A Texas couple recently featured in the Airline Biz blog of the Dallas Morning were required to pay a rebooking fee of $150 per ticket, when their six year old daughter became sick with the swine flu just a few days before the family was to fly on American Airlines. The original price of the tickets were 189$, so the rebooking fee would nearly double the cost of the airfare. The father objected, even offered to provide a note from the pediatrician as proof of swine flu. American Airlines refused to accept the note, and made the following statement attempting to justify their policy "American Airlines says that if someone chooses not to travel because of an illness or another reason, the value of their ticket is governed by the applicable fare rules, which may include a change fee. In those cases, the value of the ticket can be used for future travel, minus the fee. It's one of the risks people take when purchasing lower-fare tickets," said Tim Smith, a spokesman for the airline. Recently an informal poll from tripadvisor.com discovered that 51% of respondents are willing to fly sick with the flu rather than pay a flight rebooking fee. Considering how fast germs spread, especially in such small areas such as an airport or airplane, this is a remarkably high percentage. "The airplane is like a petri dish in the sky" said Rene Foss, a flight attendant for 25 years. Is it reasonable for airlines to temporarily waive cancelation fees for H1N1-infected passengers who have a doctor's note? At this point in time, people will choose to save money versus health, and this is not good for those air travelers that are flying healthy,as they risk becoming ill. What do you think airlines should do to control disease, and should H1N1-infected passengers be forced to pay rebooking fees?
I think that it is slightly unrealistic for the airlines to waive cancellation fees for H1N1. By doing so, they are setting a precedent. It is debatable what a "highly-infectious" or "rapid-spreading" disease is, which would make this rule hard to install. Also, airline companies would lose money, something that is not favorable with the current economy. I think this leads back to the conversation we had in class about where to draw the line-- with the implementation of this rule, where do you draw the line? Especially during a time like this one with H1N1, people should take responsibility of their own health, but also how their health (or lack of) influences the people around them. I think this is the only way to contain the flu, even on airplanes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sophie, the rule would be very difficult to implement. Also, who actually is responsible for keeping airplane passangers healthy, the airline's or the sick passangers'? I personally believe that the airline is not responsible for the healthy of its customers. Everyone flies at their own risk and should keep that risk to others in mind when they are sick themselves. Each person should be compassionate and aviod flying when sick.
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