Concerned About Flying With Swiss International
 

NOTE: BEFORE YOU SCOLD ME FOR DOUBLE-POSTING, PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM AWARE THAT THIS THREAD WAS POSTED (INADVERTENTLY) TO THE US SECTION. THANKS.

Hello everyone. As I mentioned in another thread, I'm traveling to Italy for the month of October. In an effort to save money, I'm flying into Zurich, spending a few days in Switzerland and then taking the train to Italy.

A few days ago, I booked my flight to Zurich using Swiss International Airlines. I was motivated to use Swiss because I wanted a direct flight. I live in Maine, so I just need to drive to Boston to fly direct out of Logan airport. The cost is about the same as flying American Airlines and flying from Portland (ME) to JFK and then on to Zurich.

In spite of the fact that I booked the flight three days ago, I have yet to receive an e-ticket or a seat assignment. I did get a confirmation, but they haven't even charged my debit card yet so the confirmation doesn't mean much to me. I sent an email inquiring about the status of my e-ticket and received a response stating that this was their "peak season" and that they would send my e-ticket to me within a reasonable time frame.

During a follow-up call to Swiss, I inquired about my seat assignment. I was told that I would be given an aisle seat and that was all the information they could provide me. Furthermore, I was warned that "my seat assignment could be changed by the airport." I asked several times for clarification on this and the woman with whom I was speaking simply kept repeating "your seat assignment could be changed by the airport."

I realize that I can be a bit of a "high maintenance" traveler, but I am by no means a novice when it comes to flying, etc. There is something about this situation that simply does not feel right. As I'm on a fairly tight budget, the last thing I need right now is for something to go wrong with my booking and then have to re-book the flight with another airline at a much higher rate.

At this point, I am considering booking a flight to Zurich through Orbitz. I would fly on Delta from Portland to JFK and then American Airlines from JFK to Zurich. As I've used Orbitz, Delta and American in the past, I have little doubt that they'll be able to issue my e-ticket immediately without any of this "peak season" nonsense.

Of course, the flight that I booked on Swiss.com is technically non-refundable. But as far as I'm concerned, no transaction has taken place as they haven't charged my card. And since I used a debit card, I can simply make sure that funds are not available if and when they get around to charging me.

Am I over-reacting here? Or are my concerns legitimate? If you were in my shoes, would you opt for the non-direct flight using Delta/American, or should I just stick with Swiss and hope for the best?

Yes - you are <u>definitely</u> over reacting. Many airlines will not allow coach passengers to pick seats more than 24 hours ahead - and some not at all until standing at the check in desk.

Not unusual at all - at least she offered you an aisle seat (but don't bet the farm that is what you get on the day)

I think you are being very high maintenance and seriously overreacting. Swiss is a legit airline, you have confirmation, and you're not flying until October.

Chill.

You did ask.

I booked our flights (May 2008) to Europe two weeks ago on AA. My credit card wasn't billed for 4 days. I was beginning to wonder if I really had reservations.

I'm not questioning whether Swiss is a legitimate airline. I know that they are. But these practices of theirs are certainly not typical of what one receives from US based airlines. At the time I booked, my gut feeling was to just stick with American. But I wanted to try something new with Swiss. Quite frankly, I'm sorry that I did.

starbuck1105

I have flown Swiss several times with no problem. I'm booked this September with them, but only from Nice to Zurich. Just keep checking to see if your credit card has been billed. Then you'll feel better.

This is nutty - honest. Heck, I've flown United to CDG and they didn't bill my cc for over a week and didn't allow me to choose a seat until I was at SFO checking in.

Relax already. if you get this agitated by something that is quite normal - what will you do when (not IF ) something goes wrong in Italy?

I will try to calm down and give it a few more days in hopes that Swiss Air eventually gets around to charging my card and issuing the ticket.

Thanks to those who responded, and my apologies if I seem overly frustrated about this.

I planned this trip shortly after being diagnosed with Stage I renal cancer, and it is one of the big things I am leaning on to help me get through this rough time. So when things go wrong (or if there is even the possibility of things going wrong), it tends to hit me a little harder than it would most people, I suppose.

OK - you will get through this just fine. Swiss International is a good airline. Use you energy to fight your illness - not creating problems that don't exist.

GOOD LUCK!

All good wishes as you deal with your health issues.

We've flown Swiss several times to Zurich because this is about the farthest into Europe we can fly non-stop from L.A. Although you're feeling a little shaky about Swiss, I can tell you all of our trips with them have been trouble-free, and Zurich is a great gateway airport (and city).

Perhaps because we were flying on FF miles, we were never able to learn the details of our seat assignments until we arrived at the airport. However, we were always given what we had requested.

I'm sure your arrangements will be fine. Enjoy your trip to Italy.

I think you'll be very happy with Swiss once you board the plane, it is way better than AA or Delta. I flew Swiss a number of times and am so satisfied with the service and comfort. I have always gotten the seat that I was assigned to without any changes at the airport. If you're still worried about not getting an aisle seat, just check in 3 hours before. The smaller intraeurope planes are not as nice as the transatlantic ones but very adequate.

Relax.
Many (most?) international airlines will not let you select seats in economy in advance.

It may not be typical of US airlines, but it is common abroad and it is not uncommon here in periods of heavy booking (Thanksgiving and other high travel periods) on US airlines.

A seat assignment is a convenience, not a contract and any airline can reassign you right up to the time the plane leaves the ground -- or even after in special circumstances.

For certain routes, many airlines do not even know which aircraft they will be using in 3 or 6 months. It would be useless to get a seat assignment now for a B-777 and find out that the plane has been changed to an A-340 by the time you travel.

I, too, have flown with this airline internationally several times. I was very pleased, I'm sure you will be too.
Enjoy your trip.

Hi starbuck, it could take a few days for the airlines to actually charge your card. If you have a confirmation code from Swiss, you can check your reservation online &quot;view your reservations&quot;. Very soon you should be able to print a receipt, that should have your ticket numbers available for you to see to verify that your ticket has been issued. If after one week from the day you confirmed your reservation, I would suggest calling Swiss to see if they can give you this information over the phone or email you a &quot;confirmation&quot; with all of this information. Swiss will usually not give you a seat assignment in advance (only under special circumstances), they are given out when you check in at the airport. Good luck!

We just flew Swiss and loved it. Nice service (esp if you fly with kids) and much better meals and amenities than many US airlines.

We've flown several times from LA to Zurich on Swiss Int. and loved every flight. You're totally overreacting!!!

many airlines will not ticket (process) the ticket right away, specially when it's months away to the travel date. This actually works in your advantage, let's say you have to change your flight for some odd reason, you can do so and there is no penalty change fee, however you will be subject to a cost differential (if any) on the airfare. Other advantages of this is that you can cancel your flight and there is no penalty, because the airlines has not issued the ticket.

DON'T WORRY! ..... this is common practice even with US airlines. In regards to the seat assignment, once ticketed you should call or go to the airline website to pick your seat. The airline is correct, they can reassign you to a different seat if need be.