[FARE GONE] Wickedly Low Biz Class Fare from YYZ to LCA (Cyprus) on AZ (Alitalia)
Apr 6, 2006, 9:03 pm
#2266
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Originally Posted by yogi
It was on regular US CNN at about 5:50 PM, "Situation Room with Wolfe Blitzer".
Blitzer: With the summer vacation season nearing, how would you like a business class round trip airline ticket to Europe for $40 dollars? $40 dollars. Now hundreds of travelers are claiming they are entitled to just that, exposing some of the flaws that come with booking travel online. Our internet report Jacki Shechner is joining us with the latest. $40, not too bad...
(subtitle: Travel Trip-up)
Shechner: Not bad. $33 US dollars, $39 Canadian dollars.
(screen shot of flyertalk home page)
(sub-title, online airline booking glitch results in $2 million mistake)
There is an online comunity of people who on frequent flyer mile enthusiests, they get online and talk about these things and they are notorious for pointing out flaws in the airlines whenever they make mistakes online.
(sub-title: Roundtrip Business class tickets mistakenly sold for $39)
Well, very early Wednesday morning somebody noticed a glitch in an Alitalia flight you could go from Toronto to Cypruss via Milan for $39 Canadien dollars.
(on screen, circles $39, also shows Tacles of 193.77 and service fee of 7.00 for total price of CAD 229.77)
That translates to approxamately $33 US dollars.
(sub-title: Italian Airline will honor about 500 accidentally booked flights)
This spread fast.
(screen changes to post from 1:31 AM: Suddnely, I feel sorry for Alitalia
)
About 500 tickets were booked on Alitalia.
(screen changes to Alitalia website homepage)
Now we spook to them today. They say they are going to honor the tickets that were booked and actually ticketed. But there is also a grey area between the time that you book and you ticket, and those are not going to be honored, but if you book through a site like Orbits they are going to refund you that booking fee.
(screen change to orbitz)
Now we also spoke to Travelocity that refered us back to Alitalia and Expedia did not return our calls. Wolfe.
Blitzer: Thanks very much for that: $33 dollars, US dollars. $39 Canadien.
Blitzer: With the summer vacation season nearing, how would you like a business class round trip airline ticket to Europe for $40 dollars? $40 dollars. Now hundreds of travelers are claiming they are entitled to just that, exposing some of the flaws that come with booking travel online. Our internet report Jacki Shechner is joining us with the latest. $40, not too bad...
(subtitle: Travel Trip-up)
Shechner: Not bad. $33 US dollars, $39 Canadian dollars.
(screen shot of flyertalk home page)
(sub-title, online airline booking glitch results in $2 million mistake)
There is an online comunity of people who on frequent flyer mile enthusiests, they get online and talk about these things and they are notorious for pointing out flaws in the airlines whenever they make mistakes online.
(sub-title: Roundtrip Business class tickets mistakenly sold for $39)
Well, very early Wednesday morning somebody noticed a glitch in an Alitalia flight you could go from Toronto to Cypruss via Milan for $39 Canadien dollars.
(on screen, circles $39, also shows Tacles of 193.77 and service fee of 7.00 for total price of CAD 229.77)
That translates to approxamately $33 US dollars.
(sub-title: Italian Airline will honor about 500 accidentally booked flights)
This spread fast.
(screen changes to post from 1:31 AM: Suddnely, I feel sorry for Alitalia
)About 500 tickets were booked on Alitalia.
(screen changes to Alitalia website homepage)
Now we spook to them today. They say they are going to honor the tickets that were booked and actually ticketed. But there is also a grey area between the time that you book and you ticket, and those are not going to be honored, but if you book through a site like Orbits they are going to refund you that booking fee.
(screen change to orbitz)
Now we also spoke to Travelocity that refered us back to Alitalia and Expedia did not return our calls. Wolfe.
Blitzer: Thanks very much for that: $33 dollars, US dollars. $39 Canadien.
(I don't know of anyone who booked this on Expedia. Did anyone?)
Apr 6, 2006, 9:05 pm
#2267
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Join Date: Jun 2005
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Posts: 6,766
Originally Posted by johnep1
Does anyone whose trip was ticketed and never cancelled, and who got 2-3 day shipping from Orbitz, have a UPS tracking number (not online, but gained by calling Orbitz)? If so, are these tickets on their way?
I'd rather not call Orbitz to find out my tracking numbers, but I would like to know if I should be on the lookout for a brown truck tomorrow.
I'd rather not call Orbitz to find out my tracking numbers, but I would like to know if I should be on the lookout for a brown truck tomorrow.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:06 pm
#2268
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Posts: 10,515
Originally Posted by johnep1
Does anyone whose trip was ticketed and never cancelled, and who got 2-3 day shipping from Orbitz, have a UPS tracking number (not online, but gained by calling Orbitz)? If so, are these tickets on their way?
I'd rather not call Orbitz to find out my tracking numbers, but I would like to know if I should be on the lookout for a brown truck tomorrow.
I'd rather not call Orbitz to find out my tracking numbers, but I would like to know if I should be on the lookout for a brown truck tomorrow.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:07 pm
#2269
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Originally Posted by johnep1
Does anyone whose trip was ticketed and never cancelled, and who got 2-3 day shipping from Orbitz, have a UPS tracking number (not online, but gained by calling Orbitz)? If so, are these tickets on their way?
I'd rather not call Orbitz to find out my tracking numbers, but I would like to know if I should be on the lookout for a brown truck tomorrow.
I'd rather not call Orbitz to find out my tracking numbers, but I would like to know if I should be on the lookout for a brown truck tomorrow.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:08 pm
#2270
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Originally Posted by anonplz
Hmmm. I'm going to have to start visiting Orbitz more often. I think they deserve it for going to bat for the customer. ^
I think they deserve it for going to bat for the customer. ^At that point I cancelled my login and dumped them. They may come through this time because of the publicity, but it won't convince me that the tiger has changed its stripes.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:08 pm
#2271
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 4,843
Originally Posted by bhatnasx
I'm in the exact same situation as you - haven't called, got the 2-3 days shipping with no tracking number & the ticket was ticketed...
Apr 6, 2006, 9:14 pm
#2272
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Originally Posted by Seat13F_AC_CRJ
aad665 -- as tough as it is to do sometimes, the FT consensus is to wait... at least until tomorrow. And maybe longer if your dates are way out there.
--
13F
--
13F
See you in Chypre,
Thanks,
aad665
Apr 6, 2006, 9:16 pm
#2273
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 44,553
Originally Posted by Gargoyle
This time anyway. They burned me a year ago, sold me two tickets with an illegal connection. Fortunately the AF ground crew bent over backwards to help me, but we still lost most of a day of a trip to Italy. Orbitz refused any responsibility- they said the customer is acting as the travel agent and the therefore customer is responsible for checking that the connections are valid and possible. They said all they do is post information but they don't check validity of that info.
At that point I cancelled my login and dumped them. They may come through this time because of the publicity, but it won't convince me that the tiger has changed its stripes.
At that point I cancelled my login and dumped them. They may come through this time because of the publicity, but it won't convince me that the tiger has changed its stripes.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:17 pm
#2274
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Originally Posted by johnep1
I know I'm in good shape, but it would be nice to know if I should wait for UPS in the morning or spend some time in the library. The UPS drivers in my area have a habit of delivering items to the wrong address, so I'd like to meet the truck when it arrives.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:19 pm
#2275
Join Date: Sep 2005
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[QUOTE=myn4]
NOT GUARANTEED UNTIL TICKETING: PLEASE UNDERSTAND.
You have now said this three times. Repetition does not equal accuracy. Can you please point me to anywhere in the documents that we received from Orbitz, confirming our flights, that said "Not Guaranteed Until Ticketing?"
If not, then Orbitz and Alitalia should honor the reserved flights. I'm about ready to let them come to small claims court and explain how they get out of this contract.
Originally Posted by Kahuna
NOT GUARANTEED UNTIL TICKETING: PLEASE UNDERSTAND.
If not, then Orbitz and Alitalia should honor the reserved flights. I'm about ready to let them come to small claims court and explain how they get out of this contract.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:21 pm
#2276
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Originally Posted by johnep1
I know I'm in good shape, but it would be nice to know if I should wait for UPS in the morning or spend some time in the library. The UPS drivers in my area have a habit of delivering items to the wrong address, so I'd like to meet the truck when it arrives.
Apr 6, 2006, 9:26 pm
#2277
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle
This time anyway. They burned me a year ago, sold me two tickets with an illegal connection. Fortunately the AF ground crew bent over backwards to help me, but we still lost most of a day of a trip to Italy. Orbitz refused any responsibility- they said the customer is acting as the travel agent and the therefore customer is responsible for checking that the connections are valid and possible. They said all they do is post information but they don't check validity of that info.
John
Apr 6, 2006, 9:26 pm
#2278
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I have three from orbitz with ticket numbers....which I printed out just in case... but I have no inclination to call for awhile ...I am enjoying following the 'continuing story' here on FT....but the thought of being on hold with orbitz for long periods of time only to talk to someone who doesn't have a clue transferring me to someone who knows even less....well it's not in the cards for me right now...it is several months before my first trip so I can let the drama play out around me for now. I'll wait until they send me my tickets...listen to the stories of others who have tried dates changes etc and straighten it out in a couple of weeks
Apr 6, 2006, 9:26 pm
#2279
Join Date: Apr 2005
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It seemed, though, that the return to sender stuff occurred before the resolution. I would imagine that these tickets will be re-sent, as they are supposedly now valid.
Originally Posted by UCSBCHRIS2002
The only thing that Im scared of is that earlier posts talked about how when they looked up their tracking number it showed "return to sender" which would be no good for people who got the 2-3 day shipping
Apr 6, 2006, 9:27 pm
#2280
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Originally Posted by Riot_Nrrrd
Not to detour/hijack the thread (like as if I could ) but I'm curious how many people here booked this that are decades away from YYZ?
In other words, I'm ex-LAX/BUR and I saw this thread at the beginning, went "Wow, great fare for people in Toronto or the East Coast, lucky them" and then ignored it... obviously this thing's gone like a house on fire ever since but my thinking was, "It'd cost me $400-$500 to go LAX-YYZ just to get that cheap fare from there, so why bother?" In a sense I'm a hypocrit for bringing this up because I got in on the ORD-MAN deal and that origin point isn't close to me either, but it's a lot cheaper for me to go LAX-ORD than it is LAX-YYZ, from what I've seen (whenever I happen to notice an LAX-YYZ fare, that is). Just curious ...
) but I'm curious how many people here booked this that are decades away from YYZ?In other words, I'm ex-LAX/BUR and I saw this thread at the beginning, went "Wow, great fare for people in Toronto or the East Coast, lucky them" and then ignored it... obviously this thing's gone like a house on fire ever since but my thinking was, "It'd cost me $400-$500 to go LAX-YYZ just to get that cheap fare from there, so why bother?" In a sense I'm a hypocrit for bringing this up because I got in on the ORD-MAN deal and that origin point isn't close to me either, but it's a lot cheaper for me to go LAX-ORD than it is LAX-YYZ, from what I've seen (whenever I happen to notice an LAX-YYZ fare, that is). Just curious ...