flight agent told us flight was cancelled and cost to change but was never really cancelled
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wigan_nic
Posts: 8 Forumite
My first post here. In a nutshell I booked flights via a flight specialist for my daughter and boyfriend back in September. Checking details about a week ago I discovered the outgoing flight time was changed, so urgently emailed the flight specialist to check as the layover was now 7.5 hours. After a couple of days they told me that the flight had been cancelled and the money was refunded. They looked for an alternative, but it was to cost an additional 887 pounds. So it was paid and tickets now issued.
The problem is, when I checked that flight which was supposed to be cancelled, it IS still flying, but at the original time, not the changed time. It is scheduled even now. However I have had to pay an additional close on 900 to get them on a similar flight.
So, do I have any legal comeback on this firm? Original flight with Qatar was close on 3000. The total flights now cost me close on 3900 via Emirates. Manchester to Johannesburg (return).
Both the first tickets and the additional have been paid on credit card.
Advice please.
The problem is, when I checked that flight which was supposed to be cancelled, it IS still flying, but at the original time, not the changed time. It is scheduled even now. However I have had to pay an additional close on 900 to get them on a similar flight.
So, do I have any legal comeback on this firm? Original flight with Qatar was close on 3000. The total flights now cost me close on 3900 via Emirates. Manchester to Johannesburg (return).
Both the first tickets and the additional have been paid on credit card.
Advice please.
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Comments
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Who is the "flight specialist"?
Can you post dates, routing and flight number for the original flight as well as the modified time?0 -
Travelhouse based in London is the agent.
Outbound Manchester to Johannesburg via Doha on Qatar. Flight QR0024 dated 14th December at 2110, arrival 15th December.
This flight time changed to 1410, so mass panic changing taxi etc. I requested Travelhouse look at changing the layover by finding a better flight (originally 2 hours, went to 7.5 hours in Doha), and flight was QR1359. That was about a week ago.
Next message from them (yesterday 10th December) was the flight had been cancelled and refunded, and they were looking for better options. They said closest flight was Emirates EK0020 from Manchester at 2040 dated 14th December to Dubai, 2 hours layover, and EK0763 to Johannesburg. Additional cost 887.
I've not included return details.
So the flight is similar times but more expensive. I had an email saying please call urgently, which I did. and this is where we ended up after about 2 hours and additional payment to change from Qatar to Emirates.
I'm currently in SA we traveled out last week on the 1410 flight from Manchester (5th December) and conversation was mostly over whatsapp voice call and email and whatsapp message. Interestingly the first attempt to pay was declined by the CC and I got an anti fraud text. So I had to phone them to unblock the card, and second attempt at the payment was successful. Incurred overseas call charges.0 -
So it seems the DOH JNB sector (QR1359) which was cancelled. Is that right?
The MAN DOH flight may have been changed in order to allow you to connect thru to JNB. A computer, rather than a human, would likely have selected what it deemed the best alternative and simply sent details to the agent.
When flight changes like this occur there is normally an option to accept the change, or to cancel and obtain a refund. It is always wise to self check other flight options and if unhappy with the auto generated reprotection then call the airline and ask for the alternative of your choice.
I wonder if messages got confused when Travelhouse told you about the rescheduling and when the longer layover in DOH was questioned and objected to they somehow interpreted your wish to cancel with QR rather than accept the longer connection time. When you later highlighted the problem perhaps that is why the new Emirates flight offer at a higher price is now being touted. If this is the case it might be difficult to establish fault especially if conversations were over the telephone or WhatsApp rather than in writing on email.0 -
Westin seems to have it right. It's not QR 0024(landing 0650 hrs) that was cancelled, but QR 1359(leaving 0840 hrs). A 1 hr 50 min stopover. Last flight perhaps on the 20th of November. So no reasonable connection available for QR0024.
So they will have moved you to QR 0028/QR 1363 with a 2 hr stopover or the QR 0028/QR 1377 with a 6 hr 45 min stopover.
You should have simply requested to be moved to the QR 0028/QR 1363 combo free of charge.
What you actually did is somewhat confusing.0 -
From your account it sounds like you triggered the cancellation by asking them to find a better flight rather than the airline or travel agent.0
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Surely the job of the agent is to work through the best options. It appears there were better options. We rejected the Emirates flights due to cost, the pp price average 500 return at this time has cost nearly 2000 pp, up from 1500 pp.
So my issue remains. For whatever reason the agent has not given me the best value option and I am out of pocket. Why should I pay for someones' incompetence? What comeback do I have?
(thank you to all for your responses so far, checking the Qatar online booking there is still an option on the 1410 flight to here, today...)0 -
Surely the job of the agent is to work through the best options. It appears there were better options. We rejected the Emirates flights due to cost, the pp price average 500 return at this time has cost nearly 2000 pp, up from 1500 pp.
So my issue remains. For whatever reason the agent has not given me the best value option and I am out of pocket. Why should I pay for someones' incompetence? What comeback do I have?
(thank you to all for your responses so far, checking the Qatar online booking there is still an option on the 1410 flight to here, today...)
You stated that you paid for the Emirates tickets and now you claim that you rejected them.
What about your competence? Did you bother to check the Qatar website for the options best suited and then put them to the agent?
So far, you have shown that your subject title is completely incorrect. The flight was cancelled.
Your posts are somewhat confusing to read, so it could be that your communication with the travel agent was equally confusing.
Perhaps you gave them the impression that afternoon flights were no good and that you wanted something closer to the original flight times. Hence the evening flights offered with Emirates.
Only you know what you said and how you said it.
Did you ask them if there was a shorter connection to the (QR 0028)1410 hrs flight? You claim there was a 7.5 hr stopover, when no such stopover exists with that combo.
What exactly do you want the travel agent to do for you?0 -
The agent told me initially the flight was cancelled. As someone pointed out above they should have simply moved the Doha leg to the qr1363, but they didn't. That's all I needed the agent to do.
QR28 due to arrive 0010 local. QR1359 was due to depart Doha 0840 (now cancelled) Layover was 8.5 hours. My error.
Cancelled implies there is no route from A to B. But this wasn't / isn't the case, as pointed out. QR1363 should have been used instead of QR1359. That's a change, not a cancellation.
It is very easy sat with a laptop on the internet to work all this out, but I'm on the other end of a voice line, working out final preparations for a wedding among other things. I was far from a safe place to get a laptop out, or even get internet, which goes off during 'load shedding' (google it).
So in answer I expect the travel agent to do their work, I should not have to do it for them, it is called delegation. They said, flight cancelled, option is to refund and find a better flight.
It is up to the travel agent who apparently spent a couple of hours looking, to explain why they didn't do that second leg transfer. why should I have to tell them that?
- this is part of a complex plan getting people from the US, and other places in the UK together, and flights to/from Botswana, into and out of camp, and they were made aware of the needs with passengers traveling separately then needing to be together. Arranging flights isn't rocket science with a laptop in front of you, but that was denied to me when all this started, the agent merely had to play their part. I did contact them over the first flight change before I flew out but they failed to respond adequately to that.
The correct answer from the travel agent should have been,"we have a flight change for you" not "a flight has been cancelled.
In my job clients expect me to deliver a solution, results, not problems without options to address them.
So, back to the original issue, if I expect the agent to do the logical and right thing, and they screw up (misinformation / insufficient / etc. to me I have no way of validating) when options are offered), where does the liability rest?0 -
The agent told me initially the flight was cancelled. As someone pointed out above they should have simply moved the Doha leg to the qr1363, but they didn't. That's all I needed the agent to do.
QR28 due to arrive 0010 local. QR1359 was due to depart Doha 0840 (now cancelled) Layover was 8.5 hours. My error.
Cancelled implies there is no route from A to B. But this wasn't / isn't the case, as pointed out. QR1363 should have been used instead of QR1359. That's a change, not a cancellation.
It is very easy sat with a laptop on the internet to work all this out, but I'm on the other end of a voice line, working out final preparations for a wedding among other things. I was far from a safe place to get a laptop out, or even get internet, which goes off during 'load shedding' (google it).
So in answer I expect the travel agent to do their work, I should not have to do it for them, it is called delegation. They said, flight cancelled, option is to refund and find a better flight.
It is up to the travel agent who apparently spent a couple of hours looking, to explain why they didn't do that second leg transfer. why should I have to tell them that?
- this is part of a complex plan getting people from the US, and other places in the UK together, and flights to/from Botswana, into and out of camp, and they were made aware of the needs with passengers traveling separately then needing to be together. Arranging flights isn't rocket science with a laptop in front of you, but that was denied to me when all this started, the agent merely had to play their part. I did contact them over the first flight change before I flew out but they failed to respond adequately to that.
The correct answer from the travel agent should have been,"we have a flight change for you" not "a flight has been cancelled.
In my job clients expect me to deliver a solution, results, not problems without options to address them.
So, back to the original issue, if I expect the agent to do the logical and right thing, and they screw up (misinformation / insufficient / etc. to me I have no way of validating) when options are offered), where does the liability rest?
A very long winded post....and you have it completely wrong again, even though I outlined it for you.
First of all, your original flights were QR 0024/QR 1359, so how could the agent be expected to add QR 1363 to QR 0028, when QR 0028 wasn't your flight in the first instance?
QR 0024 lands at 0650 hrs and QR 1363 takes off at 0210, so a nineteen and a half hour stopover. Is that what you wanted?
Obviously not, so why are you writing here that is what the agent should have done??
In addition to this, the travel agent cannot change anything for you unless you request it.
So once you contacted them, they could see that the only viable flights were in the afternoon and not the evening anymore. In other words your original outbound flight of QR 0024 was no longer viable because it's connecting flight of QR 1359 had been cancelled.
So they offered QR 0028 which leaves MAN at 14.10, because that has a viable connecting flight of the QR 1363 to go with it.
They certainly didn't offer QR 0028 in conjunction with QR 1359 with an 8.5 hr stopover, because, as we know it was the QR 1359 that was cancelled in the first place.
So they must have offered you either QR 0028/QR 1363 or QR 0028/QR 1377.
Impossible for them to offer QR 0028 / QR 1359 as you infer, since QR 1359 simply did not exist.
is what the airline would have changed it to in the first place. But when you saw the email, you panicked, instead of accepting the change and ended up getting your flights cancelled altogether.
Perhaps you insisted that you wanted to fly in the evening and not in the afternoon. In that case, the agent would have no choice but to follow your instruction, since the combo in the picture above is the best the airline could offer.
It is more than likely this was what was offered to you in the first place, but you got confused and ended up getting your tickets cancelled.
No one is blaming you for your confusion, but it doesn't necessarily appear to be the fault of the travel agent either.
Though one would wonder quite why you only found out about the change "a week ago". It was on the agent/airline to inform you of the changes.
Last flight of QR 1359 was in November.0 -
You work for or represent travelhouse?
Im taking it up with them.0
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