Lazarhat
2003-11-21 19:04:40 UTC
(This is the letter I'm sending to Alaska Airlines...)
First let me start by saying that I am an Alaska resident of 23+ years
and I have never used any other airline other than Alaska Air in my
entire life.
Recently my Mother, who lived in Salem, Oregon contracted liver
cancer. I was informed of this fact quite late in the course of the
disease and needed to rush there to be at her side before she
passed away.
I called your 800 number a few times, trying to find the most
expedient way to travel, of course at the lowest price possible
(to try and save money, since I am not a rich person and only
make $30,000 a year pre-taxes). The first quote I received was
for a flight that was 3 days out from the time of booking that only
went as far as Seattle and then I was told that it would cost me
$784. This left me to make other arrangements to get to Portland
and then Salem.
I can understand that prices would be higher on such short term notice,
but I was shocked when I was told by your ticketing agent that this was
a one way fare and that on the return trip back to Alaska, the price
would double if I didn't present a note from the funeral director or a
certificate of death before boarding. Had I not done so, your round
trip fare would have been in excess of $1500.00! That is nearly 5 times
the amount of a typical 14 day advanced round trip booking between
Anchorage and Portland, which I believe is now costing somewhere
between $300 and $350. I decided to check other airlines first.
I did so, and their fares were unfortunately similar, but loyalty to Alaska
Airlines brought me back again to check on arrangements that took me
into PDX (Portland), which is closer to my mother's home.
So I called your 800 number again, asked for a flight leaving that evening
to Portland and was again quoted the exact same fare ($784) with the
exact same conditions (present note/death certificate before boarding for
return trip or else be charged double)!
Having few choices, and needing to leave immediately, I booked the flight,
gathered up money from an entire weeks paycheck and got a loan of an
additional $400 from a friend so that I could purchase the ticket. I am glad
I didn't wait the extra three day for absolutely no reason (since no
difference
in price between immediate departure vs. 3 days out for the fare was
apparent)
because if I had done that I wouldn't have arrived until after my Mother's
death.
Let me sum up by saying that I am quite disappointed in Alaska Airlines
that they would seemingly take economic advantage of a grief stricken
person traveling to be with family members during their struggle with a
fellow family member's terminal illness. It is outrageous that I would be
charged 5 times the normal fare had Mom not died, and still somewhat
disconcerting that I am charged $784 for this bereavement fare. Especially
since no one had to be bumped from any flights to make room for my travel.
I know this for a fact because the two seats next to me were empty on the
jet between Anchorage and Seattle, as were the two seats on the Dash 8
flight from Seattle to Portland! In addition, on the return flight home, the
seat to my left was empty! So it's not like others had to get bumped to
make way for my emergency... and I find it hard for Alaska Airlines to
justify the outrageous fare charges for those flights considering the other
available seats on those flights.
While I do not know what you can do to restore my previous loyalty to
and confidence in Alaska Airlines, I do know that in the future I will
hesitate to book flights on Alaska Airlines -- only taking one as a last
resort when no other options are available and that I will inform other
Alaskans of what was perpetrated upon me by Alaska Airlines during
my hour of need and recommend that they not fly with Alaska Airlines
either. Your corporate policy on bereavement fares is shameful and needs
to be reworked to be more cost effective lest you continue to lose other
loyal customers forever because of those policies. While I can certainly
understand having to pay a higher price for these fares if you had to bump
other passengers, having empty seats available on the same flights as I took
only added insult to injury.
If you require further proof concerning this incident, I will supply flight
numbers... they are listed on the ticket stubs I still have at home. This is
not an issue of being charged double because I couldn't present the proper
forms for the return flight. I did so and as a result only had to pay $784
for
the whole round trip fare, but even this is outrageous when considering the
other factors as detailed above!
If memory serves, my original flight left Anchorage on 11/4/03 at approx.
10pm and returned on 11/16 from Portland departing at 9:00pm.
Thank You for your time and attention to this matter,
Randall Warner
***@nospamplease_trialwire.com
***@burnt_crusty_bitsyahoo.com
-l
First let me start by saying that I am an Alaska resident of 23+ years
and I have never used any other airline other than Alaska Air in my
entire life.
Recently my Mother, who lived in Salem, Oregon contracted liver
cancer. I was informed of this fact quite late in the course of the
disease and needed to rush there to be at her side before she
passed away.
I called your 800 number a few times, trying to find the most
expedient way to travel, of course at the lowest price possible
(to try and save money, since I am not a rich person and only
make $30,000 a year pre-taxes). The first quote I received was
for a flight that was 3 days out from the time of booking that only
went as far as Seattle and then I was told that it would cost me
$784. This left me to make other arrangements to get to Portland
and then Salem.
I can understand that prices would be higher on such short term notice,
but I was shocked when I was told by your ticketing agent that this was
a one way fare and that on the return trip back to Alaska, the price
would double if I didn't present a note from the funeral director or a
certificate of death before boarding. Had I not done so, your round
trip fare would have been in excess of $1500.00! That is nearly 5 times
the amount of a typical 14 day advanced round trip booking between
Anchorage and Portland, which I believe is now costing somewhere
between $300 and $350. I decided to check other airlines first.
I did so, and their fares were unfortunately similar, but loyalty to Alaska
Airlines brought me back again to check on arrangements that took me
into PDX (Portland), which is closer to my mother's home.
So I called your 800 number again, asked for a flight leaving that evening
to Portland and was again quoted the exact same fare ($784) with the
exact same conditions (present note/death certificate before boarding for
return trip or else be charged double)!
Having few choices, and needing to leave immediately, I booked the flight,
gathered up money from an entire weeks paycheck and got a loan of an
additional $400 from a friend so that I could purchase the ticket. I am glad
I didn't wait the extra three day for absolutely no reason (since no
difference
in price between immediate departure vs. 3 days out for the fare was
apparent)
because if I had done that I wouldn't have arrived until after my Mother's
death.
Let me sum up by saying that I am quite disappointed in Alaska Airlines
that they would seemingly take economic advantage of a grief stricken
person traveling to be with family members during their struggle with a
fellow family member's terminal illness. It is outrageous that I would be
charged 5 times the normal fare had Mom not died, and still somewhat
disconcerting that I am charged $784 for this bereavement fare. Especially
since no one had to be bumped from any flights to make room for my travel.
I know this for a fact because the two seats next to me were empty on the
jet between Anchorage and Seattle, as were the two seats on the Dash 8
flight from Seattle to Portland! In addition, on the return flight home, the
seat to my left was empty! So it's not like others had to get bumped to
make way for my emergency... and I find it hard for Alaska Airlines to
justify the outrageous fare charges for those flights considering the other
available seats on those flights.
While I do not know what you can do to restore my previous loyalty to
and confidence in Alaska Airlines, I do know that in the future I will
hesitate to book flights on Alaska Airlines -- only taking one as a last
resort when no other options are available and that I will inform other
Alaskans of what was perpetrated upon me by Alaska Airlines during
my hour of need and recommend that they not fly with Alaska Airlines
either. Your corporate policy on bereavement fares is shameful and needs
to be reworked to be more cost effective lest you continue to lose other
loyal customers forever because of those policies. While I can certainly
understand having to pay a higher price for these fares if you had to bump
other passengers, having empty seats available on the same flights as I took
only added insult to injury.
If you require further proof concerning this incident, I will supply flight
numbers... they are listed on the ticket stubs I still have at home. This is
not an issue of being charged double because I couldn't present the proper
forms for the return flight. I did so and as a result only had to pay $784
for
the whole round trip fare, but even this is outrageous when considering the
other factors as detailed above!
If memory serves, my original flight left Anchorage on 11/4/03 at approx.
10pm and returned on 11/16 from Portland departing at 9:00pm.
Thank You for your time and attention to this matter,
Randall Warner
***@nospamplease_trialwire.com
***@burnt_crusty_bitsyahoo.com
-l
--
to email me, remove the 'burnt_crusty_bits' from the email addy
to email me, remove the 'burnt_crusty_bits' from the email addy