Travel

United forces another passenger off...

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  • Feb 14th, 2018 8:45 pm
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Deal Expert
Feb 7, 2017
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I was on business trip, and arrived at the Hotel end of day to discover they had just had a fire.
As guests arrived the Front Desk Staff were redirecting folks.

Those who were not Loyalty Members / booked with 3rd Parties were told their reservations would be refunded, and they could meet with a staff member who would help them make other arrangements (if any could be found... it was a very busy week in that particular city due to the HUGE Convention we were in town for). I am guessing that a good many of them got their money back, but not much else.

Loyalty Members were told that other bookings were on HOLD for them with other hotels / hotel chains in the same brand... and that Transportation would be provided to those properties

I was travelling with a colleague... they were ELITE (top layer / mega user). We both got the same deal (other property)... EXCEPT their room was COMPLIMENTARY DUE TO THE ENTIRE INCONVENIENCE. And transportation was not in the hotel shuttle but a town car. Classy.

Right there that whole experience makes the world of difference between the difference in pricing that may or may not be occurring between booking direct and a 3rd Party Reseller

(As I said... lots of times the 3rd Party Price is the same... or if a Loyalty Member you can get that price just by asking for it... plus all the other perks of membership. A savings is not a savings at all when crap goes off the rails and you really need something to be fixed ... go right in your favour)

Buddy & I we’re properly impressed with how the Hotel Brand handed the mess. Just kept us all the more loyal
And they did ok too... that night we happily ate & drank our expense accounts away in the REASSIGNED Hotel Restaurant & Bar
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Sep 21, 2010
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Blowhards and stranded...You are so dramatic w your nonSense.

In actuality this issue has less to do w 3rd party and more to do w UNited but you clearly don't even see that due to logic fail.

For example, I've always used hotels.com w/o any prbs. Again, everything being equal ofc dealing direct is a no-brainer, but when the price diff is 25pc or more, it becomes a no-brainer to use reputable 3rd parties.
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Sep 21, 2010
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l69norm wrote: Don’t the majority of business travellers have to book via their corporate travel agency rather than directly with the airlines?

At my old workplaces, it was mandatory to use the designated corporate travel agency for arranging travel. They propose itineraries that falls with in the company’s travel policies that we were required to select from. We would never book directly with the airlines even if we wanted to.

I had the impression that this is the standard arrangement for most corporate travellers?

As posted above, prior to check in, we deal with the corporate travel agency for changes. The airlines would refer us back to the corporate travel agency for changes prior to the first check in. After check in for the first leg, we can deal with the airline for minor things like cancelled or delayed flights. The airline “takes over the reservation “
No, according to OP, 3rd parties are to be avoided AT ALL COSTS!!!!!! Screw corporate! Deal w a dozen airlines and hotels instead of 1 agency....makes sense!
Even if you have to pay 25pc more or your mom may get cancer if you buy direct...Avoid 3rd party AT ALL COSTS!! /S

I dunno why the dude's so rabid on this issue, freaking joke lol.
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Feb 22, 2016
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PointsHubby wrote: Those who were not Loyalty Members / booked with 3rd Parties were told their reservations would be refunded, and they could meet with a staff member who would help them make other arrangements (if any could be found... it was a very busy week in that particular city due to the HUGE Convention we were in town for). I am guessing that a good many of them got their money back, but not much else.
Loyalty Members were told that other bookings were on HOLD for them with other hotels / hotel chains in the same brand... and that Transportation would be provided to those properties
People like you and I can wave at the Hotels.com blowhard getting his refund (with no vacancies for miles around) while we get shuttled off to our alternative arrangements.... love it!
25% off zero is.... the nearest park bench?
Last edited by EastGTARedFlagger on Jan 28th, 2018 3:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sep 21, 2010
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EastGTARedFlagger wrote: People like you and I can wave at the Hotels.com blowhard getting his refund (with no vacancies for miles around) while we get shuttled off to our alternative arrangements.... love it!
25% off zero is....
Why don't you just admit you're spouting Nonsense and being irrational?

I'll give you a real example:. I booked a hotel via hotels.com and everything was fine. Somehow, the booking was cancelled later on and I checked with the site....Turned out that the *hotel* screwed up, not the "3rd party" you hate so much. Anyway, the site fixed it AND provided a 150$ coupon. Doubtful a hotel would do that but in any event so much for my being "stranded".

My pt has always been ofc direct is great if price diff is negligible, but if the diff gets ridiculous, why not if the site is reputable? Sometimes it's also inefficient like that guy w the corporate arrangement, it's simply not practical/feasible to deal direct in those cases. However, your NEVER USE 3RD PTY NO MATTER WHAT mantra is just simply laughable and utterly ridiculous and frankly quite childish. Get it?
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Feb 7, 2017
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Re - Company Travel Agents

A lot of companies have a relationship with a Travel Agency... insisting that their employee travel for business be only booked through / by that travel agency. So employees just give their needs list to the Agent / Agency... and they do the booking. In bigger corporations, the Agency may even have a presence in-house for this major client... be that an agent or two... or in some big corps HQ a whole Travel Agency Office.

These Relationships usually work for both sides... the Agency gets the biz (and any kick backs... percentage) and the Corp Employer has a lot more control over their Employee travel arrangements and costs. And just pay the Travel Agency for ALL CORP TRAVEL once or twice a month.

Means that typically the employee gets very little say in regards to suppliers... as the Agency picks based on their given parameters with cost etc, and which suppliers they have negotiated deals with on behalf of the Corp (so for example... even though airline XYZ may be the one preferred by the Employee, the go to cause of cost is ABC... or the Hotel list is short... sometimes very short. Like IHG Group OR the Best Western Group... between the 2 they cover most cities / towns / regions... but occasionally the pickings are slim. Still better than a Corp with a Ramada & Choice Hotels selector. IMO the best when working with a Corp is when they have agreements with SPG / Marriott or Hilton.)

* The biggest difference that i’ve Experienced with Corp In-House / Contract Travel Agencies vs any other Travel Agent or 3rd Party Reseller is AVAILABILITY. The Corp INSISTS that someone is available 24/7 x 365 basis, so as to be REACHABLE and handle any UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES... this means the TA is doing all the stressful rearrangements and NOT THE EMPLOYEE / TRAVELLER. It works in this instance because THEY ARE THE PURCHASER... and not so much a 3rd Party (and listed as the Corp... so ABC CORP Travel Dept, on behalf of Employee Joe Blow).
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May 22, 2016
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The fact that the person got into the seat and past all the other check points clearly makes it united's fault. I think the are parts of the story missing since I am sure she could have found another flight and airline are usually pretty good when it comes to close to death situations.
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Feb 22, 2016
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webshark wrote: The fact that the person got into the seat and past all the other check points clearly makes it united's fault. I think the are parts of the story missing since I am sure she could have found another flight and airline are usually pretty good when it comes to close to death situations.
It was United's fault for letting her on the plane. It should be law that once a boarding pass is scanned as valid, the passenger can no longer be removed from that flight unless they violate some other rule (verbally abuses the crew, physical assault, smoking....) that would warrant their removal. If her ticket was cancelled how did she get a boarding pass, but even if she did a online check-in 24 hours earlier and printed off her pass or used her United app (to get past the TSA checkpoint), that should have come up as invalid at the gate.

But this doesn't change the fact that the 3rd party agency cancelled the ticket when they should have left it alone. The agency did that, not United. After that happened what did you expect the airline to do, let her fly on a cancelled ticket?

Given there have been incidents of people getting on the wrong flights and the plane had to turn around... makes you wonder if the barcode reader at the gate really does anything. I shouldn't be able to obtain a boarding pass for the flight to New York and use it to get on the plane to Paris.
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Feb 4, 2010
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Oh great - I'm flying United next month to Tokyo booked via Expedia. Fingers crossed haha. I don't think I have ever booked directly through airlines. I generally avoid American airlines if I can but the deal was too good to pass.

United has some blame because they did board the woman even though the flight was cancelled. They also could have been nice and informed the landlord that she should make the change through the 3rd party vendor as it might result in the ticket being cancelled. I do wonder what the change was and why the landlord didn't receive an email notification of the cancellation.

United also could have been nice and to let the landlord purchase another ticket since there was space on the plane...this just deteriorates their reputation and credibility even further.

Many things don't make sense about this situation - either way could have been completely avoidable.

What I don't understand are why some users so adamant about proving the other's OPINION IS wrong - who cares. You guys arguing in circles about isn't going to change anything.
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Oct 18, 2014
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Jazmina wrote: What I don't understand are why some users so adamant about proving the other's OPINION IS wrong - who cares. You guys arguing in circles about isn't going to change anything.
Agreed. Folks need to learn to agree to disagree and move on. At the end of the day, we have the choice to vote with our wallets and risk tolerance level. Folks should take some accountability when things do go wrong, even if the airline is "at fault".

This is RFD after all, so I expect more folks to go with the lowest price period. Join the discussion at FlyerTalk and you will see the opposite.
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Sep 21, 2004
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McKinsey wrote: Agreed. Folks need to learn to agree to disagree and move on. At the end of the day, we have the choice to vote with our wallets and risk tolerance level. Folks should take some accountability when things do go wrong, even if the airline is "at fault".

This is RFD after all, so I expect more folks to go with the lowest price period. Join the discussion at FlyerTalk and you will see the opposite.
Seriously.

And it's not like people don't have serious issues when booking direct either that can't be resolved.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3994459/air- ... ing-mixup/
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Oct 18, 2014
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Stock R wrote: Seriously.

And it's not like people don't have serious issues when booking direct either that can't be resolved.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3994459/air- ... ing-mixup/
I was wondering when someone would post this :)

I've had this same scenario multiple times last year, despite the infant having their own eticket # and name being attached to one of the pax. AC was able to solve it in about 5-10 mins . EVA on the other hand took nearly an hour...but that's another story.
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Feb 7, 2017
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Stock R wrote:
Seriously.

And it's not like people don't have serious issues when booking direct either that can't be resolved.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3994459/air- ... ing-mixup/
McKinsey wrote: I was wondering when someone would post this :)

I've had this same scenario multiple times last year, despite the infant having their own eticket # and name being attached to one of the pax. AC was able to solve it in about 5-10 mins . EVA on the other hand took nearly an hour...but that's another story.
It’s a strange case for sure...

But the paperwork that I saw in the GLOBAL NEWS Story did not seem to show the Young Daughter’s Name (let alone it spelled wrong)
Absent Name, or Incorrect Name are both VALID REASONS for NO BOARDING PASS BEING ISSUED
British Airways had those concerns cause they too have implemented these rules / Passport & tkt requirements Post 9/11
Adult, Child or Infant in arms... the rule is the same

Did not these Parents CHECK their Tickets / E Tickets in advance to see that the info was correct & complete?

Global News follow up (to come) should reveal more than this first glance story did
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Stock R wrote: Seriously.

And it's not like people don't have serious issues when booking direct either that can't be resolved.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3994459/air- ... ing-mixup/
Moral of the story, NEVER BOOK WITH 3RD PARTY.......DOH! Never mind lol. :D

Disgusting both airlines refuse responsibility here. What a joke.
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Feb 22, 2016
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Then there's this one:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.4490414

Scully says in the future it's unlikely she will book travel via a third party.
"Even though it's more expensive, I would just rather book directly with the airline because then the airline would be able to help me."


Traveller admits her mistake and won't do it again. Sounds like rational behavior to me...
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Feb 22, 2016
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PointsHubby wrote: But the paperwork that I saw in the GLOBAL NEWS Story did not seem to show the Young Daughter’s Name (let alone it spelled wrong)
Absent Name, or Incorrect Name are both VALID REASONS for NO BOARDING PASS BEING ISSUED
...
Did not these Parents CHECK their Tickets / E Tickets in advance to see that the info was correct & complete?
Global News follow up (to come) should reveal more than this first glance story did
Whether you booked directly or with a third party, giving incorrect/incomplete info for the ticket is inviting trouble. Unfair to blame BA and AC when the customer messed up their own booking!

Also, these travellers violated another one of my rules to live by (to avoid trouble) -- on a given trip it's best to fly with just one airline, or failing that, codeshares of one airline, or failing that, all with the same alliance (taking advantage of the integration in ticketing, airport layouts, baggage handling, etc). You don't want to change between AC (Star Alliance) and BA (OneWorld). Then you end up with the finger-pointing. They should have gone all Star (so maybe Turkish Airways the whole way, or AC connecting with Lufthansa?) or all One (British Airways the whole way, or connect with Royal Jordanian).
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Nov 10, 2015
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Let's give United a little credit. They didn't let the peacock on the plane, or it's idiot owner.
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Feb 15, 2006
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tranquility922 wrote: No, according to OP, 3rd parties are to be avoided AT ALL COSTS!!!!!! Screw corporate! Deal w a dozen airlines and hotels instead of 1 agency....makes sense!
Even if you have to pay 25pc more or your mom may get cancer if you buy direct...Avoid 3rd party AT ALL COSTS!! /S

I dunno why the dude's so rabid on this issue, freaking joke lol.
Sounds like you don't know that most hotels have this thing call price match. If you find cheaper price elsewhere, you can get the same price directly with most hotels, while also getting loyalty points and maybe other perks with the hotels.

Why getting overly dramatic by talking about people booking direct and their mom get cancer. If you want to present some views, it's best to be mature about it and not resort to that type of nonsense.

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