American Airlines sues a travel site to crack down on consumers who use this trick to save money

[Marthe48]

51. July 2nd, I flew a regional to Charlotte

I was booked to pick up an AA flight to Bangor, Maine. AA would not confirm I had a seat until I was at the desk at the gate. Several other passengers had the same problem. As I waited to talk to someone, the lady I was waiting with saw a person in an AA uniform. They turned out to be a flight attendent. They said AA assumed 4 or 5 people would miss connecting flights because they didn't know how big the Charlotte airport is and couldn't make it from the regional gates to the national/international gates. My daughter arranged a wheelchair for me and the attendent maneuvered the chair like they were driving at Indy! So I made it, but if I had had to walk, I would've missed the flight. I think that assuming people will miss their connection is a lousy way to book seats.

I had to wait at Charlotte for 6 hours on my way home, and I heard names announced for flights 2 times. I thought how awful that the person missed their flight. But maybe they didn't plan to go further.

It used to be, I'd see airline ads for $99 round trip flights from Columbus or Cleveland, Ohio. I thought that'd be a way I could go see my daughter in Maryland, or maybe go to a beach. But no, the $99 flights were to NYC or LA, never a shorter hop. I don't even look any more.