Orbitz/Airfrance - question...
 

I posted this on the Europe board.. but wanted to see what your feedback is - I am willing to fight on this one due to the amount of $$ involved just have no idea if there is anything that can be done!

Think I might be SICK.

I booked these Airfrance tickets last year (Feb 12, 2007) on Orbitz (mistake) - I cancled in June of last year when dd was sick and could not go to Africa (we were flying LAX to Paris staying a few nights in Paris - going to J'burg and then J'burg to Rome for a few nights and then back to LAX - seperate reservations)...

I was told that I had to rebook by Feb 12, 2008. Had 10 months from Feb 12, 2008 to complete travel.

Called Orbitz the other day - they said the same thing again...

Just called to pull the trigger and they are saying that travel needed to be complete by 12-12-08.???

I am literally sick to my stomach.

It is 4, 728.00 in airfare.

I asked for a supervisor and she went to call Airfrance to verify and they have a 15 minutes hold time so she said she would call me back.

I might throw up.

Did you mistype or something? Do you mean travel has to be completed by 2/12/08 or do you really mean 12/12/08?

No, they (obitz) said on this call today that travel had to have been completed BY 12-12-08 - every other time I spoke with them regarding the tickets (once in June and once a few days ago) they said that I had to "rebook" by 2-12-08.

I asked for a supervisor and they are calling Airfrance - she asked to call me back.

Every airline I have ever dealt with said one year from time of purchase to rebook.

Well, good luck with them. I have nothing to add.

Well, sorry, but I'm still missing something. You were originally told you had to rebook by 2/12/08, and you had 10 months to complete the travel. Correct? So 10 months from 2/12/08 is 12/12/08. Right?

So haven't they been telling you the same thing all along? Isn't this what they told you in your last conversation? You have 5 more days to rebook (2/12/08) and then up to 10 months (to 12/12/08) to complete the travel.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but trying to make sure I understand so I can try and be of some help.

Is it that they're telling you you have 10 mo to complete travel and you're used to 12 mo with other airlines?

12 months from original flight date to rebook makes sense to me. i'm not sure how they cap "travel by" though. 10 months (December '08) seems reasonable though.

sorry for the confusion -

I was told when I canceled in June of 07 for our July of 07 flights that I had to "rebook" my travel by 2-12-08 (the orginal date that I purchased my airfare). I was told I had approximately 10 months to complete the travel. (the book about 10 months out - it looks like a little more when I go on their airfrance site).

I called a few days ago to find out what the exact fees would be. I was told the fee would 80.00 Euros per ticket (about 117.00 on that day) plus the 30.00 per ticket that Orbitz was going to charge - and that I had to "rebook" by 2-12-08.

I called today to rebook - as we finally nailed down when we could go. The woman (at orbitz) told me that actually my travel was to be complete by 2-12-08 (in a few days). I was/am stunned. I asked to speak with a supervisor. Laura (supervisor) said that she would call Airfrance for me.

She came back and said that it was over a 15 minute wait time and rather then have me wait - she would call me back.

That was almost 2 hours ago..still no word.

I am sorry if I have not been clear in my posting.

Do you have any e-mails from Orbitz/Air France stating any of this to back you up? Did you document, dates, times and people you talked to?

kybourbon - unfortunately no emails - only verbal communication that yes, is documented. It is my word against theirs right now.

I am on hold again with Orbitz - they are contacting Airfrance.

This is why I never ever book through a search engine but through the airline themselves.

hi dawn -
sorry you have to deal with this and hope it gets resolved soon. Whether you book with an agency or directly with the airline, verbal assurances carry no weight at all. That is not really unrealistic, as without some form of documentation everything could devolve into a "you said - I said - but what I meant - but what i thought you meant" morass. Be certain that you get something in writing - email will do, just be certain to save it - from whomever you speak with.

Seamus - no kidding. I did say that to them - that this is a "he said she said" and what can be done at this point?

I just got off the phone with them - they are saying that nothing can be done. Period. I really want to just cry.

4,728.00 out the window.

If I would have know I would have gone after christmas this year... It is very difficult as everyone I am speaking to at Orbitz is english second language and I feel that we are not communicating very well.

They said again they would call me back within a half hour.

Does anyone think writing letters if they will not resolve it over the phone will help?

What is going to happen is it is now going to get past the 12-12 deadline period.

Is there something wrong with your keyboard? You've now said "12-12" three times. But you mean 2/12. Sorry, but that's very confusing for us trying to help.

no there is something wrong with my BRAIN at the thought of losing 5,000.00 in airfare.

sorry to keep being an airhead.

I'm still confused. Let's get the details straight first. You booked tix 2/07 with Orbitz and the flight was to be Air France. You canceled the flight. Did you call Orbitz to cancel or Air France? I can't imagine no e-mails of any kind for these transactions since it's an online business. You didn't get any follow-up from either Orbitz or Air France about the cancellation?

You were told by Air France or Orbitz about the rebooking policy/dates? If Orbitz, I would keep pursing it through them. Are these the contacts you are using?

E-mail: [email protected]
Mailing address: Customer Service
Orbitz LLC
500 West Madison Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60661
Telephone: 888-656-4546 (within the United States)
312-416-0018 (outside the United States)

Here's a Chicago number 312-894-5000. Try it during office hours tomorrow.

This web page about the company lists the e-mail for the CEO.
http://www.hoovers.com/orbitz/--ID__...actsheet.xhtml

Good luck.

Kybourbon,

No emails - nothing. I was confused on that when I canceled. I got a "number" for the cancellation and said that was all I would need. I got the time, date, and name of the person I spoke with on June 25, 2007. I pushed back and he said "no this is all you will need".

I called a few months later to double check and was again told I had to "re-book" by 2-12-08.

I called a few days ago to ask if I could "rebook" and then cancel again (I have done this with other airlines before in order to "save" the cost of the ticket minus the change fee) - the person from Orbitz said he did not think so, but he would check with Air France.

I again asked about when I had to rebook by. He confirmed - 2-12-08. (That is when I purchased the orginal tickets).

I called back today to finally rebook and this is when it started...

I spent several hours on the phone - a woman did call me back tonight - I asked her to email me - she said she was not able to do that but was able to give me her employee number. I documented what she said but am doubting it.

She said my tickets actually canceled and were no good after 7-1-07. She went on to say that she would call me back tomorrow that Orbitz "might" give me the airfare credit on another airline but she needed more time and authorization.

Honestly what she said made no sense to me. I hope that is the case but am very doubtful.

I will definately use your information. Thank you VERY much.

dawn - wishing you luck.

If they call today and stick with their original story, I'd be tempted to see if I couldn't get 1 or 2 biz tickets and spend a long weekend in Paris this weekend. Not being funny - I wouldn't want to lose that much money either and would try and be creative in salvaging what I could.

Funny you should mention that. I thought well, what if I book and THEN cancel - the whole story changes every time I speak with them and the frustration about our communication conflict is very hard.

Danielle refused to email me what she said last night. To me that is not a good sign.

Can you still access your original reservation on Orbitz and/or Airfrance to read the terms and conditions of your particular fare class? There are usually differences depending on which fare you actually purchased and the airline.

Out of curiosity since I needed to look at something on the site anyway, I checked the FAQ at Orbitz about cancelling (which may have changed since when you purchased ticket) and it only lists specific airlines, not AirFrance, so these do not directly apply to you, but they reflect what the agent is telling you.

Examples:
American, Continental, Delta, United Airlines: If a passenger with a non-refundable ticket wants to exchange a ticket, he or she will have a full year from the date their original ticket was issued to reschedule without losing the value of their tickets, provided they cancel their reservations prior to their scheduled departure time. Tickets must be reissued and travel must commence within one year of the date the original ticket was issued.

So, that is the policy of these airlines, but may not be for AF. You need to make sure you are getting accurate information for your specific airline and your specific fare class.

<i>American, Continental, Delta, United Airlines: If a passenger with a non-refundable ticket wants to exchange a ticket, he or she will have a full year from the date their original ticket was issued to reschedule <b>without losing the value of their tickets</b>, provided they cancel their reservations prior to their scheduled departure time.</i>

I believe all the mentioned airlines have a change fee...

I am still dealing with this... will update when I have an answer.

What you posted Kay does not work in my favor but is what they are now saying.

My own experience with AA (who we normally fly) is that you have from one year to rebook - and then can book out as far as AA is currently booking.

But perhaps I am wrong. Has happened before.

I just go off the phone and Orbitz is still &quot;working&quot; with Airfrance and will let me know by 2-13 -08. Which makes me nervous as that is the day AFTER I have documented we were to book.

adding - I fully expected a change fee - I was told it would be 80 Euros per ticket plus 30.00 for Orbitz.

just for info...amd regarding the &quot;as far out as AA is currently booking for&quot;...i understand that the reservation systems hold inventory for 11 months in advance for sale.

update... I am floored but thrilled.

We have tickets traveling on Airfrance to London December 22 from LAX - departing Paris on Jan. 2~

I never did hear back from Orbitz as promised on 2-13. I decided to let to let it go. Well - what do you know? I have reservations!

I did not even pay a change fee!

YAY!

Dawn,

I'm glad it ended well for you. I've been dealing with Continental and 2 travel certificates and it is so frustrating when you hear different responses depending on which rep you talk to.

I am still stunned and honestly did not believe them. I went to Airfrance myself and typed in my last name and the record locator number and sure enough - we have 4 tickets.

I found it interesting that I was able to pull it up that way as in the past I was unable to when booking via Orbitz. The rep today from Orbitz said that there is no record &quot;on&quot; Orbitz - so they could not email me the tickets - that is when they told me to go directly to Airfrance.

Crazy..

esm - I had so many different stories - from each different person I spoke to.

I know what you mean Dawn. I got so tired of reps lecturing me about how many years of experience they had in response to my asking them if they were sure about their answer! One of the &quot;more&quot; experienced ones charged the whole ticket to my credit card instead of using the travel certificate and I'm still waiting for the refund.

I would be tempted to print that out in case it disappears from the AF website.

I most definately did print it out! I still am in shock...

Esm - I had to laugh when I read your post - I had to tell one &quot;customer service rep&quot; (and I use that term lightly) that I was well aware of the difference between &quot;re-booking&quot; and &quot;travel complete&quot;.

I hope you get it worked out to your favor soon. Obviously dispute the charge on your cc.

one more. I got an email this morning from Orbitz with our air details.

This has been one of the strangest airline experiences to date...