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A comment on United Airlines piloting technology to manage the problem of oversold flights. Parent comment

Re:United Airlines piloting technology to manage the problem... by URSpider94 on Thursday July 13, 2017 @02:53PM (#14764063)
Yes, true, but those have all come online within the past 6 months or so (led, I think, by United, and then quickly copied by the other major carriers), and are still relatively rare even for leisure travel, at least in my experience. Unfortunately, I fear that you are right that they will take over the lowest end of the market.

I can't/won't book these for leisure travel, because they don't even allow you to sit with your family members.

Honestly, the recent penetration of basic economy into the US market is something I'm much more concerned about than involuntary bumping. If the airlines are successful, then they're just going to re-set the baseline for standard economy up by $100 or so a ticket. Planes were already full, it's not like they are going to increase revenue by offering cheaper tickets, they're just going to get away by giving you less for your money.

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Re:United Airlines piloting technology to manage the problem... by kinkrtyavimoodh on Thursday July 13, 2017 @03:10PM (#14764234)
Regular airlines offering ultra-low fare deals (such as those offered by Spirit Airlines) is a new trend.

Not being able to cancel / refund your ticket is NOT a new trend.

Other than Southwest most airlines would not let you change your tickets without paying a fee, and this has been the case since quite a few years.

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Re:United Airlines piloting technology to manage the problem... by jonknee on Thursday July 13, 2017 @04:36PM (#14764952)
> Other than Southwest most airlines would not let you change your tickets without paying a fee, and this has been the case since quite a few years.

The new bit is you can't even pay a fee with the new basic fares--it's use it or lose it.

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Re:United Airlines piloting technology to manage the problem... by URSpider94 on Thursday July 13, 2017 @03:26PM (#14764366)
I agree, and I never said differently. Almost all US tickets are non-refundable, and have been forever. Likewise, almost all US tickets are changeable FOR A FEE, which I said pretty high up in the thread -- and the airlines are pretty flexible on what constitutes a change (you can pretty much book a new ticket for yourself within a year, after they deduct the fee).
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