Ask Terry Trippler

In 1996, Trippler & Associates began publishing a newsletter called The Airfare Report. “We talked about rules and regulations, passengers’ rights, the airlines’ rights, and what have you,” he says. A Wall Street Journal reporter called about an item in the newsletter, then wrote an article citing Trippler as a source. Soon other reporters were calling.

But as his profile rose, his business struggled. In 1997, the Tripplers had all but folded the agency and newsletter and begun to look for other jobs when he got a call in October from the ABC newsmagazine show 20/20, which wanted to feature him and his views about the airline industry. The 20/20 segment that aired in January 1998 brightened his financial outlook.

Trippler had been writing articles in his newsletter noting that airfare quotes varied considerably depending on whether the consumer contacted a travel agent or an airline agent—typically, the airline agent’s price was higher. 20/20 picked up on that and did a game-show type of story. The correspondent would call an airline and get a quote on a specific flight; Trippler would then give his price, without being told the airline price. Trippler beat the airline every time. It was a big hit for 20/20, and it gave Trippler instant credibility with travel agents and the media. “After that,” Trippler recalls, “we had offers coming to us: ‘Would you represent us?’ ‘Would you be our spokesperson?’”Hence his current affiliations with travel Web sites.

As he explains his take on the airline industry, it’s evident that “Republican consumer advocate” doesn’t begin to cover the irony of his position. On one hand, he makes his living by telling consumers how to find the lowest fares and how to exercise their rights as passengers—a cause to which he seems genuinely devoted. On the other, he insists that those same low fares—and the cost cutting that makes them possible—are threatening the viability of the air transportation system. He frankly urges airlines to raise their ticket prices.

In short, Trippler will tell you how to track down a $49 fare that he believes an airline shouldn’t sell you. He insists that there’s no inconsistency: “In the long run, consumers, I’m on your side. But I can see what’s happening out there.” Here’s how he sees it.

Why the media rely on him

When I worked for Northwest at the counter in Detroit in 1968, they would tell me all these things: Here’s what we do in this case or that case. I finally said to my supervisor, ‘Wait a minute, this has got to be written down somewhere, there’s got to be a book of policies.’ He said, ‘Well, yeah, that’s in the Tariff over there, that book yea thick.’ [The book, the Domestic General Rules Tariff, contains all the rules for domestic travel in the United States.]

The Tariff is the airlines’ contract of carriage, containing the rules and regulations under which they operate. At that time, it was issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board. I started reading it every chance I got. I got hooked on it and kept studying it while I was a travel agent. My wife would come out at two o’clock in the morning, I’d be sitting on the living room floor. She’d say, ‘What are you doing?’ I’d say, ‘I’m reading the Tariff.’ I became a specialist in the rules and regulations of the airline industry.