Airlines give a fair flight Check- ins and balances

Passengers aren't always right.

Why can't I have a refund/upgrade/different flight? Every day thousands of travellers find that airlines turn down seemingly reasonable requests. It seems harsh. But is it? As a former passenger traffic officer for a leading international airline, I think it is time to answer the criticisms that passengers level against us.

Q: I've bought a cheap ticket and need to change the date. I've phoned reservations (anonymously - I'm not stupid), and seats are available in economy. But the ticket people say I can't change it.

A: Most passengers have no concept that when they buy a ticket, what they are doing is equivalent to walking into a sales room, assessing the products on offer, and buying one. Some time later, when they come to exercise their option on the specific product they have bought, they have long forgotten why it is they wanted that product. Asking to change a restricted ticket is like viewing some of the more pleasant - and more expensive - products on offer and deciding they would rather have that one. There is not the slightest thought that what they are asking for is not what they have paid for, because there is no obvious, tactile or visible, representation of the differing products on offer.

Q: My point exactly: the seat is empty, so why can't I sit in it? Or, for that matter, a business-class one?

A: I repeat: because you haven't paid for it. When was the last time you heard of anyone walking into a car showroom, handing over the money for a 1.4L, and two weeks later turning up to drive it away but demanding the 2.0GLi - or even the executive 2.8? My analogy refers to people asking for upgrades, or more baggage than the allowance on their ticket, and, although it may not be apparent in this specific case, more flexibility than they opted for when they bought the ticket.

Q: So I'm checking in for the right flight. I'm tall, with a bad leg. Why won't the clerk assign me an emergency exit row?

A: Many disabled or injured passengers request emergency exit seats for the leg-room. But Civil Aviation Authority regulations - not airline rules - disallow such a facility to those very passengers. The reason is that in the event of emergency, able- bodied people are needed to access the exits.

Q: Last year 'The Independent' carried a story about a couple who were going to be charged extra for not flying from Houston to Dallas. Surely that's unreasonable?

A: I feel the public does not understand the restrictions that apply to cheap tickets, and the reasons for them. Basically, airlines need to maximise their earnings (or "yield", to use the correct term). They do this by charging business travellers, or anyone who needs flexibility, premium fares. The cheaper tickets have to be restrictive - otherwise, business travellers would buy them, the airline would lose out and fare levels for everyone else would have to rise. For restrictions to work, they have to be strictly enforced - even if that sometimes leads to apparent anomalies. Some travel agencies are at fault for giving falsely optimistic advice about the chance of changing plans.

I feel the airline acted fairly and reasonably, given the rules. It comes down to individual personnel accepting responsibility for problems that their airline has not necessarily caused. And though airline staff are all human, we also face the prospect of being accused of being too generous to passengers and having to justify the decision to the company accountants three weeks later.

Q: My sister, who lives in Glasgow, had to pay extra when she was flying to the Gulf. Her plane from Scotland was delayed, so she missed her connection. That's hardly fair.

A: During my time at the airline, I often had to deal with a bunch of people who had come in on a domestic carrier, arrived too late for their long-haul flight and were refused a rebooking. Many of the passengers had bought the cheapest possible fare in a travel agency. This involved being on two separate tickets; one, say, Glasgow-Heathrow, and a separate one for Heathrow-Dubai. Separate tickets means there's no responsibility by either airline. And from the point of view of the individual airlines, rightly so. Each has carried out its responsibility: the first carrier has got the passenger from A to B, albeit tardily, while the the second has agreed to carry the passenger if she checks in on time. If she doesn't, for whatever reason, the long-haul airline is absolved from further action. The travel agents did not explain that to the punter at point of sale, possibly because they did not know.Meanwhile the (blameless) check-in rep takes the grief.

Q: So why would anyone be an check-in rep?

A: Why do you think I'm an ex-employee? Seriously, though, give a thought to this endangered species. Actions may seem illogical, unfair and unrealistic. There is a reason somewhere, even if the person you happen to be speaking to doesn't know it - and can't quite admit it.