Like all good travellers - the team at ITK like to use the automated tools whenever possible. Better we do it than have some half baked agent in India give you bad information and then charge you for the privilege. However there are times when the IBE - Internet Booking Engine just doesn’t work. It cant handle for example International very well. So admittedly International is but a small percentage of the airlines business but it is an increasingly important part. So one would expect the airline to allow international access to special folk who can manipulate the system to get the answer that is actually there but not viewable through the eyes of the IBE.
United has a new policy. Upgrades are now only available on their website. So if the website doesn’t work what can you do? Answer - nothing. Kicking screaming and throwing a tantrum (this is the usual recourse) only works some times.
So United and others are now deploying these "self service" tools that in fact raise their yields resulting in a stealth price rise by denying the traveller access to someone who can fix the problem.
I am picking on United because I had the specific issue of this today. But other carriers have similar policies, processes and procedures that are resulting in the same thing. A barrier to lower fare access resulting in the punter having to buy a higher fare than is actually necessary.
It adds a whole new meaning to the term "Lower fares MAY be available on our website". Actually United is being careful (as are most airlines) in actually NOT saying that the LOWEST fares are available at their websites because - as I have been able to see numerous times - actually they are not.
Cheers
Timothy
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