Denied boarding by DL, who's at fault?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: SJC / DPS
Programs: AS G75K, UA Silver
Posts: 1,756
Denied boarding by DL, who's at fault?
Hi All
My parents were refused checkin last weekend by DL on an Expedia itinerary. Hoping for some advice.
Originally:
1 PNR, 2 pax:
BDL-ATL-MID-ATL-BDL
BDL-ATL was DL and ATL-MID was AM
A few months after booking, a schedule change on the return involved missing the DL ATL-BDL leg.
Parents called Expedia, who split the PNR into two and changed the ATL-BDL return to a later flight to make a legal connection in ATL. Not knowing the intricacies of etickets, my parents pulled up both PNRs on DL's site and everything looked intact and good.
Fast forward to last weekend:
Try to check-in online at DL.com - only 1 pax is successful. Other pax told to go to the airport (I was thinking SSSS, but nothing indicated there was a problem). At the airport, it turns out when Expedia split the PNR, they only updated one of the etickets, and left the other eticket was an illegal connection on the return. DL wouldn't allow one of my parents to checkin, nor could they touch the ticket since it was issued on AM stock. In the end, DL wasn't able to help and refused to transport both parents as far as BDL-ATL-MID and sort out of the rest once there.
I'm sympathetic here, as this could happen to anyone who doesn't understand that a PNR doesn't always equate to a reissued ticket. My questions:
1. Who's at fault? I think Expedia for not issuing the ticket correctly.
2. If the ticket wasn't issued correctly, why would DL indicate to head to the airport check-in rather than calling to fix the issue beforehand?
3. Could DL have done anything at the airport rather than telling my parents to pound sand?
My parents were refused checkin last weekend by DL on an Expedia itinerary. Hoping for some advice.
Originally:
1 PNR, 2 pax:
BDL-ATL-MID-ATL-BDL
BDL-ATL was DL and ATL-MID was AM
A few months after booking, a schedule change on the return involved missing the DL ATL-BDL leg.
Parents called Expedia, who split the PNR into two and changed the ATL-BDL return to a later flight to make a legal connection in ATL. Not knowing the intricacies of etickets, my parents pulled up both PNRs on DL's site and everything looked intact and good.
Fast forward to last weekend:
Try to check-in online at DL.com - only 1 pax is successful. Other pax told to go to the airport (I was thinking SSSS, but nothing indicated there was a problem). At the airport, it turns out when Expedia split the PNR, they only updated one of the etickets, and left the other eticket was an illegal connection on the return. DL wouldn't allow one of my parents to checkin, nor could they touch the ticket since it was issued on AM stock. In the end, DL wasn't able to help and refused to transport both parents as far as BDL-ATL-MID and sort out of the rest once there.
I'm sympathetic here, as this could happen to anyone who doesn't understand that a PNR doesn't always equate to a reissued ticket. My questions:
1. Who's at fault? I think Expedia for not issuing the ticket correctly.
2. If the ticket wasn't issued correctly, why would DL indicate to head to the airport check-in rather than calling to fix the issue beforehand?
3. Could DL have done anything at the airport rather than telling my parents to pound sand?
#3
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,394
Places like Expedia get a commission from DL and the other airlines for selling the tickets. The commission is partly in exchange for taking care of schedule changes and things of that nature.
Could it have been worked out at the airport, possibly, but it's so hard to know especially when you have another carrier on the ticket.
Expedia is to blame at least 95%
Could it have been worked out at the airport, possibly, but it's so hard to know especially when you have another carrier on the ticket.
Expedia is to blame at least 95%
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: HH Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 10,457
Without knowing the details on the Expedia side, I would say that Expedia is to blame 100% here. Schedule changes happen. This should have been seamless to the passenger. The Expedia agent screwed up.
When a schedule change occurs and Expedia had to split the PNR, I always suggest waiting 48 hours and then calling the airline to make sure that the reservation is intact (ticketed, re-issued, etc.). When online check-in was not available the day before, I would have called the airline to better understand what was going on. Then, the OP's parents could have called Expedia then and got it sorted out.
When a schedule change occurs and Expedia had to split the PNR, I always suggest waiting 48 hours and then calling the airline to make sure that the reservation is intact (ticketed, re-issued, etc.). When online check-in was not available the day before, I would have called the airline to better understand what was going on. Then, the OP's parents could have called Expedia then and got it sorted out.
#5
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: DL PM, MM; Marriott Plat
Posts: 458
Expedia is 100% to blame. Even within DL I have run into the murky world where there is a confirmed reservation but no reissued eticket and have been stuck at the gate waiting for the ticket reissue. The confirmed reservation is an intent to travel with space being held for the customer, the ticket is where payment has been made for THAT reservation. When a travel agency (like Expedia) issues a ticket for a DL trip, they control the ticket. If you want DL to make changes, they charge you $50 to take control of the ticket and then make the changes. So, Expedia is the one who needed to deal with it. If the ticket was issued on DL stock, DL could have taken over the reservation and issued the ticket but it was on AM stock so DL has nothing to do with the ticket itself. Think of DL as a subcontractor to AM to carry the passengers from BDL-ATL and back. Any issues the customer has needs to be resolved by who issued the ticket (AM in this case with Expedia as their agent), not someone who was hired to do part of the job.
#8
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta PlM, 1M
Posts: 6,363
Though I agree with all the "it's Expedia's fault" posts, I would note that the ticket being on AM paper added to the problem. Had it been an 006 ticket, DL could have pulled it away from Expedia (perhaps for $50 charge to the pax) and solved the issue at checkin.
But they never had this option on the AM ticket.
But they never had this option on the AM ticket.
#9
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
It is 100% Expedia's fault and problem. Every passenger needs a valid ticket and reservation for every segment. If a passenger lacks either or both, he is properly denied boarding.
Whether it is fixable is a matter of how much time one has. So, what could have been done differently:
1. When the PNR was split (each passenger to a PNR or each passenger on two tickets)???, wait and then check that the e-tickets have been properly reissued to cover every segment.
2. Whn one passenger could not OLCI, call DL. Could be all kinds of reasons, but this is one of them. Expedia could have fixed this if called beforehand.
3. Do not book through third-party websites.
Whether it is fixable is a matter of how much time one has. So, what could have been done differently:
1. When the PNR was split (each passenger to a PNR or each passenger on two tickets)???, wait and then check that the e-tickets have been properly reissued to cover every segment.
2. Whn one passenger could not OLCI, call DL. Could be all kinds of reasons, but this is one of them. Expedia could have fixed this if called beforehand.
3. Do not book through third-party websites.
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: SJC / DPS
Programs: AS G75K, UA Silver
Posts: 1,756
Thanks for the replies; I expected it to be Expedia's fault and I'll advise my parents to pursue Expedia for any compensation due.
I'm still a bit surprised that even though the first two segments were "OK TO FLY" on the bad eticket, DL couldn't transport the passenger on the good outbound. I personally fault DL for this, as there would have been ample time to get in touch with Expedia to figure out how to fix the rest. I may be misunderstanding the ability to change an eticket once part of it has been flown, though.
However, I'm a bit dismayed when I take my FT hat off and put myself in the shoes of an ordinary traveler; be it family or not. I've seen quite a few sad stories when etickets don't match the record, and frankly I don't think airlines do enough to draw attention to this.
We all know that, but I think from an ordinary pax perspective, once they receive the email showing the correct flights in the PNR, and the PNR looks good on the airline's site (DL in this case), not many expect the need to inspect the underlying e-ticket.
I agree and that's what I would have done. However, the message that display's when OLCI fails is not to call DL, but instead to head to the airport for check-in, which when that advice is followed, is in fact likely too late to save the day.
I totally agree, but there's such a large subset of the population that flocks to these OTAs for whatever reason, and then when things go wrong, it's amazingly more complicated than it ever needed it be.
I'm still a bit surprised that even though the first two segments were "OK TO FLY" on the bad eticket, DL couldn't transport the passenger on the good outbound. I personally fault DL for this, as there would have been ample time to get in touch with Expedia to figure out how to fix the rest. I may be misunderstanding the ability to change an eticket once part of it has been flown, though.
However, I'm a bit dismayed when I take my FT hat off and put myself in the shoes of an ordinary traveler; be it family or not. I've seen quite a few sad stories when etickets don't match the record, and frankly I don't think airlines do enough to draw attention to this.
I totally agree, but there's such a large subset of the population that flocks to these OTAs for whatever reason, and then when things go wrong, it's amazingly more complicated than it ever needed it be.
#11
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 592
It was Expedia's fault. I agree with the comments from the savvy travelers about checking ticket reissuance, but no average flyer is going to understand that. Heck, even me--who thinks of himself as a reasonably sophisticated traveler--got caught at a CX checkin desk when AA had neglected to reissue a ticket (and I thought I had checked everything).
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
It's not amazingly complicated. There are - and have been for decades- IATA rules on reticketing. Expedia didn't do it properly. Delta isn't responsible for travel without the passenger having a valid ticket. Reread posts 3 and 8 about Expedia's role and responsibilities. People who don't like the answer keep trying to spread responsibility. Everyone who flies a lot has a story of reticketing difficulty with an airline but the carrier's airport employees are then available as a resource to fix it.
#13
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,394
Thanks for the replies; I expected it to be Expedia's fault and I'll advise my parents to pursue Expedia for any compensation due.
I'm still a bit surprised that even though the first two segments were "OK TO FLY" on the bad eticket, DL couldn't transport the passenger on the good outbound. I personally fault DL for this, as there would have been ample time to get in touch with Expedia to figure out how to fix the rest. I may be misunderstanding the ability to change an eticket once part of it has been flown, though.
I'm still a bit surprised that even though the first two segments were "OK TO FLY" on the bad eticket, DL couldn't transport the passenger on the good outbound. I personally fault DL for this, as there would have been ample time to get in touch with Expedia to figure out how to fix the rest. I may be misunderstanding the ability to change an eticket once part of it has been flown, though.
If I'm DL, I'm just imagining some viral story going around how DL told them everything was fine but then they were STRANDED in Mexico and had to stay longer and buy new tickets to get home and now they have to eat cat food for a month because they can't afford anything right now.
I'm 100% NOT saying your parents are like that or that would even happen, but in today's viral video world the story can whip around the world and cement in the public consciousness before the truth can get out and it was really Expedia's fault...especially since blaming airlines is the one thing that EVERYONE can still agree on.
#14
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta PM, 1MM
Posts: 3,781
Thanks for the replies; I expected it to be Expedia's fault and I'll advise my parents to pursue Expedia for any compensation due.
I'm still a bit surprised that even though the first two segments were "OK TO FLY" on the bad eticket, DL couldn't transport the passenger on the good outbound. I personally fault DL for this, as there would have been ample time to get in touch with Expedia to figure out how to fix the rest. I may be misunderstanding the ability to change an eticket once part of it has been flown, though.
I'm still a bit surprised that even though the first two segments were "OK TO FLY" on the bad eticket, DL couldn't transport the passenger on the good outbound. I personally fault DL for this, as there would have been ample time to get in touch with Expedia to figure out how to fix the rest. I may be misunderstanding the ability to change an eticket once part of it has been flown, though.