Rival carriers follow United, drop $100 fee By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY United Airline's financial troubles delivered business travelers a coup=20 this week. Continental and American airlines followed United in scrapping a= =20 $100 standby fee for non-refundable tickets that they were going to start=20 collecting Jan. 1. The move is being heralded by corporate travel managers= =20 and by business travelers who like to fly standby if their out-of-town=20 business finishes early or runs late. "It's nice to see them back off,=20 especially in our industry, where our schedules are dictated by clients,"=20 says Sheila Kittle, vice president of corporate travel at Raymond James in= =20 St. Petersburg, Fla. Rosenbluth International Travel estimates that, on=20 average, one in 10 business travelers flies standby, though it varies by=20 industry. Airlines liked the fee because it was expected to drive more=20 business travelers into more flexible, higher-priced fares instead of the=20 more restrictive, cheaper fares that have grown in popularity. The drop-off= =20 in higher-fare purchases is one factor in airlines' losses. "This was a way =97 a sneaky way =97 to say, 'Hey business traveler, if you= =20 want to have these fares, I'm going to make it just a little tougher for=20 you,' " says Michael Boult, chief operating officer of eClipse Advisors, a= =20 Rosenbluth unit. "It's going to cost you $100 every time you change."=20 United led the way in dropping the fee last week, just four days after=20 filing for bankruptcy protection. United executives attributed the change=20 to customer feedback. Travel experts say it's a smart public-relations move= =20 at a time when United can't afford to alienate its most reliable customers.= =20 "What they need to do in bankruptcy is preserve every revenue opportunity=20 they have," says airline consultant Bob Mann. "One way to do that is being= =20 more flexible than they had planned." The fact that the other airlines=20 followed United indicates how tough a time airlines are having raising=20 fares, says airline consultant Rich Golaszewski at GRA. "It just tells you= =20 how weak things are." US Airways is keeping the fee, which it initiated shortly after filing for= =20 bankruptcy protection in August as part of a broader attack on=20 non-refundable tickets. It has been charging the fee since October. "We're= =20 studying it, but haven't made any changes," spokesman David Castelveter=20 says. Delta says it still plans to start charging $100 to confirm a seat on= =20 a different flight next month, but standby won't be an option. Northwest=20 never matched the fee. Passengers can fly standby for free, but they must=20 pay $100 to confirm a seat on a different flight. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************