Was Continental out of line?

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Or is this typical? I'm still a bit of a rookie at booking flights, but in the past, if there's been a change, I've received a notification. First time with Continental, and found out by accident that the second leg of our flight down had been changed to one that left two hours before the first leg arrived. I never received a notification.

 

After calling for over an hour ("Due to call volume, we are unable to take your call"), finally got through to an agent who got us onto other flights, though we now have to get up at 3:30am instead of 5am. When I complained about the way it was handled (or, rather, not handled) and asked if he could maybe do a little something for the inconvenience, his response was, "For what? You would have been notified eventually. It sometimes takes a few days to send out all the emails." When I asked when the change had been made, he admitted that it was done in October. If they can't notify me within three months, what reason do I have to believe that they would have done so in the next three weeks before we leave? I would have assumed that an email would be automatically generated in such a case. They have people manually typing these up? Or would I have found out about it when we showed up for our first flight? The agent finished with, "Well, you could always check your booking status to see if there were any changes." Why should this be my job? And if I had known back in October, there may have been better options available than what we had to take today. The way I figure it, once I have a confirmation, it's up to them to let me know if there's a change. Otherwise the confirmation is meaningless.

 

If I'm off base on this, please let me know. I wasn't looking for or expecting a lot in the way of compensation, but I feel I was inconvenienced through their inaction and could have been even more so, had I not happened to catch it. The way I see it, I saved them a lot of trouble, and they could be a little more appreciative.

 

Thank you for allowing me to rant!

[paul929207]

I don't depend on any airline to notify me of schedule changes. I check every couple of weeks to once a month and more often as we approach the flight date.

[Choochala]

Hey - I was convinced that I'd booked the same flight to Europe as we had last time we went and told the hubby that we didn't need to be to the airport until 2 p.m. as flight wasn't leaving until 4:45 p.m. - Ha! When I looked at the tickets on the a.m. of when we were to leave, we were on the 1 p.m. flight - talk about fast, last minute packing :eek: along with a 1.5 hr drive to the airport. From now on, I will promise to check the flight status of my flights agains the e-ticket I receive and print off, often!!!!

[klfrodo]

I understand and appreciate exactly what you're saying.

 

Mostly,,,that's the way the airline industry is nowadays. It's not right,,it just is what it is.

 

Now, having said that, how did you buy your tickets? TA, cruiseline, 3rd party such as Expedia, etc,etc? or directly from the airlines website? If from the airlines web site, do you have an online profile?

 

The only reason I ask is not all sites give you the opportunity to provide contact information for stuff like this.

Also, if you went 3rd party, it could be that the airline notified the 3rd party and the 3rd party failed to notify you.

 

At the end of the day, those of us who travel frequently know that this happens frequently and we check our flights schedules often to ensure we don't get surprised like you did.

[6rugrats]

No, CO was not out-of-line. In the Contract of Carriage you agreed to when you purchased your ticket, they clearly state it is their right to change flight times if necessary. All the airline call centers are just being hammered because of the bad weather and people having to reschedule. I wouldn't blame any airline for being a little slow to answer the phone right now.

 

You circumstance is not unusual; I have a flight booked on CO for this summer, and after checking it a couple days ago, I noticed that one of the flight times was changed, which would cause me to miss my last connection.

 

I chose flights that were better than what I originally had, called CO with the new flights, and they changed them for me to what I would rather have had in the first place (didn't choose them because they were much more expensive).

 

People need to take responsibility for themselves. I check my flights every couple of days; I don't rely on anyone to care about me as much as I do! It's YOUR job to check your flights. Keep in mind, they don't "care" if you show up or not. What "trouble" have you saved for them? If you didn't show up for your flight, and didn't call to cancel, your ticket would have been voided. I'm glad you were able to work this out, but honestly don't understand why you think CO would be "appreciative". You are due nothing in compensation. Be happy you saw this before it was too late.

 

From CO's CoC:

Schedules are Subject To Change Without Notice - Times shown on ticket, timetable or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. While CO will use its best efforts timely to notify Passengers of the best available information regarding known delays, cancellations, misconnections and diversions, CO is not liable for any misstatements or other errors or omissions in connection with providing such information. No employee, agent or representative of CO can bind CO legally by reason of any statements relating to flight status or other information.

[monicajay]

When did you find out and when was your flight? Sometimes they don't notify you when they expect the flights will change again.

 

I have usually been able to re-schedule my flights when they have made changes that didn't suit me at all. I would not expect compensation but would expect flights that I was happy with.

 

Once Delta changed our return and it was terrible. Nothing seemed to work so I suggested for the return they re-route us to Montreal (we were flying out of Burlington) as we live between the two airports. They jumped on it and we got better flights.

[lovemylab]

The only time I've ever received notification about a flight change was when I've booked through a TA. When I've booked flights myself, I found out on my own.

 

I tend to check the schedule every month or so. Continental changed my flights two years ago and when I called to have it fixed the rep was more than willing to work with me to get me on flights that worked for my schedule. The new flights meant a one day layover in Newark, but they paid for the hotel.

[waterbug123]

 

If I'm off base on this, please let me know. I wasn't looking for or expecting a lot in the way of compensation, but I feel I was inconvenienced through their inaction and could have been even more so, had I not happened to catch it. The way I see it, I saved them a lot of trouble, and they could be a little more appreciative.

 

I understand your frustration, but read your contract of carriage; your flight times are not guaranteed. As for compensation, don't hold your breath.

[kenish]

IMO, your expectation that an airline would notify you of a schedule change is a reasonable one.

 

Unfortuately it doesn't square with reality....as others commented, airlines routinely fail to notify passengers of changes. And, sometimes the schedule changes are unworkable...like your "negative 2 hour" connection time. You'd think their res systems could figure that out but there are many accounts like yours. I don't fly Delta but they seem particularly bad based on this board. My personal experience is UA and AA are pretty good with notification. Even a 3 minute change will result in a notice; sometimes I receive an email to call reservations, or they will proactively call me. And I don't have elite FF status so it's not that I'm a high-zoot customer. Possibly CO will improve as they merge with UA.

[frugaltravel]

I don't depend on any airline to notify me of schedule changes. I check every couple of weeks to once a month and more often as we approach the flight date.

 

I agree. When we make the decision to become our own "travel agents" we need to also bear the responsibility and consequences of such. And as was mentioned, the airlines are off the hook due to their contract of carriage. Delta is also a great one for not informing passengers of schedule changes. Check frequently yourself or use a booking source that you are confident will advise you of schedule changes. Pretty much the best two options.

[Eng23]

Continental was not out of line at all as their CoC allows for this. But I will say that CO by knowing this can hide behind it. All airlines today are doing everything they can to be profitable hence all the "fees" that you are nickel and dimed for. Many flights are overbooked in hopes that people will not show up and when they predict that there will be issues related to this they will make changes to flight schedules, and sometimes legitimate things do happen that will cause a airline to change it's schedule.

[dalitos]

If I'm off base on this, please let me know. I wasn't looking for or expecting a lot in the way of compensation, but I feel I was inconvenienced through their inaction and could have been even more so, had I not happened to catch it. The way I see it, I saved them a lot of trouble, and they could be a little more appreciative.

 

 

Of course CO should have notified you.

I agree with other posters that you could have checked yourself, I always do every once in a while (flight, cruises, etc), but bottom line it is their flight, they know if/when they reschedule/cancel it, and they 'should' notify their passengers accordingly. That's corporate responsibility, if it rings a bell to anyone..

I would send a letter to their customer service department, and not take the rude agent's reply for a final answer. I wouldn't be expecting or hoping for compensation (certainly not a big one, and I know you aren't), but even a letter of apology to right a wrong.

[PennyAgain]

In this modern era, we are responsible for ourselves for flight times and any changes.

 

I have several apps for my iPhone that help to keep track of such things. I track my own flights and those of my Big Boss.

[Fattony]

" I wasn't looking for or expecting a lot in the way of compensation, but I feel I was inconvenienced through their inaction and could have been even more so, had I not happened to catch it. The way I see it, I saved them a lot of trouble, and they could be a little more appreciative." You were not entitled to compensation, especially if you can't prove that their actions cost you. Right or wrong, just being inconvenienced for not getting an e-mail is not sufficient cause for comepensation. You still made your flight? If you hadn't you could have asked to be put on a new flight. But, sorry, no money for potentially having lost the opportunity to get a different flight (they one time I was notified, the airline asked if the new flight was okay with me; if it hadn't been, they would have worked to get a different flight for me, but, again, no compensation).

 

If you don't like the way you were treated, take another airline next time. But don't necessarily expect things to go any better. We recently had part of our multi-leg international reservation "drop off" the computer listing, with another airline, US Airways. They couldn't tell us what had happaned, and just said something had been done in Munich (not a city we'd been anywhere near). I wrote to the airline, not even asking for compensation, and got no response. My wife was on a Continental flight when her second flight was postponed due to mechanical problems, and then a fellow passenger on whom she accidentally spilled some juice, went ballistic, and the airline personnel couldn't have been nicer (she did get compensation without asking).

[Fattony]

p.s. the airlines get so many people asking for compensation (restaurants get it, too), next time you might present a low key complaint, without asking for money or something else, and see what happens. You can always go back, preferably in writing, and press more. It doesn't seem like your inconvenience was all that great (potentially having been worse won't likely carry much weight). But you could still write.

[cherylandtk]

Was Continental out of line...Or is this typical? ... If I'm off base on this, please let me know. I wasn't looking for or expecting a lot in the way of compensation, but I feel I was inconvenienced through their inaction and could have been even more so, had I not happened to catch it. The way I see it, I saved them a lot of trouble, and they could be a little more appreciative.Thank you for allowing me to rant!

;)Try to think of it as a free education in how things work these days. It would have been nice if CO had notified you, but the only way to make sure is to regularly check your own reservations. Airlines are covered in the COC (which means you did not save them trouble, but you did save yourself some trouble!) and now you know that you need to go back in and double check any and all flight reservations after booking; at least once a month after booking, once a week starting 1-2 months out, daily for at least the week prior. (That way you also get the travel delay warnings if there should be any).

[twoputt.plusone]

When we took our first European cruise, the cruiseline booked our flights. In hindsight, not the smartest move on my part. Imagine my surprize when checking our flights, to see that the first leg of our return flight was completely cancelled. No one notified me, not the airline and not the cruiseline. Thankfully the kind folks on this board held my hand with the rebooking and the alternate flights, although not ideal worked out fine.

 

Domestically, Delta has never notified me of any changes although I've flown them a lot and have had a ton of schedule changes. My next flight with Air Canada has already been changed but at least I got an email to let me know. But I don't count on it.

 

In this day, you really have to be your own advocate and fend for yourself. Monitor your flights regularly yourself and you shouldn't have any nasty surprizes.

[Hflors]

I just went through the same thing with US air. I booked my flight last year as soon as I made my reservations. I recently checked and found that my flight had changed from one stop to two stops and one of the flights we didn't have seat numbers (we are flying 1st class) but thats another story. Anyway I called the airlines and their response was "What took you so long? We made this change last October! After going back and forth we couldn't come to a reasonable change that would have been good for us. I cancelled and booked with anothe airlines for about 1/3rd of the price of the tickets we originally had and the new flight is Non-stop! So it worked out better for me all around.

 

Good luck, the airlines aren't easy to deal with anymore.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond! I posted this just before having to leave for work yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to follow up until now.

 

I've come away with the knowledge that I need to check my reservations constantly. I've flown commercially only twelve times (six round trips), so I'm not savvy in the ways of the airlines, but thanks to you all, I'm learning! Allow me to respond to a few--

 

...how did you buy your tickets? TA, cruiseline, 3rd party such as Expedia, etc,etc? or directly from the airlines website? If from the airlines web site, do you have an online profile?

 

The only reason I ask is not all sites give you the opportunity to provide contact information for stuff like this.

Also, if you went 3rd party, it could be that the airline notified the 3rd party and the 3rd party failed to notify you.

 

I went directly through CO. They had all my contact information. No 3rd party.

 

No, CO was not out-of-line. In the Contract of Carriage you agreed to when you purchased your ticket, they clearly state it is their right to change flight times if necessary. All the airline call centers are just being hammered because of the bad weather and people having to reschedule. I wouldn't blame any airline for being a little slow to answer the phone right now.

 

What "trouble" have you saved for them? If you didn't show up for your flight, and didn't call to cancel, your ticket would have been voided. I'm glad you were able to work this out, but honestly don't understand why you think CO would be "appreciative". You are due nothing in compensation. Be happy you saw this before it was too late.

 

From CO's CoC:

Schedules are Subject To Change Without Notice - Times shown on ticket, timetable or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. While CO will use its best efforts timely to notify Passengers of the best available information regarding known delays, cancellations, misconnections and diversions, CO is not liable for any misstatements or other errors or omissions in connection with providing such information. No employee, agent or representative of CO can bind CO legally by reason of any statements relating to flight status or other information.

 

It's not the change I object to. It's the lack of notification. As for being slow to answer the phone, I didn't take into account the weather in other parts of the country-- wx was nice here, I hadn't been watching the news, I wasn't aware. But I don't mind being put on hold. Some companies have an automatic call back-- if lines are busy, enter your callback number and they'll ring you back. You can go about your business without having to try the line every few minutes.

 

The trouble I saved them was the dance they would have had to go through, had I showed up at ORD only to be told that there was no way I would be able to make my connecting flight in Newark, and by that point the relatively easy solution of rerouting through Houston would be gone. There would have been no other flight combinations that would have worked, and they would have had to get me on a flight from another carrier. Not to mention the time spent dealing with my frustration and anger. It's not like I was going to be told that the flight time out of Newark had been moved back by five minutes; it was changed to a flight with a connection that would have been impossible to make, barring a tailwind of about two thousand.

 

The portion of the contract you quoted was the most help. The phrase "best efforts timely to notify Passengers" was clearly not met. However, they do leave themselves the loophole word of "omissions". How sad. Effectively, they're saying, "We'll say we'll do our best to tell you of a change, but we really don't have to even attempt to do so." Got it. I would've thought that this is like the language with cruise contracts, where they don't guarantee an itinerary, but routinely offer something, like OBC, even if there is a problem beyond their control. The failure of notification was not beyond CO's control. I've had flight changes before with Northwest, American, and, yes, Delta, and in all cases I received a notification of the change. I know it can be done! Code can be written that automatically sends an email if any change is made, even if all it says is, "Your itinerary has changed. Please contact us." If Continental can't master this technology, that doesn't give me a lot of confidence in their ability to fly a plane. I think the argument could be made right there that they are not making their "best efforts". Why even bother sending a confirmation?

 

As for compensation, don't hold your breath.

 

I wasn't looking for a free upgrade to first class or a free flight or anything. Maybe just letting us use the first class lounge during our layover, or waiving the baggage fee on one bag. How about free earphones? Something to show they're sorry for what could have been a major problem? I'm a CSR myself, and am used to people thinking that the least little thing is cause for us to send them a gift card. I think I'm a pretty fair judge of when something has been done on the part of a company that warrants some sort of apology.

 

I would send a letter to their customer service department, and not take the rude agent's reply for a final answer. I wouldn't be expecting or hoping for compensation (certainly not a big one, and I know you aren't), but even a letter of apology to right a wrong.

 

I already have. I wouldn't say the agent was rude or unprofessional, and I made that clear to them. He was obviously giving the company line. A letter of apology would be fine, as well.

 

When did you find out and when was your flight? Sometimes they don't notify you when they expect the flights will change again.

 

I have usually been able to re-schedule my flights when they have made changes that didn't suit me at all. I would not expect compensation but would expect flights that I was happy with.

 

Once Delta changed our return and it was terrible. Nothing seemed to work so I suggested for the return they re-route us to Montreal (we were flying out of Burlington) as we live between the two airports. They jumped on it and we got better flights.

 

The flight was changed in October and is for February 4th. Indeed, the CO agent said it had been changed three times in October. Again, my point with the lack of notification is that it may have taken away many acceptable choices. I was lucky the option I ended up with was still available. DW has to work the day before we leave; in fact, I'm picking her up from work for the drive down to Chicago for what will now be about a five-hour preflight hotel stay, and we have a nonrefundable precruise hotel booked the next night. Taking a flight the day before or coming in the day after would not have been the best option. And I had to find the alternate flights myself-- the agent said we had no other workable option until I pointed them out, then said, "Oh, yeah."

 

You were not entitled to compensation, especially if you can't prove that their actions cost you. Right or wrong, just being inconvenienced for not getting an e-mail is not sufficient cause for comepensation. You still made your flight? If you hadn't you could have asked to be put on a new flight.

 

If you don't like the way you were treated, take another airline next time.

 

It's more in the nature of poor customer relations that they don't say, "Wow, this could have resulted in huge problems for you, and certainly quite a lot of hassle for us, if you hadn't caught this for us. We're embarassed that such a thing could happen, and as a way of showing our appreciation for bailing us out, we'll note on your reservation that you're entitled to use the first class lounge in Houston during your layover. We hope this mistake hasn't caused you not to fly with us in the future." My asking for some sort of compensation was in the nature of looking for some sort of apology. We will, in fact, continue to book Continental in the future, but only if there's a large price advantage over other carriers. I would hope that these problems will disappear after they're integrated into United.

 

We very well may not have been able to make our flight, had we found out about it at the last minute. While we fly in a day early (as all good cruisers should) in case there should be last minute delays, we don't need delays that are easily avoidable.

 

Okay, thanks again, everyone, who took the time to respond. I'll be sure to check my reservations weekly from now on, if not daily. I appreciate the education, and hopefully so will anyone who happens across this thread!

[6rugrats]

Headphones are free on CO, so I expect you'll receive those with no problem.

 

CO is about the same as every other airline. If they gave free lounge passes or upgrades, or vouchers in response to every passenger's complaint, they'd go out of business. I fly UA a lot, and they have just as many problems; however, the more status you get, the more quickly and politely these problems are solved.

 

If you'd spoken to another rep, you may well have received an apology; just depends to whom you are speaking, and sometimes, how many people have yelled at them that day. You called during a very, very heavy call volume period due to all the bad weather, and it's possible the agent was on overload trying to get people rebooked who wanted to get home. Maybe they didn't think a schedule change ws the most important problem they had to deal with that day. Who knows?

 

Keep checking your itineraries and you should be fine. If this is a long flight, highly recommend you pay to sit in the exit row seats if that's possible for your flight!!

[waterbug123]

Regarding flight notifications, or lack thereof, from the airlines, let me suggest Flightstats.com as well.

I usually fly Delta, and have gotten notifications in the past, but they are very inconsistent. A month ago a flight was cancelled and I didn't know; I'd been on a cruise so hadn't been on the internet checking or getting the news.

Anyway, in light of this week's weather-related disruptions, I signed up at flightstats.com to get notifications from them and it's been great. I know I can't count on Delta to keep me updated, and didn't want to be tied to the computer all day. I have to say, flightstats has been great. My flights today have been on time, but still I've gotten texts (you can opt for emails if you prefer) throughout the day from flightstats, keeping me apprised of the status of my flights. First ones came through last night saying my flights were on time for today. My ATL-MCO flight originated in Madrid, and I've gotten texts throughout the day letting me know it had departed Madrid, then later that it had landed ATL. Got an update a little while ago that my flight is still listed on time. I will definitely register all future flights with flightstats.com, as I've been impressed thus far.

[Mr. Click]

I have been flying with CO for over 20 years and in that time, I seen both good and bad. The reality is we all need to be responsible for our own plans. Stay on top of our flights, especially if they are made well in advance. Typically airlines change/adjust their schedules quarterly. When the weather becomes an issue, we need to be vigilent. I know from my own experiences with CO they have always been willing and ready to help but if you call during an overload time created by winter in the northeast, then you are going to run into all kinds of waits. You are almost always better off booking online and making your changes online. CO has a pretty good customer service system that you can email or call with issues. Those folks have a lot more authority to fix things than a reservation agent.

[10DogMom]

Dang, glad I read this - I was getting complacent because Orbitz has already emailed me about 6 times with flight changes - 5 of which were only minutes different. I must just be lucky - I have never NOT been notified, whether I went directly with the airline, or through an on-line agency, when there has been a change. I've gotten emails while I was on vacation about my return flight. And I've had Disney call me when my cruise was repositioned at the last minute due to a hurricane - but then again, that's Disney and I would expect that!:)

[6rugrats]

10DogMom - check your flights regularly directly with the airline. You should have your record locator number which will allow you to do so. Everyone's lucky streak comes to an end eventually :)!

[Goldryder]

Just FYI...

 

Anyone flying anywhere in the world should be able to get their flight itinerary via Amadeus CheckMyTrip...

 

https://www.checkmytrip.com

 

All you need is your flight locator number, you can get this from your TA or airline. Just type the locator code & surname into the boxes and the full flight itinerary will show up. You can sometimes pre-choose seats via the site too (if that is available with the airline concerned).

 

Once the tickets are released, the number(s) will also show and you can add your FF info too.

 

I tend to check my flights (booked through the cruise line & independently) every week or so. Quick & easy to use and the majority of airlines use Amadeus anyway, so most of you should be able to access your flights without having to go to the airline website. Anadeus also gives ideas about things to do in the destination city, weather conditions and a few other useful things too.