in this case
- Steve Miller booked a Minneapolis-to-Dublin roundtrip for himself and his wife through Orbitz for $1,626. After Aer Lingus canceled one segment, Orbitz rebooked them, confirmed the new itinerary in My Trips, and the Aer Lingus app showed them booked. They had every reason to believe they were set.
- They were not. British Airways struggled to check them in during their London stopover but got them to Dublin. On the return, Aer Lingus refused to let them board, saying Orbitz had never properly confirmed the change.
- Stranded and needing to get home that day, Miller was told only business-class seats remained, roughly $8,000 for two. He paid, then found Orbitz would not respond and Aer Lingus would not refund a booking made through a third party, which raises the question of what a traveler is owed when a confirmed reservation was never actually ticketed.
Steve Miller thought he had a valid airline ticket to fly home. But when he tried to board his connecting flight in Dublin, the airline stopped him cold, and he had to pay $8,206 for new tickets to get home. Now he wants to know: Why won’t anyone reimburse him?
Question
I recently booked a roundtrip flight from Minneapolis to Dublin for my wife and myself through Orbitz. I paid $1,626 for the trip on American Airlines and Aer Lingus.
Months before the flight, I received an email from Orbitz that Aer Lingus had canceled the Philadelphia-Dublin segment of the flight. I contacted Orbitz and a representative told me I could take a flight from Minneapolis to Dublin via London on British Airways and then return on a direct flight from Dublin to Minneapolis on Aer Lingus. I agreed.
The change was confirmed on the My Trips section on Orbitz. I downloaded the Aer Lingus app for my phone, which showed me booked on the new flights. I assumed all was fine.
It wasn’t. During our stopover in London, British Airways had some initial trouble checking me in for the next leg of the flight but put me on the plane to Dublin. An agent told me to check in with Aer Lingus when I reached Dublin.
But on my return flight, Aer Lingus refused to let me board the plane. A representative claimed that Orbitz had failed to confirm the itinerary change properly.
It was essential that my wife and I get back to Minneapolis that day. An airline agent told me no economy seats were available. The only seats available were in business class. The cost was approximately $8,000 for two tickets. Combined with the original payment for tickets which were not honored, the cost to us was close to $10,000.
Out of necessity, I agreed and we got to Minneapolis that day.
I emailed Orbitz and received no response. Aer Lingus opened a case file but responded that it would not refund my money because it does not process refunds for transactions made through third parties.
I would like a refund of the $8,000 that I paid Aer Lingus for business class tickets. This is a significant cost to me after I received assurances from Orbitz that my flight back home was confirmed. Can you help? — Steve Miller, Shoreview, Minn.
I understand what Chris is saying about ticket numbers versus reservation confirmation numbers, BUT that is a technicality that only travel experts might know. After all, the conversion of a reservation to a ticket is supposed to happen seamlessly, automatically behind the scenes and out of the travelers’ sight. The airlines themselves have trained travelers to look for and use only reservation confirmation numbers because that shorter code is what the airlines request to check in to our flights. I do not know of any airline that has asked me for a ticket number over my entire 45 or so years of flying (not counting my flights as an infant). Airlines have always and only asked for my six ‘digit’ alphanumeric reservation confirmation code when I called to make changes or check in for my flights. Why should these travelers have expected anything else? IMNSHO, this was entirely the fault of Orbitz/Expedia and perhaps Aer Lingus.
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Answer
You should have had a valid ticket to fly from Dublin to Minneapolis. Orbitz confirmed your new itinerary, and the airline’s app showed you were booked. You had every reason to believe you were good to go.
So what happened?
It appears you fell into a black hole between your online travel agency and the airlines operating your flights. When Orbitz rebooked you, it seems they created a reservation code—also known as a Passenger Name Record (PNR)—but the ticket was never actually issued.
This is a critical distinction that trips up many travelers. A reservation confirms that a seat is held for you. A ticket is the payment for that seat. You can have a reservation code without having a ticket number. In the airline’s computer, you existed as a passenger, but you hadn’t technically paid for the flight in their system.
When you checked in at Heathrow, the British Airways agent likely saw the reservation but couldn’t generate a boarding pass for the second leg because the ticket number was missing or invalid. They sent you to Dublin hoping Aer Lingus could sort it out.
They couldn’t—or wouldn’t.
You did the right thing by trying to resolve this on the spot. But when you’re stranded in a foreign airport with no other way home, you sometimes have to pay the ransom. In this case, that was the price of two business class tickets.
Orbitz should have fixed this immediately. You emailed your online travel agency, but it didn’t respond. Aer Lingus also washed its hands of the problem, telling you that because the booking originated with a third party, it couldn’t issue a refund.
This is why I always advise travelers to check for a ticket number, not just a confirmation code. That number usually starts with a three-digit code representing the airline (053 for Aer Lingus) followed by 10 digits. If you don’t see that number, you don’t have a ticket.
I think a brief, polite email to one of the executives at Orbitz (Expedia) might have helped. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of Expedia’s customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
I contacted Expedia, which owns Orbitz, on your behalf. A representative reviewed your case and admitted the mistake.
“After reviewing the situation, it appears the tickets were not issued correctly, which resulted in the airline not having his reservation,” the representative told me.
Expedia refunded you $8,206, covering the cost of the emergency business class tickets.
A confirmation code that was never turned into a real ticket left a couple stranded overseas. Miller’s case raises real questions about who should answer for it.
Your voice matters
Reservation versus ticket: what to know before you fly
A confirmation code is not always a valid ticket. Here is what travelers ask most after a booking goes wrong.
A reservation, tied to a confirmation code or Passenger Name Record, means a seat is being held for you. A ticket is the actual payment for that seat, recorded with a ticket number in the airline’s system. You can have a reservation without a valid ticket, and if the ticket was never issued, you are not truly booked to fly. Look for a ticket number, not just a confirmation code. A valid ticket number is usually a three-digit airline code followed by ten digits. If your itinerary shows only a booking reference and no ticket number, contact the airline or agency and confirm the ticket has been issued before you travel. Because apps and trip pages often display the reservation, which can exist even when the ticket was never issued. That is what makes this trap so easy to fall into: everything looks confirmed, but the underlying payment record is missing or invalid, and the problem only surfaces at check-in. Try to resolve it on the spot with the airline and your travel agency. If you are stranded overseas with no other way home, you may have to buy a new ticket to get back, then pursue reimbursement afterward. Keep every receipt and confirmation, because that documentation is central to recovering the cost. Responsibility generally sits with whoever made the error. When an agency confirms a rebooking but fails to issue the ticket, that failure is the agency’s, even though the airline is the one that turns you away at the gate. Airlines often decline to refund bookings made through third parties, which is why pursuing the agency is usually the right path. After any rebooking, confirm directly with the operating airline that a valid ticket has been issued, not just that a reservation exists. Save all written confirmations, and if customer support goes quiet, escalate politely to an executive. Verifying the ticket number is the single most reliable safeguard. Booking direct removes one layer where a ticket can fall through the cracks, since the airline both books and issues the ticket. Online travel agencies can offer convenience and price, but any rebooking adds handoffs between systems, so it is worth confirming the ticket was actually issued. For more help with travel disputes, see Elliott Advocacy’s travel resources.What is the difference between a reservation and a ticket?
How do I know if I actually have a ticket?
Why would an app show me as booked if I have no ticket?
What should I do if an airline won’t let me board a confirmed flight?
Who is responsible when an online travel agency rebooks me but never issues the ticket?
How can I protect myself when a flight is changed or canceled?
Is it safer to book directly with the airline?
