do airlines really change your ressies?

[Sandi]

My October flight to MCO has been changed once (so far) by Northwest. I will check several more times before we leave just to be sure.

A couple years ago, US Air changed the second leg of our return flight, but did nothing to our first leg. Somehow, we were supposed to board our second flight while we were still in the air with our first flight. I called US Air and asked about the change -- the agent just stated matter of factly that there was nothing she could do. When I asked whether we were going to be supplied with parachutes to get to the second flight, she understood the problem and was quite helpful.

 

[sln88]

Have any of you ever had your car reservations messed up because of these flight changes?
I am scheduled to get in at 1030 pm- if they change it to later, will I lose my car?
I don't have too much of a problem with airlines changing their flights- what I don't get is how they can get off with charging us a penalty for any change we make, but they get off doing it scott free?

 

[Disneyolic]

Last year we had a 5:30 pm flight on a Saturday with USAir, It was scheduled to arrive in Ft. Myers at 10 pm-ish. My husband had to work during the day so that was the only time we could go. Then they up and changed our flight to leave at 1 pm, go through a totally different hub, wait 6 hours inbetween flights, and arrive at 1 am on Sunday morning. That was totally ridiculous. We were traveling with a then 1 year old.

I called them and the only flight they could put us in was a morning flight for Sunday arriving after 1 pm. So I felt that we wasted some of our vacation.

Then, they changed our coming home flight to an earlier flight by more than 2 hours. Wasn't much choice there to change so we were stuck.

To make all matters worse, they "misplaced" our luggage which contained my child's carseat (no we did not use it on the plane - no debates here, please) so we were stuck with a disgusting carseat provided by USAir in Syracuse.

I wrote to USAir stating all my concerns, especially about the carseat and they did send me $100 voucher to use. Unfortunately, their airfare was still much more than Delta when we booked so we'll never use the voucher. Oh well.

...sorry so long...it was good to get that off my chest, though.

 

[tonysgal34]

I tried going to the Airtran site to check my ressies, in the manner that someone had suggested and it showed no reservations. There was a statement saying that they only show what we have made since we became a "member", so I hope that is the reason that they don't show anything. They DO ask for all of your info, address, phone number, etc. to become a member though. After reading all of these horror stories I am so disappointed. I truly hope that none of these things happen to us, but we have historical bad luck so at this point I am just figuring on the worst. All of you are brave to fly again. If these things happened to me, I wouldn't fly again, not to mention all this stuff about "vouchers" is a load of crap. It's just to get you to use their airline again. Jeepers, what if you never have flown and don't plan to again? It's not like we're rich here, what do these airlines think?

 

[pamlet]

OK - now I'm the travel agent.

DON'T get all worried - it's OK that you can't see your reservation on the website! Make sure you have their toll free number.

Did buy the tickets directly with AirTran? or on a website? or with a travel agent? - Whoever you purchased your tickets from - ask for the AirTran record locator - that is the code of YOUR reservation - that way you can check periodically with AirTran for any updates to your reservation.

It's really not as scary as you think! LOTS of people fly everyday.. my real advice is to stay informed of what's going on - prepare for what may be delays - but RELAX - you are going on vacation - NOT on a trip that means life or death!!! I traveled for years as a "non-rev" - basically not paying for tickets because I was an airline employee - it was stand-by ONLY - never a guarantee that we were going anywhere - and we still had a blast!! You're going to one of the most magical places on earth... enjoy it - make whatever happens an adventure!

It always make sense to plan for departures from the schedule - but it's not always going to happen! You'll just have extra food and money at your destination - not to mention a clean pair of underwear!!!

Have a wonderful time! Take some good books - some good snacks - and RELAX!!

 

[tonysgal34]

I booked directly with Airtran on their website and I have a confirmation code, but that's it. Any ideas? Also, can I bring anything I want to eat on the plane?

 

[pamlet]

Strange - I would think you should be able to look at your reservations anytime if you purchased from their website - you should give them a call and ask for help.

As for food - it's pretty acceptable to bring a meal on board. Especially since the airlines don't provide much if any. When I traveled w/my kids I'd take sack lunches.. Now I'm usually flying alone on business - I take water/carrots/pretzels and sometimes even a sandwich if it's a long flight. Also I like to take mixed nuts/etc. I try to avoid anything that will get squishy. I like to take chips/pretzels in a hard sided container. No squishy fruit unless I KNOW I'm going to eat it first thing. I was taking an 8am flight pretty consistently from San Antonio to Salt Lake City (about every 2-3 weeks). I'd always take some granola bars and a banana - and bring water and sometimes orange juice. They'd have coffee on the plane. Liquor is another thing - I never know the rules for that - I just make sure I take plenty of singles if I think I'm going to have a drink. They are usually around $4.00 maybe cheaper for beer and wine - once again I'd either check the website - or CALL.

You'll have fun I'm sure!!!

 

[erikthewise]

It's true -- airlines will change anything they feel like. Your seat assignment, the flight time, the aircraft, etc. And of course the flight may be cancelled, even at a late date when it's difficult to find alternatives. In fact it's not at all clear what you are actually buying when you purchase an airline ticket, other than a vague commitment to get you to your destination, on the scheduled date if possible.

On the other hand airlines do like to have satisfied customers, and will generally do their best to help you reach a satisfactory solution when things change.

If you want (relative) assurance that what you paid for is what you will get, fly on an airline that is actually making a profit. (Southwest, who else?) They are less likely to go around changing everything all the time.