Orbitz

Old Jun 29th, 2013, 03:38 AM
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Orbitz

I am having a major problem with Orbitz. It is practically impossible to get through and when I do the service person realizes that my problem is real and then tries to transfer me to someone who can help, ie who fixes real problems.

I got what is probably a computer glitch. They now look at my round trip to Philadelphia as a trip from Bilbao to Bilbao with a 1657 hour layover in Philly. Which would be fine except they have changed my departure from Philadlephia to JFK. I am pretty sure the airlines can't simply change where you leave from so somethings screwy but Orbitz is just plain not helping. I tried e mailing customer service and got back a nonsense e mail that asked if I knew I could change reservations online. Very frustrating.

If anyone knows a way to contact Orbitz when one has a genuine problem I would love to know.
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Old Jun 29th, 2013, 04:43 AM
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Use Twitter!! That has gotten responses for others on these boards and companies perceive it as indicative of the target market that they are after and so you get a much faster reply.
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Old Jun 29th, 2013, 05:12 AM
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Hello Scott

Your problem is a little unclear: it seems you wanted to book PHL (Philadelphia) to BIO (Bilbao) returning PHL, correct? But you have a booking JFK to BIO returning JFK, with a layover in PHL? (Tip: use the call letters of the appropriate airport when talking to call centre employees, it will save you a lot of time.)

Here is my guess at the problem. The system hunted for this route, which technically might be possible but which, for all intents and purposes, doesn't actually run.

Rule of thumb. Assume the 'hub and spoke' system applies when booking flights, no matter what seems technically possible. This means:

1. Long haul flights from North America rarely go directly into smaller airports overseas. And BIO (Bilbao) is way down the list of Spain's airports, let alone European airports. For comparison: BIO traffic is around 4 million pax per year. MAD and BCN (Barcelona) are around 45 million and 35 million pax, respectively, per year.

2. So assume you can't get a direct flight to BIO, even from JFK. (I don't trust the itinerary that the system is proposing, JFK to BIO via PHL. Makes no sense.)

3. I would have Orbitz book you an itinerary PHL to CDG (Paris) or FRA (Frankfurt); from there you can more easily get connections, reliable ones to BIO (stress the 'reliable' part to the Orbitz employee.) CDG and FRA are major European hubs, should work.

Okay, now for the hard part.

As I discovered with Expedia a couple of years ago, the downside to online booking engines such as Orbitz, Expedia, etc. is that the business model assumes that 90 per cent of people will have no difficulties. This is all very well, until you end up being one of the 10 per cent.

Before you call again, be prepared to wait a long, long time on the phone for help. Use a land line phone or plug in your cell phone to an outlet if you can because you don't want your cell phone battery to die while you are waiting. Yes, I have heard that happening to people. Your call will be answered by someone in the lowest category of employee - i.e. the least experienced. They will put you on hold until a more experienced employee becomes available. More waiting.

You must have your initial problem defined very clearly. Know what you want for a solution. Don't expect the Orbitz employee to be very creative in their thinking. Do the thinking yourself.

Good luck. Sorry, but you're going to need it.
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Old Jun 29th, 2013, 05:30 AM
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Another alternative is to (re) book PHL to MAD (Madrid.) I see that this means you will have to connect on the North American side in all probability, which is a bit of a bore. But you would at least arrive in Spain. Google says it's 3.5 hours by car from Madrid to Bilbao, Basque country (or alternatively Abando, Bilbao, Spain). So public ground transportation should be easily available (check with renfe.com or someone on this board familiar with Spain, which I am not. If it's 'bilbao-abando you want, renfe says the train will take 5 or 6 hours from Madrid, plus add in the time from the airport. A clumsier solution but it is an alternative.)
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Old Jun 29th, 2013, 06:59 AM
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Hello,

My name is Shalon, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations Team. We want to learn more about your experience so that we can address the issue. Please email us at [email protected] and enter my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.

Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,

Shalon
Orbitz Customer Relations
Chicago, IL
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