Many Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines were on their way from their Hawaiian homeport to predeployment leave when their deployment calendar was changed: They’ll deploy one month early to Sangin Province, Afghanistan.
The schedule change impacted travel plans, and the battalion CO wrote a letter to the commercial airlines asking them to consider waiving change and update policies. The response was inconsistent:
We’ve been told that not all the airlines fully complied with the request. A source told us that US Airways waived the $150 change fee but some Marines still had to ante up the extra cost for a late-booked ticket, which amounted to several hundred dollars.
We don’t know how all the airlines handled the changes, but we contacted US Airways and another airline that regularly flies to Hawaii – Delta – about their policies in these circumstances.
“US Airways waives the change fee for new and/or revised military orders,” an airline spokesman said, “but the add/collect does apply,” meaning if you had an earlier, cheaper ticket and the new one costs more, you pay the difference. Nothing by deadline from Delta.
Sangin was the deadliest place for American forces last year.
I loathe spam cans as it is; I now have a perfectly legitimate reason to never fly U.S. Airways.
Well, done, U.S. Airways, well done.
Nothing like dragging the CEOs of the relevant airlines out into the nearest open field and shot won’t fix so as to “encourage les autres.”
Lex — this went round and round last month on a Frequent Flyer forum I frequent. Similar, but slightly different — but not enough to change the fundamental issue.
It is one thing to waive the change fee. Where the real rub is, is what fares are still available? Say someone has a low fare basis — L, U, or T — and the cost is $600. But when they want to change, the only fares available are full Y — now, $2000. But the reason those are still available is because the airline is betting that for business reasons, someone will pay it at the last minute — have to make a meeting, for example. They have OCEANS of data that they use to set the prices at whet is the “clearing price”, at that time. The airlines want the flights to go full, but at the highest possible combination of prices.
The question is, should the airlines give up the potential revenue they expect, to let a Marine “buy” that $2000 ticket for the $600 ticket he has already paid? That is a fair question, and YMMV. But I fly ALOT, and the airlines take pretty good care of our service members — no checked baggage charges, AA and CO lets them board early, I’ve seen service members upgraded to first, etc. I have to think that “taxing” airlines, alone among companies, for changes in deployment schedules, is unfair. How about the services paying the difference? I know some will think that wrong, but it IS equitable.
Again, YMMV – and remember, I am the father of a Marine E3, so don’t think I am insensitive.
You have a good point Scott, and you’re right, in generl the airlines do a pretty good job. Just remember (everyone) that however it’s taken care of, the tax-payer pays in the end–either by taking it out of DODs hide or in the form of lower dividends/salaries, etc., to the airlines stockholders & employees. But this is a philosophical and accounting problem. Cash flow-wise it’s far easier and less time-consuming (administratively speaking–there are no small costs involved here, either) for the airlines to make the adjustment upfront rather than have the elephantine DOD bureaucracy weigh in–even if eventually one wants the DOD to reimburse the airlines for philosophical reasons alone.
Another philosophical take/slant on this is that the ability of the airlines to function (or even exist)in terms of offering a world-wide service relatively free of terrorist threats is due to the existence of government(s) (in general) and it’s/their various enforcement arms (to include the DOD) and that anything which comes out of the airline’s hide to facilitate that protection should be viewed as naught but the cost of doing business and should be written off as an standard operating expense.
I can remember when servicemembers (at least the Air Force) always flew 1st class on service related travel. That changed while I was in the Navy and that shocked my parents.
Personal stuff we were on our own.
Back in the day, Piedmont had a policy that any open First Class seats were first given to servicemembers regardless of who else was asking for an upgrade. I was called to the gate many a time over the years to ask if I would like to fly up front. Damn I miss that airline.
I’m just not willing to give the services a free pass because of “operational necessity”. Who says what that means? Does it mean that because of the CRA, they can’t contract for the planned charter World Airways flight, and now have to leave earlier on an AMC C17? There are many issues potentially covered under that rubric, and I am not willing to tell the airlines (and those stupid enough to hold their stock!) that they alone need to cover the cost of “operational necessity”. Far to easy to point the finger and tell them to bend over and take it.
If we are going to “tax” businesses for “protection”, how about we start with the oil companies? If one were to look at the money lost by the airlines over the last decade, they would be the last place to start.
Yes, well, I take you’re point, Scott, but I think it more administratively efficient AND effective to let the airlines do the adjustment up front and be reimbursed by the DOD later as I suggested above.
Scott,
The *Oil Companies* make between 12%-18% profit. The oil
speculators in the commodities markets are the folks raising gas-prices.
Spew your venom elsewhere!
Bricks & Mortar businesses making 12% would close-up shop.
Are the *Oil companies* making huge profits? Hell Yes!
They are also moving HUGE volumes of product!
Amen, Virgil. Airliners don’t have guns on them. They must depend for their safety, on their countrymen in airplanes which do have guns on them. The airliners’ owners, and we, should not mind paying for that.
We should all write letters to these carriers complaining about their treatment of those who are putting it all on the line for the rest of us.
I for one will never use the carriers again, even if it means taking a slow boat instead.
Perhaps the Marines should have chartered a flight, or asked MAC for a solid in an instance like this.
I think MAC, or Mobility Command, these days, would have been a good option. Almost any military airfield will have some kind of transport psssing through at least once a day.
I’m thankful for all the reports we’ve heard of airlines recognizing and assisting our service men and women.
Funny though how we come so quickly to demand the charity of others. What is freely given once by private citizens, organization or corporation becomes an entitlement. The well intentioned yet ugly roots of socialism lie close by.
The root of the issue was a schedule change by the command. The responsibility lies therefore with them and their bosses (aka We the People).
As a former Piedmont Airlines/US Airways sales manager (now retired), I totally agree with Blackeagle603 but I DO understand those who are angry with the US Airways decision to only waive the service charge for changes made by Marines.
I cannot speak as an “official” of the airline but this kind of request (to waive fees, fares, etc.) is requested thousands of times each day from all sorts of deserving folks. I would love to see all those Marines be given special consideration but where do you draw the line?
I can only tell you first hand that US Airways is a HUGE supporter of the military — Medal of Honor Society, Honor Flights, U.S.O., Fisher House; among others. This airline provides FREE transport (yes, free) anonymously to those charities every year and has done so for years. That is a fact. And yes, service men and women are routinely upgraded as a courtesy to First Class often — without charge. I see it every week since I fly primarily out of Norfolk, VA.
I did not respond to this blog to defend US Airways, per se. I simply wanted everyone to know all the facts before judgement was passed.
P.S. I am a former Navy wife and girlfriend of a Marine.
Thank you for listening.
Comments in moderation? Seriously? VX got a secret decoder ring I can borrow?
With the airlines bleeding out financially in most cases, I can be sympathetic to their desire to make bottom line profits.
Bless those lower level folks who have the power and initiative to do the upgrades, early boarding, etc for our troops.
Good on the airlines that will do whatever they can afford to support the troops with schedule changes due to moved up deployments.
If more seats are needed, I have no problem with bumping other paying passengers. Too stinking bad if someone’s trip to Disneyland or some wedding reception gets scrubbed to make room for some grunt going to put his butt in the line of fire. If any members of Congress are booked, throw them off the list first!
A lot of the airlines do very well, but it IS inconsistent. I once had a Marine at the USO come in for the 3rd day of his 5 days of pre-deployment leave because his flights kept getting canceled. First flight was the day of leave, in the evening. It was canceled due to fog (severe evening fog expected for the next several days). He rescheduled at the airline’s discretion to a late flight the next day. Canceled. He came in that night, saying the airline couldn’t reschedule him until 8:30 p.m. the following day, which of course was likely to be fogged in. This was an airline that has a large number of daily flights between the two cities involved, so I knew that the idea that was the first flight they could get him on was absurd. I used our USO super-secret numbers to call the operations center for the airline. The guy who answered gave me the same routine until I called him on it, said I found it hard to believe that with all their regular flights there wasn’t an opening for a Marine going on pre-deployment leave who now had only two days to see his family. Guilted the guy good by talking about the kid not knowing what he was going to facing on deployment, wanting to spend time with his family before he goes into the unknown, etc… All of sudden, “Oh, I see that we’ve just had an opening for an 0630 flight tomorrow morning…”
Won’t name the airline because in the last year they have had some kind of local change in management and are a great source for volunteers at the USO. But it all depends on who you talk to, especially with young service members who have taught to be polite, respectful and deferential at all times in the civilian world; the airline personnel know they can get away with brushing them aside.
The other thing some airlines try to do is drop the delayed/lost luggage off with us for the service member to arrange pickup rather than drive it up the the base like they’re supposed to (up to 40+ miles in some cases). Some of these kids have never been on a plane until they went to/from boot camp, so they have no idea that the airline is supposed to deliver the luggage directly to them if there was a screw up in transport.
I wonder if, in the long run, if it wouldn’t be better to build some APs, and have the Navy haul them over. $2000.00 a crack adds up quick.
Maybe a mix of VR squadrons (Hawaii is a big leap for travel) and folks like this org, http://www.veteransairlift.org could help. I’d like to think big military takes these issues into account before pushing the deployment dates left.