Buddy Passes, Worthless??

[juxtapilot]

BobDDuck hooked me up with a pass to NJC last year. It was my first time ever using a buddy pass. Worked out great. Perhaps it was just beginners luck though.

 

[Van_Hoolio]

I've used buddy passes a couple times this year. One of my buddies from college got his passport and was itching to travel and had the time, so in February we went to Panama City (Cuidad de) and earlier this month we went to Buenos Aires. Each trip cost him just over $400 round trip which was expensive, but still cheaper than a paid ticket, and when I accompany a buddy pass rider they board at my priority (SA3) instead of the normal SA5. There weren't any hangups since we watched the loads carefully. It worked out ok.

 

[flyinpimp]

Hello.... just thought I'd pose this question to the group. Are buddy pass benefits essentially worthless in this day and age, or is it my carrier that is the problem?

They all suck.

A little BG.... a have a friend who asked me if I could help them find a "deal" ie buddy pass between two cities. Well, handcuffed slightly by lack of NWA flights and no buddy passes on Delta, my proposed roundtrip fare using buddy pass (and ending up being all flights on my carrier, no less!), was $224. The same route on the website, because of the special nature of the "multi-city trip" is $1200. However, this isn't worth anything to the buddy, who can go on a roundtrip nonstop flight between the origin and destination for $240. I'm a bit miffed, in a way, that I was asked to help and then told "that's not worth it to me" but on the other hand, I completely agree that with Orbitz type sites, airline travel benefits aren't as good as just being a cheap-skate and finding "the lowest fare" which gives you a guaranteed seat, something a buddy pass can't do.

They are only good for maybe international travel. Alot of times, you can pay about 20 dollars more(or even less) and get a CONFIRMED TICKET. Remember, Orbitz, Travelosity, the carriers themselves DO NOT GIVE GUARANTEED SEATING. I know what you mean but believe it or not, alot of people think that and don't realize that they are CONFIRMED and not GUARANTEED for the flight. My advise, if domestic, look on the carrier's website first, then check orbitz/travelosity/cheap tickets/expedia/(insert website here). If they are outrageously high then check the price and the bookings for the flight. Good idea would be to check the flights earlier that day and the day before as well.

Is it just my airline that sucks? What do others out there have? For giggles, the city pair that I'm attempting is ATL-IAD, and the only way I could make it work with my benefits was ATL-MEM-IAD.

Nope, they all suck.

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

I once traded a Mesa buddy pass (which are free, no fees) to a gate agent in telluride for lift tickets. But now we can't use Mesa passes on United/Mesa flights.

 

[SierraPilot123]

Yes useless!!!

 

[Fins Up]

I've never had a problem buddy-passing folks on JetBlue. I guess it's a matter of luck and when they want to travel.