US Airways is charging a $5 extra fee if you book on its own site. Yes, on the USairways.com site. [Upgrade Travel Better]
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Sounds bad until you realize that on the phone they charge $20 or in person they charge $50.
@JKinNYC: So no matter which way you buy the ticket, there’s automatically a fee? I don’t get the concept behind something like this – it’s like Ticketmaster. Buy it over the phone or online, you pay them a “convenience fee.” Buy it at the box office, you pay a “facilities fee.” Why not just roll the cheapest fee into the cost of the ticket, make that one “fee free,” and then reduce the fee by the rolled-in amount on the higher one? How does this benefit the company by always presenting tacked on fees to the consumer?
@youbastid: This is so this will occur:
“How much is the ticket?”
“$38.”
“Okay, I’ll buy one.”
“Thank you. That’ll be $43+tax.”
Cell phone companies do something similar with their monthly fees too.
Plus, this way, U.S. Airways’ ticket prices will appear lower than the competition — at least until the customer went through picking out seats, selecting payment options, etc. The theory is that, by that time, you’re no longer comparing their price against a competitor’s, and will most likely pay for the ticket you’ve almost bought…
I have initiated a post reading fee. You now owe me $5.00
@youbastid: I was joking. I have never flown US Air, and I have no clue.
I just booked a USAir ticket for my kid sister and looked on my email receipt. One-way fare for $115.35 plus $23.05 for “Taxes and Fees”. It’s not broken down for me. But I’m not surprised.
Don’t super low cost airlines do this, too? A friend of mine flew recently on Allegiant Air and I believe they were charge a fee for buying it online, a fee for luggage, a fee if you wanted a reserved seat, etc, etc. Maybe they are moving towards that (but still retain their high ticket prices).
It should be the other way around! It saves them money for us to order online.
I think a “fee” should only apply to optional things. In this case, buying online is optional, but when something is lumped on such as “taxes + fees” then there is a problem. When I buy something, such as an airline ticket, it is so I can get from point a to point b. If I am doing nothing beyond just walking onto the plane, taking off, and landing, why should there be any charges on top of the flight itself? If there IS anything additional, it should be absorbed in the cost of operations.
When I am at a diner, I don’t have a “silverware rental fee” or “lighting fee”. Anything manditory for a complete service should be all part of one charge.
This really needs to be address on a state/nationwide level. Adding fees is a way to get around false advertising with respect to published prices. Taxes are one thing you could expect to be added on. Not “fees”.
McDonalds doesn’t charge a bun “fee” when you order a happy meal.
I flew UsAir on Tuesday (Houston to Charleston, SC) and during this trip I encountered the following.
• The freaking flight attendant duiring the flight aggressively pitching the USAir branded credit card with an accompanying annoying sales pitch from his colleague over the intercom.
• A Verizon add placed on the seat back tray
• At least (4) sets of people aggressively pitching the credit card in the Charlotte hub (I maybe walked by 20 gates between two concourses) and offering the awesome gift of what appeared to be a $1.99 stuffed bear.
My guess is if I offered the pilot $10 he would have sold me his hat.
@JKinNYC: It’s probably close to true though…
US Airways: Always Inventing New Reasons to Hate Us.
Seriously, this is stupid. They used to offer INCENTIVES for booking online, because it’s the cheapest way for the airline to handle your purchase. US Airways is clearly already loathed by almost everyone who travels. Way to make it easier for everyone else.
So basically there is a fee for booking a US Airways ticket via any method. Good for them. I hope that works out for them.
Another reason I will not to fly US Airways.
I hate fee’s. They’re really just a way to publish a reduced price without actually reducing the cost. Personally, I think all fee’s should be ILLEGAL unless there’s a way to obtain the item or service WITHOUT a fee. If there’s ALWAYS some consistent fee regardless of the resale channel, it should be added to the base cost of the item .
Truly laughable. I’m sure glad I don’t need US Airways for anything.