Help...they changed our flight times...

[SusanD]

We are flying out of Miami (cruise before WDW) and have had the tickets booked for six months. A few weeks ago they called to say the have changed the one flight a day to Miami from a morning flight to a red eye. Oh joy...however we agreed and they were flying us out the night before the original reservation.

The plot thickens as I try to check on the seat assignments last night. It turns out that the return flight was also changed and is now leaving at 8am instead of 5:50pm. The problem is we will still be in Orlando at that time and have a four hour drive ahead of us.

After a lot of time on hold with Alaska Airlines they agree to give us coupons for hotel and meal costs for the additional night and will fly us out the next morning. My question is...do I make a hotel reservation (New Year's Eve) or does the airline have this covered? I plan on calling them directly but I am curious if any frequent flyers have had this situation.

 

[CarolA]

The hotel vouchers will only be good at the hotels they work with. So you need to call them, find out which hotels and probably call the hotel yourself to be safe.

 

[SusanD]

I am planning on calling them after the Thanksgiving weekend and getting it clarified.

 

[cruiseonmagic]

Hi Susan,
I used to be a res. supervisor for an airline and have a question for you. Do you really want to drive to miami? Alaska changed the time, now you can change the itinerary. Fly home from Orlando! Most (if not all) airlines allow "open jaw" flights--fly into one city, and leave from another. The one way charge for the car will be next to nothing, and you won't have to drag luggage in and out of another hotel. Just explain that you really can't take the time for the extra day, don't want to have to pay for the car for another day, and even though the airline is paying for the hotel and meals, you would be willing to fly from MCO on the original day if they have the space (they do). If the agent doesn't have the authority to make the change, ask if you can speak with a supervisor. If you keep the tone of the conversation casual , and don't demand, you'll more than likely get what you want--within reason.

Bill

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by cruiseonmagic
...Do you really want to drive to miami? Alaska changed the time, now you can change the itinerary. Fly home from Orlando! Most (if not all) airlines allow "open jaw" flights--fly into one city, and leave from another. The one way charge for the car will be next to nothing, and you won't have to drag luggage in and out of another hotel. ...

I'm with cruiseonmagic 100% here. Definately make them send you home from Orlando. They changed the times, giving you a penalty free change to the itinerary. The only costs you would be responsible for should be the price differential in the flights. You've got a long enough flight back to PBX, so you might as well save yourselves even more travelling time and fly out of MCO.

Good luck!

 

[KittyKitty]

That sounds like a reasonable request,to go from MCO to PDX.

Also, make sure you get seat assignments.

Have a wonderful time and let us know how it went.



Susan