tortellini

Hello all, I make it short

Booked months ago with Orbitz a multileg flight with Delta in C.

Delta sends me a email: the main (TATL) direct flight does not exist on that day anymore, the flight became a 1 stop flight.

I can not accept this (I arrive 2 hours later and my +1 is a old, sick person and I absolutely must make this flight as stressfree as possible).

The day before or after the non-stop flight is still there! We could be as flexible as necessary.

I called Delta asking if they could please move us onto the flight the day before or later. The answer: call Orbitz.

Orbitz tells me nearly laughing... call Delta.
I called again Orbitz... they told me: call Delta.

Could you please tell if there is a realistic chance to get rebooked?

erik123

Call Orbitz and ask for a supervisor.

tortellini

Thanks, does Orbitz also have callcenters outside the US? I just called the third time... same story... thumbs down... when I asked for a supervisor I was told there is none available

erik123

See if you can pursue on twitter or email so you have it on record. Keep it simple (no need to mention your +1). Explain you want resolution within 3 days or you will file a DOT complaint (which will take time). If it fails ask for a refund and rebook or take the 1 stop.

All in all - while flying is stressful, even with the added stop you will be fine. E.g. ask for wheelchair service to make things easier.

SK AAR

You booked with Orbitz so you need to deal with Orbitz (not DL). Orbitz may have to contact DL to sort this out but you cannot do it (DL rightfully refuses to deal with you when you made the reservation with a third party).

Stay persistant - or call Orbitz again until you find a person being prepared to help you out.

You could ask for a refund a make a new booking? This time please book directly with DL - as you have found out already booking with a third party becomes a headache in situations like this. If you have booked with DL directly DL would have solved this immidiately.

MSPeconomist

AFAIK most DOT regulations don't apply to tickets purchased through an OLTA like Orbitz.

erik123

I did with another OTA and they accepted the complaint. The complaint should be against the airline though.

seawolf

Orbitz is dropping the ball. As the travel agent, they are responsible for dealing with this situation.

ChinaShrek

Rightfully? There is nothing right, proper, ethical, or just about the treatment the OP received from Orbitz or Delta. This is simply Delta's policy/rule. Rules can be changed at any time.

seawolf

Actually it is industry practice that travel agent deals with issues prior to date of travel. Airline will deal with it on day of travel.

Artpen100

Orbitz is primarily responsible, but a DOT complaint that calmly outlines the facts and the change rules will get DL's attention if Orbitz does not fix the situation. The lesson, of course, is not to book with Orbitz. But I had to learn that the hard way, too.

evergrn

In theory, you deal with Orbitz, not with DL.

However, I have found that relying on Orbitz to take care of you when stuff like this happens may not get you anywhere.

In my case, my Orbitz booking got cancelled for no reason. It was a straightforward round-trip itinerary that inexplicably got cancelled, even though the flights were still on and seats still available. Called Orbitz... they told me they'd work on it, but nothing happened. Called again and was told they'd contact the airline and then get back to me within so many days. Orbitz emailed me back a few days later to say the airline had not made their decision and it would take another week for them to resolve the issue. This time I called the airline directly. The airline told me they'd made the decision a long time ago to reissue us the bookings via Orbitz and that they were waiting for Orbitz to contact them. So I called Orbitz back. Orbitz then called the airline and the issue was resolved immediately. So what was Orbitz doing all that time, falsely claiming that it was the airline that was dragging things out? Who knows?

Bottom line: don't ever book with a third-party no matter what. Actually I don't want to single out Orbitz, because they're probably one of the better 3rd-party agencies in that at least you get live customer support pretty quickly (even if they're almost useless).