Not safety, but an issue with names on the reservation. Booked a flight for a friend for yesterday from Puerto Vallarta to Cancun, done thru Orbitz. The confirmation from Orbitz had her three names correct, but it seems that Orbitz sent Aeromexico only the first (and to us) last name. Where in reality the middle name is the proper family name in Mexico. It is like Jane Lisa Doe IS NOT Jane Doe!
She rode 4 hours with two kids to get to the airport two hours early, only to find that the ticket counter would not honor her reservation. Mind you, this was not an international flight with security concerns. She had to call me, but Aeromexico would not even speak to me.
In desperation I called Orbitz (hard to find a telephone number for them) and was on the phone with them for hours until it was too late to catch the flight (last one of the day). Even though Orbitz called Aeromexico repeatedly they would not relent. During my calls to Orbitz the first agent hung up on me after about 45 minutes, then finally I demanded a supervisor who helped make a reservation for today. But there she was stuck 4 hours from her families home with two kids and limited money.
I did get Orbitz to pay for a cheap room but guess what? When she got there the reservation was not honored because they once again used only her first and last name not her full Mexican legal name. Had to call Orbitz again and luckily the hotel was a bit more reasonable and let her in. I was able to quickly wire her some money so she and the kids could eat and pay for taxis, and thankfully today they are enroute to Cancun.
While maybe interesting, the take away from this is that whenever making a reservation in Mexico or Mexican Airline make certain that the Mexican organization has the complete name as it appears on your passport or ID. That is really important when doing so through a third party such as Orbitz.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
PS I am amazed that Orbitz is/was not sensitive to this (they did it again at the hotel) but maybe the rest are just as stupid
She rode 4 hours with two kids to get to the airport two hours early, only to find that the ticket counter would not honor her reservation. Mind you, this was not an international flight with security concerns. She had to call me, but Aeromexico would not even speak to me.
In desperation I called Orbitz (hard to find a telephone number for them) and was on the phone with them for hours until it was too late to catch the flight (last one of the day). Even though Orbitz called Aeromexico repeatedly they would not relent. During my calls to Orbitz the first agent hung up on me after about 45 minutes, then finally I demanded a supervisor who helped make a reservation for today. But there she was stuck 4 hours from her families home with two kids and limited money.
I did get Orbitz to pay for a cheap room but guess what? When she got there the reservation was not honored because they once again used only her first and last name not her full Mexican legal name. Had to call Orbitz again and luckily the hotel was a bit more reasonable and let her in. I was able to quickly wire her some money so she and the kids could eat and pay for taxis, and thankfully today they are enroute to Cancun.
While maybe interesting, the take away from this is that whenever making a reservation in Mexico or Mexican Airline make certain that the Mexican organization has the complete name as it appears on your passport or ID. That is really important when doing so through a third party such as Orbitz.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
PS I am amazed that Orbitz is/was not sensitive to this (they did it again at the hotel) but maybe the rest are just as stupid
