Don’t Get Screwed

I was reading about a recent story where a passenger got massively overcharged by MAXJet Airways. Dwight Wolcczak and his wife missed their flight from New York to London, and were charged a $100 change fee, plus the fare differential for the new flight, which was over $2000 dollars. To boot, MAXJet accidentally charged their card twice, bringing the total cost to $4000.

To add insult to injury, Dwight and his wife weren’t even late because they overslept or left late for their airport; their lateness was weather-related.

Fortunately for Dwight, MAXJet ended up issuing a refund for the overcharge. But, needless to say, his trip was ruined.

For those of you on the road, if you miss your flight, it should NOT be a big deal. I have missed a few flights, and the airline should offer you a reasonable fare differential, throw on the change fee, and have you feeling like you want to fly with them again. That’s how Delta and Southwest were when I missed flights.

However, if your airline does screw you like they did Dwight, don’t leave. Don’t accept what they are offering, stay there and talk to someone with some authority. They will try to make you happy. In an era of blogs and online wiki-review boards, smart companies would rather swallow a few hundreds bucks and do the right thing then screw you over and have a Jeff Jarvis on their hands (blogger who ruined Dell’s reputation).

Also, ALWAYS check your credit card receipts before signing them in case you are charged twice. But that should go without saying.