OT - Airline ticketing

That is really strange. I always buy tickets for my girlfriend (She is
from Dallas and I am in Pittsburgh) through internet using my credit
card. I have been doing this for more than a year through several
airlines including United Airlines. I never had a problem like your
daughter and son in law. It must be either a new policy for UA or full
of crap.

Toks Desalu
PP-ASEL
Dyin' to Soar


Al wrote:
My son in law purchased a ticket for my daughter on United Airlines
using a credit card. The purchase was made on line. When my daughter showed
up for the flight, she was refused boarding because she didn't have the
credit card in her possession. The ticket agent, in Eugene Or., said "We
have to see the actual card, after all, it could be stolen". The agent did
say, that my son in law, a Marine, could go down to his local United counter
and show the card there, and the agent there would mark the box in United's
computer, so boarding could occur. The trouble was, United doesn't have a
counter in Al Asad, Iraq. The kid is coming home from a tour of duty in
Iraq, and the plan was for my daughter to get to MCAS Miramar to meet him.
After some very tearful "discussion", and I believe, a direct threat of
bodily harm from my wife, the agent allowed my daughter to board.
Has anyone here ever heard of this crap before? Aren't E-Tickets usable?
What was going on here?

Al G

"Al" wrote in message
...
My son in law purchased a ticket for my daughter on United Airlines
using a credit card. The purchase was made on line. When my daughter
showed up for the flight, she was refused boarding because she didn't have
the credit card in her possession. The ticket agent, in Eugene Or., said
"We have to see the actual card, after all, it could be stolen". The agent
did say, that my son in law, a Marine, could go down to his local United
counter and show the card there, and the agent there would mark the box in
United's computer, so boarding could occur. The trouble was, United
doesn't have a counter in Al Asad, Iraq. The kid is coming home from a
tour of duty in Iraq, and the plan was for my daughter to get to MCAS
Miramar to meet him.
After some very tearful "discussion", and I believe, a direct threat of
bodily harm from my wife, the agent allowed my daughter to board.
Has anyone here ever heard of this crap before? Aren't E-Tickets
usable? What was going on here?

Al G




I've traveled using e-tickets on 3 different airlines in the last 6 months.
None of which were UA. I've been asked for Photo ID but not for the credit
card.

Was the ticket purchased on the UA website or a 3rd party. I'm betting UA's
on site.

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net wrote in message
...

"Al" wrote in message
...
My son in law purchased a ticket for my daughter on United Airlines
using a credit card. The purchase was made on line. When my daughter
showed up for the flight, she was refused boarding because she didn't
have the credit card in her possession. The ticket agent, in Eugene Or.,
said "We have to see the actual card, after all, it could be stolen". The
agent did say, that my son in law, a Marine, could go down to his local
United counter and show the card there, and the agent there would mark
the box in United's computer, so boarding could occur. The trouble was,
United doesn't have a counter in Al Asad, Iraq. The kid is coming home
from a tour of duty in Iraq, and the plan was for my daughter to get to
MCAS Miramar to meet him.
After some very tearful "discussion", and I believe, a direct threat
of bodily harm from my wife, the agent allowed my daughter to board.
Has anyone here ever heard of this crap before? Aren't E-Tickets
usable? What was going on here?

Al G




I've traveled using e-tickets on 3 different airlines in the last 6
months. None of which were UA. I've been asked for Photo ID but not for
the credit card.

Was the ticket purchased on the UA website or a 3rd party. I'm betting
UA's on site.
I don't know Gig.

Al G

"Al" wrote in message ...
: My son in law purchased a ticket for my daughter on United Airlines
: using a credit card. The purchase was made on line. When my daughter showed
: up for the flight, she was refused boarding because she didn't have the
: credit card in her possession. The ticket agent, in Eugene Or., said "We
: have to see the actual card, after all, it could be stolen". The agent did
: say, that my son in law, a Marine, could go down to his local United counter
: and show the card there, and the agent there would mark the box in United's
: computer, so boarding could occur. The trouble was, United doesn't have a
: counter in Al Asad, Iraq. The kid is coming home from a tour of duty in
: Iraq, and the plan was for my daughter to get to MCAS Miramar to meet him.
: After some very tearful "discussion", and I believe, a direct threat of
: bodily harm from my wife, the agent allowed my daughter to board.
: Has anyone here ever heard of this crap before? Aren't E-Tickets usable?
: What was going on here?
:
: Al G
:
:

Just another example of how the 'big' airlines just don't get it. They are in the customer service business. They need
to relearn that or they will go away...

".Blueskies." wrote in message
...
Just another example of how the 'big' airlines just don't get it. They are
in the customer service business. They need to relearn that or they will
go away...

Sadly, that's not precisely true.

I think that there is a viable niche for a true "customer service" airline,
but the vast majority of travelers *only* care about price. The main thing
that will kill the major airlines is their inability to adapt to the future
of airline travel (mainly, the limitations of the hub system they currently
use), and that only because it undermines their bottom line.

As long as the airline customer puts up with whatever inconveniences the
airlines subject them to, in the name of getting the lowest price from Point
A to Point B, lack of decent customer service will never be a big problem
for airlines, and certainly isn't going to make them disappear.

Pete

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message ...
: ".Blueskies." wrote in message
: ...
: Just another example of how the 'big' airlines just don't get it. They are
: in the customer service business. They need to relearn that or they will
: go away...
:
: Sadly, that's not precisely true.
:
: I think that there is a viable niche for a true "customer service" airline,
: but the vast majority of travelers *only* care about price. The main thing
: that will kill the major airlines is their inability to adapt to the future
: of airline travel (mainly, the limitations of the hub system they currently
: use), and that only because it undermines their bottom line.
:
: As long as the airline customer puts up with whatever inconveniences the
: airlines subject them to, in the name of getting the lowest price from Point
: A to Point B, lack of decent customer service will never be a big problem
: for airlines, and certainly isn't going to make them disappear.
:
: Pete
:

If price is what the customer is looking for, then customer service requires that they get that price. Many of the
airlines are bleeding money like it is going out of style, and they are treating their front line folks very poorly. The
front line folks can't help but show their frustration. Automated kiosks are fine, but you still have to have a 'credit
card' with a correctly spelled name on it so it will match. Many folks don't have this and they have to deal with a
human. Many of the big guys think they have to do all the airplane maintenance and that sort of thing when the thing
they should be doing is turning the planes around and keeping them in the air, full capital utilization. Some of them
are still living in the regulated world where they used to be paid by the gov't simply to service a little airport. At
least these days many of them are operating with higher load factors...

..Blueskies. wrote:
snip

Automated kiosks are fine, but you still have to have a 'credit
card' with a correctly spelled name on it so it will match. Many folks don't have this and they
have to deal with a
human.

You can check in online without a credit card.

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 09:32:56 -0500, Emily
wrote:

You can check in online without a credit card.

That can be difficult for the return trip, however!

Virgin Atlantic (which has "brilliant" customer service!) says that
you need a credit card for automated check-in. But in fact you don't;
you seem to need your passport. It worked a charm when I flew from
Boston to London, but not when I returned: the machine gave me an
incorrect first name, so I had to go through the (slow) line for a
human.

Except for Virgin, and sometimes with Virgin, I've had to go through
humans for every trans-Atlantic flight this year. American is
absolutely the pits: I was actually in line for an hour and 45 minutes
in BOS en route to Cork, whose identifier seems to be ORK. People were
crying in the line.

United always seems to work well for me, though I haven't flown it
internationally.

And why wouldn't you have the credit card with you that you bought
your ticket with, since that information is given to you at the time
of purchase? In one case last year, going to Iceland, I'd changed
cards, but I saved out the expired one for the purpose of checking in.
But in that case also I didn't need it, but Icelandair also requires
one to check in with humans (nice humans, in that case).



-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

".Blueskies." wrote in message
news:231Bg.3117

...Many of the big guys think they have to do all the airplane maintenance
and that sort of thing when the thing they should be doing is turning the
planes around and keeping them in the air, full capital utilization...

Interesting outlook.

"John Gaquin" wrote in message . ..
:
: ".Blueskies." wrote in message
: news:231Bg.3117
:
: ...Many of the big guys think they have to do all the airplane maintenance
: and that sort of thing when the thing they should be doing is turning the
: planes around and keeping them in the air, full capital utilization...
:
: Interesting outlook.
:
:


Southwest business model...