Just bought 3 biz class tixs for Asia via an online agency (Booking.com) and i had fat finger syndrome, i spelt one of the names wrongly, inverting the last 2 letters.
Can i change this, yes but it will take 72 hours to confirm
OK, but after 24 hours i can no longer cancel the booking
Yes that's right sir
So, i may have a problem, fine, cancel the booking, over Chf 12k lost revenue for the agency, i get full refund
Crazy or what !!
I never book flights through a 3rd party. If something goes wrong you have to deal with them and not the airline directly. Use them to search for flights, then book directly with the airline.
Sure, but there was a €800 difference.......per ticket !
Agencies are not airlines.
When dealing with an agency always:
1. Insist they give you the lead airline’s* record locator.
2. Insist (screaming and kicking) they give the lead airline’s your contact details. If/when things go pear shaped you want the airline to deal with you, not through the agency.
They won’t want to do either but you are the customer.
*Lead airline is the airline providing the first intercontinental service.
That you can do, but most airlines refuse to make any changes unless requested by the agent......
Anyway, hey-ho,. booking is cancelled and i'll rebook elsewhere tomorrow, all that for inverting 1 letter !!!!
It’s more for when something goes pear shaped and your flight is delayed or cancelled. Wouldn’t you rather hear from the airline that your flight is delayed than wait for them to try and contact the agency
Swiss airline did similar on a ticket where the name was inverted (first & middle name), they said more than 2 letter change was not possible to change after booking
I suspect this is industry wide irrespective of going through a booking agency - crazy rule
I use skyscanner to scope out flights, and find the airline with the flight time I want etc. Then go to the airline, and enter the same details and do a side by side comparison as often the agencies have different baggage limits, and are non flex etc, and should there be a problem it's just another barrier to get over.
If it the same, I take a print screen and go to the airline website and ask for a price match Singapore Airlines always have, BA often has (but only when I phoned the UK helpdesk)... Swiss and Thai never, but always worth asking.
That is exactly what i did !
Totally agree. I learned this the hard way (once with Gate1 and recently with CheapTickets), although I magically managed to get my money back in both cases.
Ok im confused. Why didn’t you just wait the 72 hours? Or was the flight leaving earlier than that?
Because if i had waited the 72 hours i would have lost the opportunity to cancel the ticket completely and without a name change the tixs weren't too much use to me.
If i waited, they then had me over a barrel and could charge whatever they felt necessary and appropriate for the change of 1 letter.....
Ah ok. I read it as you could do the change but it would take 72 hours, not they need 72 hours to confirm if a change is possible. Makes sense now.
Whats the whole point of this thread?
You didnt lose any money, so in priciple, just a rant
In my personal experience does this heavily depend on the agencies: The good ones like booking.com have typically a better service than most airlines. During covid did the holiday tour operators refund me for trips including flight ticket within two weeks while the airlines gave out annoying vouchers and it took months to get your money back.
I will not use the "crap" agents typically coming out on top cheapest on skyscanner anymore, but many are def worth the savings.
Are you making a statement or asking a question?
Did the tour operators refund you or not?
about booking.com, it’s seems it’s worth to use a VPN to buy tickets from them:
https://www.20min.ch/story/schweizer…r-302376813428
Yes they did. Point is to take a big and EU based tour operator. I my case was it ltur. They had their stuff better under control as most airlines where I probably still have some vouchers somewhere I forgot about.
The article seems to be about hotels. We always check prices directly with the hotel and it's usually cheaper, especially if you can join a loyalty scheme but maybe the hotels also increase prices for Swiss customers.