And that s the problem! An airline customer is right to assume that Delta Airlines (nay, any airline

The other day I purchased a ticket from Delta Airlines , the world s largest airline, for international travel in the month of September. Then, as sometimes happens, something came up and I needed to change the dates of my outgoing flight by a few days.
I had no illusions: change ticket fees are expensive. Generally, they reflect the difference in fares between the one purchased and the one now desired, and a straight-up penalty. Nonetheless, when I called Delta I was more or less confident myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals that I d get a straight price for the change, and that d be that.
So. Wednesday morning (Shanghai time) I called Delta s premium help line (I m platinum medallion with the airline) and informed the customer service representative that I d like to move my outbound flight to a date four days earlier. Within two minutes, the operator quoted me a price $360 and then told me that she d like to send me over to the international desk where I d likely get a better price. Sure enough, I did: $340. Still, it seemed odd to me that different customer service reps at the same airline were quoting different prices to change a ticket. So I decided to wait a day, and see if the price changed.
Less than 24 hours later I called the premium line again. This time I was told that the price for the change would be $560. I told the rep that it d been $200 cheaper the day before, and to please transfer me to the international desk. Sure enough, at the international desk I was given a cheaper price: $540. Of course, that price was $200 more than what I d been quoted the day before a fact that I mentioned to the customer service representative.
I hung up the phone and immediately re-dialed the premium customer service line one more time . This time I reached the friendliest operator yet, and go figure the friendliest change ticket fee: $321 . I immediately agreed to it. Nonetheless, I was sorely tempted to call back and see if I couldn t find an operator who would bring it down further. After all, if five calls and five different operators had brought me my cheapest price yet, what could a sixth call do?
And that s the problem! An airline customer is right to assume that Delta Airlines (nay, any airline) is going to be consistent myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals in how it applies fees and and other penalties across the board. If you want to change your ticket on X day to Y day, the price for doing so should remain consistent (with the band of fare changes), right? At least, that s message that all of that fine print that comes with my tickets suggests. But, clearly, that s not happening at Delta Airlines.  In fact, this is the second time I ve had this very experience in the last 14 months. Back in June 2011, I had a similar myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals experience with Delta operators offering me an even wider band (300% band) of possible change myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals ticket fees. Alas, I didn t take careful notes that time.
Delta s computer system is highly sophisticated and provides myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals change myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals ticket fees based on customer myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals history and perceived willingness myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals to pay (this isn t as crazy as it sounds: a few months ago Delta was busted for quoting higher prices to its frequent fliers ).
Whatever the cause of the five different quotes, one thing is for certain: Delta customers shouldn t assume that the airlines change ticket fees are assessed on a consistent myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals basis. They re clearly not. For a reporter with a little time, it d be interesting to see how these inconsistent charges myrtle beach south carolina vacation rentals line up with the fine print related to change ticket fees that come with tickets.