novaflyer

If it would be more appropriate to move this to another forum please do so. Back in March I purchased 3 tickets to Prague. Me, my wife and my father will be flying Delta DCA-BOS, Aitalia BOS to MSX, Aitalia MSX to PRG and the same on the return flight. I got a call from Orbitz on my voicemail a few hours ago that I will need to call the airline (Delta) about our departing flight that they have canceled going out of DCA and want to fly us out of IAD. This pisses me off royally. I hate IAD, it sucks IMHO. Never fly out of that airport and avoid it at all costs after once flying out of there years ago. I don't like paying for parking either, would rather take a cab to and from Reagan because I live in Alexandria (costs $20 max). Should I go ahead and do it for compensation or what should I do as I am in a bind here. What would you guys do and what are my options?

Gargoyle

Talk to DL about alternate routing. All of these look possible:
DCA-JFK-MXP-PRG
DCA-ATL-MXP-PRG
DCA-CVG-FCO-PRG
DCA-JFK-FCO-PRG
DCA-ATL-FCO-PRG

(note that DCA-JFK is all CRJ's, DCA-ATL uses real airplanes).

crhptic

First off, welcome to FT and sorry to hear about your cancellation.

Second, I expect this thread will be moved to either TravelBuzz or the Delta forum - perhaps even before I finish posting my reply.

Now, as to your problem. Delta cannot simply order you to fly out of IAD because it is more convenient for them. Since they cancelled the flight, they are obligated to get you a new flight which is acceptable to you. If they cannot do so, they may be obligated to refund your ticket price. I suspect that is not your real goal here, since you apparently intend to take the trip. That scenario would also get complicated because this ticket is not only international, but on multiple airlines. You don't say whether or not the Alitalia flights are Delta code-shares or not, nor do we know which airline actually sold you the ticket (Alitalia or Delta) - it could have been either. You could find those things out by speaking to your travel agent, which in this case is Orbitz.

That's right - Orbitz is your travel agent. So they really should be helping you out here. Now, I am not at all surprised that they have tried to pass the buck to the airline. But I'd call them back first and try to make them help you, before just going direct to the airline. I say that here, specifically, because Delta has outsourced much of their call center operations to overseas facilities who staff are not all as well versed in customer service and Delta's operations as we would like, and if you try to handle this through one of the overseas call centers, you will probably be so frustrated you'll need an extra vacation to recover.

So, long-winded intro out of the way, here's what I'd do:

1. Go to Delta's web site and look up their flight schedule. Find an option which works for you as a replacement flight (perhaps it's an earlier flight out of DCA?). Preferably, find two or three options that might work. I believe out of DCA you could always take the Delta Shuttle to BOS, although that involves a connection at LGA. This replacement flight could also include a change of routing such as getting to PRG through ATL, CVG, or NYC...

2. Call Orbitz back with that info and try to get them to accommodate you on one of your acceptable options.

3. If #2 fails, ask to speak to a supervisor at Orbitz, and repeat.

4. If #3 fails, call Delta and try it.

5. If #4 fails, call Delta and see if the person who answers the phone has a foreign accent. If so, hang up and call again until you get a person with an American accent.

6. If #5 fails, ask to speak to this person's supervisor and try it with them.

7. If #6 fails, have a couple of beers, then come back here and post for more advice.

Good luck...

Peregrine415

Do what Orbitz asked you to do: call Delta and ask to be rebooked on an earlier DL DCA-BOS flight. There are several flights between DCA and BOS. If you don't call DL and ask to be rebooked, then you're stuck with IAD.

novaflyer

Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated ^ . I'll update this thread with what happens later.

Gargoyle

Not according to Orbitz. Here's a quote from an e-mail which they sent me:
(that was an incident where they sold me a ticket with an illegal connection and then they refused to take any responsibility for the problems they caused or provide me with any support. It was the last time I ever booked with them.)

crhptic

I would bet that the ticketing airline records them as the travel agent who sold the ticket. That doesn't mean they're going to provide great service - or any service, as it seems was, sadly, the case for you. But as a lot of the posts on the Alitalia LCA error will attest, when it comes to an airline refusing to change things on the grounds that "the travel agent [Orbitz] made the booking, so THEY have to make the changes", you will find that at least the airlines consider Orbitz a travel agent. (I know that this eventually changed, but would argue special circumstances in that case which prove the rule otherwise).

The OP of this thread may find that Orbitz also tells him/her to go pound sand when called, but I would still suggest giving it a shot.

novaflyer

Turns out the flight was unconfirmed with Delta so I was rebooked for all 3 people on the same original flight. Cool

Moderator2

As crhptic indicates, this thread probably belongs in another forum, and I'll take the TravelBuzz suggestion (due to the question of who has to deal with it, Delta or the booking engine).

Glad to see this is essentially resolved, BTW.

UMassCanuck07

An RJ is a real plane...get over it.

crhptic

Touchy! Are you an RJ pilot in your spare time?

I'm not going to inject my personal opinion here because, clearly, what any one of us consider a "real plane" is a matter of opinion. However, I will point out that even if one does not consider an RJ a "real plane", on DCA-JFK it almost doesn't matter.

Me? Tomorrow I'm going to fly 2+ hours on a Saab 340. When I get home, ask me if that was a "real plane"!

Dave8481

Totally off the original topic, but I love the small jets. I fly United Express all of the time and I love the jets United Express uses especially the new ones part of EXPLUS which have economy plus...i know they arent the most comfortable planes in the world but I have flown MLI-ORD, MLI-DIA, CID-ORD, and ORD-ORF so much and that is all they use anymore on those routes...anyway i digress...I am glad to hear the OPs problem has been resolved...I am flying international on Orbitz booked tickets in August so I was following with great interest.

David