Warning about Vacation Express

[CRSNDSNY]

I'm not sure how they advertise in your area, but in my area they advertise direct flights to Orlando/Sanford.

Lo and behold, I get a call from them yesterday not only saying that my flight has changed departure from SFB from 5:40pm to 1pm (HUGE change, but even semi understandable) BUT, it is no longer a direct flight home. I'm bummed out!

 

[paladin]

One thing to keep in mind when reading ads for flights - "direct" in airline-speak means that there is no change of plane, it does not mean that it is non-stop. So a direct flight can stop at other airports than your destination, but you don't get off and change to another plane. Not sure if this is what happened in your case or if you actually have to change planes now.

 

[CarolA]

Vacation Expresss is a charter airline.

As such they can pretty much change your schedule and/or cancel the whole flight and not have to do much for you. If they change the schedule you are stuck. If they cancel all they do is refund you the money.

This in my mind is the big drawback with them.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Totally understandable.
But it still stinks and I'm still bummed out.

 

[DebbieB]

I've done charter trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas (various airlines). They would never give us our final flight times until a week or two before the trip. We did have to stop in Cincinnati on one trip Pittsburgh to Las Vegas. No change of plane, so it wasn't a big deal.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

My mother does NOT like to fly so it is now two take-off and landings and it adds another hour and a half to the trip. I booked them dispite having frequent flyer miles to use next month.

It was only a couple of hundred dollars cheaper to take Vacation Express but the whole point of using Vacation Express was it was faster and non-stop.

It is also more expensive to get a towncar up and back to Sanford instead of MCO so I'm not sure we'll be saving any money at all.

Back to USair.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by MaryKatesMom
Back to USair.

I agree. I told Vacation Express's Customer Service, "I'll be switching back to Delta from now on." Next week's flight will be through VE, which gives me my third flight with them in less than 3 months. I have two more flights to Orlando coming up in the next 6 months and told them I'll be flying Delta.

 

[Zoo Keeper]

I haven't been contacted by VE yet but I was on their website and noticed that the flight I booked that was advertised as "Non-Stop" (yes "non-stop" not "direct") was now going through Youngstown Ohio. It's a little over three weeks until I fly so I wonder what else could change? or when they will notify me?

 

[CRSNDSNY]

They will call you about two weeks out from your flight, unless your documents arrive in the mail from them with the changes noted.