Thai Airways has inconsistent change fee policy

Date: 31 July 2013
Airline: Thai Airways
Location: Seoul, South Korea to LAX
Flight: TG692

When I made reservation drop down menu online did not have the return date I wanted. I called to verify and was told that arriving date change fee is $0. They only have $150 fee for outbound changes which states on their reservation confirmation. I was told to call back later after making the reservation to change the date I wanted. Now that I called to change the date, they're saying its $350 per ticket, total of $700.

Their terms and conditions / restrictions specify that ticket is good for one year but representative told me it is actually 6 months and that I have to pay to get an extension. None of their disclaimer links work either. Nowhere in the ticket or reservation confirmation state the fee of date change other than outbound flight. Consumers are deceivingly sold and unlawfully charged without proper notices.

Delta forces family into worst seats on the plane

Date: 9 April 2012
Airline: Delta Airlines, flight 3482
Location: Atlanta, GA

My family of four flew Delta to Savana, GA for Easter vacation this year. On our return flight, our seats were changed at the boarding gate from rows fourteen and fifteen to row nine without explaination. Upon boarding the plane, our orginal seats and new seats were occupied. My family and I were forced to sit in the last row of the plane, row twenty. The flight attendents made no attempt to resolve the problem.

Overhead storage and leg room were occupied in two of our seats by "flight crew" baggage, no window seat, the last row was next to the engines and restroom where every passenger slammed the door and we were last to receive in-flight services. I contacted both Delta's president Ed Bastian and CEO Richard Anderson who arrogantly and insultingly sent me flight vouchers for future flights on their pathetic airline when I requested a refund of the flight.

-Jim

Note from AirSafe.com Unfortunately, in the US airlines are allowed to make these kinds of last minute changes without penalty, and are not required to provide passengers with any compensation. However, any reasonable person would agree with the passenger that this treatment was unacceptable.

While offering free flight vouchers was a good gesture, it would have been much more effective if the airline had also included a full refund as well as some some kind of apology or acknowledgement of the airline's role in ruining that family's flight.

Delta Airline rules put new grandmother in a bad situation

Date: June 2012
Airline: Delta
Location: North Carolina

The reason I am writing is because Delta cancelled a return flight that I had. I booked a round trip ticket from Colorado Springs to North Carolina for June 5th and to return to Colorado Springs on June 30th. I had to get an earlier flight out to North Carolina for an emergency delivery for my daughter's baby.

I am already in North Carolina but I needed that return flight that I paid for and already had booked so I can return home but Delta cancelled my flight and is now trying to charge me a $100 flight change fee plus an extra $700 for a new flight. It is crazy and immoral. My flight should not have been cancelled and I should not have to put out extra money. What can I do to get home because I do not have the money to get another flight? Thank you for your help!

-Karrie

Mystery date change with Singapore Air

Two tickets were purchased and confirmed on 24 November 2011 to fly from Houston to Moscow for 30 April 2012. On Saturday 31 March 2012, I received a phone call from Singapore Air stating that we could not fly on the date of the purchased ticket and had to change the date of departure.

Initially offered an earlier date, I argued against that change since our visas would not allow us into the country for that arrival date.  Then I was told we would have to go either on the 1st or 2nd of May 2012 and settled on 1 May 2012. The tickets were reissued that day with the same ticket numbers and the date of purchase (not change) was backdated to the original purchase date.

When queried about the reason for this change I was not told nor was I told when I called the airline nor was my complaint ever answered by Singapore Air. I would still like us to leave on the original date and return on the original date (22 Jun 2012). To arbitrarily change a date for a purchased ticket without any reason and tell they cannot go on that date is the height of airline arrogance. Although this is the only complaint having used Singapore several times before, this one seems to be serious.

-Jimmy

United can't find confirmed tickets

Date: November 28, 2011
Airline: United fight 1605
Location: San Francisco, CA

I have been a United customer since I took my first flight 41 years ago. United has been instrumental in helping to create many memorable experiences over the years, but my recent trip was the worst traveling experience ever in my many years and miles of traveling.

I arrived at San Francisco airport with my girlfriend to begin our romantic vacation in Costa Rica at 6:45am on November 18, 2011 for my 9 am flight (UA 1605). The agent looked confused and disappeared for 15 minutes. When she returned she stated that she could not find the second leg of our reservation to Costa Rica.

I asked how she knew we were going to Costa Rica if it did not show up, as I had just given her my passport and not my itinerary. I stated I would like to speak with a supervisor if there was a problem. No supervisor showed up. I then showed her my conformation from my travel agent which showed that I had purchased 2 first class tickets for myself and my girlfriend on October 7, 2011 and that we had seat assignments for all 4 legs of the journey.

The agent left again and did not return for 30 minutes. When she returned, she handed us boarding passes. I asked if there were any problems and she stated that everything was in order. I thought it was unusual that it had taken us over 45 minutes to get a boarding pass, but trusted her that everything was in order.

When we arrived in Houston we made our way to the gate. Upon having our passports checked against our boarding passes Christy's boarding pass was taken and we were told she did not have a seat on the flight, UA 1565. The agent in San Francisco had given her a boarding pass with no seat assignment and told us everything was "in order." I asked to
speak with a supervisor and was told one was "on the way."

The agents at the gate, AnnMarie T., Sophia V. and Terri J. were very unhelpful and unfriendly. We were told that the flight was oversold and there was no seat for Christy and that "their" computer had no reservation. I immediately called my travel agent and he made some calls and called me back. (I have a very good travel agent as I work for a very high-end wine estate in Napa valley and the business flies millions of miles a year as we make wine on four different continents). He assured me he spoke with someone at United and United central booking had us in seats 3A and 3B (UA 1565).

I asked again for a supervisor and was told they were on their way. We were not the only passengers this had happen to. There were at least four other groups that had the same situation.

The plane was over 45 minutes late at this point. There were six women crying loudly at the counter and still no supervisor had shown up. I have never seen anything this bad in all of my years of travel. My girlfriend was finally offered a seat in economy and we unhappily boarded the plane. No supervisor ever showed up in the hour and a half we waited at the counter.

We were not even on our way yet and we had already spent two and a half hours at the United counter for tickets we had purchased and were confirmed six weeks prior. Christy cried the whole way to Costa Rica…. So much for our romantic vacation.

The next day my travel agent spent over an hour on the phone with Continental and United to insure this did not happen on our return flight. He was assured by the agents and then assured me that everything was confirmed for our return flight.

We arrived at SJO at 1:30pm on November 28th for our 3:55pm flight (UA1447). We were quickly informed that we did not have seats 3A and 3B as we had reservations for, but that we had economy seats and were on the wait list for First Class. After another hour at the ticket counter we were finally given seats in First Class, but not together.

We went to the gate and waited at that counter for another 45 minutes and they were finally able to switch someone and seat us together. Upon boarding the plane we were greeted by a female flight attendant whose first words to us were, "Is there a problem?" in a very snotty tone. I explained that, No, there was not a problem, but we were having a trying day of travel and would love a drink at her first opportunity.

I was surprised by here level of rudeness. The next surprise was there was no audio/video on the plane! Nothing. We were told this was a "new" plane and this was the way they come. I have never heard of such a thing. When I was departing the airplane I asked for the attendants name that had been rude to us. The other attendants told me that they did not know it and that I needed to get out of the way.

When I politely asked how they did not know their co-workers name, they told me to get off the plane or they would call the police. We were so worn out from the experience we exited the plane in shock. We made the last leg of the journey (UA 1712) with only minor delays.

This was by far my worst traveling experience in my 49 years and I have been all over the world on many different airlines. In my job I participate in many food, wine and travel blogs. While this experience is without a doubt the worst travel experience I have encountered, I have not posted about my experiences yet, and as a life long United customer I am hoping that this story will have a happy ending with United taking responsibility for their mistakes and making this right. That would be a story worth posting about.

I am prepaired to give United a "do over." Correct your mistakes with two First Class tickets to Costa Rica from San Francisco and I can try
to "do over" my romantic vacation.

-John

Airline makes booking mistake and makes passenger pay change fee

Date: 26 April 2012
Airline: Spirit

This is ridiculous!

On Thursday night (26 April 2012) I booked my regular r/t (round trip) from DTW (Detroit, MI) to ACY  (Atlantic City, NJ) on Spirit and TODAY (Saturday 28 April 2012) received the confirmation in my box that Spirit REVERSED my cities! Note that I book this regularly and remember putting in the correct cities:

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
Atlantic City, NJ; 5:00 PM; flight 348
Detroit, MI 6:50 PM

TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012
Detroit, MI 8:10 AM; flight 341
Atlantic City, NJ 9:42 AM

They have me leaving ACY on 5/22 to DTW rather than DTW to ACY!  So I phone them immediately and they say it's past 24 hours (I JUST got their email today!) so they want to charge me $125 for a $136 ticket, for something that was THEIR error.  

Waiting for an hour, supposedly I was handed from supervisor to supervisor, with a man named Anbre Davis telling me that there was no way he could fix my ticket, and that I should just email customer service and even then, after I checked the address with them, they gave me the wrong address.  This isn't fair.  I deserve for them to fix their computer error without a charge.  

Please help me get my complaint through to their higher ups AND put in my complaint that their customer service is a big run around.  They just reiterated their unfair rules.  I didn't make the mistake-- their computer did! Thanks!

- Marcy

Another customer service failure from merger of United and Continental

Letter sent to United CEO Jeff Smisek

Flight scheduled for 5 July 2012

I want to register a complaint about recent arrangements on United for a trip to Maui on July 5, 2012. I have been a loyal United customer for many years, flying domestic and international routes many times. Over the years I have been frustrated by frequent schedule and seating changes. Once again this has raised its ugly head!

You will see that I have flights scheduled through September of this year. I have Multiple Sclerosis and the wife has had recent knee replacement surgery. We always book a bulkhead for our comfort, in Economy Plus. We used to fly Business Class, but the cost is now completely ridiculous.
At any rate, we booked six tickets to Maui. All Economy Plus seats. I held Elite Status at the time I booked this flight. I am not sure what level my status is now as I have not received a new Mileage Plus care since January 2010.

(passenger describes how the current booking arrangement separates family members, including a child)

I spent hours on the phone, mostly waiting to talk to a live person, but to no avail. I was finally transferred to an offshore facility in the Philippines. I talked to two nice ladies, one a supervisor neither who could resolve this issue. I was told by the first CSR named Leri, that customer relations could not call me back. Does the phone only work one way? The supervisor I spoke with said she (Mejia V02873) would have Customer Relations call me on Monday, April 16. Never got the call.

I booked Economy Plus seats, sitting together with my wife daughter and her family. What are you going to do about this? I understand the complexity of merging two airlines. Perhaps this is a result of putting a Continental Airframe on this flight. I had a contract with you and you have not honored it. I pray your organization does not screw up my travel arrangements in September.

Airline Denies Boarding at the Last Minute and Passenger Can't Get Another Flight

This complaint from Charles is an example of what can go wrong if you are denied boarding, but his actions kept the situation from getting much worse.

Airline: Northwest
Flight: NW4310
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Date: 17 November 2009

Attached is a description of an incident which occurred with Delta Air Lines at the Baton Rouge, Louisiana terminal on Tuesday, November 17, 2009. I apologize for the length of this description, however I do want to present all of the things I feel are relevant.

I booked reservations with Northwest Airlines for flight NW 4310 leaving Baton Rouge at 6:20 AM and for following flights. At the time of the reservation, I provided the airline with my credit card information and was advised that I had confirmed reservations and paid for tickets. I received a conformation by e-mail. I arrived at the Baton Rouge airport and checked one bag. I was given a boarding pass and a baggage coupon which indicated the $20.00 charge and a baggage claim check. I was advised by the Delta counter person that I was “all set” and should proceed to the gate area.

After presenting the boarding pass and my ID to the TSA agent, I was allowed through the security screening and preceded to the assigned gate. The Delta agent at the gate explained that it was a small plane; gave me a claim check for my carry-on and told me to surrender it at the end of the ramp before boarding the plane. I was perhaps the fifth person in line to board and when I tried to board the gate agent advised me “that there is something wrong with your boarding pass” and then asked me to wait until the others had boarded. After the plane was loaded, the agent had to ask another agent why the boarding pass wasn’t valid. The second agent advised me that the ticket had never been paid for and I needed to give him my credit card to pay for it. After I did, he advised me that there would be an additional fee (I believe it was $35) since I was paying at the gate. When I objected to this, he told me there was nothing he could do about it, he then advised that it was too late to buy a ticket since it was within ten minutes prior to the flight departure.

I asked the gentleman to at least get my checked bag off the flight, as there were no other flights to Tulsa that day and I would have to hurry and drive to the New Orleans airport for a flight on Southwest. My bag was returned to me at the ticket counter where I was originally issued my boarding pass. They had time to retrieve my checked baggage but didn’t have time to sell me a ticket. I asked to speak to the manager, and a man came up who did not have a name tag, and did not introduce himself. I believe that other counter attendant referred to him as Robert. I explained that I wanted compensation for denied boarding and Robert said it did not apply as the airline had done nothing wrong. I asked to see a written copy of Delta’s procedures on denied boarding and Robert refused. He then gave me a small note with a phone number and advised me to call Delta Customer Service if I had any complaints.

I asked Robert if there was any federal agency I could complain to and he responded ”don’t bother – they ignore complaints.” I then asked him to at least issue a refund for the $20.00 they had charged for my checked baggage. Robert went into an inner office, and some twenty minutes later, he emerged to tell me he had canceled the charges for the checked baggage and had double checked to make sure there were no charges on my credit card for the tickets.

After my trip, using Southwest, my wife called Delta customer service at the number Robert had given me, only to learn that indeed there were charges for the tickets but the airline would issue a refund.

I believe that I was denied boarding on Delta flight NW4310 due to the mistakes of no one other than Delta personnel and subsequently I have been denied compensation. I would appreciate any assistance your office could provide me with this matter

Respectfully;

Charles xxxxxxx

Cc: Manager, Delta Terminal, Baton Rouge Airport
Richard H. Anderson, CEO Delta Air Lines
AirSafe.com Online Complaint Form

AirSafe.com Responds
It seems that Charles did everything right. The ticket was purchased ahead of time, he received confirmation of the purchase by email, and the check in and security screening process went smoothly. For whatever reason, the airline issued a boarding pass, and by the time Charles when from the check in counter to the gate, the airline decided to not accept the ticket.

Unfortunately, there isn't much that Charles can do. Except for cases where a passenger is involuntarily bumped from a flight, there are no federal requirements for reimbursing passengers for delays or flight cancelations. If it turns out that the airline was mistaken about the ticket, then Charles may get some kind of compensation, but that would likely be up to the airline. Charles has certainly done everything to make that possible, including documenting the process.

At one point after he was denied boarding, Charles asked to see a copy of the airline's denied boarding procedure. This was a reasonable request, and he should ask the airline in writing for a copy of their policy.

We agree with the airline that complaining about this situation to a federal government agency will likely do little good. The most relevant agency is the Department of Transportation, and at best the complaint may end up in a statistical summary of airline complaints.

The one recommendation AirSafe.com would give for requesting compensation from the airline is to be very specific in the request. If the airline were at fault, requesting a refund of any extra costs associated with the trip is reasonable. However, Charles may want to consider other compensation such as one or two round-trip tickets.

Photo: Casino Jones