jdrtravel

This is the one thing I have a question about. Was DL helpful to your parents at all? And I would count as helpful explaining to them why they could not help them, being sympathetic to their frustration, and telling them to try to quickly call Expedia to work it out so that they could maybe make the flight. Of course DL does not have to do any favors, but I do hope that the agent they were dealing with was kind and helpful enough to clarify what had happened instruct them on the correct next steps.

threeoh

Did they try calling AM while in the airport?

I once had the reverse situation -- DL ticket for an all-AM itin ORD-MEX-MID, something went wrong at check-in, AM airport agents wouldn't touch it because it's a Delta ticket. I called DL and the DL phone agent even spoke to the AM airport agent (handed them my phone), they still couldn't sort it out or at least not in time. The flight was overbooked so I don't think AM had much incentive to solve it. The (very helpful) DL phone agent then booked me on the next morning's flight ORD-ATL-CUN on DL metal, even exchange on the ticket. I was out a $20 bus ticket CUN-MID and missed 12 hours of my trip, but it could have been much worse. Oh and when I wrote in to compliment the DL phone agent, they gave me a $50 gift cert as a gesture.

The disadvantage of multiple parties (DL, AM, OTA) is confusion, mistakes, incompatible IT, and finger-pointing. The upside is more parties from whom to seek a resolution. I wouldn't have given up until I had called DL, AM, and Expedia.

Agree on the overall point that these kinds of PNR-eticket mismatches happen all too often and blame shouldn't be put on passengers, and the advice to "proceed to airport" was the wrong advice. It should have said "call reservations [or your travel agent] immediately".

pushmyredbutton

No alternatives offered, but I sort of expected that based on the small nature of the operation at BDL.

I'm not sure, actually. If DL was truly acting as a 'subcontractor' on another carriers' ticket stock, and the segments that DL was responsible for were intact and marked "ok to fly" on the eticket, I see no reason why DL couldn't carry out their obligation to transport the passengers. I understand the liability in doing so, although this could arguably be pawned off to AM or Expedia should a problem occur.

This is squarely where the I place the blame on DL. If Delta was in their right to deny boarding, they clearly knew so when the pax went to check-in. Advising pax to head to the airport when they would in fact be beyond the point of help is irresponsible from a customer service perspective.

I'm doing my best to put myself in the shoes of regular travelers who simply follow the advice of airlines and OTAs

PV_Premier

Buzz Aldrin

CPMaverick

And that is why your post and this thread is very confusing.

You asked a specific question: 'Who is at fault?' Well, that is very clear. Expedia. They caused the problem.

Then you deflect and say you want to view things through the average traveler's eyes. Well, the average traveler doesn't have any idea about what is going on.

If you want the truth, Expedia is at fault. Yes, someone with no clue about how the travel industry works might think otherwise, and I have sympathy to anyone in that situation, but I don't see how that is relevant.

pushmyredbutton

Thread title is specific, yes, but the content less decidedly so. I don't doubt that Expedia botched the e-ticket reissue, but I argue that some of the fault should be on DL for knowingly suggesting travelers head to the airport when they would be denied transport.

CPMaverick

I am confident the DL agent did not realize that they would be denied transport. If it weren't for the AM stock, the DL advice would have been the right one, as airport agents would have been empowered to sort it out. For most circumstances, the airport has the power to fix things.

DL gave poor advice and made the problem worse, but if Expedia did their job there would have been no problem at all.

canadiancow

I agree it's Expedia's fault, but look at the result.

A thread titled "Denied boarding by DL".

DL knew check-in was impossible due to an invalid ticket, knew the ticket number did not start with 006, but still advised the passengers to head to the airport for a DL flight. And now they're being (partially) blamed for it, publicly.

A better error on the check-in system would have avoided this thread. Or at the very least, resulted in a much less dramatic one in the OTA forum.

Today, at work, I found a problem inadvertently caused by a former employee, a long time ago. Jokes were made, but I didn't sit there saying "SUE HIM" or "CALL HIM BACK IN TO FIX THIS". I fixed the problem. Just because I didn't cause a problem doesn't mean I should ignore it when I notice it.

NoStressHere

I agree with others - not a denied boarding issue, but an invalid ticket issue.

One more reason to book direct with airline.

Sorry.

CarmenOM

AsiaTraveler

When I can't check in online, I always call the airline. However, it's a very common experience to be assured that everything is fine and it's probably just SSSS or something similar. It's only when I insist that they actually LOOK that they discover an issue that can be fixed now.

So I have a lot of sympathy in this case that, even if they had called, they might have gotten brushed off.

danielonn

Under Ticket Receipts on DL.Com you can see the Ticket Status as "Open"Flwn , "APT(airport). If something is amiss this is a great place to start. If I see anything other than APT/Open after a reissue I will call up Delta or Expedia to see what is going on. For the most part I agree 600 percent to book directly with Delta as their team can fix this on one call without the blame game Delta says its Expedia and Expedia says its Delta.

Other codes you may see depending on the airline, Computer Reservation System and status:. Checkmytrip.com is a great app to have as it shows all the pertinent data about the reservation.

HK2(Holding Confirmed 2 seats) OK/ NK(Not Konfirmed).

Seeing an E-Ticket Number is the most important out of any of these codes. If it becomes disassociated for one reason or another then you have just a reservation but no ticket. Always be sure to see the ticket numbers listed for all passengers on the itinerary.

Notice at the boarding gate they say "Ticketed and Confirmed Passengers" This means all passengers with a Ticket being an e-ticket# and holding confirmed space on today's flight for the stated flight number. Nowhere does it say" Confirmed but not ticketed meaning yes I have a PNR but no ETicket.

The Eticket# is essentially stating the contract between the airline and you. You agree to do your part and the airline agrees to do its part. Just like a contract if there is no contract# anyone can say anything or quote you 20 prices until you get the E-Ticket or Contract#.

danielonn

I agree there are times just to fix the problem without pointing the blame at people but if its an egregious issue then of course I would want someone to take the blame for a problem. If I wait 3 months after a flight to complain about bad service I had on an airline vs someone who deals with the problem preferably when its taking place or writes in soon after to get it resolved gets more clout although may not get compensation.

What I would say is its best to resolve the problem at hand at the first stage rather than wait until tits too late. The passenger also has a responsibility to ensure everything is correct. Travel planing is shared responsibility between travel vendor and consumer for correctly spelled names, proper Passports etc.

I am the type of person who has energy to spend hour after hour on hold to resolve a problem now rather than waste precious hours of vacation or work time to resolve something unless something comes up unexpected then I deal with it at the time in the best way possible.

Often1

OP's question is "who is at fault?" The answer is solely Expedia.

DL has zero obligation to pick up the phone and start making calls on behalf of someone who appears without a ticket and has chosen to use some third party.

Putting oneself in the shoes of the average customer, it is just as logical to pick up the phone and call Expedia as it is to ask DL to fix an error someone else, e.g. Expedia, made.

Back to the simple advice at the beginning. Do not use third parties if you are not willing to undertake the complexities which they interject into the system. If this had been a DL-issued ticket, DL would have had the means and the obligation to fix it and it would have been fixed to the extent that it was fixable.

threeoh

Just to provide a different perspective: your advice is good but could apply to Aeromexico and Delta. AM hired Expedia to act as their agent in selling tickets, and Delta as their supplier to provide air transport. Then Delta made a schedule change throwing the ticket out of whack. Then Expedia failed to split the PNR correctly. Then Delta provided a customer checking in with bad advice (head to airport) thus forgoing the one chance they had to fix the issue. Then, when the customer showed up, Delta and AM and everyone else in the aviation world runs such antiquated legacy systems that even though the customer had paid and was booked and was standing in front of them, they couldn't put the passenger on a plane.

Remember, the OP's parents didn't hire Expedia to act as their agent -- Aeromexico hired Expedia as an agent. In one way of thinking, if Expedia messed up, the buck stops with AM for hiring such an incompetent sales agent.

In my line of work, if my sales agent and my supplier and I make a paperwork mistake, I don't take it out on the customer.