Need Advice Regarding Flight to Zurich
Jul 28th, 2007, 06:35 PM
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Need Advice Regarding Flight to Zurich
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?
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?
Jul 28th, 2007, 06:51 PM
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Take a breath and relax. I do not think you get sent an "e -ticket" just as is the case for domestic flights. An eticket means it is done electronically and your confirmation should have all the pertinent info on it.
I believe that it is not uncommon to NOT get assigned seats on flights to Europe on non Us carriers.
I am sure you will see the charge come through shortly. YOu said a debit card? As in a bank card? Did it have VISA or Mastercard logo? MAybe that is the problem, maybe they take credit cards only??
DON'T rush and buy another ticket, or you will end up with 2 non-refundable tickets.
You might want to post this on Airline forum if you don't get answers on here.
Hope this helps [some]..
Debi
I believe that it is not uncommon to NOT get assigned seats on flights to Europe on non Us carriers.
I am sure you will see the charge come through shortly. YOu said a debit card? As in a bank card? Did it have VISA or Mastercard logo? MAybe that is the problem, maybe they take credit cards only??
DON'T rush and buy another ticket, or you will end up with 2 non-refundable tickets.
You might want to post this on Airline forum if you don't get answers on here.
Hope this helps [some]..
Debi
Jul 28th, 2007, 06:55 PM
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Hi, You might want to post this in the Europe Forum.
I also am traveling to Zurich (Aug 29th) and had many options in booking my trip. I am near Los Angeles. I am using AA Advantage miles. To get to the point, I was told at the time I booked (last November, I think) that Swiss Air was joining with Lufthansa and would be leaving the One World Alliance, But that I still could book Swiss Air. I was told that Swiss Air did not do e-Tickets and therefore I would be sent a paper ticket. BLAH!!!! I love e-Tickets. I had the ticket in a short time. So, the E-Ticketing may be a new thing for them, and it should all be computerized anyway. But I don't think customer service should suffer as a result. It does take a few days for credit card transactions to appear on your credit card on-line statement. Now, as far as seat assignments, I called this phone# 877 359 7947 that I got from their website and asked for seat assignments. I was given exact seat numbers. He did say that the the seat could be changed by the airport people, but did not make too much of a big deal about that point. I am traveling Swiss Air from Zurich to Rome, then Venice to Zurich to JFK. (AA the other legs) I would call the number during east coast time business hours and try again. Based on your post, I am not going to assume that my seat assignments are set in concrete. I would have liked to take the Swiss Air Non-stop to LAX, but I think partly to do with the sale/merge or whatever, they did not make it available using AAdvantage miles, So had to come back with a stop. You have a hard decision to make, but I think most likely what you booked should work out OK. Non-Stop is always best, and avoid London Heathrow at all cost. They lost my luggage last year on my way to Amsterdam and a 12 day cruise.
I also am traveling to Zurich (Aug 29th) and had many options in booking my trip. I am near Los Angeles. I am using AA Advantage miles. To get to the point, I was told at the time I booked (last November, I think) that Swiss Air was joining with Lufthansa and would be leaving the One World Alliance, But that I still could book Swiss Air. I was told that Swiss Air did not do e-Tickets and therefore I would be sent a paper ticket. BLAH!!!! I love e-Tickets. I had the ticket in a short time. So, the E-Ticketing may be a new thing for them, and it should all be computerized anyway. But I don't think customer service should suffer as a result. It does take a few days for credit card transactions to appear on your credit card on-line statement. Now, as far as seat assignments, I called this phone# 877 359 7947 that I got from their website and asked for seat assignments. I was given exact seat numbers. He did say that the the seat could be changed by the airport people, but did not make too much of a big deal about that point. I am traveling Swiss Air from Zurich to Rome, then Venice to Zurich to JFK. (AA the other legs) I would call the number during east coast time business hours and try again. Based on your post, I am not going to assume that my seat assignments are set in concrete. I would have liked to take the Swiss Air Non-stop to LAX, but I think partly to do with the sale/merge or whatever, they did not make it available using AAdvantage miles, So had to come back with a stop. You have a hard decision to make, but I think most likely what you booked should work out OK. Non-Stop is always best, and avoid London Heathrow at all cost. They lost my luggage last year on my way to Amsterdam and a 12 day cruise.
Jul 28th, 2007, 06:57 PM
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From swiss.com FAQ page:
"Your flight is booked, as usual, either online, by phone, at one of the SWISS airport offices or through your travel agent. Instead of your ticket being printed on paper, it will be saved electronically in our reservation system. A passenger receipt is sent to you either by fax, email or regular post."
"Your flight is booked, as usual, either online, by phone, at one of the SWISS airport offices or through your travel agent. Instead of your ticket being printed on paper, it will be saved electronically in our reservation system. A passenger receipt is sent to you either by fax, email or regular post."
Jul 28th, 2007, 06:57 PM
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The issue is not with my debit card. My debit card has the Visa logo and functions exactly as a Visa card would.
I do not think your information regarding e-tickets is accurate. For every domestic flight I have ever booked, my card was charged at that moment and an e-ticket was issued and sent via email. It always happens within minutes of the reservation being made. In the case of Swiss.com, they sent me a "booking confirmation" but this is not the same as an e-ticket. Frankly, I would not be so worried about this if they would have charged my debit card. I simply don't understand this nonsense about it taking longer to issue an e-ticket because of it being the "peak season." Are they not working on computers?
I do not think your information regarding e-tickets is accurate. For every domestic flight I have ever booked, my card was charged at that moment and an e-ticket was issued and sent via email. It always happens within minutes of the reservation being made. In the case of Swiss.com, they sent me a "booking confirmation" but this is not the same as an e-ticket. Frankly, I would not be so worried about this if they would have charged my debit card. I simply don't understand this nonsense about it taking longer to issue an e-ticket because of it being the "peak season." Are they not working on computers?
Jul 28th, 2007, 06:58 PM
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And this about seats:
"Seat assignments cannot be processed online yet, even though you can retrieve the seat map of each aircraft here.
We kindly ask you to contact our reservation office or contact us per email for seat reservations. Please mind though that seat assigments are never guaranteed"
"Seat assignments cannot be processed online yet, even though you can retrieve the seat map of each aircraft here.
We kindly ask you to contact our reservation office or contact us per email for seat reservations. Please mind though that seat assigments are never guaranteed"
Jul 28th, 2007, 06:59 PM
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Debit,
Thanks for the message, but I'm not sure what you're getting at. I'm aware of what e-tickets are. I'm not expecting to receive a ticket through the mail. I AM expecting to receive an e-ticket via email. The confirmation email from Swiss.com states as much. So its not as if I'm confused about what I should be getting here.
"Your flight is booked, as usual, either online, by phone, at one of the SWISS airport offices or through your travel agent. Instead of your ticket being printed on paper, it will be saved electronically in our reservation system. A passenger receipt is sent to you either by fax, email or regular post."
Thanks for the message, but I'm not sure what you're getting at. I'm aware of what e-tickets are. I'm not expecting to receive a ticket through the mail. I AM expecting to receive an e-ticket via email. The confirmation email from Swiss.com states as much. So its not as if I'm confused about what I should be getting here.
"Your flight is booked, as usual, either online, by phone, at one of the SWISS airport offices or through your travel agent. Instead of your ticket being printed on paper, it will be saved electronically in our reservation system. A passenger receipt is sent to you either by fax, email or regular post."
Jul 28th, 2007, 07:10 PM
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Ok, sorry. "getting at" was a poor choice of words on my part. I was just trying to clarify that I know what an e-ticket is. When you posted the verbiage from their FAQ page, I thought that maybe you thought I was expecting a paper ticket to arrive in the mail. That is not the case.
Anyway, thanks for posting. I'll give it another couple of days on Swiss.com and hope they get it together.
Anyway, thanks for posting. I'll give it another couple of days on Swiss.com and hope they get it together.
Jul 29th, 2007, 06:53 PM
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Well, my advice having living in Switzerland and dealt with Swiss Air and the Swiss attitude toward money is to say relax. They have confirmed that you have a booking. They just have not yet bothered to charge your card. They aren’t worried about it. They will eventually get round to it. They know you will pay. Everyone does. They are working on getting you an e-ticket, but they are busy, and hey it’s summer and they don’t work more than 8 hours a day. They have a life.
When you go to the doctor, they send you a bill 2-3 months later. When you get your car serviced, they send you a bill about a month later, but you just drive away in your car. They know you will pay. Everyone does. It’s a different sort of place.
I wouldn’t buy another ticket, as you have a non-refundable one. They may be relaxed, but they aren’t kidding about that.
When you go to the doctor, they send you a bill 2-3 months later. When you get your car serviced, they send you a bill about a month later, but you just drive away in your car. They know you will pay. Everyone does. It’s a different sort of place.
I wouldn’t buy another ticket, as you have a non-refundable one. They may be relaxed, but they aren’t kidding about that.
