Sue

We had America West tix from San Diego to Las Vegas in Dec. It was supposed to be a one hr. direct flight. Today we got a phone message on our machine that there was a scheduling change. We assumed that meant the time was changed. When we called them back, we found out that the change was that there was no longer a direct flight, but that we had to fly from San Diego to Phoenix which would have taken 3 hrs. instead of one. So, we told them to cancel the departure and return flight. They said the tix were non-refundable. After arguing with the ticket agent that THEY'RE the ones who changed the flight, we were told by a supervisor that we will get a refund. Then we booked the flight on Southwest instead. So, all you people who posted earlier about how poor America West is, were absolutely correct!!!

The Real Noach

AMS tried to screw you to. www.noach.com

Stan

Sue does sound a bit whiney, I think. Airlines change schedules all the time (yes, Southwest does too!). She should be grateful that they even called her in the first place! United has done this to me before and never even picked up the phone. Luckily I'm smart enough to confirm in advance.

John

Sorry Sue, you'll get no reaction out of me on this one.
Airlines change their schedules regularly. They only owe you fair compensation if you're not pleased with the change, but come on now: they weren't TRYING TO SCREW you.

If you travel a lot you'll find that this will happen to you more than once.

Gotta learn to be adaptable. (But that does not imply we 'little people' should back down in any way...make sure you're adequately compensated when things like this happen).

MaryS

Sue, I sympathize with you. American airlines did the same thing to me last m onth. They claimed it was due to mechanical problems. A supervisor recently admitted it was because not enough tix were sold for that flight. They gave me two choices, another non stop later in the day or one that connected through JFK. I consider myself fortunate that #1)they called me and gave me an option #2) I was home to immediately correct the situation. It stinks on their part and imo, it should be illegal, but be glad in the meantime, you found out WAY ahead of time. Try to get some kind of credit from them.

Barbara

Sue, I think it stinks as much as you do! The only reason the airlines continue to do this ALL people is because of the nonchalant attitudes in the above posts!

It is totally unfair to all consumers that airlines can change schedules without notice. People have lives, commitments, and schedules of their own that are not changable because any particular airline decides they could make more money by cancelling a flight.

We should not just accept that this is something that airlines do! I ask...would you accept this practice from any other compnaies? What if a doctor cancelled your treatment because the hospital had empty beds?

Train schedules do not change this way and neither should airplanes!

Sue

Thanks Barbara. It seems that only other women are sympathetic to my post. I can't believe how rude some people are who post on this board. Sue

AC

Sue:
Just think, Stan the man is also on the Europe board looking to pick up women in Rome. He is now looking to meet nice local people, no, actually they don't have to be local or nice. Enough said.
You say "we" but I bet it was really you who made the phone call and did the arguing. Again, enough said!

Bruce

I just can't understand why Sue thinks America West tried to "screw" her. They simply made a schedule change. It DOES happen all the time as airlines add new routes, take planes out of service, etc. The airlines regularly "adjust" schedules and this sounds like one of those times. By law, the airline has the responsibility to get you from point A to point B in a reasonable, safe manner. "Nonstop" can't be guaranteed. Last week, I flew from Chicago to Miami on a direct flight. I assumed that it was nonstop until I read the monitors at the airport and learned there was a mid-stop at DFW!

Patrick

I booked with American Airlines for us to fly from Naples, Florida via Miami to San Jose, Ca. during December. Later we wished we had booked to fly into San Francisco as that would be more convenient in the long run, however the airline wouldn't let us change the destination for any price --that constitutes a whole new ticket. Then they called to say the time from Miami to San Jose had changed to 20 minutes earlier, which meant we'd have to take a 4 and 1/2 hour earlier flight from Naples. Because of the change that they had made we were able to cancel the tickets for full refund and rebook to San Francisco closer to our original times. Sometimes these things actually work out for the best. I am also wondering how America West tried to screw you? Are you the reason they deliberately changed their schedule just to annoy you? Of course, they had no right to say they wouldn't refund the money when it was their schedule change, however.

Barbara

Just because Sue said that America West tried to "screw her" does not mean that she believes they have a personal vendetta against her! She is simply stating that what they did "screwed her".

I wish that all consumers would be appalled by these practices as well. It does not have to be that way. People deserve a certain level of service when they are paying for it. And by no means can the airlines say that we do not pay adequate fares to warrent decent service.

It is a mystery to me why people would accept that you can not change your flight times, destination, routes, etc. without any penalties when the airlines change anything they want at their convenience. Please explain this to me!

John

Barbara, you CAN change your flight times, routings or destinations. You can also get a refund on your tickets. IF you pay the published Y class (full fare) ticket, that is. In exchange for discounted fares (which 95% of us buy) we accept restrictions. In most cases these are clearly stated. I'm going to Europe next month and bought a London-Milan ticket for 49GBP. very cheap! I can't get a refund, can't change routings, can't do anything but show up for a cattle-car flight on Virgin Express. However, I made the decision based on price and feel I got a good deal!

It is aggravating when airlines change schedules on us. Delays are icky, too. But they ARE A PART OF LIFE, just like the proverbial death and taxes. There's not an airline out there who LIKES doing that. No company wants mad customers, after all!

Barbara

John, I bet that if the airline wanted to change the time, route, etc. of that "cheap" ticket you got to Europe they would. Tell me again, can you change anything on that ticket?

John

of course the airline can change it. they offered the ticket at a discount and I accepted it. Part of this implied contract is that they will get me from Point A to Point B. PERIOD!

In the real world, hotels CAN give you rooms with no view or not honor your confirmed reservations. Airlines CAN change schedules or even bump me from my flight. Car rental companies CAN say "sorry, no car" despite my confirmation. It's just the way things work, dear! It's not the best system, granted, but that's why travel is so cheap these days...you get what you pay for.