usvi-on-line
travelocity-this seems really weird to me
travelocity-this seems really weird to me
Hi everybody,
We are not experienced flyers. Second trip to St. John this coming April for son's wedding. Booked his trip and ours(different days) through travelocity. Now, we are both getting emails that there are problems. I responded via phone calls twice for our flights, not son's. They have us so screwed up. Leaving JFK before we even arrive! Not enough time on the other screw up to catch a flight- less than half an hour at JFK for a connecting flight.
These were booked a couple months ago and now they say the airlines change flights so many times we should wait until the end of March to call to verify our flights
Our flights were supposed to be for April 10 and son's for April 11. It is a busy school vacation week.
I am a worrier. Is this par for the course and will we get to St. John? I mean it is on our credit card and we have to wait to March to find out? I feel mad and confused. Help, Please?
We are not experienced flyers. Second trip to St. John this coming April for son's wedding. Booked his trip and ours(different days) through travelocity. Now, we are both getting emails that there are problems. I responded via phone calls twice for our flights, not son's. They have us so screwed up. Leaving JFK before we even arrive! Not enough time on the other screw up to catch a flight- less than half an hour at JFK for a connecting flight.
These were booked a couple months ago and now they say the airlines change flights so many times we should wait until the end of March to call to verify our flights
Our flights were supposed to be for April 10 and son's for April 11. It is a busy school vacation week. I am a worrier. Is this par for the course and will we get to St. John? I mean it is on our credit card and we have to wait to March to find out? I feel mad and confused. Help, Please?
Dear Cinny,
Are all of your flights on the same airline?
Until I retired 6 yrs ago, I was a travel agent. We rarely booked interline connections because of the potential problems that could occur with schedule changes.
It is true that airlines have schedule changes at least quarterly, but we would always straighten out the misconnections as they happened. We would call the airlines involved and they were obligated to rebook the passenger. Travelocity, I would think, should take care of this for you.
It is ridiculous, in my opinion, for you to have to worry about this until March.
Be persistent. They should not leave this hanging even if they think the schedule might change again. Sorry you have to go thru this but I guess its the price we pay to get to Paradise!
Good Luck,
Joyce
Are all of your flights on the same airline?
Until I retired 6 yrs ago, I was a travel agent. We rarely booked interline connections because of the potential problems that could occur with schedule changes.
It is true that airlines have schedule changes at least quarterly, but we would always straighten out the misconnections as they happened. We would call the airlines involved and they were obligated to rebook the passenger. Travelocity, I would think, should take care of this for you.
It is ridiculous, in my opinion, for you to have to worry about this until March.
Be persistent. They should not leave this hanging even if they think the schedule might change again. Sorry you have to go thru this but I guess its the price we pay to get to Paradise!
Good Luck,
Joyce
Cinny,
Don't wait until March. You just need to do a bi-weekly check on flight schedules and call Travelocity and harass them to change your flights each time you see a schedule shift. Be persistent and don't ever take NO for an answer on this.
Also, this is a little bit of Monday-morning quarterbacking, but I never, ever book flights through a 3rd party site like Travelocity or Expedia. I always book with the airline directly. My reasons are numerous, but the biggest is that, if the fare goes down significantly, you can get a refund or credit if you book directly with the airline, but not if you've booked with a 3rd party. You do have to pay a $50 re-issue fee each time, so it's only worth it if the fare goes down by $100 or more, but it's happened before.
Don't wait until March. You just need to do a bi-weekly check on flight schedules and call Travelocity and harass them to change your flights each time you see a schedule shift. Be persistent and don't ever take NO for an answer on this.
Also, this is a little bit of Monday-morning quarterbacking, but I never, ever book flights through a 3rd party site like Travelocity or Expedia. I always book with the airline directly. My reasons are numerous, but the biggest is that, if the fare goes down significantly, you can get a refund or credit if you book directly with the airline, but not if you've booked with a 3rd party. You do have to pay a $50 re-issue fee each time, so it's only worth it if the fare goes down by $100 or more, but it's happened before.
American pogos our itineraries pretty frequently. I put a reminder on my calendar to check and see what's up.
I like to book directly with the airline's. But, sometimes the airline won't sell you the cheapest itinerary. I save $400 by booking through Orbitz on Delta for March, over booking with Delta.
Cheers, RickG
I like to book directly with the airline's. But, sometimes the airline won't sell you the cheapest itinerary. I save $400 by booking through Orbitz on Delta for March, over booking with Delta.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
My experience with Travalocity was very bad! My honeymoon was almost ruined. We arrived at the airport for what was supposed to be a pretty easy flight to Grand Bahama Island.
They had us flying United to Charlotte, NC and catching US airways to Grand Bahama Island. When we checked in they said we could not check any bags because our flights were to close together. This is at 6:30 AM. United told us to call Travalocity. We did and they hung up on us! Called again and finally had to get a supervisor to talk with United to staighten it all out. Finally we were booked on a 12:30 pm flight into Miami with a connection to GB. Well, our flight was late taking off. Missed our connection in Miami. So once we were in Miami we had to take a taxi to Ft. Lauderdale for 8:30pm flight to the Bahamas. By the way the plane was a 20 seat prop plane. Not a fun ride. We should have been on the Island at 2:30 pm. Instead it was 10:00 before we got to our room.
United blamed it all on Travelocity. We did get $200 worth of free tickets. But it was not enough in my opinion. It was the worst flying experience I have ever dealt with. Never again will I use them. They almost ruined my honeymoon and cost us a day of vacation.
Make sure before you get to the Airport that they do not do this to you, get a supervisor on the phone now do not wait until your at the counter.
Sandy
They had us flying United to Charlotte, NC and catching US airways to Grand Bahama Island. When we checked in they said we could not check any bags because our flights were to close together. This is at 6:30 AM. United told us to call Travalocity. We did and they hung up on us! Called again and finally had to get a supervisor to talk with United to staighten it all out. Finally we were booked on a 12:30 pm flight into Miami with a connection to GB. Well, our flight was late taking off. Missed our connection in Miami. So once we were in Miami we had to take a taxi to Ft. Lauderdale for 8:30pm flight to the Bahamas. By the way the plane was a 20 seat prop plane. Not a fun ride. We should have been on the Island at 2:30 pm. Instead it was 10:00 before we got to our room.
United blamed it all on Travelocity. We did get $200 worth of free tickets. But it was not enough in my opinion. It was the worst flying experience I have ever dealt with. Never again will I use them. They almost ruined my honeymoon and cost us a day of vacation.
Make sure before you get to the Airport that they do not do this to you, get a supervisor on the phone now do not wait until your at the counter.
Sandy
Thanks for your help everyone. I will definitely be callling them and try to get this straightened out. Last time I called I was on hold for over half an hour. They must think we have alot of time to waste.
And,yes we do have to change airlines. First a Canadian Air Regional Jet operated by ComAir even though it is called a Delta Flight. I never even heard of ComAir. Then at JFK we change to American and then in SJU it is an American Airlines turboprop operated by American Eagle. On the way back it was the reverse.
I can't believe they are now changing my son's itinerary, too. I sure hope this all works out. Learning lessons the hard way is not fun.
And,yes we do have to change airlines. First a Canadian Air Regional Jet operated by ComAir even though it is called a Delta Flight. I never even heard of ComAir. Then at JFK we change to American and then in SJU it is an American Airlines turboprop operated by American Eagle. On the way back it was the reverse.
I can't believe they are now changing my son's itinerary, too. I sure hope this all works out. Learning lessons the hard way is not fun.
Good luck! BTW, I'm in Atlanta (DL headquarters) - Comair is owned by Delta. It's a legit operation, don't worry! Comair is Delta's regional carrier.
I've booked directly through AA before and had them majorly screw with my schedule. Last winter, we booked tickets from ATL-MIA-SJU to go on a cruise. We then changed our mind and decided to go land-based to St. Martin instead. We purchased SJU-St. Maarten tickets through AA, but they couldn't "link" our flights since they were technically two separate itineraries. It was stressful, but we made it, and each flight was on time and smooth. I did have to call several times though and have them move us around.
Another tip - since you have connections on different airlines, if it's AT ALL possible, do carry ons. It will save you a world of headache. At least carry on a few days of essentials (2 bathing suits, a couple of changes of clothes). That way, if a bag gets lost, you have what you need to enjoy your vacation.
I've booked directly through AA before and had them majorly screw with my schedule. Last winter, we booked tickets from ATL-MIA-SJU to go on a cruise. We then changed our mind and decided to go land-based to St. Martin instead. We purchased SJU-St. Maarten tickets through AA, but they couldn't "link" our flights since they were technically two separate itineraries. It was stressful, but we made it, and each flight was on time and smooth. I did have to call several times though and have them move us around.
Another tip - since you have connections on different airlines, if it's AT ALL possible, do carry ons. It will save you a world of headache. At least carry on a few days of essentials (2 bathing suits, a couple of changes of clothes). That way, if a bag gets lost, you have what you need to enjoy your vacation.
I had a nightmare experience with Travelocity several years ago. My flight was cancelled & they didn't notify me. I was on the phone with their customer service for an hour & a half trying to resolve the issue. I will never use them again. Sorry, I know my story doesn't really help you, but make sure you stay on top of them. Check your flights with the airline directly & don't count on Travelocity to provide you with timely info.
I had an awful time with Orbitz a couple of years ago, and I haven't booked through them since. For some reason, they insisted on giving me a paper ticket and when I thought I had to change my itinerary they told me I'd have to drive to the airport (2 hours away) to make a change to my flight. Then they booked each leg of the trip as one-way, and I had some TSA agent holding my unmentionables up in the concourse for everyone to see because one-way trips trigger some high-level security screening. Lovely.
Anyhow, I have used cheaptickets.com since then with little fan fare, but I generally find a cheap flight on one of the travel sites and then do some digging to purchase it directly from the airline. It's very tricky to travel to St. John and if you miss a flight booked with Delta they will just charge you a change fee and rebook you. You miss with Hotwire, and you're stuck on island until someone feels bad for you or you buy a new full-fare ticket.
Anyhow, I have used cheaptickets.com since then with little fan fare, but I generally find a cheap flight on one of the travel sites and then do some digging to purchase it directly from the airline. It's very tricky to travel to St. John and if you miss a flight booked with Delta they will just charge you a change fee and rebook you. You miss with Hotwire, and you're stuck on island until someone feels bad for you or you buy a new full-fare ticket.
Question, Do you guys really find cheaper fares through these third party agents. Every time I have checked them, and I check them all, I have gone strait to the carrier and found the same fares. I'd rather fight, if need be, with the airline I'm flying on than deal with a middle man. I must be missing something because lots of people use the various agents.
BOB
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California Girl