Airline schedule change ruins connection

[angeleigh]

Hoping somebody has some experience with this - it is a first for us. We bought airline tickets a month ago for , depart July 6 from Philadelphia , connect in Indianapolis , to Orlando (return July 13th) We got a great deal on the tickets (we thought) $137/ each (including taxes and fees) for 7 tickets. We bought the tickets through Orbitz.com - they were easily $60-$70 cheaper per ticket than we were able to find anywhere else. Orbitz is quite restrictive about changes in these tickets - the change cost would be as much as the tickets..... Then we got an email from Orbitz telling us that the airline (Northwest Airlines) had changed the flight schedule - our connecting flight from Indianapolis to Orlando had gone from 35 minutes between flights to 5 minutes between flights. Obviously it will be virtually impossible to make the connecting flight - 35 minutes gave us pause but 5 minutes - no way.

We called Orbitz customer service and they agreed that it was a "mis connect" and should not have happened, and that there was no way to make the connecting flight and that they would send it over to the help desk and see what could be done and to wait for them to call in the next 2 weeks....

Any experience in this situation out there? I want flights to Orlando , not refund, and similar flights to what we agreed to when we bought tickets , not 3 stop rerouting or to pay increased fare for different tickets. Our feeling is that since we are not the ones that made the change we should have a fair amount of leverage in asking for the correction - what are your opinions ? Should we just work through Orbitz or would we better off dealing directly with NorthWest?

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I don't think that you'll have any option but to work thru Orbitz. That's just one of the problems of dealing with a middleman when you make your arrangements. However, you should not have to compromise on your amount of time spent in transit nor should you pay extra for something that was not your fault.

If Orbitz cannot make things right, you should get a full refund of your purchase price. Should that be the case, I would recommend that you look into flying Southwest out of PHL. We took them on our recent trip and I have nothing but good things to say about them. They would cost you a bit more ($79 each way) but you would have direct flights to MCO. I just checked your dates and they have every flight available at the $79 rate.

 

[OKW Lover]

Unfortunately you don't have any option here but to work through Orbitz. They are your travel agent and the airline will only work with them. In the future, you might just want to book your own air directly with the airline on their website. You'll get the same price (actually $5 less) on the same flights as Orbitz, or any of the other major on-line agencies, is quoting you.

 

[angeleigh]

Thanks for the responses- FWIW DH is not particularly patient so he called the NWA reservation number a few minutes ago just to see what they could do and they changed the flight for him immediatly - to PHL - Detroit - MCO instead of routing through Indianapolis- we will arrive in Orlando 25 minutes later but have 1hr/30 min for connection instead of 5 minutes. We checked orbitz itinerary as soon as he hung up and it was already updated on there as well so much worry about nothing as it turns out. And they had no problem with making the change with us directly rather waiting on Orbitz (though I can not say I am dissatisfied really with Orbitz either - they did not change the flight schedule and it was the lowest fare by far (albeit on connecting rather than direct).

 

[tbelfonti]

Wow, what great customer service from NWA! I'm impressed

 

[jennz]

OT, but we have NWA flights to Orlando for June and the flights have been changed 3 times already in 3 weeks! Do they always do this? Fortunately no connections.

 

[DawnCt1]

Thanks for the responses- FWIW DH is not particularly patient so he called the NWA reservation number a few minutes ago just to see what they could do and they changed the flight for him immediatly - to PHL - Detroit - MCO instead of routing through Indianapolis- we will arrive in Orlando 25 minutes later but have 1hr/30 min for connection instead of 5 minutes. We checked orbitz itinerary as soon as he hung up and it was already updated on there as well so much worry about nothing as it turns out. And they had no problem with making the change with us directly rather waiting on Orbitz (though I can not say I am dissatisfied really with Orbitz either - they did not change the flight schedule and it was the lowest fare by far (albeit on connecting rather than direct).

I am not surprised. Last year I bought American tickets through Orbitz. I got flights that I wasn't crazy about but I sure liked the price. It was my good fortune that the flight I had scheduled changed for the return. I called AA directly and was able to get the flights I wanted originally without a problem. Once they change one flight, its easy to negotiate the rest of the ticket. When you buy from Orbitz, Expedia or Travelocity, getting customer service from the airlines is not a problem. It's flight purchases from Priceline that will hang you up.

 

[barb45]

I can't believe they would book a flight with a 35 minute layover (your original). Considering they usually start boarding 30 minutes before the flight how are you supposed to make it. Even if the flight is just a bit late you would miss your connection. I'm nervous nelly though so I always book a longer layover OR better still I will pay a bit more for no connection.

 

[Free4Life11]

Why would you have to go through Orbitz? Yes you ordered the tickets from them, however, THEY don't set the Northwest schedule, Northwest does. You have a Northwest ticket and the schedule was changed.

Sure Orbitz could offer you different tickets, but it's not like if you showed up at the airport and missed the connection Northwest would say "Sorry you booked through Orbitz!" It's the same ticket. I've missed connections before. You just go to the ticket counter and say you missed the connection and they book you on the next flight.

BTW - I believe Northwest is NOTORIOUS for scheduling short layovers! I have had numerous layovers where I am literally RUNNING through Minneapolis or Detroit trying to make the connection. The connecting flights are never close-by for me either! I've noticed they offer quite a few 30-minutes layovers.

 

[tigger002]

We are flying to Fl. with Northwest in June and they have changed the flight 3 times already. Fortunately the changes are minor and have not effected us. What is the deal with them??? Have you tried calling Northwest and seeing what they can do??

 

[my3kids]

Airlines don't seem to be like the cruiselines in helping out the customer directly. My husband bought tickets on United through Orbitz. Our flights happened to be to FL during the rash of hurricanes. I always dealt with UA and never had a problem. Cruise lines on the other hand......

 

[thenuttings]

We had several schedule changes as well. I booked with Spirit directly through their website for a flight from Detroit to Orlando in June and the first change had us arriving late at night on arrival day instead of early afternoon like I had planned. I called Spirit and they quickly changed me to another flight in late morning. Now they changed me again and this flight departs at 7:05a.m. This means I get to get my kids out of bed at 4a.m.--what a great start to a busy week at Disney! I don't think such changes can really be avoided since they are constantly reassessing the schedules and types of planes needed, etc. I'm very glad you had such great service, though, and that your plans aren't ruined after all!

 

[goofyforlife]

just curious.......

how long of a day will you have flying from PHL to Detroit to MCO?

Must be at least 4 hrs or more in the air.

 

[angeleigh]

3 hr 45 min air - 5 hrs 15 minutes total. Yes - a direct would be much simpler but the difference of $85/ticket x 7 tickets .......... thats more in savings than one of the rooms at Pop will cost for the week......so we will be taking the rounabout way.

 

[Hockeymommy]

We had this happen last year when we went to Maui. The airline realized that there was a mistake made. Instead of stranding us in an airport for 6 hours they simply radioed ahead to the connecting flight about 30 min. before the next take off. We were the first to leave the first plane, when we got off they had a golf cart ready to take us to the connecting flight. It was a little rushed but they were very nice about it. If you can't get anywhere with Orbitz call the airline directly and see what they can do for you.

Carribean Beach July2-10 2005
Boardwalk Villas July 10-15 2005
Hard Rock July 15-17 2005

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I always thought that if you book your connections on the same ticket and the same airlines - you next plane has to wait for you (for a reasonable amount of time that is)

If you ever noticed while you are on a plane when pulling into the gate; the flight attendants will announce other flight numbers and what connecting gates people have to go to; that is because they know who is continuing travel and who is not. I've seen instances where peoples gates were announced and the speak with the flight attendant and its explained to them that it is not "one of their connecting flights; so they are on their own" (completely paraphased BTW)