[XmarksTheScot]

Myself and my fiancée travelled to Gran Canary on Tue 15th of June 2010 for a
weeks holiday from Prestwick with Ryanair, to return on the 22nd.On the evening of the 16th i was contacted by my family to inform me that my father had passed away that day and that i had to return home as soon as possible.

The next available direct flight to Scotland was not until Saturday the 19th and we were informed by our hotel that the best option would be to go to the airport and try to book a flight to the nearest hub airport (Madrid) as soon as possible. Upon arrival at the airport we were told that the next available flight was at 6am on the 17th on one of Spanairs regular business hopper services, but as the flight was full was would only be able to book on 1st class at a cost of 505euros per passenger. Being unable to afford such costs at last minute we contacted my family who were told to contact spanairs call centre to make the reservation on our behalf.When they contacted the call center they queried the high costs and were told that as the flight was only one way policy states it has to be 1st class. They booked the tickets regardless as at this time of family tragedy and grief cost was not a concern.

Upon boarding the flight i was astonished to see that in fact the flight was not full and there were plenty of spaces in economy class. Now since returning i have tried to find this "policy" of spanair forcing customers to purchase 1st class on a one way flight advertised/ stated anywhere on spanair's site and have yet to find any mention of it. As such i feel spanair has done nothing but lie to me and my family during a time when sympathy and helpfulness would have been better served.

Spanair has profiteer from my loss and i would like an explanation as to why. If a satisfactory explanation is not forth coming i will take this matter to my lawyer as well as every regulatory body of air travel, every consumer website and as many newspapers and journalists as i can find who will listen.

[jimworcs]

The outrageous and byzantine charging mechanisms of airlines are designed to bamboozle the consumer and rip them off. Let me predict what response you will get. They will say that a one way, last minute ticket is the most expensive ticket. The price of this in second class is the same as a first class ticket. Therefore, you were "upgraded" to reflect this. It is exploitation of the highest order.

You should have used the internet to see if you could buy a last minute consolidator ticket or checked out the price of a return. It is often the case that had you bought a return ticket, you could have bought it for considerably less. This does at least have the added bonus of making the airline waste an empty seat for the return.

Good luck with trying to get anything done. The charging and pricing of tickets is not regulated sadly, so there is little you can do. Bad publicity is your only recourse. Try writing to "Readers Rants" in the Sunday Times and see if they will publish the disgraceful way Spanair used your situation.

[XmarksTheScot]

Thanks for the reply Jim, and yes i understand the way they charge, but as i said it would have been very easy for the company rep to book a ticket for me. Sadly due to the situation we were unable to try the internet as the desk at the airport didnt open till 4:30am for us to book on a 6am flight with the gate closing at 5:30am. As you say if i get no response or an auto response from Spanair then i can assure you this, i will shout as loud and for as long as i can to any1 that will listen about Spanair's appalling attitude to fellow humans in the worst of times a man can face.