Expedia/U.S Airways Rant

[Matt34]

My wife wrote this down just now but we are going to pursue this further with possible legal action. Tell me what you think.

I purchased a ticket for Matt to come home for mid-tour leave on Dec 10th and to return to Korea Jan 5th. We had a family emergency and Matt came home Nov 30 instead. I called Expedia to see if I could cancel the Dec 10th flight and was told it would cost me 220 dollars and I would have to cancel the entire flight and Matt would have to leave a week later cause the flights were full. The flight would be 750 dollars plus tax so I said that price is close to what we have already paid for the flight so just leave it as it is and he will not use the Dec 10th flight. The agent agreed and I hung up.

We went to check in online tonight and had to call a number saying something was not right even though it still said the itinerary was confirmed. So I called and talked to several people and supervisors<got up to corporate with Expedia> who tell me now, Matt's flight is canceled because he did not use the Dec 10th flight and we cannot get any refund or change the flight. So even though we paid 1042 dollars for the flights they will not let him use tomorrows ticket. Is this not stealing???

So now here it is the night before I leave and have had to buy yet another ticket to get back to Korea. This one way ticket back to Korea tomorrow has now cost me over $2000 and Expedia and U.S Airways overall response has basically been "oh well".

*The family emergency was my younger brother passed away. Red Cross got me on the 30th Nov flight.

**I have spent over $4500 with these airlines in the past month.

***Moments after getting off the phone with Expedia...2 hour phone call btw.....they sent us an email saying my flight was canceled.

 

[mike c]

escalate! they should make it right! try the threat of legal action first, if the threat doesn't work ... proceed!

(those tickets cost a witch! business class?)

 

[Matt34]

escalate! they should make it right! try the threat of legal action first, if the threat doesn't work ... proceed!

(those tickets cost a witch! business class?)

I got up to the corporate office with Expedia and to the supervisors at U.S Airways international flight center. We are going to go as high as we can.

 

[highfigh]

Some airlines have a special rate and availability for bereavement flights, which should have been offered if someone had mentioned that you were returning after your brother's passing.

Use your military service against them. Don't just call yourself 'Matt', include your rank.

People who go by the book to screw others really pizz me off. Stomp on 'em!

 

[Stereodude]

While that sucks, I thought it was common knowledge that if you don't show up for the first half of a round trip the airline will cancel the 2nd half. It's unfortunate that the Expedia agent did not give your wife correct information.

You can attempt to appeal to supervisors and what not, but you're fighting an uphill battle. Keep the focus on the death in the family, that you're military, and that had the Expedia person given you proper information you wouldn't be in this situation.

ps: This is why you should only deal directly with the airlines. Once you get a 3rd part involved it's a mess.

 

[rnatalli]

There are steps you can take prior to legal action. Put in complains with your state's Attorney General's office and BBB office. Report both organizations.

 

[GO-NAD!]

While that sucks, I thought it was common knowledge that if you don't show up for the first half of a round trip the airline will cancel the 2nd half. It's unfortunate that the Expedia agent did not give your wife correct information.

You can attempt to appeal to supervisors and what not, but you're fighting an uphill battle. Keep the focus on the death in the family, that you're military, and that had the Expedia person given you proper information you wouldn't be in this situation.

ps: This is why you should only deal directly with the airlines. Once you get a 3rd part involved it's a mess.

I certainly wasn't aware of it. If I were in a similar situation, I would have accepted what the agent told me as well. In the end, that agent is a representative of the company and therefore, Expedia should accept responsibility for any extra costs incurred.

Why do airlines have such a policy? Do they assume that since the first flight wasn't taken, that the second won't be taken also? Then, they can go ahead and sell that seat again for double-profit.

The airline should be able to exercise some flexibility with such a policy. Their attitude truly sucks.

 

[Matt34]

If we were aware of that we would have paid the 200 some dollars to change the ticket. Never once did the agent say our ticket was cancelled nor did they send us anything stating such until minutes after getting off the phone with them last night. I have asked nothing more than to get me a flight back to Korea and they couldn't even do that. So they just pocketed over 1000 dollars of mine for no services rendered.

 

[gholt]

You could try Clark Howard. I know he does a lot with travel. He may have some insight. I know they have a consumer action center that you can call if you can't get through to his show.

 

[rnatalli]

You could try Clark Howard.

Or Howard Clark who makes Katana blades which are pretty intimidating

 

[Stereodude]

If I were in a similar situation, I would have accepted what the agent told me as well. In the end, that agent is a representative of the company and therefore, Expedia should accept responsibility for any extra costs incurred.

Yeah, good luck getting them to do that since he can't prove what they told his wife.

Why do airlines have such a policy?

Probably the same reason why they have non-refundable tickets. To cover their backside so they're not flying near empty planes around for free.

Do they assume that since the first flight wasn't taken, that the second won't be taken also?

It's a pretty safe assumption if you think about it. If you book a round trip ticket from NYC to LA, and you don't take the first leg from NYC to LA, how would you be in LA for the return flight to NYC?

Then, they can go ahead and sell that seat again for double-profit.

More likely it keeps them from losing money when they plane flies with an empty seat.

The airline should be able to exercise some flexibility with such a policy. Their attitude truly sucks.

Which is why if you tell them you can't make the flight ahead of time they will typically keep the credit on your account and you have 1 year to use the credit (less the $200 change fee).

 

[Stereodude]

If we were aware of that we would have paid the 200 some dollars to change the ticket. Never once did the agent say our ticket was cancelled nor did they send us anything stating such until minutes after getting off the phone with them last night. I have asked nothing more than to get me a flight back to Korea and they couldn't even do that. So they just pocketed over 1000 dollars of mine for no services rendered.

Well, the ticket wasn't canceled until you failed to check in / occupy your seat for the first leg without notifying the airline. They're following their policies.

http://www.usairways.com/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_83FAB5F1302C3B2A4BF9ABBABB143F3DF4990200/filename/US_contract_of_carriage.pdf

"If the customer fails to occupy the seat reserved (for example, a no−show). A no−show on any leg of a round trip will result in automatic cancellation of the entire itinerary once the flight departs.

Unless otherwise specifically provided by the governing fare tariff, wholly unused nonrefundable tickets are valid and may be changed for one year from the date of issue, provided the customer has notified US Airways on or before the scheduled departure date if they do not plan to fly as ticketed due to a voluntary change, subject to any applicable fees.

Really your beef is with Expedia. Had you or your wife talked to the airline it's highly unlikely this would have happened.

 

[lsiberian]

You might consider getting a real travel agent and not some massive online company. Typically real ones get better fares and will go to bat for you should a bad situation arise.

http://www.nationaltravelsystems.com/

is what I have used and the fares they got were always lower than Expedia or any other online service. It is worth a contact at least. Can't hurt to shop around.

 

[Matt34]

Well, the ticket wasn't canceled until you failed to check in / occupy your seat for the first leg without notifying the airline. They're following their policies.

http://www.usairways.com/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_83FAB5F1302C3B2A4BF9ABBABB143F3DF4990200/filename/US_contract_of_carriage.pdf





Really your beef is with Expedia. Had you or your wife talked to the airline it's highly unlikely this would have happened.

We did call Expedia (who we booked the flights through) before the first leg of the flight and told them we would not be using the Dec 10 flight, only the Jan 5.
They never said our Jan 5 flight would therefore be cancelled and didn't send us anything stating such until after we got of the phone with them last night.

 

[Stereodude]

We did call Expedia (who we booked the flights through) before the first leg of the flight and told them we would not be using the Dec 10 flight, only the Jan 5.
They never said our Jan 5 flight would therefore be cancelled and didn't send us anything stating such until after we got of the phone with them last night.

Which is why you need to hold Expedia's feet to the fire.

 

[FLZapped]

If we were aware of that we would have paid the 200 some dollars to change the ticket. Never once did the agent say our ticket was cancelled nor did they send us anything stating such until minutes after getting off the phone with them last night. I have asked nothing more than to get me a flight back to Korea and they couldn't even do that. So they just pocketed over 1000 dollars of mine for no services rendered.

If you put it on a credit card, you can dispute the charges with the card company.

-Bruce

 

[darien87]

I would second your reporting this to the state attorney general.

I had an issue with Chase credit card services. I applied for a card online where it specifically stated that the introductory rate was 0% for 12 months. I was applying for this card because I wanted to transfer a balance from another card and save on the interest. So I get approved, but I find out that not only did they only give me a credit limit of about half of what I was asking to transfer, but also that the intro rate would only be for 6 months. I called their help line and argued with a guy for about a half hour about how it didn't say anywhere on their website that the intro period was anything other than 12 months. He told me that all conditions are subject to credit worthiness. I asked him to show me where it stated that on his website and his answer was, "Well it doesn't NOT say that."

Are you freaking kidding me?!?!? Yeah the website also doesn't say that the card won't work on the moon either. Basically I was so furious with the guy that it got to the point where he was telling, that's the way it is, deal with it. But once I wrote a letter to the attorney general, all of a sudden I got a letter in the mail telling me that they would honor the 12 month introductory period and the terms on their website have been changed.

Expedia is betting that if they make it difficult on you, you will go away. Screw that, fight those bastards!!

 

[Chu Gai]

A Good And Effective Online Place To Report Horror Stories...

such as yours, Matt, is http://consumerist.com/ which is very proactive with consumer complaints and has a very high success rate at resolving them. You or your wife will have to recount your story in factual detail and if they accept it (I know people who've used them and have gotten more than satisfaction!) you'll find Expedia/US Air jumping all over themselves to make things right for you as even large companies don't want the news that they're ***** going viral. PM me if you need assistance.

 

[jinjuku]

While that sucks, I thought it was common knowledge that if you don't show up for the first half of a round trip the airline will cancel the 2nd half. It's unfortunate that the Expedia agent did not give your wife correct information.

You can attempt to appeal to supervisors and what not, but you're fighting an uphill battle. Keep the focus on the death in the family, that you're military, and that had the Expedia person given you proper information you wouldn't be in this situation.

ps: This is why you should only deal directly with the airlines. Once you get a 3rd part involved it's a mess.

I am paying for the privilege of parking my keister in that seat, or not. That seat on that plane is mine for the dates and times that I paid for.

What are these guys, attorneys that will triple bill an hour if the have a 1 hour conference call with 3 people?

 

[Matt34]

Just an FYI since this was bumped. We finalized a letter that is going to the Washington state attorney general's office since that is were the home office is for Expedia.