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The Problem with Last Minute Tickets

by Kevin Hanson
Last updated May 4, 2019

a screen shot of a computer

I’m working in NY this week, and I was looking forward to both of my flights. SFO-JFK round-trip in P.S. – upgrades cleared in advance. Nice. Everything was set to be a pleasant experience. On Friday, I found out that I actually had a meeting on Thursday, instead of my last meeting being on Wednesday. So I called United and changed the ticket.

  • Price of the one-way ticket from JFK-SFO: $274.70
  • After change fee, amount paid to United to change flight to next day: $570
  • Total amount United received for the ticket: $844.50

That’s right. A one-way economy ticket from New York to San Francisco ended up costing me (or my company) $844.50. That’s retarded. Okay fine. I get the drill, though. That’s why it pays to book in advance. When I clicked the seat map to pick my seat, I already knew what was in store from me. Sure enough, I got the picture above. No seats available. There are still some seats free in business class and first class, and I have a pretty high fare code so there’s a reasonable chance that I’ll end up in business class, but it still bums me out that United is going to get close to $1000 for a one-way ticket from me, and I’m a 100,000 mile flyer, and unless an upgrade clears, I may be sitting in a middle seat all the way home (yes, even as a 1K, this happened to me many times).

I’ve always thought that airlines should block a few seats for the last minute purchasers who are going to drop this much money on a ticket. It sure would have been nice to see myself in a window seat after plopping down this much cash for a flight. Last minute tickets are a regular part of business travel, and United caters to the business traveler. Personally, I think blocking a couple seats up until 24 hours in advance or so would be a nice service. What do you think?

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About Kevin Hanson

Kevin Hanson lives in San Francisco, CA, and has been traveling for business and pleasure for the past ten years. He loves planning big family vacations with his wife and son.

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