If you booked a Coz trip this summer with Orbitz, (including air) - read this post

[Skinsfan1311]

We booked a trip back in March for an August trip.

We're flying out of BWI, thru DFW, on American Airlines.

The flights were changed, (no biggie), just 1/2hr difference on a couple of legs.

The concern was that our seat assignments were updated on Orbitz, but AA had no record of them for the flights home. In fact, our seat assignments showed up on Orbitz, but those same seats showed up as "available" on the AA site.

I got on-line with AA, called them, and made sure that my seats got assigned. I also printed my itinerary, (complete with flight #'s and seat assignments), from the AA website, just to be safe.

The disturbing thing is that the Orbitz rep insisted that our seats were assigned. The agent at AA said that they were not. I lend more credence to the AA agent.

So....long story short?

Double-check your flights directly with the airline...

 

[kmurray719]

We had the same thing happen to us for a May trip. Every leg of our flights changed times (4 legs total) and orbitz only re-booked my seat assignments, not those of my friend who was traveling with me. They also never notified me of the changes, I noticed because I was checking prices for a friend who was going to join us. I only figured it out because I checked AA.com to make sure nothing else had changed and saw that her seats were not assigned. It turned out to be a non issue, as I was able to choose seats for her as the flights got closer, but I believe there is some kind of inherent flaw in orbitz' system of transferring seat assignments and notifying customers of flight changes. But since I've gotten such amazing prices the past 18 months using their $200 off coupon I'm willing to let it slide!

 

[cdolphin]

I had a package paid/booked six months prior to departure.

Orbitz (or whoever) changed the flights. I don't care about the seat assignments, but they didn't even notify me about the flight change.

The change made me have a ten hour layover in Miami - when the original flight was a two hour layover. This would have caused me to miss my connection to the Bahamas - one flight a day goes into the airport of my destination. Which would have made me miss the entire first day of dives.

Then it took several phone calls to Orbitz, being told they couldn't do anything, finally getting the Supervisor's Supervisor to fix it: but it took hours......and they tried to charge me $150 to change my reservation! I don't think so. And all this a week before my trip. Argh.

Needless to say, I no longer use Orbitz.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I did receive an e-mail from Orbitz that informed us about the flight changes.

 

[DandyDon]

I booked a flight thru a travel agent using Visa card points once. The equipment was changed for one flight, same basic plane but slightly different configuration. The email about my seat reassignment went to the agent since I'd never registered my email and cell phone alerts on the reservation, who did not tell me that I now had a horrible seat. Grr!

When I booked my res thru Orbitz a few months back, I went to the airline site immediately, and sure enough my requests were filed wrong. Changed my seats and registered my email. A good idea no matter how you book, even direct with the airline.

Also good to just look at your res on airline site monthly.

 

[Jaeger45]

I've gotten stuck with multiple flight changes that markedly affected my travel plans through Orbitz.

On the plus side, when I booked through Charlotte this Feb. on Orbitz, and the flight was cancelled due to that huge snowstorm on the east coast, I got a text message and had my flight changed within 20 minutes. Much later, I would have had much worse luck.

 

[DandyDon]

I've gotten stuck with multiple flight changes that markedly affected my travel plans through Orbitz.

On the plus side, when I booked through Charlotte this Feb. on Orbitz, and the flight was cancelled due to that huge snowstorm on the east coast, I got a text message and had my flight changed within 20 minutes. Much later, I would have had much worse luck.

Don't you think that the changes were from the airlines, not Orbitz? And I'm sticking to my above idea: registered the res on the airline site with my email and cell phone for texts.

I'm not pushing the site so much, as I've had problems too. I shop at Sidestep.com who compares Orbitz finds to other sites...

For air & hotel packages of a week, use the 200entertain discount to take $200 off of the room.

For hotels, if Orbitz has the hotel for more than another site, I have a little fun: I screen shoot the other site's offer and save the url, then book at Orbitz, then request the lowest rate guarantee refund and the $50 reward coupon for all of this, after applying my last $50 coupon to the booking. I have to set up an email folder and check it a few times, reminding them, but it's part of the shopping hobby. Many would not want to bother.

For flights alone or cars alone, I never find them useful.​

 

[Jaeger45]

Don't you think that the changes were from the airlines, not Orbitz? And I'm sticking to my above idea: registered the res on the airline site with my email and cell phone for texts.
[/INDENT]

Hmmm. Good question--I'm not sure what issues originated where. Likely, you're right, although it may have been an overbooking issue, in which case I'm note sure where the fault lies.

 

[DandyDon]

Hmmm. Good question--I'm not sure what issues originated where. Likely, you're right, although it may have been an overbooking issue, in which case I'm note sure where the fault lies.

There is always a risk in booking thru any third party site. Always good to find the reservation at the source and register there for more direct control I think. I really don't want the third party to mess with my res after I book it.

 

[judydivescoz]

Orbitz has no control over the airlines schedule changes. Don is right, its important that you check the airlines site as well once you are booked and recheck it periodically. AA just eliminated the entire 2nd leg of my reservation for my October trip leaving me in Dallas not Cozumel. My email is registered with AA and I still got no notification. They just rebooked me on a different day but to Cozumel! Problem solved. Had I not checked, I might find myself vacationing in Dallas instead of diving in Cozumel!!