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No, in fact, I did not truly get what I wanted. I got bumped into the next higher group, which had literally no effect on anything. To put a finer point on it

No, in fact, I did not truly get what I wanted. I got bumped into the next higher group, which had literally no effect on anything. To put a finer point on it, I wanted to get some value out of my $29. I got none. If I said "Hey, give me $29. I'm not gonna give you anything, I just want $29," would you give it to me? Transactions in capitalism are supposed to be voluntary, mutually beneficial exchanges. What benefit did I get? AA exploited an information asymmetry to scam me out of $29.

NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
>I wanted to get some value out of my $29. I got none. It's not for sellers to make value calculations for buyers. Caveat emptor.
- actually_a_dog 4y ago
  Bullshit. If the flight were full, as per usual, then yes, I would agree. Under normal circumstances, I could evaluate this offer and decide that yes, it was worthwhile. But, here, they clearly exploited an information asymmetry to make me a zero value offer, knowing there was some probability I'd accept. Caveat emptor only applies when you have some way to evaluate or vet the offer in advance. With the hidden information that was kept from me, I was robbed of such opportunity.
  - NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
    You paid to board in group X rather than group Y (for some value of X < Y). You got that, although it sounds like group X and group Y were boarded together. Would you be complaining if the entire flight was full of people in group Z (for some value of Z < X)? Or if you'd bought a day-of-travel upgrade when you would've gotten a complimentary upgrade with your frequent-flyer status? Or if you'd paid extra to select a seat at booking when the seat you wanted turned out to be open at check-in time? Or if you paid to change your flight rather than wait on free same-day stand-by? For all you, or the checkin agent, know there could've been irregular ops that moved the entire passenger complement from another flight to yours after you checked in. Unlikely, but it happens. If you're really that worried about, write the airline and complain. They may give you a refund or some free miles or something. However, you got exactly what you paid for and entered willing into the transaction. And, to be clear, literally the entire business of airlines (which is yield management) is based on asymmetry of knowledge between between travelers and carriers.

NovemberWhiskey 4y ago

>I wanted to get some value out of my $29. I got none. It's not for sellers to make value calculations for buyers. Caveat emptor.

actually_a_dog 4y ago
Bullshit. If the flight were full, as per usual, then yes, I would agree. Under normal circumstances, I could evaluate this offer and decide that yes, it was worthwhile. But, here, they clearly exploited an information asymmetry to make me a zero value offer, knowing there was some probability I'd accept. Caveat emptor only applies when you have some way to evaluate or vet the offer in advance. With the hidden information that was kept from me, I was robbed of such opportunity.
- NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
  You paid to board in group X rather than group Y (for some value of X < Y). You got that, although it sounds like group X and group Y were boarded together. Would you be complaining if the entire flight was full of people in group Z (for some value of Z < X)? Or if you'd bought a day-of-travel upgrade when you would've gotten a complimentary upgrade with your frequent-flyer status? Or if you'd paid extra to select a seat at booking when the seat you wanted turned out to be open at check-in time? Or if you paid to change your flight rather than wait on free same-day stand-by? For all you, or the checkin agent, know there could've been irregular ops that moved the entire passenger complement from another flight to yours after you checked in. Unlikely, but it happens. If you're really that worried about, write the airline and complain. They may give you a refund or some free miles or something. However, you got exactly what you paid for and entered willing into the transaction. And, to be clear, literally the entire business of airlines (which is yield management) is based on asymmetry of knowledge between between travelers and carriers.