Confusion

[jadeeegarr]

So I'm going to be a little vague because I don't know if someone could get in trouble for this if what I'm about to say got around, though I highly doubt it will because I don't know anyone who plays neopets, and I don't want anyone to. Onwards with the story! Today I was at work and I was talking to one of my managers and we got on the topic of plane tickets from where we live to the other side of the country, we compared prices we both were either quoted or spent on our most recent trip (his price was about half the cost of mine, for anyone wondering) and I asked how far in advance he booked that flight and mentioned that I'm planning my trip for the end of June/early July and he said he booked his flight about a week or two ahead of time. Then he told me about the website he found it off of and I said I'd look into that, THEN he said something along the lines of "I have a friend who works for [insert airline company here] and if you give him enough advance, I think 30 days, he can book you a flight and only have you pay for the taxes." I said "Wow, that's a good deal! That's a good way to travel" and I was thinking he was just mentioning the good deals he gets on flights, cause that seems normal and is a good way to keep a conversation going, and then he said "Yeah, I'll have to give him a call" then I didn't really say anything for a second cause I was a little confused and then he followed that up by saying "Except, you'd probably have to fly out of [insert city about 2 hours away here] because that's where he works, but that's not that far of a drive" Then it made me think maybe he was talking about hooking me up with a cheap flight and that made me really confused. I don't know; what do you guys think? I provided as close to exact quotes as possible, so that I'm not deviating away from the actual context.

[siniri]

"Buddy pass" policies depend on the airline. My mom used to work for U.S. Air (but a while ago, so this may not be their current policy), and she had to submit a list of friends and families for whom she could get discounts. I come from a pretty big family, and I'm not sure she could even include all her kids and husband on her list; it was pretty small (about 5? people). Anyway, the deal was we could fly free standby (if there was room on the flight), or we could pay a percentage (10%? 50%? can't remember the number) of the regular fare to guarantee a seat (but this wasn't as good a deal as it sounds, because the "regular fare" was the highest price the airline ever charged for the seats, and we could often get them for the same price (or cheaper) than the discount by buying when tickets were cheaper).

 

I've known several other people who worked (or had friends working for) airlines, including my friend's fiance who's a pilot), and their discounts have always applied to only a few people. Otherwise, there would be too many employees starting side businesses by selling their "buddy passes." So... I think even if your coworker asks, you're not going to get the discount. Which puts you in a bit of an awkward situation, since he was so vague about it.

 

There are websites that predict when prices will change (one is farecast.com, though I've heard there are now better ones out there). If you monitor prices on such a site, you could check on a lunch break and casually mention when you see that prices have stabilized or are starting to rise that you'd better book your ticket today, to this same coworker. This will give him the opportunity to either 1) say "hey, let me call my buddy before you do that" or 2) say "yeah, you'd better" (implying he either talked to his buddy and couldn't get you the discount or never intended to talk to his buddy). If his buddy can hook you up with a cheap flight, that'd be awesome! But don't spend that money you've been saving for the ticket just yet.

[jadeeegarr]

"Buddy pass" policies depend on the airline. My mom used to work for U.S. Air (but a while ago, so this may not be their current policy), and she had to submit a list of friends and families for whom she could get discounts. I come from a pretty big family, and I'm not sure she could even include all her kids and husband on her list; it was pretty small (about 5? people). Anyway, the deal was we could fly free standby (if there was room on the flight), or we could pay a percentage (10%? 50%? can't remember the number) of the regular fare to guarantee a seat (but this wasn't as good a deal as it sounds, because the "regular fare" was the highest price the airline ever charged for the seats, and we could often get them for the same price (or cheaper) than the discount by buying when tickets were cheaper).

 

I've known several other people who worked (or had friends working for) airlines, including my friend's fiance who's a pilot), and their discounts have always applied to only a few people. Otherwise, there would be too many employees starting side businesses by selling their "buddy passes." So... I think even if your coworker asks, you're not going to get the discount. Which puts you in a bit of an awkward situation, since he was so vague about it.

 

There are websites that predict when prices will change (one is farecast.com, though I've heard there are now better ones out there). If you monitor prices on such a site, you could check on a lunch break and casually mention when you see that prices have stabilized or are starting to rise that you'd better book your ticket today, to this same coworker. This will give him the opportunity to either 1) say "hey, let me call my buddy before you do that" or 2) say "yeah, you'd better" (implying he either talked to his buddy and couldn't get you the discount or never intended to talk to his buddy). If his buddy can hook you up with a cheap flight, that'd be awesome! But don't spend that money you've been saving for the ticket just yet.

 

 

Honestly that's what I was thinking, I mentioned this encounter to my friend last night and I said to her it really isn't feasible to just let anyone you know fly for a reduced rate and even more than that, someone you don't know. However, I talked to my mom this morning to wish her a happy mother's day and I mentioned how we're really slow at work right now, and she said she would pay extra for me to leave next week and take my vacation a little early considering how slow we are, which would get me out of the situation completely. Lol, I don't know though I'm going to look at a couple websites and do a little more comparing. Thank you!