Lynne

How about a little problem-solving here?

A colleague bought airline tickets (major US carrier) for herself and her daughter on the internet to fly over the holiday weekend. Within the hour, she realized she had bought the tickets for next week instead of this week. She phoned the airline, which would cut her no slack; when she asked to speak with a supervisor, she was told there was none available. I suggested she might show up at the ticket counter and ask to fly standby, as she does have a ticket. Is there anyone, maybe an airline employee, who could add any other suggestions?

Any help would be appreciated.

Mark

Call the airline again and speak with a reservation agent and explain the mix-up...be VERY pleasant and try using the words "I need YOUR help!" Also it has been my experience that I get better help by calling between 12:00am and 1:30am in the mornings. It seems they usually have a lot more time to assist you.

If that doesn't work, then ask for the load factor on the plane (check their website) and date you want to leave. If the agent says there is room available ask if you can fly standby on that flight...if not ask "What is the earliest flight which I can fly standby for?" Hope this helps

Gail

If there is room on the plane, she just might have to pay the fee to change the date of her flight. It's usually $75-$100.

lori

I did the exact thing once. There is always a supervisor or someone that can solve your problem. Be polite, but persistant and keep going up the chain of command until you will get what you want. This is all that I did and I had my dates changed without any problem and also w/o any fees.

Oops

I did almost the same thing but caught it within an hour or two, was able to fix it by calling the airline internet service center and explaining. They were able to kill the order. If your colleague purchased on an airline website as opposed to an e-agent (Expedia, Travelocity, etc.)this may be possible. Whatever the site used to purchase, I NEVER accept the response that there is no supervisor available. There is ALWAYS someone available, even it it means waiting on hold. Confronted with repeated "there's no supervisor here", I rephrase my request to "then let me speak with whomever you would call if the building was on fire". Only once did someone say "You want to talk to the fire department?"

lynne goofed

I wonder how Lynne's "colleague" is doing?

Phil

Why is it the airlines responsibility to fix a problem created by the ticket buyer?

The buyer screwed up and knew the cost of changing a ticket to another date. The rules should be changed because they failed to be responsible for thier own actions?

Does this mean that it is the airlines responsibility to change my vacation to next week because I made a mistake and booked my Island vacation for a week when it was going to rain?

KT

There's not jsut the change fee to contend with -- there are the advance purchase requirements as well. You can't buy advance-purchase tickets and then change them to last-minute tickets without paying the higher price. (If you could, wouldn't that be a popular way of finessing the advance purchase rules?)

xxx

When people take on the responsibility of becoming their own travel agents, they deserve what happens!

lightenup

I did the same thing once. I realized right after I hit the button. Yeah, I know it was pretty stupid. But do you people really never make mistakes?? Live and learn, you didn't even read her message thoroughly because she wasn't talking to a reservation agent - she did this over the internet. Phil, it doesn't sound like she just found out it was going to rain that week and changed her mind. She made an honest mistake and realized it within the hour - they should have been able to void that ticket and then if the fare was higher even an hour later for the ticket she really wanted yes she should have to pay the new fare.

karen

I purchased three airline tickets through orbitz.com for Orlando in Nov. My daughter had an accident and the doctor advised against taking the trip.The airline us air and orbitz would do NOTHING for us...we lost 300 bucks. never, would I book on line again...they both gave me the run-around.

Gail

Karen,
Booking on line has nothing to do with it. A non-refundable ticket is just that NON-refundable. You can always use the ticket on another date within the next two years, but have to pay $100 fee to change the date. Your ticket isn't totally lost. Use it for another trip and pay the fee.

jan

I always show up at the ticket counter or an airline satellite ticket office and plead my case in person. (Don't wait until the day you want to fly, if you can avoid it.) People generally want to help, and honesty gets you far, i.e. "I am bad, apparently, at booking things myself. This is what I did...I would love it if you could help me see my family this weekend. Is there a way we can do that?"

If he/she says "no," try another office or call the 800 line again. Different agents will have different responses. If required, pay the penalty: it IS your fault.

I'm sure we all have a lot of stories about great help we received. Here's mine: I went home for my "surprise" birthday party when my vet called me to tell me my dog was very, very ill. I was bawling and called American to get a new ticket and the agent, who asked why I was crying, bookled me a first-class return flight on a near-empty plane immediately with no change penalty. She was a dog lover and understood my desire to get home. I missed the birthday party but got to see my dog.

Bill

I have to agree wit Phil and Gail. The rules should not change for someone who isn't paying attention. I love booking online and do it quite frequently. If done correctly it is a real savings tool. However, if one can change the dates w/o a penalty, I'll start booking the cheapest dates and times and then later change. You can see where that won't work.

fess up

I think that Lynne--oops, I mean, um, her, um, "colleague" (cough, cough)--needs to take responsibility for her mistake.

Lynne

Quick update: Colleague and I will be back at work tomorrow, so I'll post the results of her endeavor to use her ticket. When we last talked, she was either going to try to phone the airline to talk to a supervisor, or she was going to show up at the counter asking to fly stand-by. Unfortunately she left before she had the opportunity to read your helpful replies. At any rate, she may be able to use the ticket at another time, paying the rebooking fee.

Fess, I don't think you should jump to conclusions (cough-cough).

Lynne

The saga has ended. Colleage and daughter drove to see her family. They'll use the tickets, paying the rebooking fee, another time. Thanks to all of you who took the time to try to help her.

getit right

Well, let that be a lesson to you--no, her!