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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Not Paying $20 for a Receipt
ChrisCrossings · June 13, 2002

Q: I recently tried to obtain a receipt for air travel on Alaska Airlines in order to get reimbursement from a client. Trouble was, I had purchased an EasyPak of tickets which are often (though certainly not always) cheaper than available airfares. I had used one in order to save my client money.

When I asked for a receipt at the airport on the day of the flight, they said, "You already have one from when you purchased the EasyPak." When I tried to get one after the flight, they tried to impose a $20 fee on me.

Now, when I accommodate the airline by buying multiple tickets at a time, minimizing their personnel fees and maximizing their ability to snare my business for 10 trips, why should I have to fork over $20 to be appropriately reimbursed by a client? Certainly can't expect the client to pay for this.

-- Louise Andrew

A: Indeed, you can’t. A receipt is one of the most basic items that you can expect to get in any business transaction, and your request for one is more than reasonable.

I asked airline representative Cheryl Temple to review your case and find out what happened. She says that a receipt was issued when you bought your EasyPak. “We sell these tickets in bulk in EasyPak form, not individually,” she told me. “Therefore, a receipt for the purchase of the entire booklet is what we give.”

Alaska Airlines sees “no reason” to offer you additional receipts for a purchase already made. Temple assumed that you had sold a coupon from an EasyPak booklet to one of your clients (an incorrect assumption, it turns out) and that it was your responsibility to issue a receipt.

Temple reminded me that boarding passes are commonly used as receipts, which is true. However, the boarding pass won’t necessarily reflect the price of the coupon, which is what you need. “If a passenger wants an additional receipt for a ticket - which is not part of a product which is EasyPak - there is a charge of $20,” she added.

Fair? No. But not really worth arguing over. I would take your boarding pass, make a photocopy of it, and then create an invoice for your ticket in the amount that you paid for it. Your client should accept that as proof that you spent the money.

As for Alaska, I’m disappointed that it tried to nickel and dime a loyal customer. The receipt fee is just another senseless surcharge designed to pad the airline’s profit. It should be eliminated.

Christopher Elliott's column appears on weekly on Ticked.com. All e-mailed questions to ChrisCrossings become property of Ticked.com and may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. You may reach Elliott at chris@ticked.com. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.