lena

We have a pretty hairy situation here, we desperately need help!<BR> <BR>Last year we purchased airline tickets (Virgin Atlantic) to Europe from one of these online auction site, www.skyauctions.com. We were supposed to leave on Sept 22, 2001. Due to the tragic event of 9/11, we had to cancel our trip. We contacted skyauctions.com to postpone our trip but they declined to help. They told us that the tickets are not refundable and not changeable. We then contacted Virgin Atlantic directly and described our situation (including where we got our tickets) and they told us that the tickets are good for 1 year. Recently we contacted Virgin again to rebook our flight and they told us that our tickets are not valid, because they were issued by an outside agent (they call these tickets "BULK" tickets). Does anyone know anything about BULK tickets? What can we do to rebook? Should we contact skyauctions again? Thanks for your help.<BR><BR>

lisa

I might need a travel agent to double check my answer, but here is what I think happened. Bulk tickets are generally tickets that a tour operator or in this case auction site has negotiated with the airlines and sells to the public. With the tour operator that I worked for bulk tickets could only be used on certain dates that we ran tours on. We couldn't use them at any other time, because we had originally purchased them under those conditions.<BR><BR>I think you'll have to go back to sky auctions for help on this one.<BR><BR>Hopefully some travel agent out there will come in and answer your question with some more precise information.

grace

Sorry, Lena.<BR>Bulk fare tickets cannot be reissued for another date UNLESS the seller will do so. So skyauctions are your only hope. Many consolidators that I sell WILL reissue for a price...like $100-$250.00. Keep trying with our vendor and good luck.

grace

I forgot the consideration that your flights were cancelled by circumstances out of everyones control...there's not a reputable consolidator that did not refund all my clients tickets for that period and one month after. Maybe more time, but I didn't have to ask. Some one is in charge at skyauctions. Some one has the ability to fix your problem. Stick to it. One refund took me 6 months to get. You wouldn't believe the constant run around I got. I think they paid cause they were sick of me. Try your cc company too. Again, good luck.

lena

Grace & Lisa,<BR> Thanks for your advice. Our flights were not cancelled last year. When I spoke to skyautcions last year and they simply declined to bend their rule (even with the event of 9/11!!!). As of Virgin Atlantic, when I spoke to them last year they told me that the tickets are good for 1 year(and I did mention I purchased the tickets from skyauctions). Now they are telling me these are BULK. If I knew the condition of these tickets I would have paid penality to make sure these tickets are reusable.<BR><BR>I'll definitely fight until I get refund or new tickets.<BR><BR>Thanks. I'll let you know how it goes.

yyy

Ah-ha. It's a different story if your flights operated but you did not take them. Did you call the airline to cancel before the flight? Did you call the skyauctions to cancel before departure?<BR><BR>It sounds like you had nonrefundable and nonchangeable tickets (as stated in your first post) and it was you who cancelled, not the airline. In that case, it is up to you to have trip insurance or to live with the terms of the product you purchased.<BR><BR>Skyauctions was under no obligation to alter their terms (even though many others did). I believe your only recourse is to prove that you did not have even the opportunity to learn what the ticket restrictions were. Note that this does not mean that they didn't tell you ... all they have to do is tell you to ask them for all the restrictions. (That is reasonable because if agents told passengers all the restrictions on every ticket it would amount to pages and pages. That is why airlines always refer passengers to their tariffs and make the tariffs available (or should).)

love2travel

Yes, IF the flights were operating on the dates you had decided to travel, then they are in fact non-refundable. Unfortunately there is probably nothing you can do. If they had been cancelled, then you would have a leg to stand on. <BR><BR>The other thing that is a problem is that you can call the airlines a couple of times on any given day and get a couple of different answers. Always get the name and location of the agent you are speaking with and have them look directly at your reservation so they know how the ticket was issued and what class of service.<BR><BR>Good luck

Pris

I was just going to post to make the last point that love2travel made, so let me make it again:<BR><BR>ALWAYS ask for and write down the name of the person who tells you something (esp. if it's an exception to some rule), along with date and time. Always.<BR><BR>And yes, it's a very good idea not to believe someone who tells you what you want to hear in an unusual circumstance; always worth calling again to verify -- and take names!

Tess

I've used skyauction a couple of times and it's their policy that their trips are non-refundable and non-transferable and they couldn't chage your dates once it's been confirmed. It's because of all this restrictions that they offer their trips at a huge discount. I'm sure you knew about this before purchasing the tickets from them. It's a risk you take when you want to save a lot of money but in your case cost you more money and more headaches. I would be interested too to know how it goes.

lena

Thanks all for the advice.<BR><BR>I just spoke to Virgin Atlantic in UK(after 5:00pm, 1800 number connects to UK instead of service here in States). I described my situation to an agent, which was extremely helpful. He heard me out and was able to rebook our tickets with dates we wanted. He had our records in the system so I did not need to explain any further other than giving him our names. <BR><BR>I believe at this difficult time the airlines are suffering so they're doing their best to please the customers in order to keep and grow their business.<BR><BR>THANKS ALL AGAIN.<BR>