Last Ticketing Date passed

Old Apr 23, 2016, 12:38 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Unhappy Last Ticketing Date passed

Hi everybody,

I booked a flight via AirProjects.com from Brazil to Europe. I received a reservation email, which read

"Your reservation completed successfully and it must be ticketed before Wednesday, April 20, 2016. Your e-ticket will be sent to your e-mail address."

So far, I have not received an actual ticket. No money was charged from my credit card. Calling or mailing Airprojects was not answered by any human being yet. I can see the reservation is confirmed on checkmytrip.com, but it cannot be found at all on the website of the airline.

Any idea what I should do now? Can I just ignore the reservation now because of the passed "Last Ticketing Date", and try to find the fare from another company?
mindhaq is offline  
Old Apr 24, 2016, 3:00 am
  #2  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,334
Often you can find an airline ticket (for almost any carrier, not necessarily a partner), on the Saudia Airlines website. I'd try that as a way to see whether the ticket was issued, although if you don't find something there, this might not mean anything.

I guess it doesn't hurt to try to find the same fare and same flights elsewhere in the meantime, but if you book a second ticket, it could be very difficult to get your money back if you end up with two tickets for the same flights purchased through different OLTAs.

BYW, why are you using AirProjects.com? What do you know about them?
MSPeconomist is offline  
Old Apr 29, 2016, 3:29 pm
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Still no ticket, no charge from my CC.

I guess this did not work.

I got onto Airprojects.com via momondo and know almost nothing about this company, other than that a quick google search did not turn out much, but at least some legit information.

Oh well...
mindhaq is offline  
Old May 1, 2016, 3:45 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: BC Canada
Posts: 1
Red face Ticketing deadlines and lack of responsibility

So sorry to hear about your ordeal. I hate to say this but it happens so frequently. I am a Travel Consultant with 26 years in the industry ( Corporate Travel). There are 2 main issues at fault in your situation; the 1st one I am not going to comment on but it looks like the vendor you trusted with your purchase made a mistake and rather than own up and do what is right they hide behind the fact they are an online business that do not care about image or integrity ( I might be wrong).

The 2nd issue is Airline imposed ticketing deadlines for all reservations made. For every route an airline flies they have a fare (price) structure that is unique to the average 26 different fare levels (on a single route !). Each of these fare categories ( also known as farebasis') have their own set of rules and restrictions which cover a rather daunting amount of "must's and can't do's" :
Advance purchase, Day or time of flight, which flight can not be used, Minimum stay, Max stay, blackout dates, change rules, cancellation rules etc. On all a simple flight from Rio to Sao Paulo comes with 16-22 pages of " fare rules, all of it must be adhered to in order for any licensed IATA company to issue the ticket.

One of the clear stipulations attached to any reservation is Advance Purchase "deadline" 15 years ago we, the Travel Agents had the ability to place a phone call to an airline representative, obtain an authorization to process a booking with a missed deadline without any implications to us or the client.
Over time things have changed. For the lowest fares on almost all airlines the imposed ticket deadline is : 48 to 72 hours after the ticket has been reserved OR 7-21 days in advance which ever comes first. Some carriers demand payment by midnight the day of reservation.

The reservation is almost always created via a reservation system (GDS) where the Travel Agent (or online booking outfit) receives the deadline in Date and time of date at the time pricing. IF the individual in charge of selling/ processing (issuing) the ticket by applying payment misses the given deadline, the reservation is not always cancelled by the airline but the reservation can not be priced meaning a new reservation is needed often at a higher price.

This seems to be straight forward: have a system that ensures a ticket (your purchase) does not miss a deadline by setting reminders etc.

Having shared this I need to throw another airline head shaker trend into this : Despite the carrier publishing the purchase terms and enforcing them without mercy, several carriers now "reserves the right" to demand payment for a reserved ticket at ANYTIME regardless of what their standard terms state. This is done typically when a flight is almost sold out, for the purpose of reaching max revenue for a flight. When an "early ticketing" demand is made it is done in form of a message that is appended to the Agents reservation. This message is VERY easy to miss as it is typically only visible by reviewing the reservation in detail.

I, as a Travel Pro who assist a repeat clientele have learned this lesson the hard way. Discovering that a pending reservation quoted at a certain price no longer can be processed but also will result in a hefty increase in fare when re-booked is something I have had to deal with a few times. Every single time I personally covered the increase in cost ensuring the traveler ( client) never knew what went on "behind the scenes".

I hope you are able to secure your ticket without having to pay more than you originally expected......
Claus is offline  
Old May 3, 2016, 4:21 pm
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Dear Claus,

thank you very much for your detailed response with a lot of interesting insight!

So far, still no news regarding my ticket. I could now easily book a similar ticket on the same flight with another dealer. However, I'm a bit worried that the airline might not like me being twice on their flight, if they even ever got a reservation at all. They are also not responding to my inquiries.

Regarding the company Airprojects.com, this seems to me like a zombie corporation. Most of the automatic systems (website, answering machine) still work, but none of the payment or booking systems.
mindhaq is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.