of the luggage you checked, charging you exorbitant fees for every pound above the limit. Then they just started charging for any luggage you check on domestic flights, and sometimes even on international flights. Of course, they’re airlines, so all the extra fees are non-refundable. Where it crosses the line that never should be crossed is when they impose a charge you for your carry-on luggage. Who on earth is going to travel with no bag at all? Spirit airlines, for example, will hit you for 25 dollars each way for your checked bag, and 30 dollars for your carry-on (both fees are higher if you pay at the airport). Add-up all the extra fees and your real cost of flying the discount airline may actually exceed that of the full service one! Industry insiders worry that as happened with fees for checked bags, other airlines will follow Spirit’s lead and also begin charging for carry-on luggage. US senator Chuck Schumer is fighting to have carry-on fees made illegal. Several major airlines have given assurances that they don’t plan to follow suit.

Note that if you travel abroad and your itinerary includes one or more domestic connections, you’ll avoid paying the baggage fees on the local portion if you purchase the whole trajectory from one airline.


The return ticket trick:

Some airlines still force you to buy a return ticket even if you’re only going one way, simply by making the one way ticket more expensive than the return one. Since you won’t use the return portion of your ticket, it’s a seat they can sell to any latecomer, and even if nobody takes your seat, it’s still saves them fuel and frills like meals, if any. Rack-up tens of thousands of unused return tickets in a given year and it’s a pretty big amount of cash!


Personally, I can’t think of any other business where they can steal your money so consistently and with total impunity!

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