AirHitch
Filed in archive Cheap Ride on June 23, 2006
Yesterday, I suggested travelling as an Air Courier to get to your travel destination at a budget. The only real disadvantage of this adventure travel option is that you have even more baggage limitations.
Should you want yet another way of getting yourself across the ocean at a budget price, you might want to try hitchhiking. Yup, across the ocean. You need not put your thumb out but you would be able to get to another country/continent at a very cheap price with AirHitch.
How does it work? For a very low price, you get an AirHitch voucher. This voucher becomes a ticket only when there is a seat free. So, in effect, you are travelling as a stand-by passenger. To ensure that you get a seat (with other AirHitch voucher holders in competition), you need to get there early and get your name listed.
What is expected from you? You need to be EXTREMELY flexible. Not only would you NOT know when you will be flying but you may also not know exactly WHERE TO you will be flying. Your voucher may be valid for a particular period, for (as an example) any European city. So you need to be prepared for all possibilities.
Interested? Read AirHitch's site in detail. Register and check out the forums for more information.
This is a perfect budget travel solution for adventurous souls who are willing to just go with the flow.
Permalink: AirHitch
Tags: airhitch travel budget cheap have glorious+movie short+glorious joshua+tree
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PeterPiper
(06/01/08 7:42pm)
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Following is a message from "eanostrand" (Erica) posted on May 13, 2006. "Re: AirHitch: the downside of airhitching".
http://www.digihitch.com/article788.html#comments
For the benefit of all, I've scanned and reproduced her AOL instant message conversation with airhitch.
I'm posting it here because for one, it is a hilarious exchange that reads like a Monty Python sketch. But it also provides a window into the bizarre world of the founder of airhitch who has a long history of browbeating and abusing customers (which he claims are not customers), as you can read about in detail on this site (including two more notes from Erica, and one from Airhitch).
http://www.frommers.com/cgi-bin/WebX?128@@.ee9c0d4
Here is the transcript of her chat session.
---------------------------------------------------
Airhitch20: U've go2stay in the CR longer than 2 mins to get a response when you come in 4 the first time.
Secksierica: okay, should i go back in and ask my question or should i just ask you?
Airhitch20: We will answer you Q to the extent it is answerable here...but then...
Airhitch20: you will need2read www.airhitch.org/CRprotocol.txt b4 u go back into the CR
Airhitch20: You asked, "did this company used to be airhitch.com? and the answer is No, there has never been an airhitch.com
Secksierica: well a few years ago i went on a trip and paid a lifetime membership, sent it to an address in golden, co
Airhitch20: if you browse to www.airhitch.com you will see that you just get "bounced" to our website, www.airhitch.ORG
Secksierica: my receipt says airhitch.com, but I didn't know if this was the same company
Secksierica: it was awhile back so I don't really remember
Airhitch20: That may be true but you probably got scammed
Airhitch20: Do you have the receipt?
Secksierica: ya, it's a postal money order...
Secksierica: for 39.00
Airhitch20: How can a money order be a receipt?
the receipt that was attached to the money order?
Airhitch20: That's not a a receipt, that's a STUB. A receipt comes from the RECEIVING party!
Airhitch20: Get it? RECEIVING - RECEIPT.
Secksierica: jesus, dude, forget I asked.
Airhitch20: What makes you think you are talking to a "dude"?
Secksierica: wow, I'm gonna take a screenshot of this and send it to the BBB and whoever else I can.
Airhitch20: You proceed thru your cyber life on the basis of a lot of weird assumptions.
Secksierica: it's a freakin word. I call women 'dude' all the time
Airhitch20: Send it to GOD if you want, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what we are telling you.
Secksierica: as in, 'hey dude', or 'wow dude, that's cool'
Airhitch20: So are you gonna get on a high horse of indignation or are you gonna proceed to SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM?
Airhitch20: FYI, words count for a lot more in the cyberworld than they do in the "real" world.
Secksierica: I'm not indignant but I don't have to be talked to like this when all I did was ask if you guys were airhitch.com. a simple yes or no answer sufficed.
Airhitch20: you are not being talked to, you are reading text appearing on your screen. GET THE DIFFERENCE.
Secksierica: you don't have to be rude.
Airhitch20: And you ARE indignant...and we are NOT rude.
Airhitch20: We are simply giving you STRAIGHT ANSWERS and observations about your cyberbehavior.
Secksierica: hah
Airhitch20: You have two choices. you can get OFFENDED AND INDIGNANT or you can LEARN from it.
Airhitch20: Make your choice and if it is the former, GET OUR OF OUR FACE.
Airhitch20: In the latter, we will be happy to help you.
Airhitch20: But make it NOW becuz we don't have valuable volunteer staff time to waste... get it?
Secksierica: oh really? you seem to have a lot of time to waste.
Secksierica: forget it, I'll go somewhere else.
Airhitch20: We don't. If you decide you want to learn from us then none of this time is wasted.
Airhitch20: OK, bye.
-----------------------------------------------
You can also find a screenshot of the chat session here:
http://home.comcast.net/~evanostrand/discussion/airhitch1.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~evanostrand/discussion/airhitch2.JPG
---------------------------------------
A response from AirHitch!
On May 14, 2006, Eric received the following response from info@airhitch.org.
As the chatstaff told you, your entire discourse was (and continues to be) based on ERRONEOUS PERCEPTIONS, arising from FAULTY AND UNTRUE ASSUMPTIONS.
Here are a few of them:
1. We are not a company nor have we ever been.
2. Since we are not a company, we don't have customers.
3. Since we don't have customers, and are not here to "serve" anyone, we have no "customer service".
4. Since we are not organized hierarchically, no one can be "fired".
5. The "Better Business Bureau" will not be interested in what you have to say because we are not a "business".
-----------------------------
Amazing, sad, and hilarious at the same time.
Recommended reading to learn more about this so-called organization.
Flying with Air-Hitch
http://www.frommers.com/cgi-bin/WebX?128@@.ee9c0d4
I should add that numerous people have flown with AirHitch successfully with many of them satisfied, though I have not heard of anyone recently who has flown AirHitch.