Dumbest Booking Error

[brett]

It is no easy to make a mistake.

We have been booking our own travel for years. Air, hotels, ferry, etc.

My practice is now to check it twice before I hit the buy button.

I am now particularly careful about booking accommodation when there are multiple options for no refund, etc.

I was very fortunate a few months ago. Booked air travel to Europe-non refundable. Then realized the next day we had a time sensitive credit on another airline.

I was fortunate. The non refundable Europe air that I booked came with a 24 hour cancel/refund. Just made that deadline by a few hours and was able to get our credit card charge reversed!

I booked a tour in Morocco last week for the end of this month. Just prior to completing the booking the tour operator had a large print warning for customers to double check the YEAR. Apparently it is not uncommon for some customers to mistakenly book the right month, day tour but in the wrong year!

Several airlines let customers hold flights/prices for up to 2 days. We have used this inexpensive option a few times when we have not yet confirmed accommodation, etc.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, thank goodness for the 24 hour cancellation windows. I was really struggling with booking a ÖBB Railjet (train) ticket and when I realized they wouldn’t let me make a reservation on the reservation required train I was able to cancel.

I suppose TAP honors 24 hours cancellation window but after that too bad. Ouch!

 

[brett]

We had non refundable Air Canada tickets to Morocco last Sept. Two days prior to departure the earthquake hit.

I called AC. Even though they were still flying they did agree to bank our flight.

I called six weeks ago to rebook. There would normally have been $175. per ticket service change because of change and because we were booking outside the window that we had been given.

The CSR said hang on, I will speak with my manager. Perhaps the service charges can be waived because of the situation. Ten minutes later she came back on the line and said that you are booked, email sent to you....all fees have been waived. Have a good trip.

That is how you build customer loyalty!

Whenever I need CSR phone assistance I make it a point to call an airline around 2AM or so. Little call waiting and the CSR's seem to be more helpful, less rushed.

 

[Koolau]

We had non refundable Air Canada tickets to Morocco last Sept. Two days prior to departure the earthquake hit.

I called AC. Even though they were still flying they did agree to bank our flight.

I called six weeks ago to rebook. There would normally have been $175. per ticket service change because of change and because we were booking outside the window that we had been given.

The CSR said hang on, I will speak with my manager. Ten minutes later she came back on the line and said that you are booked....all fees have been waived. Have a good trip.

Whenever I have changes or issue I make it a point to call an airline around 2AM or so. Little call waiting and the CSR's seem to be more helpful.

That is how you build customer loyalty!

Air Canada just made a friend for life, I'm assuming. Not bad advertising here on FIRE FORUM as well. Good on them!


Thanks for the 2AM hack as well.

 

[Lorenzo]

Fun thread ... though not at the moment the booking error is discovered.

My worst was calculating the date wrong when returning to the US across the Date Line and finding out my domestic flight home was not until the next day.

The funniest error I have heard was from a fellow traveler on a trip to Moscow who told me he had at first booked a flight home from Moscow, Idaho instead of Russia, before discovering his mistake.

 

[MatatuPuncher]

My brilliant wife (girlfriend at the time) booked our destination wedding/honeymoon plane tickets with her last name for mine and my last name for hers. That was a cluster **** to unravel.

 

[Koolau]

Not truly a booking error, but my office mate went home to India for the holidays and was scheduled to return on (wait for it) January 18, 1991.*



He ended up traveling the rest of the way around the world to get back home. Worst leg was on Aeroflot. He wasn't really certain it would actually make the flight - or even get off the ground. Old city bus in the air was the way he described the experience.









* Gulf War I had just started.

 

[luckydude]

Mine is a minor one. Bought two gondola ride tickets (NZD $86) on-line for Sklyline Rotorua and entered the wrong e-mail address by accident so I never got the tix. Didn't realize it until I closed the browser so I didn't even have a confirmation number for the purchase.

I went to the Skyline Rotorua ticket office to see if I could get the problem sorted, but the line was half an hour's wait. I said "f*** that" and went online again to buy two new tickets, this time making sure I got the e-mail address right. It wasn't worth my precious vacation time to wait 30 minute to try to recoup a lousy USD $50.

 

[athena53]

My brilliant wife (girlfriend at the time) booked our destination wedding/honeymoon plane tickets with her last name for mine and my last name for hers. That was a cluster **** to unravel.

There are plenty of examples on FlyerTalk of couples booking honeymoon flights using the husband's last name for the wife since the flights would be after the wedding- except the wife would have no ID with her married name on it. (Not what happened in your example, of course.) I think you can get through with some paperwork showing proof of the wedding, but it's best to have consistent name son your reservation and your ID.

 

[DJRR]

Worst I did was a family trip to Orlando when my kids were little. Got a really cheap flight at 9:30 and hustled everyone to the airport that morning. Missed one little detail that it was 9:30pm not am

Luckily we got there early, they had seats on the early flight, and after a little running we made the flight. Gate agent took pity on me and no fees. So we ended up getting a cheap early flight just like I planned

 

[sengsational]

^ That reminded me of yet another goof I made...same thing 12 hours off.

I was on the airline's site and it had the option to select morning or afternoon. I selected the morning check box, but of course they listed other flights. I was flying to attend a concert, and even did my "second pair of eyes" by forwarding the confirmation email. Nope, neither I, nor my cuz noticed the flight landed as the concert was ending. By the time I noticed it, the ticket was 5X, so didn't even go.