“It sounds like criminal activity to me”
And now, a little story about names, online travel agencies, airlines and the TSA.
And now, a little story about names, online travel agencies, airlines and the TSA.
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?
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?
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?
Karen Smith loses her paper airline ticket to Spain and has to buy a new one. Now her airline is dragging its feet on a promised refund on the second ticket, and her online travel agency isn’t helping. How do you get them moving?
Having the wrong name on your airline ticket is no longer a minor inconvenience, now that the TSA has begun enforcing its name-matching requirements for airline tickets. And that could be a show-stopper for Jesse Demastrie and his wife, who are scheduled to fly from Washington to Las Vegas for the holidays.
How long is too long to wait for a refund from your airline? If you said one year, then maybe you know Dani Lind, who spent more than 12 months waiting for Air One to refund $670. How could that have been prevented?