Without any notice CheapOAir changed flight schudule

[joeandmiki]

For the second pilgrimage of SJPP to Burgos, I bought airplane tickets (Air Portugal on May 16 2018)) from Madrid to JFK NY USA on November 2017 through CheapOAir. But last week CheapOair emailed that my original flight schedule was cancelled and reported new one which you have no other choice and no reason and no further notice. We are so surprised with its sudden flight schedule change. I contacted CheapOair why it was changed. CheapOair said "just changed" and then CheapOair offered us alternative which I have no choice. If agreed and accepted, Air Portugal will decide whether it be available or not and then CheapOair will contact to confirm us. What a incredible nonsense! We bought two tickets more than 6 months ago for May 2018 Pilgrim. Who will buy airtickets thru CheapOair!

I am waiting now for CheapOair's confirmation: On January 10, 2018 CheapOair said it would take 2~3 days to be confirmed by the airline.

Do you have any experience this kind of cases ? How did and will you solve or respond ?
Please help us to "solve this problem".

 

[trecile]

CheapOair didn't change the schedule, the airline did. When this happens you can either accept the change, or ask for a refund. It's really not that unusual for flight schedules to change, especially when you book many months before you travel. The last two times I flew to Spain my flights were rescheduled to some degree. Since you chose to book through a third party you are not in direct contact with the airline, and all changes must go through them. You are actually lucky that cheapo notified you of the change, because some third parties fail to do so. You should go onto the airline's website and monitor your flight yourself. In the future, I suggest that you book directly with the airline. When schedule changes happen you can be more proactive by seeing if there are flights that suit you better than the one offered, which was generated by a computer, then call the airline and ask for that flight instead. Adding a third party into the mix complicates the process.

This is just a minor glitch in you journey, and I'm sure that you'll have a wonderful Camino!

 

[peregrina2000]

Good luck with this. If TAP has cancelled the flight (you could easily check that on the internet), you will have no choice but to get a new flight. I don't know if these sites are allowed to change your reservation for reasons other than that the flight has been cancelled, but you should be able to find that out.

I know lots of people who book through websites like that, but I always book directly with the airline itself. I have had two recent incidents that made me glad I had done that, so if others are concerned about stuff like this, you may find that booking directly with the airlines is worth it.

First time was when I was flying from Lisbon to Madeira. Flight was cancelled because of weather. We could have gone the next day but that would have made our weekend trip too short, so we cancelled. We got the payment back on our CC immediately. I was in line with people who had bought with, I think, Priceline, and they had to go back through them, submit the paperwork, etc. Not a huge hassle, but it was surely much more convenient our way.

Second time was when we eventually got to Madeira and our flight from Madeira back to Lisbon was delayed for hours and finally cancelled, again because of weather. TAP put us in a 4 star hotel, gave us meal vouchers, cab vouchers, really first class treatment. I heard complaints from others who had bought via a third party vendor who were complaining, but I don't know the details.

Anyway, flying is such a pain these days, that I think it's worth it to deal directly with the airlines. Just my opinion.

 

[jsalt]

and reported new one which you have no other choice

Hi, I’m not sure that’s true, so don’t just accept anything.

My flight schedule changed (by a whole day), and the airline sent a new schedule, which did not suit me.

I phoned them, and the person on the other end of the line was very customer friendly, checked alternative flights, days and times, and we finally settled on a flight that was acceptable to me, and I was re-booked.

And that was on an ultra-cheapo discount non-refundable return flight that I had booked online a couple of months earlier.

I think you should phone CheapOAir and stay on the line until they sort you out.
Jill

 

[trecile]

Hi, I’m not sure that’s true, so don’t just accept anything.



My flight schedule changed (by a whole day), and the airline sent a new schedule, which did not suit me.

I phoned them, and the person on the other end of the line was very customer friendly, checked alternative flights, days and times, and we finally settled on a flight that was acceptable to me, and I was re-booked.

And that was on an ultra-cheapo discount non-refundable return flight that I had booked online a couple of months earlier.

I think you should phone CheapOAir and stay on the line until they sort you out.
Jill

If you do call cheapoair to do this you should research the flights before you call, so that you know which one you want. As I said before, this is much more easily done if you had booked directly with the airline, but it won't hurt to try.

Last year my flight from Madrid changed, and they put me on a flight that left at 6am. I had specifically booked a later flight to avoid having to wake up in the pre dawn hours. I found a better flight before I called, and asked for that one. It was no problem to get switched to it.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

For the second pilgrimage of SJPP to Burgos, I bought airplane tickets (Air Portugal on May 16 2018)) from Madrid to JFK NY USA on November 2017 through CheapOAir. But last week CheapOair emailed that my original flight schedule was cancelled and reported new one which you have no other choice and no reason and no further notice. We are so surprised with its sudden flight schedule change. I contacted CheapOair why it was changed. CheapOair said "just changed" and then CheapOair offered us alternative which I have no choice. If agreed and accepted, Air Portugal will decide whether it be available or not and then CheapOair will contact to confirm us. What a incredible nonsense! We bought two tickets more than 6 months ago for May 2018 Pilgrim. Who will buy airtickets thru CheapOair!

I am waiting now for CheapOair's confirmation: On January 10, 2018 CheapOair said it would take 2~3 days to be confirmed by the airline.

Do you have any experience this kind of cases ? How did and will you solve or respond ?
Please help us to "solve this problem".

CheapOair is a booking middleman; they do not control the schedules of the airlines. Airlines change schedules from time to time, and if you were booked on a departure time that changes, then the airline normally will work to re-book you on the new schedule. It becomes more complicated when you have done your booking thru a ticket broker like CheapOair; the broker has added a layer between you and the airline... you are NOT the airline's customer, you are CheapOair's customer. Sadly, what now happens is that a ticket broker can bog you down with getting things re-arranged.

The best and most flexible service accommodations come when working with a travel agency or booking thru the airline itself... usually. For example, if you become ill and need to book an earlier flight home, booking your flight with the airline directly or with a travel agent, you will usually be charged a rebooking fee of between $50.00 to $500.00. That same change of ticket with a ticket broker can run the same amount of money as the original ticket purchase. It happened to me last year when I had to cut my Camino short due to a need for surgery. I had purchased a roundtrip ticket aboard Icelandair for travel from Seattle to Paris. To save a hundred dollars, I booked the ticket thru Cheapoair.

When I had to reschedule my departure home, Icelandair and Cheapoair both would charge me the original ticket price to make the change. When I talked to Icelandair directly, they stated that if I had booked with them instead of thru the broker, I would only have been charged $250.00, instead of the $2200.00. I was told that that they sell ticket bookings to Cheapoair at a reduced rate, but the reduced rate comes with no guarantees, like the ability to change departures for a set rebooking charge.

This year, my ticket will be booked directly with the airline.

 

[trecile]

Also, don't forget travel insurance to cover getting home in case of illness.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Also, don't forget travel insurance to cover getting home in case of illness.

I had a policy that was recommended by several travel agents and AAA. Unfortunately, the battle I had when filing my claim was that I had traveled with a pre-existing condition that was known to worsen in some cases.

 

[trecile]

I had a policy that was recommended by several travel agents and AAA. Unfortunately, the battle I had when filing my claim was that I had traveled with a pre-existing condition that was known to worsen in some cases.

 

[drvnsmiln]

For my first Camino (2014) I booked through one of these sites 9 months in advance. My walking partner booked directly through the airline for the same flight. The tickets cost the same. Three months before we were to depart, a situation at home caused us to need to change our departure date by two weeks later. We both were aware that there would be a $300 change fee. She was able to change her flight with one phone call. I contacted the "middleman" site and was given the run around, speaking with at least 3 different "agents"; one of whom told me that you could not fly into one country and depart from another. The kicker was when another asked if Switzerland was in Europe! Incredible!! Finally after a week I was able to speak with woman in Seattle who did change my ticket, but after a week of stress (first Camino) and 10-12 hours on the phone. THEN three days before we were to depart, my friend got a phone call from her airline warning her of an impending strike in France and offering to change the ticket to an earlier departure. I never heard a word from the airline - I think they weren't involved - nor the middleman company. I called back to the airline and we left the next afternoon.
Had it not been for traveling with my companion, I would have been caught up in the strike and would have in all probability lost several camino days.
I will NEVER use one of these sites again!

 

[Tincatinker]

I want a chicken to roast for Sunday. The chicken farmer down the road sells roasting chickens for €10. His next door neighbour, who doesn't farm chickens, sells roasting chickens for €7.50 but this is only because he guarantees to buy all the chicken farmers unsold chickens for €5. Everybody round here knows that the chicken farmers chickens are nice & fresh and if you order a €10 chicken you'll get a €10 chicken.

I figure if I don't buy my chicken from the chicken farmer the he'll have to sell it to his neighbour for €5 and I'll be able to buy it for €7.50 so I'll have my chicken and can eat it. Trouble is the chicken farmer sells all his chickens to people who want to be sure of a nice fresh €10 chicken so when I go to get my €7.50 chicken there ain't no such bird. Go figure.

The OP has my sympathies but the secondary seller market is fraught with risk. Their only duty under law (and beware where they operate from for even that) is to refund your payment. There is no duty of care.

@joeandmiki I hope it all works out fine in the end and you get flights that meet your needs and have a buen camino

 

[trecile]

My walking partner booked directly through the airline for the same flight. The tickets cost the same.

And it's usually the case that you don't save money, but add more complications by using a 3rd party. I'm sorry that you had to learn that the hard way.

 

[PaulBelly]

Dear joeandmiki,

I think It's a booking engine. They can book tickets only but they can't change scheduled. If you have any issue with them you can choose another online cheap flights booking engines like Cheapfaremart, Cheapflights, Onetravel etc.