<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by channa:
CO clearly doesn't understand that people interline and the potential delays associated with it. If it weren't for the interline, the original poster would not have made this trip on CO. In fact, one could argue that CO should be more lenient than most in this regard because its European network is much weaker than others, creating a greater need to interline to another carrier.
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The problem is that this was not an interline ticket. The poster would have avoided his problems had it been an interline ticket. Instead, the poster bought two separate tickets. In such a case, neither airline has any responsibility for you making the flight of another airline.
Here's an example. Last year, I bought an interline ticket (ie all one ticket) that was EWR-BRU (on CO) then BRU-MUC (on LH). The flight leaving EWR was delayed due to a snow storm and we arrived in BRU just in time to see the LH flight pulling back from the gate. As we disembarked, a CO concierge had already rebooked us on the next departing LH flight to MUC. Now, assume instead that I had bought two tickets--one ticket for EWR-BRU on CO and another for BRU-MUC on LH. In that case, when I arrived in BRU, I would have been out of luck. CO would not have "owed" me anything and LH would have been free to charge me a change fee since I missed my flight. I realize that the distinction is quite technical but it sounds like CO was correct in assessing you the change fee. As a matter of human sympathy, though, it would be nice for them to put you on the next available flight that has open coach seats rather than making you wait for a flight that has open seats in the same class that you are ticketed on.