Oct 10, 2023
In this experience we take a trip into the show’s archives and review tickets and booking.
We start out with a review from Vinod about his flight in the summer with Porter from Toronto to Vancouver.
As people are looking for good fare prices, this is a good lead-in to a discussion about ticketing. We talked about ticketing in our very early experiences and are revisiting it in this experience.
The moment that you purchase the right to travel on an aircraft, you get a Passenger Name Record. Every airline has their own PNR. Make sure you don’t share pictures of your PNR online.
But airline ticketing systems are not as advanced as some would think. Sometimes an e-ticket does not get associated with the PNR. Sometimes a booking ends up only being a shell. When you need to fix it, you will need a specialized ticketing representative. This is why an airline representative can't fix it...they may simply not have the access. Vinod shares a story of checking in a passenger and somehow not noticing that there was no e-ticket associated with it.
One of the key aspects of any ticket booking is who is in control of the ticket. Is it the airline, the travel agent or someone else. An airline will do everything it can to keep the control of the ticket, including upgrades in certain circumstances. But sometimes things go sideways, and an airline needs to hand over control to another airline. In the days of paper tickets this Flight Interruption Manifest was almost like an I Owe You between airlines. Today, it all gets processed electronically.
Things can get a bit complicated when a travel agent is involved. Vinod shares a recent experience of helping with a ticket booked with a travel agent and some of the surprises involved.
We look at fare classes which are important when you have to make changes. Is your fare class available anymore when you change the ticket? What do you have to pay for cancellations and/or refunds?
We look at how much ticketing has changed with it now being much more transparent than in the past. We also answer that question asked so often "when is the best time to buy a cheap ticket?" We recommend having a budget and if your ticket is in that budget then book it and don't look back!
How much talking are airlines doing with each other? Vinod shares a story when he had two tickets flying from Toronto to London to Madrid.
If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 1. "Maiden Flight." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.
When your Passenger Name Record is created, be very careful with entering the name and passport information because it could be very difficult to change the information.
News Items:
- simpleflying.com article British Airways Reportedly Offering Passengers Money To Avoid Heathrow Lounges
- simpleflying.com article Singapore Airlines Passengers Demand Refund After Farting Dog Disrupts Their Flight
If you have a story about ticketing, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/