Warning: Don't miss an Air France flight!
 

My daughter and I missed our flight from Toulouse to Los Angeles on August 9th. We were told there was only one flight out in the next four days and we said we'd take it. The charge was 824 euros each, which translated to roughly $1087,00! Basically we had to buy another ticket for a trip we had already paid for....Our original round trip ticket had cost $1740.00......I felt they could have given us a little break! Is this always the way it works if you miss a flight??? Mary

Ouch! Why did you miss the flight?

Usually this is within the airline's rights to do this, if you haven't bought a ticket with flexible conditions. Some airlines will attempt to be more accommodating, depending on circumstances, but you cannot count on it.

This is very common with APEX fares on any airline. Yes, this is how it always works. Clearly you have learned your lesson.

I presume it was your fault that you missed the flight?

That's the same on any airline, if you miss the flight, you lose the value of your ticket, why wouldn't you? Also, if you want to buy a ticket in the next couple of days, the fare will be higher than many advance tickets. I think you got off really easy on the ticket price for last-minute fares, actually.

Buying a ticket isn't like a deposit, that if you don't show up, so what, you get the money back plus any new ticket you want at the same price. Get real.

Christina.....do you work for Air France? You sound like the lady we worked with!

WillTravel...I read the very confusing Air France itinerary wrong.....and yes, Kerouac, it was my fault, but I felt they might choose to be a little more accommodating. No such luck.

Yes, this is the way it always works.

That's why airlines tell you to get to the airport 2 hours before the flight. Were you there then? If not, and you turned up late - yes, they will reticket you at full fare.

And I agree that the fare you got was quite reasonable for a walk-up fare.

This has nohting to do with Air France and everything to do with your ignoring the required check in time.

A tip I learned long ago. If you're going to miss your flight, call the airline BEFORE departure. At least that way you can get credit for the $ already paid. If you are a no-show, you forfeit your $.

Nobody here is saying it's nice - they're explaining how the system works for any airline.

There was a similar thread a few months ago about someone's niece or daughter who missed their AA flight from Japan, and the aunt/mother was livid, demanding the airline refund the cost of the new ticket. That turned into an interesting Fodors debate.

nytraveler....we were not ignoring the required check in time....I read the printed itinerary as a 2:30 departure from Toulouse. We got there at 1:00 for the flight to Paris which is more than they require for a local flight...HOWEVER, our flight was actually leaving at 1:00. I just misread it. It can happen!

You might be interested to read Easyjet's policy on missed flights (given it's a budget airline)

"No worries if you miss your flight We understand how frustrating it is to miss a flight. That’s why you can catch the next available flight for a flat charge of just £43 if you turn up at the airport within two hours of your original flight’s scheduled departure time."

Mcmrjm, I am sorry to say that <b>I</b> work for an airline, and one of my jobs is refusing refunds to people who have not respected the conditions of the fare.

Sorry for your error, but as noted this is not something unique to AF, rather standard industry practice. If you are a frequent flier with an airline they may (but are not obliged to) cut you some slack.

>>Christina.....do you work for Air France? You sound like the lady we worked with!<<
mcmrjim, missed your flight but held onto your sense of humour! LOL

I have nightmares about your scenario! I check and recheck flight times before trips.
I've never missed a flight yet but I've come close to missing one because of unexpected heavy traffic compounded by bad weather.

Maybe you can console yourself with the fact that you're unlikely to make that mistake again..

I just lost the power to give exemptions a few months ago. It is all outsourced to a company in India now, and if I disagree with the rules, I have to give a valid reason for it other than "I'm feeling like being nice today."

Thank you, sassy_cat. I felt a bit of empathy coming through!

Well the airline doesn't know that you read 1 pm as 2:30 - so the plane took off with your seats empty. Why should they refund you the money for that? (If they had known perhaps they could have sld them to someone else.)

I'm also not clear about the 1 pm and the 2:30. did the flight leave Toulouse at 1 pm and you arrived later? What time was your flight from Paris to the US? Typically those flight don't leave in the evening. So - a 2:30 flight from Touloue woul land in Paris when? And your flight from paris to the US would depart when (allowing a couple of hours to change planes in Paris)?

Perhaps it's because I've flown so much - but I don't understand this happening. I can understand a huge accident closing a road or something - and delaying you a couple of hours - but not mistaking the time of a flight that needed connections. (I would have been checking the details for the connection before accepting the flight and seen the times then.)

Also, the minimum check in time is that - a minimum - I always gie myself extra just in case of traffic or something. If they say check in 2 hurs in advance I aim to arrive 3 hours before. If something happens to make me late I have the cusion. If not, I can go shoppingi in the airport and get rid of my loose change (which always seems to accumulate).

"<i>I felt a bit of empathy coming through!</i>" Now the empathy ends again :)

Your <B>Warning: Don't miss an Air France flight! </B> title could/should have been about almost every airline. Wouldn't matter if you were on AF or United, or Virgin, or BA, or AA, or KLM or Delta, or Continental or just about anybody. Absolutely nothing unique to AF.

Only difference -- you probably paid LESS for your replacement tickets than on most of those other airlines.

So maybe a better title would have been <B>Warning: If you are going to miss a flight, do it w/ Air France or you'll spend a fortune!

I think when I said I wanted to FLY their airline they thought I said I wanted to BUY the airline....now that I'm $5,650.86 poorer, I must own at least a teensy part of it.

....and nytraveler, you must be a former prosecutor, with all those questions!....but since you asked, I'll give you the details.....my itinerary read in big bold letters: 2:30 PM Toulouse, which was the time we were to arrive a month earlier from Paris. However, our flight from Paris was delayed 21/2 hours while we sat in the plane on the tarmac so we actually arrived at 5PM......Have you ever made a recipe and after you get 1/2 way into it, you realize you don't have all of the ingredients because you didn't read through the entire recipe? Well, that's what I did. I didn't read down far enough to see that our departure time was 1:00PM and I had 2:30 imprinted on my brain. Yes, I should have checked and rechecked and looked at the time on my ticket, which I did when were standing in line to check in....at five minutes to 1:00. OUCH! I almost had a coronary. A 1:00 flight would land in Paris at 2:30 and our flight from Paris to L.A was at 4:35 arriving at 7:05PM. I guess it's because you've flown so much that you don't understand how anyone could make such a stupid mistake....and you know what?....neither can I.

I'm so sorry. I know it's aggravating, even if you know it's your fault. We ran into a similar situation. We missed our flight from Rome to Brussels (where we had a flight that continued on to the US) because we (I'm embarrassed to admit this) were in Rome for three days and never realized that the time had changed. We were scheduled to arrive at the airport an hour and a half earlier (we had an early morning flight) but because the time changed to an hour earlier we didn't have time to check in and get to our flight before it took off. We were very fortunate because Alitalia took pity on us (and probably had a good laugh about it after we left) and got us on the next flight to Brussels, but we had to stay the night because there were no flights to Chicago until the next day.

We got very, very lucky. It was totally our fault and we could have been charged a very hefty amount for a brand new ticket. I think the key was that we got there before the plane had actually departed. In any event, I know where you are coming from. Mistakes happen. Lesson learned! I know I double check the flight times AND actual time! :)

Tracy

The reason is that it was the last minute deal and the price of the ticket is more is more expensive.

I also paid around 830 dollars when I changed my ticket because of family emergency.

I was supposed to leave the 7th of July but had to change my flight for the 29th of June.
I told the customer service that my brother was in the hospital and may not make it, but I was charged anyway because the flight that I took was more expensive.
The irony was that I got the same seat number of the flight that I was supposed to take, but I paid more for it

I took American Airlines not Air france..

Airlines can often be lenient if there is space on flights, but when the flights are full, it is a completely different matter. For example, in the case of mcmrjm, my first reaction would be that Air France was being too hard, since there is a flight from Toulouse to Paris a least once an hour. But if you fail to use any sector of your ticketed itinerary, it automatically cancels all of the other reservations. Therefore, if the flight to the U.S. was already fully booked -- and probably overbooked -- there was absolutely no way to get the seats back, because other reservations had already jumped into that space automatically.

Hi mc,

>...I felt they might choose to be a little more accommodating.<

Welcome to the real world.

((I))

Here is a sympathy story...and it is easy to make a mistake no matter how organized you are.

I was flying to Rome from SF and I could swear my flight was at 1100am. That morning I was up early, finished packing, dye my hair :), switch out purses, a friend is picking me up at 800, the airport is ten minutes away.

It's ten to seven and I put the tic in my purse and all of a sudden my heart stops and I realize that my flight is at 830!
I jump in the shower, rinse off the tint, it's all over the place including running down my body, doesn't matter, leave it for my poor husband to clean, throw on my clothes from the previous day's work, which are full of hair because I am a hairdresser, jump in my car and get to the airport in just enough time to check in and make the flight, my husband can pick up the car later that day. I have soaking wet hair, I am totally disheveled, no make up, but I did make the flight although I saw everyone looking at me, hoping I wasn't going to be the crazy lady sitting next to them.

Sometimes you just read the info wrong!

Oh, Susanna! I cry for you. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Seriously, that totally sounds like something that would happen to me. I would die with embarrassment over wet hair and no makeup - but it beats missing a flight to Rome. I can't believe you pulled it off!

Hi,

I do feel badly for you. Everyone makes mistakes and this could happen to me, especially when you have it in your head the time of the flight. I do think that businesses in general do not care about you, but I also think that a little empathy goes a long way even if the person cannot change the rules.

Yipper

This situation is one I am hyper vigilant about; I can easily imagine misreading a time so am obsessive about checking, and checking, departure times. The other fear is miscalculating dates for hotel reservations. Very sorry about your missed flight, and it's s good reminder and cautionary tale for all travelers.

I once walked in a Swiss Air office in Zurich intending to change the time of my flight; something happened ( maybe a long line-up), I waked out without doing it , but somehow totally convinced that I did do it

When I arrived at the airport to check in... my name
wasn't on the list. I was absolutely convinced THEY had made a mistake.
Fortunately my original booking was for later in the day - six (slow.....) hours later!

well yes if you just "misread" your departure time and completely missed the plane, you're out of luck. Yes that's how it always works. i don't mean to sound harsh but you need to be there on time, crazy i know. Sorry you learned this the hard way (expensive way)!

This is nothing about Air France, you would have been in the same situation regardless of the carrier. Your title/reminder to peoeple needs to say "Don't miss your flight!" period.

This happened to a friend of mine whose watch had stopped. It was a domestic flight on Alaska Air and she was flying to board a cruise ship. The airline did manage to get her on a later flight, and she (barely) made the cruise. And the airline didn't charge her anything! But maybe that was a different era. (Like 10 years ago?)

A lot depends on how full the flight is. If a flight has a lot of empty seats the airline may be willing to be flexible. But every plane that I have been on in the last year at least (and that's a lot) has been full - every seat taken.

So - when you didn't show up your reservation was cancelled and someone else put in the seat.
And when the airlines are being pushed to the curb in terms of profits - they're just not going to give something (like a free ticket) away.

Your reserved seats went empty. How can you expect the airline to allow you that money. If you had realized earlier and called, they would have had a chance to sell the seats to a stand-by passenger. If they gave the money back to every passenger who missed the flight, they'd go broke.

To our dismay, we once arrived at the airport as our plane taxied out and took off!

The travel agent (yes it was "back in the day" when you had to use an agent and there weren't computers to confirm anything, let alone check-in) had given us an itinerary stating an incorrect departure/boarding time and we were too novice to know to call and confirm with the airlines.

The airlines was very nice and put us on the next flight leaving in a couple of hours and we still were able to make our connecting flight from Denver for our Disneyworld vacation with our 2 and 4 year old. Thank God for little miracles...though it was the absolute worst turbulence flight I've ever been on.

Sorry for your bad luck.

This is probably also a good time to remind all to check their emails for flight changes. Last year every single flight overseas (to Paris, to Italy, to London) were changed within two months of departing. Usually just by a few minutes, but whatever you do, don't ignore any emails from the airline you are flying. I think they're dropping flights and filling others.

One of the things I found annoying about these emails was that they would give the new times (giving all flights and connections), but not specifying the change. So you have to pull your original flight information and read it carefully, looking for difference that might be minor. In the case of the Italy flights, they changed about five times! Since we were taking the family and that meant 5 tickets, it was a bit of a pain.

My friend went to the wrong airport (San Jose versus San Francisco). My brother-in- law flew on the wrong plane years ago. They changed the gate and he was reading and didn't notice, flew to New York instead of Philadelphia (yes, they let him on the plane!). Crazy things happen.
I always have another person check my itinerary and confirm the times/airports with me.

From what I understand, if you're not checked in 1 hour before take off on your international travel (meaning if your passport and bags aren't checked at the ticketing), you can't make the flight even if the plane has not left the gate. The announcements I hear on the plane as it landed in my international travels always said please arrive at the airport 3 hours before departure.

To MelJ's point, last Monday, my boyfriend was traveling Delta domestically for work. On Sunday night, he received two calls from numbers he didn't recognize on his cell phone so he didn't pick them up. Luckily, he listened to the voicemail, which is something he NEVER does. Delta called to tell him that his flight from Long Beach had been canceled and instead he was being put on a flight out of Orange County (closer for us so it was good).

The point is, definitely don't ignore any emails, and I guess answer your phone too when you're about to travel because they might call you. I'm pretty anal when we travel about triple-checking everything, but this was a good lesson about how strange things can happen and you've got to be paying attention.