Tickets mysteriously cancelled. Help
Apr 4, 2014, 4:23 pm
#61
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
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For some reason someone changed us to leave from HNL - SEA at 8am even though we were still in Kona that morning. We made our booked flight from KOA to HNL, went to board our AS flight to SJC and were told we didn't have tickets.
Our original itinerary never changed as far as we knew, we booked KOA-HNL-SJC-RNO, the reverse of our outbound flights which were on the same confirmation email and reservation
Our original itinerary never changed as far as we knew, we booked KOA-HNL-SJC-RNO, the reverse of our outbound flights which were on the same confirmation email and reservation
AS removed flight 832 in December and rebooked the passengers on flight 860. Orbitz did not try to choose alternate flights for the passengers even though it knew they couldn't make AS860. The fact that a new AS832 was added to the schedule at a later date is irrelevant as Orbitz didn't request that the passengers be put on the new AS832. If looking for the reservation on the AS website before departure, the rebooked routing (AS860) would likely be the one displayed.
Airlines occasionally cancel flights only to later add a flight at a similar time once the airline has a better idea of aircraft scheduling requirements and passenger loads for that day. PSP-SEA comes to mind as a route where this occasionally happens on AS. During the holiday season, AS often runs 3-4 nonstops, but on some days only operates 1-2. On DL, it's relatively common to see sub-500 mile flights ex-ATL change flight times, flight numbers, operating carrier, and operating aircraft. On a given day, one will see anything from a CR2 to a 753 operating the same route.
Airlines occasionally cancel flights only to later add a flight at a similar time once the airline has a better idea of aircraft scheduling requirements and passenger loads for that day. PSP-SEA comes to mind as a route where this occasionally happens on AS. During the holiday season, AS often runs 3-4 nonstops, but on some days only operates 1-2. On DL, it's relatively common to see sub-500 mile flights ex-ATL change flight times, flight numbers, operating carrier, and operating aircraft. On a given day, one will see anything from a CR2 to a 753 operating the same route.
Apr 4, 2014, 4:26 pm
#62
Join Date: May 2003
Location: SFO, mostly
Posts: 2,206
So we're back to what Tide said then. AS cancelled the flight (and then reinstated it, but that is immaterial) and notified Orbitz of the rebook. Orbitz didn't notice that the new AS flight would cause a mis-connect and fix it. The pax, of course, no-showed for AS 860. Orbitz can say all they want that AS 832 operated that day (it did!) and that AS removed that flight from your itin (they did, due to a sked change) but it was still Orbitz' responsibility to notice the mis-connect and rebook them on a flight that worked. Would AS even have been aware that there were other flights on the itinerary? Does Orbitz give AS the entire itinerary or just the AS flights? Regardless, AS did their part in notifying the agent of the flight change. The agent did nothing and the pax no-showed. It doesn't even sound like Orbitz notified the OP of the flight change, much less fix the itinerary. Orbitz is the culprit here, not AS.
Apr 4, 2014, 4:37 pm
#63
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 17
How can AS change us to a flight 6 hours earlier and think that is ok? I dont care if we used orbitz or not, the flight we booked left without us because AS changed our reservation without contacting us. Seems both Orbitz and AS messed up
Apr 4, 2014, 4:48 pm
#64
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: BOS
Programs: DL GM
Posts: 300
It seems you have identified the real reason for the SNAFU - no one contacted you about the schedule change. This could have easily been resolved with a single phone call BEFORE the flights took place.
Typically, when I have significant schedule changes to flights I have been able to always call the airline and they will let me change to different flights/times without change fees. I believe this is somewhat standard practice with most airlines.
In my opinion, this is Orbitz's fault. AS likely only has the info that was on the tickets: Name and DOB. Orbitz is the company that had your contact info such as email address and phone number.
Orbitz should have notified you of ANY and ALL schedule changes, especially when the schedule change has illegal connections. Clearly their system knew about the schedule change - They're quoting the change record to you.
Apr 4, 2014, 4:53 pm
#65
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Location: Bay Area, CA
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Let AS go after Orbitz through whatever sanction mechanisms it has with them.
Apr 4, 2014, 5:22 pm
#66
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: LGA
Posts: 396
Orbitz response sounds like a load of manure to me, I highly suspect they dropped the ball here. But, I think this is the right advice:
Originally Posted by channa
Demand your money from AS and be done with it.
Let AS go after Orbitz through whatever sanction mechanisms it has with them.
Let AS go after Orbitz through whatever sanction mechanisms it has with them.
Apr 4, 2014, 5:27 pm
#67
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A good reminder for us all to check with the airline site itself periodically on future reservations, check in detail about 2 weeks before the trip, and to checkin in on the airline site the day before the flight.
Registering your FF data in conjunction with the flights on the airline site can get you notifications directly from the airline even in cases like this where you bought through Orbitz.
Glad your family got home safely, OP.
Registering your FF data in conjunction with the flights on the airline site can get you notifications directly from the airline even in cases like this where you bought through Orbitz.
Glad your family got home safely, OP.
Apr 4, 2014, 5:49 pm
#68
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: AS MVPG, CO, NW(now DL), Flying Blue
Posts: 6,554
This actually happens with some frequency when you book > 2-3 months ahead of time. Demand changes, equipment changes, and therefore schedules change -- sometimes by a lot. Had you been aware of the option, you'd have the option to cancel, but usually the airline can accommodate people when the schedule changes. The problem is that no one contacted you.
Orbitz response sounds like a load of manure to me, I highly suspect they dropped the ball here. But, I think this is the right advice:
Orbitz response sounds like a load of manure to me, I highly suspect they dropped the ball here. But, I think this is the right advice:
Apr 4, 2014, 5:59 pm
#69
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: AS MVPG, CO, NW(now DL), Flying Blue
Posts: 6,554
they werent ticketed on 832 any more so there really is no IDB. AS might end up giving IDB to make the problem go away but they certainly arent entitled to one. Schedules are changed all the time and I cant recall ever being called to tell me that in the last several years unless its a change close to departure day. Every quarter I log in to reservations and find a bunch that I have to call in to confirm schedule changes on. It still seems to me that the OP never checked in for the AS flight. You cant check in for it with Go! and if you had checked in for the AS flight on AS you would see theres a problem before even getting to the gate. Im still pretty confused with that piece of the puzzle. Its certainly a good idea to check reservations often, especially close to departure. All sorts of things change from scheduled times, to a/c swaps, to being moved seats, kicked out of ext rows, kicked out of 2D for FAMS, and to having flights eliminated all together
Apr 4, 2014, 6:17 pm
#70
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He ticketed on 832, and according to the DOT, so long as he didn't cancel, he's on it, even if they can't find the reservation in the computer.
"To be eligible for compensation, you must have a confirmed reservation. A written confirmation issued by the airline or an authorized agent or reservation service qualifies you in this regard even if the airline can't find your reservation in the computer, as long as you didn't cancel your reservation or miss a reconfirmation deadline."
"To be eligible for compensation, you must have a confirmed reservation. A written confirmation issued by the airline or an authorized agent or reservation service qualifies you in this regard even if the airline can't find your reservation in the computer, as long as you didn't cancel your reservation or miss a reconfirmation deadline."
Apr 4, 2014, 7:00 pm
#71
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Apr 4, 2014, 7:54 pm
#73
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I don't believe AS has any reconfirmation requirements.
That's mainly an old school term when people had to call within 3-7 days of the flight and re-confirm to the airline that they would be traveling. Pretty much nobody requires this anymore.
That's mainly an old school term when people had to call within 3-7 days of the flight and re-confirm to the airline that they would be traveling. Pretty much nobody requires this anymore.
Apr 4, 2014, 8:14 pm
#74
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: SEA, PAE, BLI
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As others have mentioned, it's a good idea to periodically check your reservation on the website of where you booked the ticket and each operating airline.
It's relatively common to get schedule changes where the rescheduled flights are many hours different than those originally booked, especially on routes with only a couple of flights per day. If Orbitz would've caught this schedule change, it could've asked AS to reschedule the OP's family on flights similar to those they had originally booked. Even if they had been reaccommodated onto other flights, AS would've likely put them on the new AS 832 should they or Orbitz have asked.
It's highly unlikely that an airline/travel agent computer system would notice that there was a new AS832 which to rebook the OP's family onto as the OP's family was now scheduled on AS860 and there were no significant changes to AS860. This is where human intervention would be required.
Apr 4, 2014, 9:36 pm
#75
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Pacific Northwest
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Posts: 245
We as travelers should take responsibility and reconfirm our reservations with all airlines. Schedules are subject to change based upon the Contract of Carriage for all airlines.
AS made a schedule change and contacted the booking agent, Orbitz. That is the only responsibility AS has to do for a schedule change.
Orbitz should of contacted the passengers in December 2013 and made reaccomodations based on the new flights.
I don't see any Involuntary Denied Boarding by AS as they were booked on AS860!
AS made a schedule change and contacted the booking agent, Orbitz. That is the only responsibility AS has to do for a schedule change.
Orbitz should of contacted the passengers in December 2013 and made reaccomodations based on the new flights.
I don't see any Involuntary Denied Boarding by AS as they were booked on AS860!