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Sat 28 May, 2005 04:08 am
About a month ago I flew a very long 3 legs (international) flight. Usually I don't take a lot of baggage with me, but this time I had to. And I was careless enough not to weigh it before the flight.
The envelope with the tickets had some basic information on it, and it quoted that the price for excess baggage is 1% to 1.5% of the "published one way economy price". I assumed that this is the price I paid, which was about 800 USD. What a mistake!
I arrived in the airport, checked in and discovered that I had to pay for 10 kg excess baggage. To my unpleasant surprise, the price was 47 USD per kilogram! Arguing didn't help. Fine! I'll talk to the representatives of the company that operated the trip, I thought.
Which I did. And, behold! in both stopover airports, different representatives of that company named different prices for the same route! Which were, however, way lower than the price I paid. 29 USD / kg and 39 USD / kg. They also explained me, that the "published price" means not the price I paid, and not even the price that the airlines sets. It is a price published by IATA, International Association of Travel Agents.
Later I addressed vice president of the customer service department, and he has investigated those fluctuations in prices and confirmed that indeed this is the policy and those are the prices.
Well the policy sucks! I rummaged through all the papers I got for that flight and didn't find the word "IATA". Furthermore, just for the heck of it I went to IATA's website, and it turns out that there's no way a passenger can view these prices. Also, maybe it's a dumb question, but how come from the same published price different charges derive?
That is, what the airlines are saying, "OK. We set the prices for excess baggage, but we're not going to tell you. Also, we reserve the right to pump them up if we feel like it".
I wonder, does this story has grounds for a legal action? I mean, if a lady can successfully sue McDonalds for pouring hot coffee on herself, isn't misleading fine print a better excuse?
Quote:isn't misleading fine print a better excuse?
Yes. Write a very precise letter to the head of the company explaining just how much of a refund you desire and indicate the many, many others might want the same. Wait ten days.
Don't spend the money all at once.
Joe Nation wrote:Write a very precise letter to the head of the company explaining just how much of a refund you desire and indicate the many, many others might want the same. Wait ten days.
Don't spend the money all at once.
Thanks for the advice, Joe!
An interesting idea. Will try it.
I usually write what I call the three paragraph letter: one subject, one page, three paragraphs. In the first I indicate what a loyal customer I have always been and relate the current circumstance usually implying that I am doing them a favor in bringing the deficiency to their attention.
In the second, I relate the efforts, or lack thereof, of the staff to remedy the situation.
The third is sometimes just one line:
"What can be done about this?"
Joe(I get freebies all the time.)Nation
I found on the web
Quote:According to the basic industry-wide resolutions laid down by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), it is recommended that every kilogram of excess baggage is charged at a rate equivalent to 1.5 per cent of the highest economy fare.
Source
LATimes of April 17, 2005
And most interestingly this here from the UK's
AIR TRANSPORT USERS COUNCIL
Quote:
If your baggage is overweight, an airline is entitled to charge you an excess baggage charge. The most commonly used guideline for these charges is 1.5% of the full one-way economy fare for each additional kilo. The airline can decide whether or not to charge, and very often they do not do so if the baggage is only slightly overweight. But just because an airline does not levy the charge on the outbound leg does not mean that it cannot charge it on the return trip. And for passengers taking a series of flights there may be different allowances or excess baggage charge policies depending on the aircraft type or the airline.
The only way to be sure of avoiding excess baggage charges is to find out what the allowances are and stay within them.
Nice work, Walter, but what does it mean for our friend? Zilch?
Joe(Look, I'm writing in German!)Nation
Nothing. null, nada, zilch, zero - name it - yes, unfortunately 'yes', I think.
Good picture, Walter.
Roger (comments often rendered incomprehensible by changing avatars)
Thanks, roger, the pic was taken by McTag.
Walter(who doesn't look like a mole)Hinteler
He sure is a happy camper, isn't he ?
Galillite, chances are - if it was an american airline - that
a letter will do the trick. Take Joe (he knows what he's talking about)Norton's advice and you'll get results.
Thanks everybody :-) .
I will adopt Joe's pattern. Walter's quotes just confirm once more that there is no one common policy on the subject, and what's even more interesting, IATA doesn't set prices but only
recommends them.
No, it was not American, it was an Asian airline, but one of the best in the world (if not the best). Hopefully also generous
. Suffice to say that on my flight I had selection of 60 movies (Hollywood blockbusters, French, Chinese, Indian, etc.) and the flight attendants (who might as well pose as models) were cleaning the toilets after each passenger. I really liked them, but I don't like to be ripped off.
I assume it was Singapore Airlines, right?
CalamityJane wrote:I assume it was Singapore Airlines, right?
Bull's eye.
I wish it would be someone else, but...
I am waiting right here until you get a result.
Joe(pulling up a chair)Nation
There he sits.
Walter(wondering how for overweight a chair is on A2K)Hinteler
Update:
The same guy replied to my email, same arguments. It was my mistake not to focus on the fine print thing, so he successfully deflected all the rest
. But the "fine print" and "how I was supposed to know" is still unanswered, I guess I'll have to rephrase it again.
But I'm truly amazed by their patience. They even tracked my travel agent...
Anyway, I don't give up yet.
Persistence, and absolutely no shouting, will pay off.
Joe(Send this Galilite a check just to shut him up.)Nation
Update:
tried to annoy them. A lot. Failed! These guys are amazing.
Not giving up yet. Actually, I found a lot of people in similar situation (my charge was a record so far though
). Now it's a matter of principle.
I think maybe I should attack IATA instead, they are the ones who came up with it all. But it'll take some preparation and I'm not in a position to do it now, so the whole story is suspended for a few months.
Everybody, thanks for your support.
Grinding slowly slowly slowly.
Got any other trips planned soon?
Joe Nation wrote:Grinding slowly slowly slowly.
Got any other trips planned soon?
As a matter of fact... Maybe. In a similar direction.
But I will watch my weight this time :-( .
That's what surprised me in Singapore, by the way: they refuse to haggle (insert an obligatory Monty Python quote here).
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