atravelynn

I don't fly a lot so maybe this is not as unusual as I think.

#1 When checking in for a BA flight out of O'Hare I was asked for the credit card I had used to pay the tax on the flight. I had used miles for the ticket itself. I had booked about 330 days earlier and had sinced cancelled that particular credit card. Of course I didn't have it with me. So I was removed from line and had to see another agent. Fortunately I had booked the flight and paid the tax so long ago that the agent told me there was no fraud problem.

I saw the same thing happen to a man in Johannesburg who could not produce proof of purchase for his airline tickets for himself and his family. All he had was the tickets for a scheduled daily flight to a safari lodge. He and his family were not allowed to board.

#2 As our domestic flight was inching toward the runway, a guy stood up. Who knows what for. An announcement came on for all passengers to please return to their seats immediately. Then a moment later the pilot came on and announced that since we had a standing passenger, safety measures stated we had to leave the runway and taxi to the end of the take-off line. The pilot stated that now 5 planes were ahead of us. The result was a 20 minute delay on an 80 minute flight.

rkkwan

1. Common on certain international carriers. I've also heard of such things on UA in the past, but in general, you only need a confirmation number and ID to check in on US-based carriers.

2. It's a very serious matter. During one of my recent flights, a girl decided she needs to go to the bathroom (probably to throw up) when we were on final approach (perhaps 2-3 minutes from touchdown). The FA, who was already seated saw that and immediately screamed at her to get her back to her seat.

pat

Can`t the airline get a big fine, if a customer is standing during landing or take off? At least that what my pilot cousin has said.

AAFrequentFlyer

#1 - It's done on occasion to prevent a possibility of fraud. It depends on the originating and/or destination points, the time of the purchase, different names of the purchaser/actual flyer, etc...

It's a bother, but at the end if everything seems ok then it will not prevent you from flying. Yet it may save you the time and annoynance of dealing with the CC issuing bank when somebody does use your CC in a fraud scheme. The airline would also lose money. The bank would not pay the airline for the ticket if it found out later that the ticket was purchased with a stolen CC.

#2 - The guy was lucky that the captain did not return to the gate and had him thrown off the flight and possibly arrested.

Here is a good story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19998573/

rkkwan

On Continental, the airline that I fly most these days, there's never a check on the credit card. In fact, I often buy my parents' tickets on my CC and vice versa.

clevelandbrown

I think the credit card issue depends on how well the airline knows you. My wife and I have frequent flyer status on our favorite airline, and they never ask to see our credit cards (in fact, they have the credit card info stored on their website, which makes buying tickets easier for us). On the other hand, if the airline has no experience with you, it makes good sense for them to want to see the credit card; anyone could buy on line with a stolen or false credit card number, and the airline would be out the money for the flight if they let you fly without having some assurance that the credit card is yours. I would guess they have some procedures in place if someone else bought the ticket for you, and probably the final decision is based on whether you seem trustworthy, and have a good story. My daughter flies on tickets we have purchased, but has our family name; perhaps if she marries and changes her name, things won't go so smoothly.

I think it is an FAA regulation that all passengers must be buckled in during taxiing and takeoff/landing. On one flight we took, a passenger got queasy and locked himself in the lavatory as the plane was on final approach; when the flight attendants couldn't talk him out, the pilot aborted the landing and we had to circle the field and reenter the pattern when he finally came out; he was met by the police on landing, but I don't know if he got more than a lecture. I'm, luckily, not queasy myself, but I sympathize with an inexperienced flyer, as being locked in a confined space, pressurized, and bounced along a runway, is hardly a pleasant experience.

australiabound

I travel frequently.

#1. The airlines ask for the credit card used to pay the tax to prevent fraud espeically overseas where fraud is rampant.

#2. The FAA can fine the airlines if a rule is broken like someone standing up on the taxiway or while the flight is on final descent. It's for safety reasons to. You don't want someone falling on top of you.

Patty

Delta technically requires the credit card used for purchase to be presented at check-in when the purchase is made within X number of days of the flight. I can't remember the exact number of days off the top of my head, but I want to say something like 5. It's for fraud prevention. Medallions are exempt from this requirement.

Bobmrg

Jeez, clevelandbrown, by the time an airplane is on final approach the cabin altitude is virtually identical with the outside altitude...a pressure differential of zero, in other words. That argument is pretty weak

clevelandbrown

In ancient days, I was in Air Force recruiting. The recruiting examination facility we used was jointly staffed, and commanded by an Army colonel. Our recruits went to the airport as a group, and were flown to the basic training facility in Texas.

One day I was hanging around after closing exchanging war stories with some of our recruiters, when the Army colonel called me in and explained, with great joy, that one of our recruits (typically boys right out of high school) had demanded to be let off the plane, and I would have to deal with the problem. I went to the airport and found a scared young man, who said he had been all right until the closed the door and pressurized the plane, then he just had to get off. I gave him some money to go back downtown to the examining facility, where further dealings were the Colonel's problem, not mine. For the remainder of his tour, that Colonel never saw me without hee-hawing about us enlisting in the Air Force a recruit who was afraid to fly.

Even today, when they close the door in preparation for takeoff, I think of that young man, and I'm pretty sure I can feel the change in pressure in the plane.

Bobgrm, there is a difference between virtual and actual, and when you used the term virtual to mean actual, you blew what little argument you had. The differential may be very little, but some people are sensitive to it.

matnikstym

I don't understand the possible fraud issue. The ticket was purchased for Mr. Traveler using Mr. Traveler's credit card and was approved. Mr. Traveler shows up at the airport with passport proving Mr. Traveler is Mr. Traveler. If all the names match, how could there be fraud? Curious as I have a SAA flight in September that said I definitely HAVE to show the card I used to purchase the ticket. But what if I lost it and cancelled the card...I'm still Mr. Traveler no matter how you look at it.

Patty

Dennis,
Someone used my Amex number to buy herself a NBO-MEX ticket online while I was still in Kenya on one of my trips. Had the KQ agent asked her to produce the card at check-in, she might not have made it on the flight.

GreenDragon

Yes, but there must be some sort of system in place to deal with people who are flying on a gift flight. For instance, when I flew out to California to meet my parents, they arranged and paid for the flight. Same thing when we all went to Ireland (leaving from different cities). When I arranged a trip overseas for me and my two friends, I bought the tickets and they paid me back - and we flew from different airports. It happens all the time. I can't imagine what would happen if that stricture were enforced.

I've also bought a ticket 10 months in advance before, and then had the card stolen AFTER it was paid for, and had it replaced. That old card is no longer in existence. Then what?

Karen246

Credit card fraud is rife in South Africa so assume why they have introduced this rule. Does it say that you must carry the credit card with you to the airport. Would mean in a lot of cases having to carry cancelled credit cards. We tried to book an internal flight with our credit card when in South Africa and they condition was that you must not travel till at least they have cleared the payment but I thought that was because we were from overseas