Quote Originally Posted by bruce_nyc
I don't care what their biased contract, which their lawyers wrote, says. It's wrong. Flat out wrong.

If and when I have a choice --- as The Customer --- I will chose an airline that does not abuse their customers in this way. And I will let my views be heard loudly.
Anyone can scream as loud as they can that something is wrong and they can scream equally loudly about letting their views be known. The plain fact is that a contract is a contract. When you as a passenger purchase a ticket you agree - usually by ticking a box on a computer screen - to abide by the airline's terms and conditions. No tick - no ticket! Like it or not, these form a legally binging agreement which, once signed, gives the purchaser zero rights if he unilaterally fails to abide by the terms of the agreement.

As has been said before here, this is particularly true in the case of flights originating outside a carrier's home country which are often substantially cheaper. As has been noted, fly London to Chicago and back on BA and you are stung for quite a high fare. Fly Berlin via London/Chicago via London/Berlin and the price can be as much as 40% cheaper. I know, for that's what I did last June. I did not want to end up back in Berlin, but I knew that BA could - and according to a travel agent in London often do - add supplements on to credit cards if I just got off in London. So I just paid for another Berlin/London ticket which was still only about тВм65 when I booked it.

Travel agents in London I have dealt with for business colleagues will not issue tickets if they know you do not plan to fly the last sector. They know that BA will quickly be after them. The solution to an individual travelling with such intent is, I guess, to use one credit card for the booking and then cancel the card once the booking is confirmed. Then there is no card for a surcharge. But I'd be reluctant to do that with an airline I was taking regularly.

Airlines will screw you every which way.