Another example of airlines ignoring the consumer

A couple of weeks ago I was on the phone with a representative from USAIR making reservations for a flight.  Although I typically conduct this transaction online, I was forced to call into the ’service’ desk to use an unused ticket.  So, as any consumer would do, I went to the USAIR website, searched for flights, found the flights I wanted and their associated costs.  As the representative was finalizing the transaction, she said the cost of the flight would x dollars.  Looking at the fares online, I politely noted that this quote was approximately $75 more than what was listed on USAIR’s website, and there must be some confusion.  The confusion stemmed from the consumer’s (me) assumption that the USAIR website and the USAIR representative were actually representing the same company.

Apparently, according to the service rep and her manager, USAIR outsources the management of their website to a company that purchases flights in large quantities from USAIR and sells them as an independent broker.  Thus, www.usairways.com might as well be expedia or some other online channel.

Two questions come to mind: a.) What are the legal issues with this?  As a consumer, I assume that my personal information is being managed by a ‘trusted’ company like USAIR to conduct my business; when in fact, it is going to someone completely different.  b.) How much longer can this industry survive?  There was an interesting article in Business Week that predicted business travel would significantly decrease over the next few years based on a variety of economic factors and improvements to technology.  When the industry kicks its customers over and over again, and demand continues to slow, it does not seem to be a good picture.

Also, two nights ago I checked into a Radisson down in NY.  I made my reservation online (at www.radisson.com) and made a request for a King bed.  When I checked in, they had me in a queen.  I asked if they could see the notes in my reservation; she said no, online reservations are managed by a separate company.  I guess the hotel industry is doing the same thing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 9:46 pm and is filed under internet marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.