uyflyer

Greetings..

Brief Synopsis: (1) Booked (and paid) a non-stop flight GIG-MVD.
(2) Latam cancelled the flight and rerouted GIG-SCL-MVD, arriving 6 hrs later. I accepted (no other choice).
(3) Latam also cancelled these flights and forced GIG-GRU-MVD with 11 hrs in GRU arriving 12 hrs later than original flight. I accepted since this was the only choice.
(4) As of today the flight that cancelled in (2) above is back, but LATAM refuses to reinstate me in that flight on grounds that I had "accepted" the protection with an 11 hrs connection (never mind that they cancelled twice on me and that the option GIG-SCL-MVD was not available

Their call center was adamant that since I had accepted the 11 connection they will not change the flights. Is there anything I can do?
Does anyone have a web address in Brazil /Chile/Uruguay similar to DOT where at least I can register a complain? (Don't think DOT has jurisdiction here).

Thanks in advance for any advice

Safe travels

Uyflyer

Jaenks

Since you accepted the last change there is nothing you can do without paying for new changes if the booking is changeable for fee according to the fare rules. ANAC https://www.anac.gov.br/en in Brazil.

uyflyer

Thanks..but please keep in mind that I accepted the change "under duress" since at that time there were no other options. Since then, LATAM has added back to the schedule the flight that they had cancelled on me (and I had paid for originally), so IMHO they should make it right.
Claiming that I had accepted when there were no other choices is disingenuous at best
Don't hold my breath though, since LATAM customer service is one of the worst I have experienced. Lesson learned though: avoid LATAM unless there are no other alternatives. I have filed complains with DOT (ticket was bought in the US) and Uruguay (outbound originated in MVD). Will do the same with Brazil if I find a way of doing it.

sdsearch

You haven't explained. Did they rebook you automatically, or did you get on the phone with them and get that rebooking?

If they rebooked you automatically, your other option was to not "accept" but just wait. You'd still have the rebooking intact, but you wouldn't have legally "accepted" it.

If you got on the phone with them to get the rebooking, your option would have been to stay off the phone and see if and how they rebooked automatically.

By comparison, several months ago I booked an trip on another airline, then a month or so later they changed the outbound schedule by 8 hours later, then I just waited, they changed the plane type, then I just waited, they changed the return flights by almost an hour earlier, then I just waited, they changed the return flight to more than an hour earlier (from the original) and changed the plane types again. Just the other day, I realized other airlines had better connections now, and I called and was able to get my ticket refunded 100% with no penalty because of that 8 hour schedule change which I had never accepted and just kept observing.

Couldn't you have done the equivalent "continue to observe but never accept" at LATAM too?

Jaenks

Your situation sucks, no doubt about it. They should make it right, proactively. Other than that according to my personal experience LATAM customer service is one of the best at all airlines what comes to handling the flight changes(CGH ticket office, US toll free line) and compensations( Brazil and Chile). Last month my flight was delayed to connection airport and I made a changes at the gate using web chat. Try ANAC and ASAP.

uyflyer

Sorry, I don't have your tolerance for risk. The flight is over the busiest time period of the year in South America. At the time I accepted the connection it was either 11 hrs connection or overnight stay and an even worse connection. Had I waited, there was a very distinct chance that flights would fill up.
But I think that you are missing the point: if an airline cancels a flight on you, rebooks you into a less convenient connection and then reinstates your original flight, shouldn't they put you back on it? How would you feel if you bought and paid for some item, I give you an inferior one on grounds that the one you paid for is no longer available, then after you take this inferior item I put the one you paid for back in the shelf and refuse to give it to you? If this were legit, then no booking would be ever safe.

And no, I could not cancel and get a refund. This was the return leg on a trip already started. If I cancel and get a refund of 1/2 trip, then I would be stuck in GRU and would need to buy a one way ticket, which would be much more expensive that the refund I would get (assuming that I would get a refund, which was not clear)

ttuna3

Sometimes the only way to get LATAM to do the right thing is to put up a nasty post on one(or more) of their social media pages. I've usually gotten a response within a couple of hours from the social media team and action within a business day or so from the actual department that needs to fix the issue. Most of my issues usually involve the Back Orifice who are rather notorious for their "high" levels of responsiveness and competence but somehow suddenly manage to fix the problem after a Facebook post.