Ny76

I think you are confusing blunt criticism with verbal abuse. I'm usually the first to criticize the Airlines for being customer-unfriendly, but in this case you simply booked a nearly impossible connection. I'm not sure what you were expecting the phone agents to do here. you've got to be extra careful with award tix since there is no redeposite available after D-72.

chrisny2

What makes you think this? My annual travel insurance certainly doesn't have any such provision.

(And I've had annual travel insurance for at least the last 7 or 8 years with three different providers, and have experience dealing with claims with them.)

abox03

I had a flight 2 months ago on a KLM city hopper from PRG-AMS arriving 4 hours before a return flight stateside. The city hopper had a tire issue and was delayed. I made it to AMS about 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure, which naturally wasn't enough time to go from schengen to non (passport control). I did however have no checked luggage.

The folks at KLM and Delta there helped me out tremendously when they didn't have to by giving me food money, a hotel, and re-booking me on the first flight the next morning. They obviously didn't have to do that because it was separate tickets, but the KLM rep walked over to the Delta mgr with me and everything was explained and handled.

Moral of this story... if you are going to have tight connection windows on separate tickets, at least do so with partner airlines!

PS... I was very grateful to the ground agents at AMS. However, if they simply let everyone pass on fees and revenue for changes then there would be no point in having the rules. While exceptions can indeed be made, I think in the OPs case with a different airport and lcc, the rep decided it didn't qualify for what should be a 'rare' exception.

exwannabe

This is (or should be) a board for practical advise. So if somebody got in a problem of their own making, they can expect to hear about it and what they should have done differently. That is how others avoid repeating the same mistakes. If you want a board to cry on, I am sure there are plenty around.

If for some reason you think we should not discuss this, and simply answer your specific question, then:
This was your question. The board answered it by telling you that DL did not "stiff" you.

jawilson20

Aside from the poster on page 1 accusing me of making up the story of college aged girls on the same journey I will happily switch the "verbal abuse" for "blunt criticism". Having lurked on the board for many, many years I know that "blunt criticism" is often dealt to posters so I am not getting abnormal treatment from the user base. Just feels a little different being on the receiving end of that stick, lol!

Zorak

It does in some manner of speaking -- looking at an Allianz trip policy, I see that it covers "Redeposit fees: Fees for re-depositing frequent traveler or loyalty program awards into your account." but only lists this under the trip cancellation/interruption section.

So it wouldn't have helped here, but perhaps useful to know as general info.

Also, the wording makes me think that you would not be covered if you were unable to make a change inside the 72-hour window and ended up forfeiting miles entirely.

jawilson20

I was really referring to the title of the post as my overlying question. But if you switch the harsh word choice of "stiff" to something like "charge" I think you understand the root of my question - which you probably did before I even had to do that wordplay

So does DL always charge customers in this situation and was there a possibility they would have worked with me to get me home spending well under the $5600 - the answer is yes based on the feedback from the thread.

davetravels

I'd like to ask the OP an honest, simple, non-abusive question . . . .

You have told us that your connection time was 3 hours. The schedules I found show the Vueling flight arriving at 8:05 AM, and, DL departing at 10:25 AM.

Either way, did you really think this was enough time, given the entire situation, of 2 separate tickets, claiming bags, going to a different part of the terminal for non-Schengen flights to check-in with DL, go thru passport control, security, and get to the gate before final call? If so, what was your back-up plan for even a slight delay?

CJKatl

Since you've brought it up...

Your initial post included the title "Should DL have been more cooperative...?" but your subsequent posts seem to be asking "Could DL have been more cooperative...?" The posts point out that DL had no obligation to be more cooperative, but they actually could have been more cooperative. Many posters have offered advice on how someone caught in your predicament might get a more successful outcome or avoid the issue.

While this likely won't help you feel too much better, please know that this type of thread is what makes FT useful. You made a mistake, but many other readers, myself included, are learning valuable travel tools from this thread.

For example, many posters indicated showing up at the airport and asking for a higher up gives you a better chance of getting on a different flight should you miss your first flight. I actually would call DL, but given the number of people who think showing up works best, I might consider that in the future should the need arise.

I frequently fly to the cheapest destination in Asia or Europe, knowing once on the continent, discount airlines can easily take me to another country. For example: flying Kuala Lumpur would have been thousands of dollars, but flying to BKK was ~$700 r/t., and flying r/t BKK-KUL is $72 on Air Asia. I've been successful finding these types of deals, but have researched and experienced how to plan for potential hiccups. While I'm sorry your inexperience caused an expensive rookie mistake, this thread will help others to know better.

And again, even though I consider myself pretty seasoned on flying multiple international airlines within a single trip, I've picked up some tips on this thread.

CJKatl

Dave, you and I have the experience to know this was not enough time, regardless of which schedule, yours or the OP's, is considered. You and I understand getting the bags, going through customers, rechecking the bags, etc. And you and I know we need backup plans. Obviously the OP thought this was enough time, likely not having experienced a non-US LCC before. Hopefully others considering doing what the OP was doing will stumble on this thread learn from the OP's mistake.

BTW, my personal worst foreign carrier experience involved the airline moving my noon flight to 8:00 am at the last minute and never contacting me. Had it not been for the driver picking me up at my destination calling me late the night before, I would not have known until it was too late, the next morning. While this experience had me flying earlier, it could have just as easily been four hours later.

ATOBTTR

I've been following this thread over the past day and have to agree - what part of a 2.5 hour "connection" between two non-aligned carriers on separate tickets sounded like a good idea? I know I'm overcautious, but 2 to 2.5 hours ahead of time (or even 3 if that was the full case for the OP) for an international flight is when I show up at the airport when I'm not doing the positioning flight thing ahead of time, never mind having to collect bags off one flight, transfer terminals, and re-check-in in that time period.

jawilson20

I did think it was enough time and just like I always thought if I got a flat on the way to the airport the airline would work with me. I can't fathom the number of flights I have taken and like I have mentioned I have never missed a single flight in my life due my own actions.

Things happen when you set foot outside the airport that may prevent you from making it back in time for your return flight even if you are there 2-3 hours early. In this instance it was the fault of another airline, what if I got into a car accident, what if I was detained by immigration, what if I had an upset stomach and was in the bathroom? Had I known that I would face paying $5600 if I missed the connection I would have never arranged the flights the way I did, but any of the items I listed above could have happened instead.

exwannabe

That is quite true.

The reality is though that once you show up at the airport, you can claim "the dog ate my homework" as the excuse. It simply does not matter. They will likely put you on some available seat.

OTOH, when calling I doubt they would care about a sworn statement that terrorists shot out your tires, and in a rain of gunfire it took an hour to change and get back on the road.

The airlines tend to use the "at the airport" as a basic discriminator for "flat tire" vs "free change".

I often fly on separate tickets. Like CJKatl says, if the follow on flight is cheap, take a risk. If expensive, then leave plenty of room, and how much is a personal risk/reward issue.

Grouchy

After booking such a connection that would worrying me. i.e. the fact that there are no options for plan B
OP's Schedule:

(BIO) Bilbao, SP, ES to (BCN) Barcelona, SP, ES
Wed Aug-24-2016

Veuling 1431 7:00 AM 8:05 AM Landed Delayed 357 Minutes
(D8*) Norwegian Air International 6783 11:15 AM 12:30 PM Landed On-time
Veuling 1421 1:00 PM 2:05 PM Landed On-time
Veuling 1423 6:50 PM 8:00 PM Landed On-time

With a 10h25 BCN-ATL Atlanta departure:

Plane - nope no alternatives
Train - nope not enough time
Car/Taxi - nope not enough time

Anyone tried sacrifiying 40 virgin goats to Lord Edward H. Bastian in similar cases?

fastflyer

I always have a Plan B in my back pocket for tricky international connections -- in this case I would have booked Vueling the afternoon before with a rental car reservation in case it cancelled. Six hours to drive from Bilbao to Barcelona, enough time for a late supper and quick overnight stay.

Always keep hotel points (Starwood, Marriott, Hilton) on hand for last-minute European hotel bookings -- they're often far cheaper than the cash rates. And for those late morning transatlantic flights, there is an on-property Sheraton at both CDG and MXP and several hotels at LHR. These hotels are worthwhile in case of traffic nightmares or wildcat strikes.