Comments on: That Flight You Booked 6 Months Ago? Cancelled! But We Can Help

By: Nata

Nata — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:31:22 +0000

I am looking to use my AA miles to fly from Kiev Ukraine to DFW. The only itenerary AA can offer me is with overnight in London. Is AA supposed to provide me with the hotel/meals because of their schedule?
Once before, we had a similar situation with Delta and their partner, Czeck Airlines provided us with the hotel, transportaition, and meal voucher.
Thank you.

By: Kirk Greiner

Kirk Greiner — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:59:30 +0000

I took a “free” companion coupon to the airport to get tickets for my wife who was going to travel with me. The airport said I had to call in. I called in on my cell phone and they set me up and said I no longer had to go to the airport. They charged me a reservation fee because the ticket was gotten on the phone. I said, I was at the airport and would get the ticket there to avoid the charge since the reservation was made. Sorry they said, the “free” companion ticket must be made by phone and you cannot avoid the phone reservation fee. The airline was Delta.

By: Anne McCormick

Anne McCormick — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:02:45 +0000

On March 29, 2008, I reserved 3 seats on Aer Lingus for May 21, traveling from Dublin to Madrid. I received a confirmation. I had paid for 3 bags to be check at that
time as well. The evening before our flight I went on line to pay for additional baggage and to check in; however the web site would not permit me to make any changes and it instructed me to call the office. The office was closed so I began to call the number listed on the website the first thing in the morning. I attempted to call from a cell phone, I tried from a pay phone until I ran out of coins, I called using the computer, each time I was given the instructions to hit 1, 2 or 3. When
I did I was put back in the loop to press 1, 2 or 3. I could not get through to anyone. No matter what number I pressed I got the same message. I finally gave up
for fear we would be late and left for the airport. When we arrived at the airport to check in they could not find our reservation. I was escorted to a ticket agent where I was informed that my flight had been canceled. My reservations had been rescheduled to a flight departing 6AM instead of 4PM. I was told I was sent emails
that I had not received and that a text message was sent to my daughters cell phone (she did not receive it). I could not believe I was not actually called. I gave
a phone number to be called in case of changes. Why if I received the original confirmation email did I not receive the other emails that were supposedly sent?
According to the clerk at the ticket counter they could not put us on a flight until 4pm the next day and we would have to pay another 129 plus tax per person and she
would try to wave the 45 per ticket transfer fee. When I said this was not satisfactory,I was told this was all that Air Lingus could do for me though I could try another
airline. In fact, I did book with another carrier and got a flight out two hours later than my original departure time and for less money than the 129 quoted by
ticket clerk. Since Aer Lingus failed to operate my flight in a timely fashion or provide me with effective notification, on June 1st I requested a refund in the
amount of $212.04. They say they have the right to change schedules and that’s it. Any suggestions?

By: jim long

jim long — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:54:49 +0000

We have a flight from K.C. to Maui, in Sept. We received an e-mail stating our depture had been changed from 8:05 to 9:10, since this only left a 45 min. plane change window, we called AA. After a little discussion we were changed back to our 8:05 departure, with better seats. Whats with this? We are traveling with freq-miles.

By: Darryl Anderson

Darryl Anderson — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:36:28 +0000

Janet, just call the airlines and explain your situation. Once they verify you’re legit by asking certain questions, they can resend your itinerary; then print out a copy plus write your confirmation number on your calender for future reference.

By: Janet lamprecht

Janet lamprecht — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:24:20 +0000

hey, I book flights from amirillo to dallas.i accidentally delete my flight iteranry from my email inbox.How can i receive an duplicate???????

By: djrobsd

djrobsd — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:35:20 +0000

I disagree with the driving vs flying you mention. Xpressjet just cancelled all their flights after Sep 2. To drive from San Diego to Colorado Springs is over 1000 miles, a 2 day journey. The flights were usually $250-300 round trip. In my 2003 Ford Escape, gas at 4.69/gal will cost me about $500. Plus at least another $100-200 for hotel stay since it’s a 2 day drive, $50-100 for meals, and you can see quickly that the 2 hour and 20 minute flight for $300 bucks on Expressjet is irreplacable.

By: Cristy

Cristy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:09:08 +0000

C Sykes - You CAN purchase insurance for flights but you have to read the fine print. A company that I use for my clients will cover flights as long as you purchase the insurance at the same time as the tickets. They also cover for bankruptcy and much more.

Also, one thing that I have found to be of help is booking through a major supplier with a travel agent. As an agent, I get daily updates on every single ticket I book if there are any changes - even gate changes. I can then pass this info on to the clients. This is because the supplier has a vested interest in keeping me happy and they are linked directly to the airlines’ scheduling system. They take care of me because I book in volume with them. Unlike the airlines, they will take the time to contact me because they know I will continue to trust them and steer customers their way! Just this past week I have had 19 time/gate changes to Hawaii alone, but each of my clients is aware as soon as I am.

Bottom line, many people like to book through Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, etc., but did you know that a travel agent can not only often get you a better deal on air to Hawaii or Mexico (our suppliers buy in bulk) but that they work on your behalf to fix things when they go wrong? My clients call me 24 hours a day if they have a problem.

Granted travel agents likely cannot save you money on a simple domestic ticket to the contiguous United States, but we have the tools and the resources to find the best deal for you and oftentimes, I just advise my loyal clients of the least expensive website for them to book through when I cannot save them any money. They are often surprised by fares, flight times, or airports that they never even knew existed. It is the least I can do!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:35:26 +0000

My flight was cancelled which caused me to miss the second leg of my flight also. The airlines said I had to pay to stay overnight in a hotel because they couldn’t get me out until the next day. Do I have to pay?

By: Jodi

Jodi — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:02:07 +0000

Had a United flight out of Austin on July 2 at 7:00 am to Norfolk, VA, that got cancelled. Didn’t find out until I decided to check the United website at 11:30 pm the previous evening. I agree with Crystal Jones’ comment, BE PERSISTENT. Even after being told repeatedly by the United rep that there were no flights out until the next day because everything was booked (which wasn’t acceptable) and being offered a refund, I kept telling him that was not acceptable and eventually asked to speak to his supervisor. They eventually got me on a 5:30 am flight with Delta. I was on the phone for at least an hour with them and got disconnected once. My biggest gripe was that flights out of Austin for United were still showing up on different websites for that next morning. PLUS when we got to the airport and the United ticket counter finally opened at 4:30 am, the rep behind the counter didn’t even know the flight had been cancelled until I told her and the flight was still on the board. This taught me that the squeaky wheel gets the grease - Don’t give up! Be a thorn in their side.