Third Party Booking/Denied Boarding
Oct 17, 2016, 9:23 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2013
Programs: SPG Plat50
Posts: 28
Third Party Booking/Denied Boarding
Ok Just the facts:
-My sister in law, her bf and 18 month old son are German citizens
-They bought tickets on AA to come to the US through a third party site Opodo
-They have German passports, but in the infinite wisdom of the German government, child passports are non-biometric. (OK that last part was an opinion
)
-This makes VWP/ESTA travel not possible
-They did not know this and applied for the ESTA well in advance
-ESTA approved
-Denied boarding at airport check-in counter due to non-biometric passport.
-Opodo will not refund or re-issue ticket due to same day cancel. (And AA says of course that they cannot do anything)
Now the subjective part:
-Wife and SIL obviously upset
-Especially since I told them that it is no one's fault except her sister's, as it is the traveler's responsibility to make sure all documents are in order.
-She disagrees and insists SOMEONE owes them money.
- I said their only recourse is to ask for compassion and understanding of the third party site, if they won't do anything, then that is the end. (Maybe AA would do something... but idk???)
I know they have a lot of emotional investment in this as well as a great financial investment which they can't afford... but at the end of the day, it's really their fault.
Anyone think otherwise? Or have any other advice?
(BTW I offered to fly them here in the future, once the passport is sorted out, on some MP miles... and this is why I rarely use TP sites... only used one once)
-My sister in law, her bf and 18 month old son are German citizens
-They bought tickets on AA to come to the US through a third party site Opodo
-They have German passports, but in the infinite wisdom of the German government, child passports are non-biometric. (OK that last part was an opinion
)-This makes VWP/ESTA travel not possible
-They did not know this and applied for the ESTA well in advance
-ESTA approved
-Denied boarding at airport check-in counter due to non-biometric passport.
-Opodo will not refund or re-issue ticket due to same day cancel. (And AA says of course that they cannot do anything)
Now the subjective part:
-Wife and SIL obviously upset
-Especially since I told them that it is no one's fault except her sister's, as it is the traveler's responsibility to make sure all documents are in order.
-She disagrees and insists SOMEONE owes them money.
- I said their only recourse is to ask for compassion and understanding of the third party site, if they won't do anything, then that is the end. (Maybe AA would do something... but idk???)
I know they have a lot of emotional investment in this as well as a great financial investment which they can't afford... but at the end of the day, it's really their fault.
Anyone think otherwise? Or have any other advice?
(BTW I offered to fly them here in the future, once the passport is sorted out, on some MP miles... and this is why I rarely use TP sites... only used one once)
Oct 17, 2016, 3:29 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2013
Location: USA
Programs: AA Plt Pro, UA Silver, DL, QF; HHonors Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 128
Unfortunately, I believe you are correct. The carrier would have been facing potential fines for carrying your nephew, and of course it's always the traveler's responsibility to sort entry requirements out in advance. It's probably worth a shot to call AA and try to see what they can do, though. From TIMATIC:
- The following applies to those traveling under the US Visa
Waiver Program:
- Passengers must have a biometric passport.
- Passenger must obtain an ESTA authorization via
[[https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/]]
- Detailed information on the new ESTA restrictions can be
found via
[[http://www.cbp.gov/travel/internatio...s/visa-waive]]
r-program/visa-waiver-program-improvement-and-terrorist-tra
vel-prevention-act-faq
- The following applies to those traveling under the US Visa
Waiver Program:
- Passengers must have a biometric passport.
- Passenger must obtain an ESTA authorization via
[[https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/]]
- Detailed information on the new ESTA restrictions can be
found via
[[http://www.cbp.gov/travel/internatio...s/visa-waive]]
r-program/visa-waiver-program-improvement-and-terrorist-tra
vel-prevention-act-faq
Oct 18, 2016, 12:02 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: HAJ
Posts: 137
Just for the record: the German government DOES issue biometric passports for children. You might have to ask for it though and it will be more expensive than a regular passport for children. That's what we did for our 2 year old and we never had a problem in multiple trips to the USA under ESTA.
Oct 18, 2016, 6:52 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2013
Programs: SPG Plat50
Posts: 28
Thanks all... I do know that Germany issues biometric passports for children, but they call it adult passports for children... which I would imagine confuses people. I think it is a bit short sighted, but who am I to criticize a foreign government? Our government does quite a number of stupid things as well.
I think they will just have to chalk it up as a life lesson.
I think they will just have to chalk it up as a life lesson.
Oct 18, 2016, 8:29 am
#5
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
You are correct in all respects. If there is fault to be assessed, it is 100% your in-laws' fault and they have simply failed to properly check in with all required documents. You are correct to observe that it is pointless to criticize the German government's actions as the German government has nothing to do with whether the US will admit the child without a chipped passport.
Not to rub salt in their wounds, but had AA checked them in and allowed them to board, they would most likely have been denied entry to the US and returned to Germany. AA would have been fined and your in-laws would have been out the value of their tickets and had a miserable 24-36 hours on top of it all.
This is all done as a protection against human trafficking and while that may sound insulting to your in laws, the purpose is there.
If these tickets had been issued by AA, it is very likely that AA would have waived most penalties and would have reissued the tickets for a later date, perhaps with some change fees. But, Opodo has the money here and it is really up to Opodo to show some mercy and that is extremely unlikely.
However, your inlaws ought to do everything they can to obtain expedited documents (whether an adult biometric passport) or a visa and in parallel work with Opodo to see what Opodo is prepared to do.
That will likely fail. But, calling AA before obtaining a clear "no" from Opodo is a losing proposition. They should then call AA in the US (Skype is a wonderful thing) and ask if AA will help.
In all of this, your inlaws need to acknowledge 100% fault. If they blame either Opodo or AA, they can expect to find an immediate "no" to their request. It would be far better if they permit you to do the talking with one of them (the more rational one) on a three-way call. This calls for you to do the asking with the in law simply doing a short and sweet apology accepting responsibility.
This is a bitter pill to swallow for anyone, particularly someone for whom these tickets appear to have been a major investment. If you are prepared to help them out, perhaps you can help them out with reasonable penalties. Bear in mind that if one or the other offers to rebook with a penalty, do not hang up and say that you will call back. Either accept on the spot or understand that the next agent may simply say that whatever the earlier agent offered is no longer on the table. So, have new dates ready to go (and that means having document dates lined up).
A final thought here for others. Using third-party opaque vendors is almost uniformly a bad idea. Nothing was going to fix the inlaws' problem on the day of departure. But, AA would likely have worked with them had it booked them. Absent extraordinary reasons, book directly through a carrier. If tickets on a website are a lot cheaper, there is a reason.
Not to rub salt in their wounds, but had AA checked them in and allowed them to board, they would most likely have been denied entry to the US and returned to Germany. AA would have been fined and your in-laws would have been out the value of their tickets and had a miserable 24-36 hours on top of it all.
This is all done as a protection against human trafficking and while that may sound insulting to your in laws, the purpose is there.
If these tickets had been issued by AA, it is very likely that AA would have waived most penalties and would have reissued the tickets for a later date, perhaps with some change fees. But, Opodo has the money here and it is really up to Opodo to show some mercy and that is extremely unlikely.
However, your inlaws ought to do everything they can to obtain expedited documents (whether an adult biometric passport) or a visa and in parallel work with Opodo to see what Opodo is prepared to do.
That will likely fail. But, calling AA before obtaining a clear "no" from Opodo is a losing proposition. They should then call AA in the US (Skype is a wonderful thing) and ask if AA will help.
In all of this, your inlaws need to acknowledge 100% fault. If they blame either Opodo or AA, they can expect to find an immediate "no" to their request. It would be far better if they permit you to do the talking with one of them (the more rational one) on a three-way call. This calls for you to do the asking with the in law simply doing a short and sweet apology accepting responsibility.
This is a bitter pill to swallow for anyone, particularly someone for whom these tickets appear to have been a major investment. If you are prepared to help them out, perhaps you can help them out with reasonable penalties. Bear in mind that if one or the other offers to rebook with a penalty, do not hang up and say that you will call back. Either accept on the spot or understand that the next agent may simply say that whatever the earlier agent offered is no longer on the table. So, have new dates ready to go (and that means having document dates lined up).
A final thought here for others. Using third-party opaque vendors is almost uniformly a bad idea. Nothing was going to fix the inlaws' problem on the day of departure. But, AA would likely have worked with them had it booked them. Absent extraordinary reasons, book directly through a carrier. If tickets on a website are a lot cheaper, there is a reason.
Oct 18, 2016, 11:03 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2013
Programs: SPG Plat50
Posts: 28
So probably the final update for closure. AA will not do anything either. So as my Polish wife put it... mustard after dinner. Lesson learned. Going to make sure the in-laws still have a great visit to the states 
Oct 18, 2016, 11:45 am
#7
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 9,118
When calling Opodo ask immediately for a supervisor as front line staff are useless. They should see whether they can get some taxes back or whether there is any value left in the ticket (doubtful). Also check whether they have travel insurance.
Oct 20, 2016, 2:02 am
#8
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In this discussion, we should remember that many TATL RT fares exEurope are totally non-changeable, even with a fee, and nonrefundable (use it or lose it, meaning that all value is lost if the ticket is not on exactly the flights and dates that were booked) while TATL tickets exUSA generally have change fees of about $300-500, even if the ticket is nonrefundable. It's obviously harder to convince an airline to make concessions to help you when the ticket uses one of the totally unchangeable fares.