Prablems with ATA

[Gdawgs]

We are going on our first cruise Jan 7-14. I booked our flight from Minneapolis to Miami through Travelocity. We fly Northwest on the way down, and ATA on the return flight. ATA has since filed for bankrupcy, and as part of the restructuring, they canceled our flights. I have been on the phone 5 or 6 times(so much I'm losing track) and with Northwest and ATA. Every time I call, I sit on hold for what seems forever, and I never get anywhere. At the end of the call I either get " you need to call back at a later date" or " we can refund your return flight". That doesn't do me any good because then I have to book a oneway flight and pay much more than what I originally paid. A while back they told me to call back after Thanksgiving. The last time I spoke with them, he told me to call back after Dec 15. I suppose next time they'll tell me to call back after I get home from the cruise! Getting very frustrated:mad: . So far I have approximately 5-6 hours logged on the phone for this and this has been going on for well over a month. I'm making no progress, and our date is quickly approaching. Anyone else having problems such as this?

 

I'm going to give it another try tonight. I hope the cruise goes better than this part of it.

[Globaliser]

First idea: Have you talked to Travelocity? As they booked the flights and you haven't begun your travel, then they should still have control of your booking. If the cancellation entitles you to cancel your ticket, why don't you just see if you can rebook the entire trip? I can see current fares from just over $300 for your trip, but I don't know how that compares to what you've already arranged.

[SWEETNLOW2005]

Wait for ATA to call you. I had the same problem and they will be calling you. Actually southwest will be calling you. They are rebooking all ATA passengers. We took a flight on Oct 30 and they called me on Oct 27 to rebook me . Southwest told me they took over 20,000 flights from ATA. Ata didnt send them in any date order. So they are working through them. I know this sounds crazy but please be patient and they will get to you. I was on the phone for a week with ATA getting no where and then southwest called and just book my flights and it was 10 of us. I think i might have a number for you for Southwest rebooking department 800 308 5037. I am not sure if it is going to work for you if you dont have a confirmation number for Southwest. If they havent reached a couple days before your cruise then you should call this number 866-282-7894

ATA Special Services. I hope this will help. Or if you can find another ticket just rebook. They can also rebook you on NWA , United or Continental.

[lizstas]

You need to be patient. Due to their cancelling service to Aruba, San Juan, Miami, and I believe Boston they have been flooded with calls. I can tell you from experience that they can provide you with a decent alternative and DO NOT WAIT to call them. Our flights were cancelled to San Juan for 1/20 w/a 1/28/06 return. We are a party of 14 that booked 4 separate reservations. We called the 1st day of the announcement (11/1) we were offered only connecting flights from Chicago to Orlando on ATA then Delta to San Juan. We would have settled since we only paid $178 RT but we only had 58 minutes to change planes through a different terminal. We knew that if our flight from Chicago was so much as 15 minutes late we would not have made the flight. We then went online to American Airlines and put some flights on a courtesy hold for 24 hrs--at $358 RT. We called ATA again and were only offered now flights through Delta via Ohare. The flights were connections with the return flight connecting through Atlanta, JKF then Cincinnati on to Chicago---is that nuts or what. You know what makes it worse--we would have had to leave the next day and pay for a nights hotel stay, transportation, food etc. We opted to cancel for a full refund and booked our American flights that were on hold. 1 other party in our group called and were offered connections but said they were handicapped (the wife uses a cane but can walk up to 1 1/2 miles a day (without it) --yep you guessed it one of those people that also has a handicapped placard) and get this--they are on the same outbound flight with us on American and return via United all non-stop flights. This has caused a little tension since my mom is waiting hip replacement and has a very difficult time walking but she would never use a deteriorating "physical" condition as a "handicap" to get those seats. Needless to say--be persistant and insist on flights similar to what you booked. Since ATA only has to accomodate you on one leg it shouldn't be too difficult for them to accomodate you. Again, I wouldn't wait. As availability shrinks--so do your options. Hope this helps.

[Bonnie&Rob]

I also had problems with an ATA cancellation. First I spent hours on the phone talking to various ATA staff, where the final message was: too bad for you, you booked through an on-line discounter and "we don't have to do anything for you" (a quote). They did offer to fly me from New Jersey (not close to Boston), but would not move my booking to Southwest who flies out of Manchester, NH.

 

I then called Travelocity, who I spent considerable time on the phone with as well. They couldn't take my word for the ATA response, they had to put me on hold while they went through the same process I did. Because the flight was part of a package, they cancelled the entire package and I had to rebook. You may want to speak with Travelocity about what is done in a package booking, as you may have to re-book the entire trip, not just the cancelled leg.

 

The BEST news is that the money they took for the booking is not immediately returned to you, that can take up to 30 days. Fortunately for me it was only $450 and I was able to replace the hotel and flight without problem and was able to cover the money until the refund comes through. I would not have been happy if this had been a cruise booking and they cancelled my cruise and I lost my cabin selection - then held a few thousand dollars for a month.

 

I hope you have better luck than I had.