I don't normally feel the urge to share unpleasant airline experiences because they're like moles: Most of us have more than we'd like. But I think maybe this one has a moral. Adam and I have purchased tickets to fly to Tennessee in October. Today, I learned that I'll be going to Mexico immediately beforehand, flying to Nashville straight from Cancún. I can still make the flight back to New York.
As a "travel expert," I know that many airlines won't let you cancel the initial leg of a trip (you're not supposed to cancel the last leg, either, but they can hardly stop you). I called Delta anyway, hoping that perhaps the airline would only charge a change fee. But the customer-service agent, Jermaine, told me that my current ticket "did not have enough value." The entire reservation would have to be canceled; a new one-way ticket would have to be issued.
"How much would such a ticket cost?" I asked.
"$153.10," he said. "Would you like to book that now?"
No, I said, I was so upset with Delta's prehistoric ticket policies that I needed to spend some time investigating whether there was any way that I could get home without flying the airline. Jermaine was not very bright—at one point I honestly thought I might be talking to a semi-malfunctioning computer—but that was no excuse to rip him a new one. I said that I was sorry to rant at him, but perhaps he could see why I was perturbed.
"Yes, I understand," he said. "Would you be interested in any discount hotel rooms or car rentals?"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" I screamed and hung up, wishing it were still possible to slam down a phone without breaking it.
Online, the Delta flight in question was $122—that's $31.10 cheaper (and Jermaine would presumably have tacked on a "telephone reservationist fee"). The moral: Never book on the phone, because airlines will assume you're helpless and take advantage of you.
P.S. Hours later, I realized that it was possible that Jermaine thought I wanted to cancel the initial reservation, so I called Delta again. A nice woman reassured me that the reservation still existed. "That's good," I said. "That's very good. Thank you!" To which she replied: "Would you be interested in any discount hotel rooms or car rentals?"