Ethical question

[Starport Seven-Five]

I voted ethical. You provided a cost and the company felt it was worth it for you to travel. If you can travel cheaper by stalking rates that is your earned income.

If you had lied about the cost up front I would say unethical.

 

[disneychrista]

I never thought to do this when traveling on the company dime. I did however add reservations & flight to the hotel & airline apps for points/miles. But I don't fly enough or stay at those hotels enough to really get a benefit from it.

 

[princesscinderella]

I’m undecided, I can see both sides of the argument and it’s tricky. With the way airfare costs are skyrocketing I doubt you would see a lowering of fares to get the chance to pocket the difference.

 

[Skywalker]

To me, not ethical. The company purchased you transportation, I think you just use the tickets they bought. To try and game that into a money making opportunity for you, seems off to me. If you score a better deal, it should benefit them, since they paid. Best way to know for sure, is ask them if you can do that. If they don't care, do it with a clear conscience. If they do care, well then you know. Now, if you don't want to ask them the question, then I think you know which side of the ethics line it falls.

 

[bcla]

Wouldn't the credit go on the credit card used to purchase the ticket?

On Southwest that’s only for “Anytime” fares which are considered fully refundable. But credit is only valid for future travel and expires.

 

[kymom99]

If you are doing the work to find the price drops, I think it should go to you. If the company isn’t going to look for the price drops, why would they care?

When my son was 16 I booked him on a flight. Before the day to fly, the airline changed the flight. When I looked at the new flight, it was cheaper than what I had paid. I called and they gave him a $100 credit. The credit was of no use to me, since it was in his name. So if the OP gets a credit, only he can use it. He may not even get to use it if it expires. Why would the company get anything from him?

 

[BayouQueen]

Well, OP, would you be embarrassed if someone from the company found out? If you would, it's not worth it.

 

[EACarlson]

Every company I've ever worked for had/has very specific rules about travel compensation, free upgrades, credits, and frequent flier points/miles, among other details.
OP, I understand that you're an independent contractor, but don't you have a contract with the company on whose behalf you are traveling? The protocol for this would be spelled out there.

The contract is not enforceable and only mentions the client will pay for travel in some situations. It actually spends more time detailing how much the reimbursement is for driving to the event than it does about paid flights.

I’m undecided, I can see both sides of the argument and it’s tricky. With the way airfare costs are skyrocketing I doubt you would see a lowering of fares to get the chance to pocket the difference.

Close in and a not popular city pair, I could see it dropping some. A big portion of the reason I asked the question here was to get other opinions as I'm in the same spot. When I travel for my day job it's not an option with how our tickets are booked, but with this client it is.

 

[Allison]

Well, OP, would you be embarrassed if someone from the company found out? If you would, it's not worth it.

Good point. Would the OP feel okay telling the company they intended to do this?

 

[MamaMermaid]

Well, OP, would you be embarrassed if someone from the company found out? If you would, it's not worth it.

This is the answer. And it's obviously super personal.

 

[meremac]

Why not just ask the company you contract with if it would be ok? If they can't get anything out of it and you can get a credit for future travel, they might not have any problem at all with it. The worst they can say is "no", but they'd probably gain appreciation for you that you asked instead of just doing it.

 

[amylevan]

Presumably, they have already approved the cost of the flight and paid for it. It is sunk money, already spent. That is how much it was worth it to them to fly you. If you do the work to make that cost cheaper, I can see where some would say it doesn’t matter, they can’t get the money back anyway.

My companies expenses are different, in that they reimburse you for costs. So they would reimburse me the cost of the flight. If the cost of the flight goes down, I would not be entitled to reimbursement as I’m not out any money. In that case, I would consider it unethical as I would be getting an expense check for more than my expenses.

 

[focusondisney]

On Southwest that’s only for “Anytime” fares which are considered fully refundable. But credit is only valid for future travel and expires.

Business Select & Anytime fares are both fully refundable on SW. And travel credits on SW (that were created after July 28, 2022) no longer expire.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I work in Accounting and deal with this - the CO would frown upon a Contractor doing this after CO paid for their travel - the IRS would consider it income BTW to be reported on your 1099
You need to consider your relationship with this Company and if it is worth the price drop that you may not have a relationship going forward that would be your cost
If you’re questioning if it’s ethical or not don’t you already know the answer ??

 

[sheilafri]

I don’t think it’s worth the risk of doing it without written authorization. You don’t know whether in the future the company will use that as an excuse to terminate your employment. You can ask and do it if they say okay, but I’d have a paper trail for the permission.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

Ethics aside, I would wager that at least one decision maker on your contract would find it gauche. And that could have lasting impact on your future projects and engagements with them, so it doesn’t seem worth it for a one off credit, IMO.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Not at all a question of ethics.
Ethics is a morality specific to an industry or some such thing where there is a different set of right and wrong applied due to some specific set of circumstances.
Executives & politicians have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of the business, not themselves (ummm, I know right, try not to laugh). Dr's need to put a patient above themselves, their research and their facilities in a very particular way. Teachers and child caregivers have a seperate set of obligations that apply because they have so much influence and control.

Never have I ever climbed onto an airplane as a passenger and felt so drunk with power that it seemed professional ethics should apply in any kind of way. Now do we need to behave etc, yes by law we do, but that isn't ethics, that's just rank and file applies to everyone law of don't be disruptive or visit the clinker

Credit could be a tax entanglement, maybe, but I'd suspect it is only income when and if you ever use the difference. When you get the credit it is utterly useless until it is used by only you at a very particular business, for a very particular thing (can't buy food or perks with it) in a very particular time-frame so it could be easily lost without use. I'd imagine a CPA could easily argue something for you because it's not a benefit until it is a benefit, and it does you no good sitting unused as a tied up liability to the airline, so it isn't even the same as money until it is used as money. Now, Gov mave have its own ideas but it's a bit muddy if it is left unused, I suspect this is why refunds are in the form of credit in the first place, the airlines have probably been down this road before and this was their solution.

 

[rigs32]

I wouldn't be so sure that you'd be able to make changes to the ticket even though it's in your name. I recently traveled for work and my flight was paid for by the Secret Service. The ticket was in my name, I was able to add my rapid rewards number and KTN to the ticket, but I would NOT have been able to make any changes, including for a price drop. It's possible that's because it was the government paying for the ticket, but it might apply in this scenario if the company used a travel agent to book the ticket rather than an employee using a company card.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I work in Accounting and deal with this - the CO would frown upon a Contractor doing this after CO paid for their travel - the IRS would consider it income BTW to be reported on your 1099
You need to consider your relationship with this Company and if it is worth the price drop that you may not have a relationship going forward that would be your cost
If you’re questioning if it’s ethical or not don’t you already know the answer ??

This is EXACTLY my answer.

 

[kdonnel]

I have often paid my own money to upgrade tickets purchased by my employer but have never taken advantage of any potential price drops.