By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 07/10/2026So I tabbed over to Chromium and pasted the Google Flights outbound link that would take me to a pre-populated reservation form on aircanada.com. To my amazement, that same flight was showing as a USD1200 fare! 1592
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 07/10/2026These were identical trips, loaded via identical referrer URLs. The difference was that in the browser where Air Canada knew that I was an extremely loyal and prolific customer, they had whacked me with a *44.8% premium* to punish me for my loyalty! 620636
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 07/10/2026I couldn't believe it. I actually called Air Canada's customer service line for "Elite" fliers, and the customer service rep was at a loss for an explanation and could only apologise and suggest that I write a letter to the company. 2852
Bob Wieman @bobwieman.bsky.social · 1hThis is the topic of the book Gouged by Lindsay Owens. NPR’s Life Kit did a piece on it. 020
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl @deardara.bsky.social · 11hI just had a similar situation, a ticket was $600 more when I was logged in to delta with my frequent flyer ID, than when I used a different computer and browser… it’s an outrageous insult to customers. 030
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/10/2026Financially, I 100% get why the airline would choose to fleece their own elite status customers, but in every other way it’s infuriating 2492
