ann99bray

I booked a ticket from Charleston, WV to Ireland with Orbitz last February for travel this month. I had to pay for paper tickets. I pulled my reservation up to check it and found that my flights have been changed and I received no notification. One leg of my flight is even missing. To cut a long story short, Orbitz outsources its customer service and I have spent hours on the phone trying to rectify the situation with no success. At one point I was number 22 in line waiting to speak to a supervisor until I was disconnected. It is going to cost me a lot more that what I saved on Orbitz. If you do book with Orbitz just be prepared for a lot of frustation if there are changes. I will absolutely never use them again.

janisj

that seems so weird. Sorry about your problems. Every time I've used Orbitz they have sent all sorts of e-mail alerts/change notices. I was always kept abreast of anything going on w/ my flights.

are you very sure they had your correct e-mail address? Did you check your spam filter? Is it possible they did send you notices but you didn't receive it???

Good luck.

repete

Orbitz pulled something similar on my 80-year mother who was flying from MSP to STX for her milestone birthday.

No notice when the second leg of her trip (out of IAD) changed to depart before the 1st leg arrived.

When I discovered that Orbitz did nothing and kept referring me to NWA.

NWA didn't want to do anything because they only had the short first leg of the trip . . . even though mom had more than 120K NWA FF miles.

When NWA finally offered a change they tried to make her do a 45-minute connect in Memphis rather than a direct to San Juan -- great for someone with a quarduple bypass in her recent history -- even though a better flight was flying half-empty non-stop. It took hours and hours to resolve.

The company I work for, which flies a lot of people, a lot of places, is dumping Orbitz for Biz. (Not because of this, of course.)

And -- despite the loyalty I tried to maintain because I grew up near their main hub -- I've long since given up on NWA, which is one of the sleaziest of the legacies by my experience.

Girlspytravel

Ann-I have to confess that sounds very odd to me as well-I book a number of tickets on Orbitz, and get many many (too many!) messages from their customer service department, and have never had a problem with any ticket I've ever purchased with them through the years.

CarolA

I recommend only using the online TAs f there are NO other options. This is why. You are NOT dealing with a company who wants you to call. They don't tend to staff for lots of "questions". It's not just Orbitz, it's Expedia, Travelocity etc. If you have a complicated plan it MIGHT be good to find a local TA. Otherwise book it via the airline. Then at least they "own" the plan.

I am not sure why the OP had to pay for paper tickets?

AAFrequentFlyer

<b>CarolA</b>,

the only reason I can think of is that OP requested paper tickets. If a paper ticket is required because certain airports are not set up for e-tickets then it's free. If the buyer requests paper ticket for their own reason then there is a charge.

Why in this day and age somebody still wants paper tickets is beyond me.

I believe IATA requires e-ticketing throughout the entire world by the end of this year so paper tickets will be history.

<i>Fact Sheet: Electronic Ticketing
100% Electronic Ticketing by end 2007
Definition:

An electronic ticket (ET) holds the information previously held on a paper ticket. It requires a database, integrated with the airline's passenger service systems, that interfaces with all partners for the real time processing of passengers by ground handlers and interline partners.
Target:

* 40% implementation by end 2005 (achieved November 2005).
* 70% implementation by end 2006.
* 100% implementation of e-ticketing worldwide by 2007.</i>

http://www.iata.org/pressroom/facts_...-ticketing.htm

plpreston

I also received paper tickets from Orbitz. I believe it is because I booked so far ahead for my flight. I have used them many times in the past and have had no issues. However, I have always checked my reservations in case there were changes depending upon the airline. The information states that with USAir they do not participate in the alert program so you do have to check yourself and see if there are changes. I do not know what Airlines participate and what ones don't, however, the Orbitz site will tell you if you will recieve alerts or not when you book. Hope this helps.

Michael

I booked an Orbitz flight in February, due to leave in two weeks. While the flight going to Europe is straightforward, the return is partly on a different partner airline and involves a transfer. I do not have a paper ticket. I did have questions about the flight, and rather than calling Orbitz, I called the airline directly, which had no record of my return flight but found it when I insisted that the second leg of the return flight was with it. Orbitz gives two reference numbers for the itinerary, its own and the airline's.

ann99bray

I did not request paper tickets. Why would I do that when it is so much easier to get e-tickets? Orbitz stated that I had to have paper tickets as it is an international flight on Aer Lingus. I also had to pay extra for the paper tickets. Orbitz has my correct contact information and I check my spam every day. My husband and I have spent a further 5 hours on the phone today trying to sort this out. At one point the agent arranged a conference call with Aer Lingus to rectify the situation, then left me on hold for 40 minutes and then hung up. She also hung up on the Aer Lingus agent. I had to call back and give the information from the beginning again. The airlines pass the buck to Orbitz and vice versa. The bottom line is that neither Orbtiz or Aer Lingus want to pay to reissue the tickets. They will not give me an e-ticket. The end result is that I have an 11 hour layover on my trip out and have to come back a day late. I have to pay to fedex the tickets to Orbtiz so they can reissue new ones and then also pay for the new tickets to be fedexed back overnight. Moral: I will never use a consolidator again and will never touch any deal that includes paper tickets. I guess everyone's experience is different and I hope others don't experience what I did.

djkbooks

You should be able to find your confirmation numbers with the airlines on your paper tickets. With most airlines, you can use your confirmation number to access your itinerary on their website. Otherwise, call the airlines and give them your confirmation numbers to verify your flights.

africatravel

Sorry about your problems! I have had my share of problems with these internet travel sites. With Travelocity, I got charged DOUBLE by mistake (their mistake, not mine) and it took them over 2 months, and hours and hours of phone calls (mostly me on hold with someone in an overseas call center) to get the problem rectified. Now I try to look at good deals on Orbitz and such sites, and then book directly with the airline.

AAFrequentFlyer

Are you sure you paid for the paper ticket or <b>shipping cost?</b>,

straight from Orbitz:

<i> * The airline may assess an additional airline-imposed paper ticket fee ranging from $20.00 to $50.00 per ticket <b>if e-ticketing is available</b>(this clearly states that it is your choice if e-ticket is available). Please note that paper tickets are not always available.
* There is an additional shipping fee associated with the delivery of all paper tickets. This fee allows Orbitz to cover costs associated with processing paper tickets and ensures you receive your tickets in time for your trip.</i>

janisj

Oh - Aer Lingus -- That explains a LOT . . . . . .

Michael

LOT...isn't that the Polish airline?

Rachellia

I'm SO grateful to this post because it inspired me to check my reservations (made through Orbitz) and see if my US Airways flight was still leaving for Rome at the same time.

Guess what?!? The flight was cancelled and I was bumbed back TWO HOURS to another flight and I never got any notification. I would have missed my flight.

tcreath

I have had similar problems with aa.com, although they were very quick to rectify the situation. My flight to Croatia last year was changed so that I had one hour to land in London and change airports for my flight to Dubrovnik. Needless to say that wouldn't work so I called and had to have it changed. The airline never notified me of the change; I just make a habit of checking my reservations every few weeks.

For the same Croatia flight I had paper tickets issued last year for my BA flight from the US to Dubrovnik with a layover in London. I purched the tickets through aa.com and didn't have the option of electronic tickets.

I am so sorry you are going through this and wish you nothing but the best of luck. I wish I could offer some kind of advice.

Tracy

Michael

To some degree I do not understand the original OP's complaint. I can go into my account in Orbitz and check my flights to see if the departure dates and time have remained the same. Was that not available to the original OP?

CarolA

Well I think the OP aslo has a problem in that thier flights changed and now one leg is missing... That would be an issue you would need a HUMAN to resolve.

Michael

From the original posting, we can't tell who was called before the OP called customer service and how she discovered that one leg was missing. If her Orbitz account still lists that leg, I would think that the problem lies with the airline, or did Orbitz not transmit the information?

dperry

I think CarolA makes a good point, that Orbitz and others are not staffed for customer service/support.
In Oct 2005 I had a ticket booked through expedia to travel to a conference in washington, DC. I live in Ft Lauderdale, one mile from the ocean. We were directly hit by hurricane Wilma and our home sustained significant damage. We also did not have power for 2 weeks or phone service for 2 months. The hurricane hit 2 days before I was to leave, obviously I couldn't go - the aiports were closed. By cell phone, I called the hotel, which was very kind (hyatt). Expedia told me, literally, that the hurricane wasn't the airline's fault, and there was nothing they could/would do, I lost my $$, and they disconnected my call (honestly). Two weeks later when power was restored I called the airline directly and they told me the ticket was good to reuse for 1 year, with a $50 change fee.
Long story short, I would never book through these sites, especially for an important or complicated trip