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Bait and Switch
Cheap Charlie · October 15 , 2001

My cheap senses have been overwhelmed with "great deals" from the airlines. So, like the cheapster that I am, I dove into the fray searching out the best deals.

Honestly, I spent hours calling reservations agents and tapping on my keyboard working my way through the Internet.

Deals! Bargains! Specials!

But …

With the major airlines there is always a "but."

Most of these so-called deals are what amount to bait-and-switch. They sound great, but seats are virtually non-existent or have so many restrictions that few can use them.

I called airlines. I tried to book these "deals." I pored through frequent flier sites, trying to make frequent-flier reservations ... to Europe, to different spots in the USA. The bottom line: Things haven't changed much.

If you want a deal, you have to still do it the old-fashioned way - you have to dig for it and compare, compare, compare.

For example, as I write and as the major airlines mournfully sing their low-load factor blues, they (at least Northwest, Continental, Delta and USAirways) won't release any frequent-flier seats to fly from Rome or Milan or Venice to Boston between November 1 and 8. I can book trips there, but have no way home.

I specifically asked the reservation agent, "Are the flights are overbooked?" I'm told, "No, there are plenty of paying seats." (I thought I kinda "paid" for my mileage.) They go on, "Sorry, there are just no frequent flier seats - no economy, no business class, no first class.

OK. What's up? We are being duped by the airlines. I'm naturally not too trusting of these yield management folk. I tend to trust them less and hang onto my wallet when they claim, "We are doing everything we can do to get the public flying again."

Domestically, I tried to book "cheap" fares Boston to Charleston, SC for October 19th with a return on October 21st. No way! The least expensive ticket with 12 day advanced purchase (with the airlines in such a crisis that they need billions of our dollars) was $430. And when I tried to use alternative airports, the price didn't drop - it jumped to $1,030 or so - even on Hotwire.com.

By the way, the normal (pre-WTC) rate for this route is historically between $200 and $250 for an advanced purchase ticket of 14-days or 7-days depending on how competition is doing.

Subsequently, I tried to book the reduced-mileage frequent-flier tickets for BOS-CHS on the same dates and wasn't successful with Delta, Continental or NW. US Airways did have some of the lower mileage tickets for flights at 6 a.m. or so.

Unfortunately the media is spreading the word that the airlines are offering domestic frequent-flier tickets for only 15,000 miles, but fail to say these frequent-flier tickets are limited, very limited.

So, then, I asked for the full 20,000-mile tickets - still nothing. I'm sorry, but something smells.

In the final analysis, the airlines are at it again - offering very low come-on fares with strict restrictions. The unwitting media is spreading the work of these "amazing travel deals" and only playing into the hands of the amazingly-mismanaged airlines. Getting some of these deals has similar odds to winning the powerball lottery.

Here are some of Cheap Charlie's Rules:

1. Call immediately when you hear about amazing deals. If you are lucky you may get a deal.

2. The real way to save money is to call several airlines and compare deals.

3. Your best bet is to stick with routes served by Southwest Airlines ... cynically, that is where the majors are focusing their deals.

Regarding the frequent-flier deals:

A real deal story is the reduced elite level requirements that have been announced. Elite level makes a lot difference in the service you receive from the airlines, priority on standby lists, priority on restricted seats (such as bulkhead and exit rows), and bonus points whenever you fly.

Check with your frequent flier programs and see if they are offering reduced elite requirements or double mileage that can be credited toward elite status.

If any of you are within striking distance of elite levels in any program, register and take advantage of the double miles deals and lower elite-level requirements. That's a tip worth taking to the bank.

Next week: my outrageous views on the airline security mess and hopefully another look as some real deals.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.