Advertisement
U.S. markets open in 5 hours 27 minutes
  • S&P Futures

    5,304.50
    -3.75 (-0.07%)
     
  • Dow Futures

    40,104.00
    -40.00 (-0.10%)
     
  • Nasdaq Futures

    18,502.00
    -1.75 (-0.01%)
     
  • Russell 2000 Futures

    2,134.80
    -3.60 (-0.17%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    81.73
    +0.38 (+0.47%)
     
  • Gold

    2,213.40
    +0.70 (+0.03%)
     
  • Silver

    24.61
    -0.14 (-0.57%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0801
    -0.0028 (-0.26%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.1960
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     
  • Vix

    12.95
    +0.17 (+1.33%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2612
    -0.0026 (-0.21%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    151.3940
    +0.1480 (+0.10%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,381.34
    +590.69 (+0.85%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,931.98
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Crazy (and creative) ways people have dodged annoying airline fees

Alex Hamberger proved that a little kindness can go a long way. (Photo: Alex Hamberger/Facebook)
Alex Hamberger proved that a little kindness can go a long way. (Photo: Alex Hamberger/Facebook)

When it comes to airline fees, passengers often feel like their backs are against the wall.

But as the following stories show, all fees are negotiable if you use a little creativity.

Take Alex Hamberger, a 30-year-old man who used his mastery of the English language to convince American Airlines to waive a $200 cancellation fee.

Hamberger planned to fly from Buffalo, N.Y., to Kansas City to visit family when he started to feel sick. He went to a doctor who advised him not to travel because he had flu-like illness that could introduce pneumonia and other dangerous illnesses to his infant niece.

Hamberger rescheduled his flight, asking the airline rep if they could waive the $200 cancellation fee. He was told that the request would have to be sent through the mail along with a doctor’s note. He wanted to ensure that his request was heard, so Hamberger formulated a witty and heartfelt letter to catch the airline’s attention.

“Dear Most Kind and Benevolent American Airlines Customer Service Staff Member, I write to you with the hopes that you may take mercy on me and afford a little sympathy for this flyer who was taken quite ill and had to postpone his trip to see his beloved niece,” Hamberger wrote.

He went on to describe the cause of his travel setback and even used some flattery, thanking the airline for “all you do to make the travel dreams of flyers such as myself a reality.” American Airlines received his letter and miraculously decided to refund the money.

"It's nice to get the $200 back, but it was really more about taking a chance and hoping to make a nice connection with them," Hamberger told ABC News. "I truly thought, if someone at the office at American opens up and it puts a smile on their face, that to me was really special."

Turns out, sometimes the best way to get a fee waived is to ask nicely.

Avoid baggage fees

Matt Botten decided to wear all of his clothes instead of paying a baggage fee. (Photo: Ireland AM/Facebook)
Matt Botten decided to wear all of his clothes instead of paying a baggage fee. (Photo: Ireland AM/Facebook)

We can all agree that checked baggage fees are the worst. What used to be free now costs the same as a steak dinner at Applebee’s, and travelers can’t help feeling powerless as airlines rake in billions. After all, other than over-packing your carry-on, there is no way to avoid these fees… Or is there?

Last March, traveler Matt Botten was taking an EasyJet flight from London to Iceland when he was asked to pay £45 ($65.80 US) to take his bag on the plane. EasyJet is a low-cost airline that charges for extras in order to provide cheaper fares. While Botten was shocked by the charge, he didn’t get mad. He got creative. Instead of forking over the cash, the 32-year-old man from Cardiff, Wales, decided to wear every piece of clothing in his suitcase.

“I sensibly decided the one hour of embarrassment of looking like a massively flustered Michelin man, and subsequent odour, was worth the expenditure,” Botten told The Independent.

Botten wore layers of hoodies, shirts, pants, a scarf and ski gloves. He even stuck an extra pair of shoes in his pocket.

Besides a few extra questions from security, Botten’s plan went off without a hitch. Sure, he arrived in Iceland a bit sweaty, but he had money in his pocket and a wild story to tell.

Score free food

A man in China score free meals at the airport for one year by repeatedly re-booking his fully refundable plane ticket. (Photo: Getty)
A man in China score free meals at the airport for one year by repeatedly re-booking his fully refundable plane ticket. (Photo: Getty)

Airlines have notoriously been tight-fisted when it comes to meals, but occasionally a passenger finds a way to get the upper hand.

In 2014, a man in China used his first-class plane ticket to score free meals for a year at the Xi’an International Airport. The man bought a fully-refundable ticket for Eastern China Airline and used it to get into the airport’s swanky VIP lounge where he indulged in free food and drinks. The crazy genius would then rebook his ticket for another date, when he would return to the lounge for the sole purpose of eating a free meal. Airline officials eventually realized that the man had re-booked his ticket 300 times over the course of one year and confronted him.

Legally, the eager eater wasn’t breaking any rules, so the airline couldn’t make him stop. However, the thrill of this secret scam had subsided and in the most baller move yet, the man cashed in his fully-refundable ticket, rubbed his full belly, and walked away with all of his money.

Respect.

What’s in a name?

In 2015, Adam Armstrong changed his name to Adam West on Facebook.

It was a joke meant to compare himself to the actor who played Batman in the 1960s, but Armstrong wasn’t laughing when his girlfriend’s father bought him a plane ticket to Ibiza under the false name, and the airline charged him $336 to change it.

It’s Ryanair’s policy to issue a £110 ($161 US) charge to change the name on a plane ticket. In this case the cost was doubled because Armstrong’s girlfriend’s ticket was on the same reservation.

After weighing his options, the student from Manchester, England, realized it would actually be cheaper to legally change his name to Adam West. It’s free to change your name in England, and after paying about $157 for a new and expedited passport, Mr. West still had money left over to party in Spain.

This all went down nearly a year ago, and by the looks of Adam’s Facebook page, he is still using the last name “West.”

Have you found a creative way to avoid airline fees? Email us at yfmoneymailbag@yahoo.com.

 

Advertisement