Husband being deployed - anyway to cancel airfare?

[arizonacolbys]

I just found out on Friday my husband will be deployed for a year to the Middle East this Fall. We currently have flight/hotel booked for a trip to Disney in Sept & he will be gone.

I called Continental just now to see if we provide his orders if we would be able to switch the flight to this summer instead of just cancelling completely. She was SO rude to me. I understand people probably try to change flights all the time without fees, but I really thought they would be willing to change my flight around due to my husband being deployed.

She got very rude telling me they were running a business & there was no way she could change our flight unless we paid a $150 change fee per ticket + any ticket pricing differences. She raised her voice & told me she would not help me when they were about to layoff 500 people.

Does anyone have any experience with flight adjustments due to military deployments?? Please help

 

[Joan S.]

Hi, I would CALL BACK and without getting into a discussion tell the person answering the phone that you want a SUPERVISOR to speak with immediately!! She had NO RIGHT being RUDE to you!! We ALL DEAL with personal problems everyday, that does not give her the right to be rude to you. When you get a supervisor tell her what happened and then tell her why you want to change your dates and see if they can help you. GOOD LUCK!! And a SPECIAL THANK YOUto your DH for serving!! Joan

 

[wdwaholic2]

I hope you got her name. Call back and nicely ask to speak with a supervisor and explain your situation and the way you were treated by a CUSTOMER SERVICE REP from her airline. If they can't help you in any way, then they can say it with kindness.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I think the agent was far out line, but in regards to waiving the fee, I don't think they should.

You had the option at purchase to purchase a refundable airfare, but didn't.

 

[grimley1968]

Sounds like you reached an extremely unprofessional CSR. Having said that, I doubt you'll get anywhere getting refunds for the tix, unless you paid for refundable tickets.

But given the circumstances it really seems like they could change your flight dates and waive that change fee.

I'd call back and ask for a supervisor immediately.

Please add my thanks to your DH for his service.

 

[Sleepy]

In the future, invest in trip insurance if it covers these situations. As a military family, we always knew deployments could happen at anytime. Transfer clauses are good for getting military members out of contracts such as rent, cell phones, etc, but in this case, he is just going on a deployment. You are not going with him, so technically, you can still go. I understand it is not fair in the sense that you can't control this, but this is the chance we take as military when at any moment, they could be gone and plans have to be cancelled. Good luck. Maybe you can find a sympathetic supervisor who will give in and change the rules.

 

[arizonacolbys]

Thanks for the advice & kind words about my husband serving. He is in the National Guard, so we are not a full time military family & have never had to deal with this all before.

Thankfully my husband was able to call Continental on his lunch break today & he spoke to a very nice woman that was able to switch it around for us. She charged us $53/ticket out the door, instead of the $150/ticket + taxes/fees the first woman wanted to charge us - that would have been equal to what we paid for the tickets in the first place!

 

[grimley1968]

Thanks for the advice & kind words about my husband serving. He is in the National Guard, so we are not a full time military family & have never had to deal with this all before.

Thankfully my husband was able to call Continental on his lunch break today & he spoke to a very nice woman that was able to switch it around for us. She charged us $53/ticket out the door, instead of the $150/ticket + taxes/fees the first woman wanted to charge us - that would have been equal to what we paid for the tickets in the first place!

That's good news. I was hoping they'd just change it for him gratis (given the circumstances), but that's certainly a better outcome than the original post.

 

[princessfionasmom]

Oh you are much nicer than I am! We have a trip planned for Oct and DH has standby orders to go to middle east in August when he's done with his 3 month training in CA. Unless someone volunteers to take his spot, he's going. My first question to him was, oh no do we have to cancel our WDW trip? He laughed and said NO, that it will give me another excuse to get another trip in when he gets back, plus we won't be able to get the great deal on those military tickets after december.

I am saying this all in good fun. I really did seriously think about canceling because it just won't be the same without him there but it will also give the kids something to look forward too. They are already having a hard time with him being gone for a month so far so having a trip while he is gone will help them, I hope. Also, if we could have gone this summer before he left, we definitely would have changed it too. His orders to training where so last minute we couldn't do anything.

I am glad you got to change your trip and I hope you all have a great time togther. From one part-time military wife to another, .

 

[arizonacolbys]

Oh you are much nicer than I am! We have a trip planned for Oct and DH has standby orders to go to middle east in August when he's done with his 3 month training in CA. Unless someone volunteers to take his spot, he's going. My first question to him was, oh no do we have to cancel our WDW trip? He laughed and said NO, that it will give me another excuse to get another trip in when he gets back, plus we won't be able to get the great deal on those military tickets after december.

I am saying this all in good fun. I really did seriously think about canceling because it just won't be the same without him there but it will also give the kids something to look forward too. They are already having a hard time with him being gone for a month so far so having a trip while he is gone will help them, I hope. Also, if we could have gone this summer before he left, we definitely would have changed it too. His orders to training where so last minute we couldn't do anything.

I am glad you got to change your trip and I hope you all have a great time togther. From one part-time military wife to another, .

Thanks I think it's great that you are taking your kids down while hubby is away! My MIL did that for my SIL's when my FIL was deployed & it was a very special trip for all of them. I think it helps make such a hard time a bit easier on everyone. My hubby almost deployed at Christmas last year & we were only given like a 2 week notice at Thanksgiving time. My husband was one of 5 officers pulled to go & they only ended up needing 3 of them, so somehow we got out of that one by the skin of our teeth. I hope you have a great trip, too!

 

[skoi]

Glad you got it more or less worked out. When dh deployed last year to Afghanistan on an AE assignment through the Navy Reserve, we went on our trip (including cruise) without him. I found many larger companies with which I dealt (travel insurance, Disney, a few others) weren't willing to work with us when changes had to be made. Didn't care about sudden deployment, etc. Local companies, however, were great, and we don't live in a military area so was surprised by that.

Anyway- our thoughts are prayers are with you and all other military families. For families of NG/Reserves who haven't been through deployment knowing what to do and being prepared ahead of time as full time military families know how, isn't always an option. Oftentimes (as in dh's case) reserve command in the units don't do much to pass on information, or even point troops to where the info can be obtained. It's a trial and error thing for families, especially families like ours from units that don't get sent as a unit (therefore no real family support or extended community). And there is often little or no contact among families because the reserves are a small part of their lives (until deployment) and then it's a huge thing. I'm sure other units are very different, but this has been my observation.

Just a little perspective on deployment from a reservist's wife's point of view.
For OP: It'll pass quicker for you than him, I think. We have four kids and it wasn't nearly as horrible as I thought it'd be.

 

[Sleepy]

For families of NG/Reserves who haven't been through deployment knowing what to do and being prepared ahead of time as full time military families know how, isn't always an option. Oftentimes (as in dh's case) reserve command in the units don't do much to pass on information, or even point troops to where the info can be obtained. It's a trial and error thing for families, especially families like ours from units that don't get sent as a unit (therefore no real family support or extended community). And there is often little or no contact among families because the reserves are a small part of their lives (until deployment) and then it's a huge thing. I'm sure other units are very different, but this has been my observation.

Please don't think that being active duty gets you a hand holding predeployment briefing where you are issued a novel sized booklet full of information on how to handle everything while your spouse is gone. Actually, it is quite the opposite. Of my experiences (active duty Navy spouse), the briefing was alot of "send letters, e-mail, and packages." Most spouses and children move back home so they can get the extra help while the military member is away. You don't hear from them. Most of us don't live in base housing, so we don't have a large close knit group for support. In fact, we lived 30 miles away from the base for 13 years and all of our friends were civilian. Of my deployment support group, we all met online. You can actually get more assistance by connecting with others in your situation and learning from their "trials and errors".

The info I learned, I learned from the "trial and error" you all experience. I took that knowledge and used it the following deployment where I learned even more for the one after that (and I had many years of constant deployments). For the most part, I have found that military clauses in contracts do help the military member with permanant change of orders, but with everything else (temporary assignments), we usually have to follow the rules like everyone else.

We have to just do everything with the attitude something could change, so what would I do in the event I have to cancel. In the end, the only thing that saves us is our questions at time of purchase or a sympathetic ear when things go in a direction we were not planning on. I always try to remember that we are not the only ones in these circumstances. There are doctors who plan a vacation, then find themselves being called in at the last minute and have to cancel a vacation. Do you think the representative from an airline is going to be sympathetic to hearing about a critical surgery that needed to be performed?

I understand that war is serious and people could die, but the bottom line is when you have a job that has you on call at all times, you must be prepared for the event that you have to cancel and you must figure out what you need to do to prevent loss of money before that time comes. Trust me, the command is not going to have those anwers for you. It is up to you to enter every contract and purchase by asking them the question, "We are military. In the event we are called to duty, how can I ensure I will not lose my money." or "Do you have a military clause in the event my spouse is called to war?" Be specific. There is a difference between permanant orders and something temporary. Get everything in writing. Not just a quick sentence or two in an e-mail. Get the link to the actual contract/agreement before entering contract or making purchase. Since every company has different rules, be sure to cover yourself even if it is something that seems pretty cut and dry or something that you don't think in a million years cancelling would even be a consideration. Good luck in the future.

 

[arizonacolbys]

Thanks for everyone's replies - I really did not want this to turn into a debate about who is deserving of a change in airfare & who isn't. We are not full-time military, in fact, my husband's IRR time was up this November, so this deployment is completely unexpected. We will no longer be a "military" family once he returns next year. Sorry this thread has turned into a debate....thank you for the support & well wishes that were offered.

 

[mamato3princesses]

From one military family to another, thanks to YOU, your DH, and your family for YOUR service!!!

 

[MAH4546]

Thanks for the advice & kind words about my husband serving. He is in the National Guard, so we are not a full time military family & have never had to deal with this all before.

Thankfully my husband was able to call Continental on his lunch break today & he spoke to a very nice woman that was able to switch it around for us. She charged us $53/ticket out the door, instead of the $150/ticket + taxes/fees the first woman wanted to charge us - that would have been equal to what we paid for the tickets in the first place!

Chances are you were technically still charged $150/ticket, but since the new fare bucket you purchased were $97 lower, you only had to make up the $53 difference.

 

[skoi]

After seeing OP's second post, I removed my reply to a response to my original post.

Apologies to OP for causing acrimony. Didn't think sharing my experiences would get people so angry.

 

[sapper6]

Get a copy of your husbands deployment orders and provide them to a supervisor at the airlines. They should certainly refund the airfare. Rangers Lead the Way!

 

[horseshowmom]

Thanks for everyone's replies - I really did not want this to turn into a debate about who is deserving of a change in airfare & who isn't. We are not full-time military, in fact, my husband's IRR time was up this November, so this deployment is completely unexpected. We will no longer be a "military" family once he returns next year. Sorry this thread has turned into a debate....thank you for the support & well wishes that were offered.

Thanks from my family too!

BTW, under the circumstances, I DO think any fee change should have been waived.

Best wishes for your husband and your family during this time.

 

[Sleepy]

Didn't think sharing my experiences would get people so angry.

I don't think anyone here is angry. We all have given our experiences that have been helpful. Some have shared the rules. Some have even offered advice on how to handle business in the future. Getting information and sharing experiences is what this board is all about. Your addition to the discussion was informative. It just solidified the fact that the military is less than helpful to family members.

 

[LWatson]

Oh you are much nicer than I am! We have a trip planned for Oct and DH has standby orders to go to middle east in August when he's done with his 3 month training in CA. Unless someone volunteers to take his spot, he's going. My first question to him was, oh no do we have to cancel our WDW trip? He laughed and said NO, that it will give me another excuse to get another trip in when he gets back, plus we won't be able to get the great deal on those military tickets after december.

I am saying this all in good fun. I really did seriously think about canceling because it just won't be the same without him there but it will also give the kids something to look forward too. They are already having a hard time with him being gone for a month so far so having a trip while he is gone will help them, I hope. Also, if we could have gone this summer before he left, we definitely would have changed it too. His orders to training where so last minute we couldn't do anything.

I am glad you got to change your trip and I hope you all have a great time togther. From one part-time military wife to another, .

Check w/ the ITT/ITR office near you because our ITR office here is putting out you cant use those tickets w/o the sponsor there.