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#1
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Companion fares - United - Question?
Hi,
I have a question about the pricing on companion fares on United. My father recently died & I had to fly to the funeral and was not prepared for the price of the flight (note: He died on a Tuesday & the funeral was on a Friday). After searching around for plane tickets for myself & my partner, I found the prices to be incredibly high (even including a bereavement discount). My partner called a 'friend' of ours who works for United & he said he could get us tickets at a severe discount using his companion tickets/coupons. He told us that it would be around $300 "or maybe even less" for 2 roundtrip tickets from San Francisco to Chicago but he would not know the exact price until United deducted it from his paycheck. This was considerably lower than the lowest price I could find which was on Frontier. I think you can figure out what is coming next! He called 2 days ago and said the total was $500 (exactly) which is much more than what he had told us it would be (more than 65% more than what he approximated). We asked him if this could be a mistake & had him check with payroll and he came back and said it was correct. ** My question ** Does anyone working for United know if this is an appropriate price ($500) for 2 roundtrip tickets departing on a Thursday night & returning on a Sunday night? As to the Ms. Manners aspect of this situation, we will be paying him the full amount whether we can afford it or not. And, no, his friendship is not worth the $200 more that it will cost us. (He has a history of 'flake-y' behavior.) Thanks for any help with my question. Signed, Keith, the reluctant-bitter traveller Also: When did you United stop serving free meals on flights? Their flight schedule from their website said there would be a meal yet there was no announcement or signage that the passengers would have to pay for this meal. (It has been a long time since I've flown United.) |
#2
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Companion fares - United - Question?
You haven't flown more than just United in a long time.
All domestic airlines stopped serving meals after 9/11. Some, including American, Continental, and United, served snacks (i.e., "Bistro Bags") on longer flights, but even this has now been curtailed. Instead, America West, ATA, Delta, Northwest, United, and US Airways are now selling meals for $8-$10 on SELECT flights. The food is better than before, but fee meals are a thing of the past. The main reason is that by eliminating the meals, they can eliminate one crew member, so the cost savings to the airlines is obvious. $250 for a last-minute fare between SFO and ORD is an unbelievable deal. Your friend did you a real favor. That is a 4 hour flight in each direction, or about 1,800 miles. Full fare on UA would be much more; even the bereavement fare would probably be in the $700-$800 range. Thank your friend and pay him. Jeff (in Dallas) "Keith Bisaillon" wrote in message ... Hi, I have a question about the pricing on companion fares on United. My father recently died & I had to fly to the funeral and was not prepared for the price of the flight (note: He died on a Tuesday & the funeral was on a Friday). After searching around for plane tickets for myself & my partner, I found the prices to be incredibly high (even including a bereavement discount). My partner called a 'friend' of ours who works for United & he said he could get us tickets at a severe discount using his companion tickets/coupons. He told us that it would be around $300 "or maybe even less" for 2 roundtrip tickets from San Francisco to Chicago but he would not know the exact price until United deducted it from his paycheck. This was considerably lower than the lowest price I could find which was on Frontier. I think you can figure out what is coming next! He called 2 days ago and said the total was $500 (exactly) which is much more than what he had told us it would be (more than 65% more than what he approximated). We asked him if this could be a mistake & had him check with payroll and he came back and said it was correct. ** My question ** Does anyone working for United know if this is an appropriate price ($500) for 2 roundtrip tickets departing on a Thursday night & returning on a Sunday night? As to the Ms. Manners aspect of this situation, we will be paying him the full amount whether we can afford it or not. And, no, his friendship is not worth the $200 more that it will cost us. (He has a history of 'flake-y' behavior.) Thanks for any help with my question. Signed, Keith, the reluctant-bitter traveller Also: When did you United stop serving free meals on flights? Their flight schedule from their website said there would be a meal yet there was no announcement or signage that the passengers would have to pay for this meal. (It has been a long time since I've flown United.) |
#3
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Companion fares - United - Question?
Well, actually, I could have flown Frontier for the same price. (and not have been at the bottom of the United standby list) Does anyone know what the typical *companion fare* price (for employees) would be? (not the typical full fare price) It is more the point that he quoted an estimated price that was very far off from the actual price we had to pay & we made decisions based on that estimated price. "Jeff Hacker" wrote in message . .. You haven't flown more than just United in a long time. All domestic airlines stopped serving meals after 9/11. Some, including American, Continental, and United, served snacks (i.e., "Bistro Bags") on longer flights, but even this has now been curtailed. Instead, America West, ATA, Delta, Northwest, United, and US Airways are now selling meals for $8-$10 on SELECT flights. The food is better than before, but fee meals are a thing of the past. The main reason is that by eliminating the meals, they can eliminate one crew member, so the cost savings to the airlines is obvious. $250 for a last-minute fare between SFO and ORD is an unbelievable deal. Your friend did you a real favor. That is a 4 hour flight in each direction, or about 1,800 miles. Full fare on UA would be much more; even the bereavement fare would probably be in the $700-$800 range. Thank your friend and pay him. Jeff (in Dallas) "Keith Bisaillon" wrote in message ... Hi, I have a question about the pricing on companion fares on United. My father recently died & I had to fly to the funeral and was not prepared for the price of the flight (note: He died on a Tuesday & the funeral was on a Friday). After searching around for plane tickets for myself & my partner, I found the prices to be incredibly high (even including a bereavement discount). My partner called a 'friend' of ours who works for United & he said he could get us tickets at a severe discount using his companion tickets/coupons. He told us that it would be around $300 "or maybe even less" for 2 roundtrip tickets from San Francisco to Chicago but he would not know the exact price until United deducted it from his paycheck. This was considerably lower than the lowest price I could find which was on Frontier. I think you can figure out what is coming next! He called 2 days ago and said the total was $500 (exactly) which is much more than what he had told us it would be (more than 65% more than what he approximated). We asked him if this could be a mistake & had him check with payroll and he came back and said it was correct. ** My question ** Does anyone working for United know if this is an appropriate price ($500) for 2 roundtrip tickets departing on a Thursday night & returning on a Sunday night? As to the Ms. Manners aspect of this situation, we will be paying him the full amount whether we can afford it or not. And, no, his friendship is not worth the $200 more that it will cost us. (He has a history of 'flake-y' behavior.) Thanks for any help with my question. Signed, Keith, the reluctant-bitter traveller Also: When did you United stop serving free meals on flights? Their flight schedule from their website said there would be a meal yet there was no announcement or signage that the passengers would have to pay for this meal. (It has been a long time since I've flown United.) |
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Companion fares - United - Question?
Keith Bisaillon wrote: Well, actually, I could have flown Frontier for the same price. (and not have been at the bottom of the United standby list) Does anyone know what the typical *companion fare* price (for employees) would be? (not the typical full fare price) It is more the point that he quoted an estimated price that was very far off from the actual price we had to pay & we made decisions based on that estimated price. Maybe it was the difference of him taking a companion or the "companion" not being accompanied by him. |
#5
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Companion fares - United - Question?
In article , Keith Bisaillon says...
Well, actually, I could have flown Frontier for the same price. (and not have been at the bottom of the United standby list) Does anyone know what the typical *companion fare* price (for employees) would be? (not the typical full fare price) It is more the point that he quoted an estimated price that was very far off from the actual price we had to pay & we made decisions based on that estimated price. What decision?? Whether or not to to to your own father's funeral??!? Or that you could have find some marginally more optimal way of getting there?? Doncha have other concerns on your mind? Look, your friend is tossing a favor your way. I would absolutely not quibble over the $200 difference from his original quoted price. Grievance fares are typically about 1/2 full coach (I just buried my father in Texas last February; I live in New York state), and to give you a good price in comparison he stepped up to give you something he could have used to get another buddy to take a golfing trip or something with him. So he didn't know you could have made some other arrangement for a similar rate. Accept it gratefully, go a coupla hundred in hock if you have to in order to pay him, take in stride that not everything lines up to optimize your advantages and minimize your outlay, and think remeberances about your father. Jees. Banty |
#6
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Companion fares - United - Question?
Nobody has yet to tell me what the typical companion fare is? But I sure do get answer to things I have never asked. "Hilary" wrote in message ... It is more the point that he quoted an estimated price that was very far off from the actual price we had to pay & we made decisions based on that estimated price. It was an *estimate* not a price guarantee. Your friend was doing you a favour, not giving you a precise quotation. Hilary |
#7
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Companion fares - United - Question?
Keith Bisaillon wrote: Nobody has yet to tell me what the typical companion fare is? But I sure do get answer to things I have never asked. You weren't going as a companion. Think about you are asking. You are asking someone to assist you in condemning someone who went out of their way to be helpful. Sure, another carrier had a lower fare... |
#8
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Companion fares - United - Question?
Keith Bisaillon muttered....
Nobody has yet to tell me what the typical companion fare is? But I sure do get answer to things I have never asked. Typical "Companion Fare". There's no such critter. Occasionally, airlines offer a "free" ticket to the "companion" of a purchaser of full or not very discounted tickets. WN frequently runs "Friends Fly Free" promotions in some markets. You posed a "bull****" query and received (for this froup, at least) sensible responses. Too lazy/cheap/simply unwilling to shop for yourself, you reached out for a "something for nearly nothing" deal, and found later it to be not as good as "advertised", just as "deals" so often are. Since you've not mentioned when, where, or how much notice, no one here could point to specific comparable ticket costs, but the price you had to pay was certainly not unreasonable, not far from that which you could have found had you gotten off your lazy butt and looked... TMO |
#9
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Companion fares - United - Question?
In article , Olivers says...
Keith Bisaillon muttered.... Nobody has yet to tell me what the typical companion fare is? But I sure do get answer to things I have never asked. Typical "Companion Fare". There's no such critter. Occasionally, airlines offer a "free" ticket to the "companion" of a purchaser of full or not very discounted tickets. WN frequently runs "Friends Fly Free" promotions in some markets. You posed a "bull****" query and received (for this froup, at least) sensible responses. Too lazy/cheap/simply unwilling to shop for yourself, you reached out for a "something for nearly nothing" deal, and found later it to be not as good as "advertised", just as "deals" so often are. Since you've not mentioned when, where, or how much notice, no one here could point to specific comparable ticket costs, but the price you had to pay was certainly not unreasonable, not far from that which you could have found had you gotten off your lazy butt and looked... TMO Actually he did look and found a fare on Frontier. It's that he thought he could do $200 better based on an estimate from a friend that was doing him a favor, and is still miffed about it. Banty |
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