PAX Sue Airlines Over Resold Seats

When you give up your nonrefundable airline seat, does it remain empty? No way, according to industry experts quoted by the Boston Herald. In what the paper says is one of the industry's "dirty little secrets," and it's now the subject of a lawsuit filed by 16 frequent fliers.

The suit, filed against 13 carriers, alleges airlines are rebooking seats after passengers' plans change and they have to abandon their nonrefundable tickets. That, according to Boston lawyer Evans J. Carter, nets the industry an extra -- hidden -- $50 million a year.

"That seat is paid for twice as far as these fees but they keep it," he told the Herald.

If Carter wins, at least one industry source told the Boston paper it would make for bedlam in the front offices of airlines around the country. It would open the door to a massive accounting nightmare. They would have to adjudicate every ticket and retrieve it from the various buckets," the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. That particular consultant told the newspaper Carter's estimate of $50 million in "illegal enrichments" is too low.

Carter's suit also takes the airlines to task for the way they advertise low fares. In particular, he's aiming at the fine print -- the add-on charges that make low fares not so low.

"The airlines have made a big business out of these fees," that anonymous industry source told the paper. They include PFCs (Passenger Facility Use fees which average about $9.00 per ticket, according to the suit), segment fees (about $3.10 per leg, according to the suit) and foreign landing fees, according to Carter.

"I understand the airlines are having their problems," Carter told the Herald after dropping four airlines from the lawsuit. He didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart -- the four airlines all went bankrupt. "But it just doesn't seem fair or right. They [the airlines] are the least entitled to this money and they're the ones who keep it."

FMI: www.nata-online.org