Fabo.sk

Most of the jet flights these days are outright planned for Smartwings 737. A319 will be gone soon.

Professional Bum

I booked a flight from Budapest to Prague on OK 787 which leaves at 09:15. I was doing my routine checks on Expertflyer two days ago and saw that my flight's seat map is no longer available. Expertflyer is also giving me the FLIFO FLIGHT LEG CANCEL message. I contacted Czech Airlines customer service to find out what's going on. I was told that my flight was cancelled and the Customer Support Agent moved me to OK 791 which leaves at 15:00. I could not find any direct flight that will leave earlier so I guess I am stuck with this option.

The Customer Support Agent also sent me the new itinerary and e-ticket. However, checking online via Manage Booking I still see my old reservation. This got me confused. My ticket says I will fly at 15:00 but my online reservation is still showing 09:15. I again asked Customer Service about this but I am not getting a response. This particular flight is still months away so there could be more changes but in any case my online booking does not update, will that cause me any problems?

fifty_two

no , use the new eticket with the new booking/eticket reference , the old reservation should disappear soon

Akiestar

Currently stuck at WAW because OK canceled the evening WAW-PRG flight. They didn't inform me of the cancelation and I found out online when checking the flight, then when I went to the airport, they couldn't rebook me on the last flight out (on LO) since they had already rebooked other passengers on that flight.

I hate flaunting status around but as an STE+, this is a horrible way of handling elites who fly your airline. Basically, I was checked in already for this flight (I checked in at PRG, and they printed my boarding passes for both flights since it was supposed to be a quick day trip to WAW), but they rebook passengers based on "who arrives at the check-in counter first". When I checked my reservation, they rebooked me on the LOT flight leaving an hour before, without even telling me they did that, and all they could do when I asked to be rebooked on the last LOT flight was say "I'm sorry, the flight's full, you must understand this".

(Worse, my flight coming here this morning was delayed by nearly 2 hours, so I lost valuable time I could've used enjoying WAW as it is. Being stuck here for the night doesn't make it up for it one bit.)

At this point, given how they've handled the situation, I'm very likely never flying OK again (at least on prop metal), and that's despite some pretty uneventful PRG-KBP flights the week before. People say MU is awful but this is just plain bad. I'm glad they put me up for the night, but now I'm stuck having to rebook everything with DL as I have flights to LAX tomorrow from PRG (which I told them repeatedly), and if they can't give priority to elites, I have no idea what else they'll be up to.

Not even planned: some of those 737s have been painted already in OK colors. My KBP-PRG flight last week was on one of those repainted 738s.

Fabo.sk

Only one at this point, I think.

Situation is fluid, due to MAX groundings - even one of the A319s that have already gone to the wreckers is back now.

Michal Krsek

The sole 738 is in CSA colors (using stickers) - OK-TST

Weekend Away

I know this will sound odd, but write to DL and let them know how you were treated. I would also complain to OK directly and see what their response is. I was recently denied entry as a DL PM to an AF lounge while flying a SkyTeam international flight. I wrote to both, AF hasn't responded, but DL called me Saturday morning and apologized, wrote to the station manager at JFK to complain about their treatment of me (at least she said she was going to) and gave me some miles. I wasn't expecting the miles, just want treatment to be consistent across the alliance. Clearly, the treatment wasn't done to the standards that DL has for SkyTeam. I think they'd be interested to hear about this.

Akiestar

I tweeted DL at the time and they said they can't do anything about the cancelation and that I'd have to write OK directly. The agents I spoke to meanwhile were very sympathetic, and ultimately they allowed me to rebook my flights back to LAX with all change fees waived. (I ended up flying back PRG-CDG-LAX, but I also ended up losing an entire day of work. At least my boss was understanding.)

I filled out OK's complaint form but they have yet to get back to me -- at this point, I may call back their call center. I've yet to claim the miles though for the WAW-PRG flight and I may end up addressing that there.

kaffir76

Mabuhay!
Sorry to hear about your flight cancellation.
Is this your first flight with OK (Czech Airlines)?
If yes - "declarations based on single data points are statistically useless"
If no, I think you should know the outcome of this complaint but do let us know if it turns out to be favorable to you.
Good luck.

Akiestar

Fourth time, as I mentioned above. PRG-KBP-PRG went smoothly and without a hitch. PRG-WAW was delayed, and WAW-PRG was canceled.

If it was a single data point, I wouldn't complain (as I noted when I spoke about this in the MU thread), but if it's been more than a couple of flights, I think I would by now.

prgboy

Hello to all:
For last almost 3 months, I have been trying to solve a problem which does not seem to have a clear solution. I am writing in hope that somebody was in the same situation and maybe you can tell me what has happened.
Despite the fact that CSA is no more my preferred airline, I do like to give them a business once in a while to keep them flying on my routes.

I booked a ticket with CSA on March 20, flying PRG-CPH, flying June 21th.
I used Expedia for the booking, and the cost was $60.80.
On my bank statement (CITI USA), the charge appeared as $121.60.
I kept calling all of them: The bank, Expedia, Czech airlines, but nobody has responsibility. Expedia says they only charged $60.80. Czech Airlines say that I am a client of Expedia and so I need to talk to Expedia. The bank says they only charge me whatever the merchant charges (the charge on my statement appear as CSA).

Finally, in April, I disputed the incorrect amount, half of what I was charged. And the bank was able to pull the money from CSA.
But when I called CSA to ask about another flight (alas, they recently canceled routes to Porto and Valencia...), they said that because CITI took the money from them, CSA also SUSPENDED my flight to Copenhagen and I will not fly with them.

Hours later spent on the phone, I got nowhere. Expedia told me yesterday, that the ticket was incorrectly booked twice. Today they say that no, it was \only booked once and they only can see one charge $60.80. CSA still says I only have to talk to Expedia. Finally I called the bank and updated my dispute and now I am disputing the WHOLE amount of #121.60 because I obviously won't get the product that I had bought.

of course this is very upsetting and time consuming. I would just like to know whom to blame? Expedia or CSA? I want to avoid the right company for my future business...
Thank you for your expertise. I trust I am not the only one in this situation...

fifty_two

Hello

You booked from OTA ( even if on the bank statement you see CSA czech airlines) you will need to speak with your OTA , as CSA cant (or shouldnt) touch your booking before the flight

If for any reason your booking has been cancelled by the airline , then its the duty of the OTA (expedia) to give you an alternative ,

You should have claim back the complete amount and then pay again

In this case the problem is coming from expedia (keep in mind that a lot of parties are involved during an online transaction , so one of them might be faulty but this is not your problem)

if Expedia told you yesterday, that the ticket was incorrectly booked twice keep this written statement if they come back to you . They will play stupid (or ignorant) , but the only thing you need to trust is what you see in your bank account (what is going on in the middle is none of your business)

Keep discussing this matter with your bank , if they ask you provide written evidences that expedia f8k*d up and you want the rest of your money. When done close this case , forget about it and make a new booking straight with the airline and avoid OTA . I know CSA quite well and i would rather avoid them , its like spirit airlines asking you same price as american airlines

if this case is still on stand-by , gather all evidences (emails + bills) and contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

HanBkk

Bought a ticket on OK on Orbitz about a week ago. Ticket number was issued within a couple of hours and I was able to verify the ticket on OK website.
I noticed charge was pending on my credit card for about a week and thought it was odd that it was pending for so long. The pending charge was listed under CSA, and not Orbitz, which I've noticed is common with some airlines.
Now over a week after buying the ticket, the charge is no longer pending and it doesn't show as posted. It's just disappeared. I called OK and was told the reservation is ok and shows as paid.
Should I be concerned that my ticket will be cancelled and I'll have to buy a last minute ticket? I could see if this happened, both Orbitz and OK would blame the other and I would be SOL.

prgboy

Hello: This is certainly a strange behavior of the system, but as I learnt, it is no reason to worry.
Routinely, the transaction with Czech Airlines is pending for at least (!) one week.
Notice, that after that (if paid in U.S. Dolars), it changes the merchant from CSA Tulsa or Seattle or... to CSA Prague.

It happened to me as well, that the charge disappeared and did not re--appear until a month later. Very strange indeed, but worry not. Do check, though, if at the end CSA charged you a double (or a different) amount. I would advise to take screenshots of even the pending transaction as well as posted transaction... Because after a pending transaction is gone, there is no way to find the history or whatever was happening. Simply take a screen shot of every step in the process -- and keep it until it posts on your statement. The bank will appreciate that in case you are disputing a charge.

prgboy

Thank you for mentioning this Bureau. It might have helped to mention it in the claim...

A quick update on my case of duplicate charge from March 20th, in case somebody should find themselves in the same situation:
On July 5, I was refunded permanently the $60.80 - It was the result of INCORRECT AMOUNT claim.
But: This amount was taken from Czech Airlines who consequently suspended my ticket.

I had to buy a new ticket for the same flight, and there was another $60.80 hanging somewhere, nobody would admit the error. Expedia kept saying they only charged me $60.80 once.

So on June 21st, I submitted a new dispute with CITI claiming that SOMEBODY must have my extra $60.80. The claim fell into the category of INCORRECT AMOUNT again.
On July 8th, it was declined, saying:
With the information we had, it wasn't enough to support
your claim and resolve the dispute in your favor. Please contact the
merchant directly if you wish to pursue this matter further.

I challenged this decision, as it was seemingly a very simple case and I had submitted all the proper documentation. And I mentioned that if the bank is incapable to solve this, I will reach out to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau... I gave CITI one week to react. Strangely, the very next day, a new dispute was found in my account... the category was GOODS/SERVICES NEVER RECEIVED.

Temporary credit applied to my account about two weeks later (7/23). Today (7/26), I noticed that the credit changed to a permanent one -- and the case is now closed as solved in my favor. Absolutely no communication was given in this regard from CITI bank, which is a bit shocking. I will wait for a few days and then ask for details.

The arbitrary nature of statements and decisions taken by the bank is frightening:
When declining my second dispute, they announced that the "temporary credit was reversed" but in fact there was never any temporary credit issued, prior to July 8.

I also received a communication in BOTH cases of my claim, always about a week into the dispute opening, saying the bank did not receive the documents intact. I was sending one PDF file with all the documentation and my claim to prevent confusion. Still, CITI would say, for example, that:

"The letter you recently sent to us was damaged or separated during processing."

Somehow, I had a strong feeling that the bank discourages clients from continuing their claims. Also, when reviewing the final decision in the CITI app, it says that the permanent credit for the second case was issued on July 8 - this is not true (that was the date when they declined my second claim).

At the end, while I achieved to have my money refunded after 4 months, it leaves a strange feeling toward all sides concerned in the dispute. I still do not really know whom to blame.
(At least Expedia issued me $200 credit toward a hotel reservation, as an apology for my inconvenience.)

The LESSON LEARNT from this issue was:
When double charged, claim the WHOLE amount, resulting in a ticket cancellation... AND buy the ticket once again.
(In my case, the ticket even dropped in price and I bought it again for $48.90.)