I am the woman who's mother was in ICU. First of all, $350 is not a cheap ticket. It is a fairly standard and even high cost for a trip from Anchorage to Seattle. Often times they have them for $199. That's a cheap ticket. Of course, tickets can run as high as $700 and more depending on what the airline decides they want to charge an individual that day. I understand that this is a policy, I understand that it is on the ticket, I understand that other airlines have it as well.
Here is the problem, as you well know other people do experience the same situations. I have always paid for my ticket, followed the rules such as arriving 2 hours early, behaving on the plane, carrying the right amount of luggage, etc. I have put up with lost luggage, overbooked flights, poor customer service, delays and other insults for years without recourse. I have also had excellent service, with friendly personnel, on time flights and my luggage safely waiting for me. I have never before complained about the airlines until now.
What I want is for them to reduce the cost of the flight change for medical reasons or documented family medical emergencies. If they need to develop a special processing protocol for this, so be it. Most people would not have a problem with complying. What if you were on vacation with your spouse and one of your children ends up in intensive care due to a car accident at home? Do you think that paying the $100 would be easy to swallow knowing the most important thing would be to return home right away?
I have no problem paying a reasonable fee such as $35 or $50, I just think $100 is over the limit considering the price of the ticket in the first place. I also know that when I pay for a service that if something happens beyond my control, the only company that charges you for that is the airlines.
Vi ckie
anchorage, Alaska
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