KARFA

Thanks.

KARFA

So you looked at GDS prior to booking? I am not sure why an expiry dates in a fare makes you think there wasn't some mistake in the fare?

As I asked, did you know or should you reasonably have known it was or may be a mistake when you booked it? If you are looking at GDS it seems you are quite a sophisticated traveler so what did you think when you looked at GDS ans saw a one way business class fare which you used to book trips to the far corners of the earth? Is that what you usually see on GDS?

Lack

Could have checked after. And again, we can be certain that the only mistake here is the price for the routing taken, and that's why AZ is taking action, not on principle to relief people of unnecessary travel between FLR and DUS.

KARFA

That's why I am asking to establish whether it was before or after.

As I already noted, the mistake wasn't the price per se. But as I also noted, I didn't know what the mistake was when I booked, yet I reasonably knew something wasn't right and there was some mistake. I am interested in diego980's answer though.

AlicorporateUK

Given the tortuous paths making the Italian legal system and its painfully slow & bygone nature, odds are that one could possibly compromise their will to live before a decision is even made, not to mention the subsequent referrals to local courts and the likes, which are highly likely to come into play. In a nutshell, I'd be more bothered about the when rather than the hows.

G

Lack

But the final outcome is that Alitalia is not happy about the price. Do you think they'd argue computer error if the price had another zero in it? Do they cancel the bookings (if there are any) with the 5k EUR surcharge or change them to a more direct way? Highly doubt it. They've just shown gross negligence handling their business and now they're crying wolf when someone exposed it.

onlysuites

Just out of interest if I live in the UK and booked through a UK OTA then I would have thought the claim would been through the small claims court there?

a9504477

What would you be claiming for? Assuming you booked by credit card, it would be for them to sort out if the OTA doesn't.

AlicorporateUK

You would indeed do the necessary (i.e. small claims court and the likes) in Britain. I was mainly referring to the post which made mention of the Italian legal system for a dispute initiated in Italy by a local resident.

G

Lack

If you had the courage to buy a more expensive replacement ticket you could ask for a reimbursement on the difference.

KARFA

Lack

What so confusing? Are you trying to imply Alitalia cares about the principles here and would/did also cancel the fares booked with the surcharge on the basis of a scenic route taken?

luftair

you are the ambassador of the airline and in what way you help us clarify the matter?

AlicorporateUK

Ambassador of the airline on FlyerTalk - just to avoid any misinterpretation or lost in translation scenarios I'm not entirely sure to which matter you are referring, however:

• When people were fearing protracted waiting situations in terms of refunding times, I shared (pages ago) my experience with Amex (who reinstalled the funds on my account overnight); as a matter of fact, I did warn (at the very beginning) that it could have been slightly disquieting to deal with AZ in terms of refund-processing.

• With regards to legal actions, as mentioned above and in the post you kindly quoted, I'm afraid I'm not in a position to tell whether it would be good or not to initiate such actions, simply because 1. I work in pharmaceuticals and I wouldn't have a clue about any robust ground on which an individual would base a claim in that respect, however 2. Given the fact that I lived in Italy for a few years, I felt it would have been useful to share an opinion on the legal system in the Country (based on direct experience).

That aside, if there's anything you'd specifically like me to help you with, do let me know (may I also refer you to other threads on this forum concerning the role of the Ambassador here on FlyerTalk).



G

durberville

I said it before, and I'll say it again: any ticket subject to English common-law rules would typically fall under the rule of unilateral mistake. In this case, Alitalia's only remedy would be rescission, that is, voiding the contract. Alitalia, very stupidly, decided to rely on self-help, and unilaterally altered the contract instead of using the only remedy available to them, being cancelling and refunding the reservation.

It could be argued that by altering the contract, Alitalia is in breach of contract. Had they voided the contracts, I believe they'd be fine, but they lost that opportunity once they altered reservations. For fun, I'm going to cite myself: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....act_id=2727403. My 2 cents.

Now, whether the ticket is subject to English common-law will depend on where the reservation was made (both physically and on what OTA). But I digress.