Cancelled booking and locked account by us airways (Now updated with result)
Jun 18, 2010, 12:28 am
#91
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Venice, Italy
Programs: FlyingBlue Platinum, Miles&More Senator, bmi Diamond Club Silver, Marriott Gold Elite, SPG
Posts: 702
No update on this?
Jun 18, 2010, 7:34 am
#93
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: PHL
Programs: Former long-time US GP; now AA dirt
Posts: 4,904
Jun 18, 2010, 5:40 pm
#96
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: US-CP, UA, Marriott Rewards, HHonors, Avis,
Posts: 4,549
I would really love for the OP to come back and give an update. It sounds like there is a lot going on behind the scenes, which I suppose is good, but to me, the occasional cloak-and-dagger updates from third parties takes away from the credibility, rather than adding to it. A few more facts from the OP would go a long way to helping everyone understand the situation and keep the heresay and speculation down.
Jun 20, 2010, 10:16 am
#97
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: UA GS, *G, Bonvoy Titanium, HH Diamond, Platinum on Blockbuster, GameStop, several library cards
Posts: 758
Wow. As described, this is pretty disturbing. I know about being stonewalled by airlines, and have left hundreds of dollars on the table because it is too time consuming and costly to fight big brother.
However, I missed OP's location. Two options available are small claims court, which could award monetary damages, and People's Court, which could shame US into making it right. By people's court I mean finding some media outlet that will pick up the story and force US on the defense.
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I wish you luck!
However, I missed OP's location. Two options available are small claims court, which could award monetary damages, and People's Court, which could shame US into making it right. By people's court I mean finding some media outlet that will pick up the story and force US on the defense.
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I wish you luck!
Jun 20, 2010, 10:32 am
#98
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: US-CP, UA, Marriott Rewards, HHonors, Avis,
Posts: 4,549
I just had a hilarious mental image of Doug Parker on Judge Judy.
Jun 20, 2010, 1:41 pm
#100
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Athens, WV, USA; a US cockroach long before it was in FFOCUS; now a lowly US5 for only the 2nd time in 20 years.
Programs: US5
Posts: 3,050
Jun 25, 2010, 6:34 pm
#102
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: UA, AA
Posts: 234
Jul 8, 2010, 3:41 pm
#104
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 8
Sorry for the long wait
Hello All,
I deeply apologize for the long wait for my response, but I had to stay low for a while.
I managed to get hold of corporate security and customer relations at US Airways.
Their reason for canceling everything was quite a shock to me. It was because of invalid itinerary. I tried to tell them that if my itinerary was invalid, then they would not been able to calculate the taxes for it, let alone make the booking. They said that it was something they were investigating which is why they locked the account and canceled the booking.
Now I would like to state my original itinerary. It was:
Outbound:
YUL - BOS
BOS - ZRH
ZRH - NRT (first stop)
Inbound:
NRT - PVG (second stop)
PVG - FRA
FRA - IAH
IAH - YYZ
YYZ - YUL
Corporate Security said that when going to North Asia from North America, I have to cross the Pacific. I told them that the idea of going to China and Japan through Europe was actually the idea of a supervisor at reservations. I also called numerous times to reservations as a random person checking whether it was a valid itinerary and that every single agent and supervisor said yes and that they would not be able to calculate the taxes and fees if it was not a valid routing.
I also found that I can travel from YUL to SYD via Europe and Asia, and it would be a valid routing.
Corporate Security just kept on saying that this is an invalid routing.
I mentioned that I had paper tickets and that when I called the airlines involved in my itinerary, they all said that they were valid. Corporate Security told me that all the airlines have been ordered to confiscate and destroy these tickets. They also mentioned that if I do travel on these tickets, the bill sent to US Airways will be sent back to me.
But they finally said that they would get me a new reservation to Tokyo and Shanghai, but it will be in Business Class, not First. So I would have to take a downgrade.
The other thing was the new itinerary that they offered. It was:
Outbound:
YUL - PHL
PHL - FRA
FRA - NRT (first stop)
Inbound:
NRT - PVG (second stop)
PVG - NRT
NRT - YYZ
YYZ - YUL
I was quite stunned when this was presented to me as it was around the world. They said that it is not around the world unless you make more than 2 stops.
After talking to numerous persons, I decided to take the new booking. I went to the airport and gave in my old tickets and got new ones printed.
Being extremely worried that US Airways might try to do the same thing all over again, I decided to stay low until completion of my trip. I sincerely apologize for that and thank you all for your patience.
Most of all, I would like to thank everyone here for all their help. I would not been able to do this without you. Joining FlyerTalk was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.
Thank you all so very much once again.
I deeply apologize for the long wait for my response, but I had to stay low for a while.
I managed to get hold of corporate security and customer relations at US Airways.
Their reason for canceling everything was quite a shock to me. It was because of invalid itinerary. I tried to tell them that if my itinerary was invalid, then they would not been able to calculate the taxes for it, let alone make the booking. They said that it was something they were investigating which is why they locked the account and canceled the booking.
Now I would like to state my original itinerary. It was:
Outbound:
YUL - BOS
BOS - ZRH
ZRH - NRT (first stop)
Inbound:
NRT - PVG (second stop)
PVG - FRA
FRA - IAH
IAH - YYZ
YYZ - YUL
Corporate Security said that when going to North Asia from North America, I have to cross the Pacific. I told them that the idea of going to China and Japan through Europe was actually the idea of a supervisor at reservations. I also called numerous times to reservations as a random person checking whether it was a valid itinerary and that every single agent and supervisor said yes and that they would not be able to calculate the taxes and fees if it was not a valid routing.
I also found that I can travel from YUL to SYD via Europe and Asia, and it would be a valid routing.
Corporate Security just kept on saying that this is an invalid routing.
I mentioned that I had paper tickets and that when I called the airlines involved in my itinerary, they all said that they were valid. Corporate Security told me that all the airlines have been ordered to confiscate and destroy these tickets. They also mentioned that if I do travel on these tickets, the bill sent to US Airways will be sent back to me.
But they finally said that they would get me a new reservation to Tokyo and Shanghai, but it will be in Business Class, not First. So I would have to take a downgrade.
The other thing was the new itinerary that they offered. It was:
Outbound:
YUL - PHL
PHL - FRA
FRA - NRT (first stop)
Inbound:
NRT - PVG (second stop)
PVG - NRT
NRT - YYZ
YYZ - YUL
I was quite stunned when this was presented to me as it was around the world. They said that it is not around the world unless you make more than 2 stops.
After talking to numerous persons, I decided to take the new booking. I went to the airport and gave in my old tickets and got new ones printed.
Being extremely worried that US Airways might try to do the same thing all over again, I decided to stay low until completion of my trip. I sincerely apologize for that and thank you all for your patience.
Most of all, I would like to thank everyone here for all their help. I would not been able to do this without you. Joining FlyerTalk was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.
Thank you all so very much once again.
Last edited by alireza0782; Jul 8, 2010 at 3:53 pm Reason: Typo
Jul 8, 2010, 4:02 pm
#105
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: US-CP, UA, Marriott Rewards, HHonors, Avis,
Posts: 4,549
alireza0782,
Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time and trouble to explain the resolution. This topic has been quite disturbing to many people and being able to see the final outcome along with the root cause is helpful to a lot of people. Many such as myself have been scrutinizing every award booking they've made, worried that the surprise travel gift to a friend is going to leave someone stranded or worse!
It sounds like a really simple problem that should have been fixed more quickly but since the whole mess involves multiple airlines, I can see where there is plenty of chance for communication to be dropped.
It is very nice to know that invalid routing was the root cause here rather than some mysterious fraud allegations. I do know that some of these routings get sent off to the partner airlines for final approval even after tickets are issued; it's just a shame that US had no procedure in place to call you when your itinerary got kicked back, and that it had to go as far as it did. It sounds like one simple phone call could have prevented all the drama and heartache and hassle.
Thanks again for giving the final details!
Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time and trouble to explain the resolution. This topic has been quite disturbing to many people and being able to see the final outcome along with the root cause is helpful to a lot of people. Many such as myself have been scrutinizing every award booking they've made, worried that the surprise travel gift to a friend is going to leave someone stranded or worse!
It sounds like a really simple problem that should have been fixed more quickly but since the whole mess involves multiple airlines, I can see where there is plenty of chance for communication to be dropped.
It is very nice to know that invalid routing was the root cause here rather than some mysterious fraud allegations. I do know that some of these routings get sent off to the partner airlines for final approval even after tickets are issued; it's just a shame that US had no procedure in place to call you when your itinerary got kicked back, and that it had to go as far as it did. It sounds like one simple phone call could have prevented all the drama and heartache and hassle.
Thanks again for giving the final details!