Laurie Spear’s travel agent tells her she’s booked on American Airlines. But it turns out she’s on British Airways and that leads to all kinds of problems. Who’s responsible, and how does she fix it?
ticket
Talk about adding insult to injury.
When Rela Geffen was hospitalized after suffering from congestive heart failure recently, she assumed her airline would take care of her. She was in Georgia on a business trip, but she’d paid an extra $19 for trip interruption insurance on her US Airways tickets.
Michael Burz books two tickets with CheapOair — tickets that it confirms repeatedly. Now the online agency says he has no tickets, and wants him to buy new ones. Is that his only option?
Thomas Travia bought a ticket from Philadelphia to Omaha on Southwest Airlines but couldn’t use all of it. Nothing unusual about that — plans change all the time, and the airline offers some of the most flexible ticket change policies in the industry.
When Joseph Barclay cancels his flight to Paraguay, his online travel agency issues a voucher that can be used within a year. But now the company claims there is no voucher. Is the money lost?
Melinda McGowan had to cancel her European vacation late last year because of a medical emergency. When she tried to rebook her tickets through Lufthansa, an airline representative quoted her a fare differential of $388, which seemed like a lot at the time.
Dan Lachapelle is promised a prompt refund for his canceled Antigua vacation. But it’s been weeks, and there’s no sign of the money. Now his online agency isn’t responding to his queries. Will he ever see the money again?
Jared Slain books an airline ticket for his stepson under the wrong last name. Then, shortly before the family vacation to Mexico, he discovers the error. Now his online agency and airline want him to buy a new ticket. Does he have to?
Beth Anderson accidentally books two tickets under her name to fly from Chicago to Panama City, Fla. Is her 16-year-old son, for whom she should have bought the second ticket, stuck without a ticket? Both her airline and agency say “yes.”
When someone promises you a refund, you expect to get all your money back, right? But not if you’re dealing with an airline. And not if you’re Leopoldo Yanez.
John Koehn planned his cross-country trip from Washington to Medford, Ore., with his wife and three-month-old daughter carefully. He booked their flight a year in advance to make sure they could sit together.
Refund cases are in a class by themselves, when it comes to frustration, but this one probably deserves its own category. It comes to us by way of Ann Vaninetti, who recently took a cruise with her husband, Dave, in Brazil.
As far as most airlines are concerned, if you cancel your tickets, your options are pretty simple: You have a year to use them. Or you can let the credit expire, and it keeps your money.
Why can’t you change the name on your airline ticket?
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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