Originally Posted by sonora

A suggestion:

(this is probably what I'll do)

Everyone who bought the tickets and got some kind of confirmation sue in their local small claims court. Sue Alitalia and the ticketing agency, Orbitz or whatever. Court costs are generally pretty modest in small claims court. Rules of evidence and what have you are relaxed, and SC court judges are often inclined to give the "little guy" a break.

Even if you don't win, it will be sweet revenge to force these entities to defend all these little lawsuits. I can tell you from experience they'll likely use large law firms for the defense and it will cost them plenty.

I will sue for my Small claims court jurisdictional limit of $3000, and make the case that Mr S and I had a nice trip planned, meeting up with friends, a stopover in Milan long enough to see some important art, etc.

Originally Posted by AndrewC75

I figured at this point, there was little to lose, so I innocently emailed Orbitz:

To: Orbitz
From: AndrewC75
Re: Orbitz PNR: xxxxxxx
The international segments of this confirmed,
ticketed, and paid-for itinerary are mysteriously missing when viewed
online. Please restore them per the confirmation email I received
yesterd titled "Travel Document - Larnaca 7/22/06". Also, it's been
24 hours now, and I still haven't recevied a tracking number for the
tickets, so please provide that in your response. Thanks.

To: AndrewC75
From: Orbitz
Dear Andrew,

Thank you for contacting Orbitz.

From your e-mail, I understand that you are referring to the flight
reservation titled 'Toronto 7/25/06'.

Please note, this reservation has been canceled. I suggest that you
contact Orbitz Customer Service at 1-888-656-4546 or 1-312-416-0018 (if
calling from outside US) for further assistance.

We value you as a customer and look forward to serving you again in the
future.

Sincerely,

Nicholas
OrbitzTLC
www.Orbitz.com

Orbitz - The faster, easier way to find the trip you want.

So basically, don't bother.

Originally Posted by Spiff

Whether AZ likes it or not, AZ must follow the rules of the fare, just as the consumer must.

The rules say that date changes are penalty-free. AZ doesn't get to choose whether or not it will do so. If there is D class inventory availability, AZ must do so or AZ has breached the contract that exists between the passenger and AZ.

Originally Posted by nako

Suing in your own small claims court jurisdiction may not be sufficient, because it may not be the proper jurisdiction in which to bring action. See page 15 of this thread for more discussion on small claims court in relation to fare errors.

Mike

Originally Posted by sjc_longhorn

For what it's worth, Travelocity purchased tix just arrived by Fedex and look valid on their face. No idea whether or not having actual paper will make a difference in this situation...

Originally Posted by The Flying Scotsman

But isn't the whole problem here that by not honouring the tickets that have already been booked, AZ are already not following the rules of the fare and breaching the contract?

Originally Posted by izzik

I think that is a common assumption here: that having paper tickets guarantees the existence of an itinerary, regardless of what happens on the airlines' computers.

Originally Posted by GUWonder

It's not page 15 for most. It's post 820.

Originally Posted by sonora

A suggestion:

(this is probably what I'll do)

Everyone who bought the tickets and got some kind of confirmation sue in their local small claims court. Sue Alitalia and the ticketing agency, Orbitz or whatever. Court costs are generally pretty modest in small claims court. Rules of evidence and what have you are relaxed, and SC court judges are often inclined to give the "little guy" a break.

Even if you don't win, it will be sweet revenge to force these entities to defend all these little lawsuits. I can tell you from experience they'll likely use large law firms for the defense and it will cost them plenty.

I will sue for my Small claims court jurisdictional limit of $3000, and make the case that Mr S and I had a nice trip planned, meeting up with friends, a stopover in Milan long enough to see some important art, etc.

And with the crazy way airlines do their fares, who knew this was a mistake?

Originally Posted by izzik

I think that is a common assumption here: that having paper tickets guarantees the existence of an itinerary, regardless of what happens on the airlines' computers.

Are paper tickets a type of 'currency' whose validity cannot be challenged? I honestly don't know.

Originally Posted by PHLDividends

Spirit Air: $9 to the Caribbean.
USAir: 50-cent flights to Rome.

I have a printed itinerary from Orbitz that says "Your flight is confirmed. The airline is assigning seats at check-in."

What does "your flight is confirmed" mean if the entire ticket can then be cancelled?

Originally Posted by bostonbali

I am debating doing the same thing. Many times, the company won't even be present to defend itself (I doubt AZ will send its people to the Oshkosh, WI municipal court...) , which is an automatic win for the little guy.