Voices What Do You Think?
Should an Airline Be Allowed to Bill You After the Flight?
With a major airline reporting record third-quarter revenue and a lower profit forecast, the Reporter asked five people whether a fare can be adjusted once the passenger has deplaned.
“If it’s on the receipt, it’s a fare. I keep every receipt in a folder marked ‘receipts,’ so I can always tell what I owe and when I owed it.”
Ellis Brandt, 52 Regional sales manager “I think they should bill the flight before it happens, the way the cinema does. I asked the cinema about this once, and they said the film had already started.”
Marisol Quade, 38 Bookkeeper “In my day, you paid for the seat when you sat in it. Now they sell it to you, then sell it to you again, which I suppose is progress.”
Harold Wendt, 71 Retired machinist “I’d rather not know when the fare is decided. If I find out it was decided after I landed, I’ll have to think about the whole trip differently.”
Priya Donnelly, 29 Event coordinator “I don’t have an opinion. I have a seat assignment, and I’m told it’s the same seat I was in before.”
Curtis Oleander, 46 Hardware store manager