ilovelabs2003

I got an email today from Aer Lingus changing our flight itinerary for our June/July trip. They canceled our Boston-Dublin-London flight, so they rebooked us on a Boston-Shannon-Dublin-London flight. On the way back, they rebooked us on a Dublin-Shannon-Boston flight instead of a Dublin-Boston flight. I called and expressed my displeasure with all of the stops and they offered to refund my money if I didn't want these new flights.

Now, do you think they would change our itinerary for us rather than losing our business? I was thinking of a Boston-Shannon-London flight on the way over and a Shannon-Boston flight on the way back. This flight is going for $719 on travelocity or orbitz or something right now. We paid $650 a piece for our original tickets . . . do you think they will make this change for us? Or should we take our chances and get a refund and book with someone else? There are no fares currently at the price we originally paid. Will they go down at some point? Our dates are locked; the only flexibility we have is leaving from Shannon or Dublin.

Anyone have any thoughts?

KathrynT

It doesn't hurt to ask. Since your dates aren't flexible, you might not have much choice, but I would call and try and persuade them.

HowardR

The first question that comes to mind is: Did they cancel the initial flights entirely or are they selectively cancelling you and perhaps others?

artsfan

They have a legal obligation, when they change your flight, to offer you a refund. It's "Rule Something-or-other" (can't find the scrap of paper where I wrote it down). I went through this with Air France on our flight. What I did was go on the Expedia website and find another flight and price that worked for me, then accepted the refund. I am still, however, waiting for the check that is in the mail.

Chevrefeuille

You may need to make a timely decision on this one. I had a similar situation with American Airlines. I called AA to know what my options were. At that point they offered a refund. I said I would think about it. I called 2 months later, still within 3 months of my flight and they would not refund my money but offered a voucher!!!! Pretty lousy I think. They claimed that I accepted the change initially because I didnt accept the refund immediately!!! So, beware that Air Lingus doesn't pull a fast one on you like that either! Oh, and to add insult to injury, they claimed that they didn't even have to offer the voucher to me and basically that I should not complain! So again, beware!

Gardyloo

ilovelabs2003 - call them and ask to be rebooked on flights that are more convenient for you. However, I don't believe the airline is in violation of their contract with you, because they're still taking you from A to B on your travel days, just more indirectly. I believe the "Rule 240" mentioned above deals only with cancellations or schedule changes that make your flight impossible, not changes to flight routing. If you want to become Sherlock Jr., look up Aer Lingus' "conditions of carriage" on your ticket or the website, where they will post their internal rules for accommodating passengers with problems created by the airline. Don't get too optimistic, though - they usually lawyer any schedule changes pretty carefully before implementing them. Good luck.

ira

>..they usually lawyer any schedule changes ...<

An interesting new verb.

ilovelabs2003

I spoke to an agent today. There are no non-stops from Boston-Dublin Dublin-Boston when we are traveling. She said that since my new flight from Boston to Dublin is in conflict with my original connecting flight from Dublin to London (the new flight arrives in Dublin at 7:30 am and our flight to London leaves at 7:20 am) that we are entitled to a refund. She offered to rebook our flight, having us go Boston-Shannon-London and then Shannon-Boston on the way home, but then we would have to re-work our itinerary in Ireland. Frankly I am tired of the planning . . . so I think I will ask for a refund. I have to wait until Monday to do that b/c the refund people only work Monday-Friday. She said she wrote a note in my file and said I was thinking about it and that I didn't have to decide right away. Still, I will cancel ASAP. I hope they don't send us a check . . . won't they just credit our credit card?

I have a flight on hold with expedia until midnight tomorrow with BA. It costs more but at this point I really don't care. We flew BA in April and I really liked them. I am a fearful flyer and the individual tv screens really help me!

Should I wait until the refund is issued before I rebook? I don't want to lose the BA flight, but I am nervous about purchasing the tickets before I get the refund from Aer Lingus, even thought the agent told me today that I am entitled to a refund. Do you think the BA flight will be there on Monday?

ilovelabs2003

Just a quick update.

Aer Lingus issued us a refund. I was given a time table of 2-3 weeks for the credit card to be credited, but I am not counting on that. At least we got it!

We booked with BA Boston-London, Dublin-London-Boston. It works out better to have the stop on the way back. This way we can arrive in London and not have to worry about any connections. The tickets were more, but I didn't care. This may be our last big trip for a while . . . my clock is beginning to tick (turned 30 in November), but it won't be our last! I can't wait to expose our future offspring to the wonders of Europe!

ira

Glad it worked out, love.