A Flights by Celebrity error that worked to my favor.

[Stockjock]

I booked roundtrip from SoCal to Europe on Flights by Celebrity (FbC).  The outbound was on United and return flight on Lufthansa.  This impacted the return flight only.  While I call it a "Flights by Celebrity" error, I think it's more likely a Lufthansa error, but FbC did book the flights, so who knows for sure?

Months ago, I had logged into Lufthansa's website and saw that the return flight was shown as 1 day earlier than what I booked.  I called FbC and told them this.  They said they had it right on their end and not to worry about it.  After final payment, I looked at the flight and it had been corrected to the proper departure date.

While logged into the Lufthansa website I also noticed a yellow "Free Rebook/Cancel" button, suggesting that I could change the flight for free.  I called Lufthansa and he said I could do one free flight change due to a *5 minute* schedule change (connecting flight was supposed to depart at 12:30 pm and they changed it to 12:35 pm - The Horror).  I asked if he could give me a seat assignment, as there was none.  He said I should call FbC and they might be able to do the seat assignment.

So today, I called FbC and asked them about the seat assignment.  They said a seat assignment was not included and I'd have to contact Lufthansa and pay extra if I wanted a seat assignment.

I asked if they had any later flights, as I wasn't thrilled about the 6 am departure time.  She said that if they make any changes, it would incur a $200 per person fee.

I told her about the online option to change to a different flight for free on Lufthansa's website and asked if that would trigger any penalty by FbC.  She said, "We would not charge you if they are allowing a free change online or through a Lufthansa agent.  But if we changed the flights, then you would receive the $200 per person penalty."

So I clicked on the "Free Change/Cancel" button and I think it gave me 6 flight options to select for no cost.  About half of them were for business class at no additional charge.  So I selected one of those options.

For the cost of an economy ticket, I went from no seat assignment in economy to business class to the USA (the 2nd leg is economy).

I thought that was very sweet.

Got to thinking about why this happened or why it was allowed.  After all, the schedule change was only 5 minutes and the EU261 rules typically apply to changes of 3 hours or greater.  But I think I figured it out.  Looks to me as if (probably) Lufthansa improperly booked my flight a day too soon (FbC booking confirmation showed the proper date).  So when they corrected the error, it created a "schedule change" of 24 hours and 5 minutes, and under EU261, this triggered the opportunity to switch to a different flight option for no cost.

Normally, I'm not big on errors when it comes to travel, but in this case, I have no complaints whatsoever.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Stockjock

[jagoffee]

Congratulations 

[Stockjock]

10 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Congratulations 

Sometimes, you get lucky.  Not often, but every now & then.

[Stockjock]

Maybe a takeaway from this could be, if you book a European flight and see an option to do a "Free Rebook/Cancel", go ahead and click on that button to see what your options are.  If it just said, "cancel", I wouldn't have tried it.

Only after doing so did I see the new flight options, but even then it didn't initially specify business class, but only "cabin change".  I had to expand the flight details to see that business class was included for no charge.

[snichols23]

I looked at the FbC site yesterday for flights to/from Athens, Greece. I looked at the same itinerary on the same airline. FbC were 3x the price. 

[Stockjock]

Just to follow up, this situation has become a bit of a nightmare as of this morning.

The flights were in good order for a couple of days.  This morning, Celebrity added the original 6 am flight back in on the same booking number and under the same ticket number.  So now, I had the original flight that was changed added back, for reasons unknown, and the flight I wanted at 11:45 as well.  Yes, 2 outbound flights at 2 different times with the same booking confirmation number and even the same ticket number.

Spent 5-6 hours on the phone trying to sort it out.  Celebrity told me to call Lufthansa, Lufthansa told me to call Celebrity, back in forth with different answers from everyone I talked to.

Several Celebrity agents suggested that the best course would be for FbC to relinquish control of the return flights so I can sort it out with Lufthansa directly.  But there's no assurance if or when that may occur.

I asked what will happen if I simply showed up for the new flight that Lufthansa offered and I accepted.  They said it would be a no show and cancel all of the flights.

This turned out to be a major PIA.  I don't expect that I will use FbC again, or any travel agent, for booking flights.  If I did it on my own, I could work with Lufthansa to fix this issue.  But now, I'm at the mercy of Flights by Celebrity and it's quite a frustrating experience, to say the least.

If I didn't mention it before, I did clear all of this with FbC before accepting Lufthansa's offer.

Edited June 22, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

Now Flights by Celebrity has done *precisely* what I asked them not to do.  As mentioned, Lufthansa offered me a chance to move to business class at a better time for no extra cost.  After clearing it with Flights by Celebrity, I accepted it.  The reservation was perfect for a couple of days.

Then, Flights by Celebrity, for reasons unknown, added the original flights back into the reservation, so I had 2 outbound flights at 2 different times on 1 booking number and 1 ticket number.

Spent 6-7 hours trying to sort things out.  Everyone pointed fingers at everyone else.

2 agents suggested that the best course of action would be for Flights by Celebrity to relinquish control of the ticket so I could sort things out.  One agent, Anna, said that she sent an e-mail requesting that to happen, hopefully within 72 hours.

So what did Flights by Celebrity do instead?  They cancelled the upgrade offer that I accepted from Lufthansa.

I don't get upset easily, but I'm so angry with them, I am beside myself.

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Stockjock

[Homosassa]

Why is it that when you are being slick  and proud of yourself for getting something for nothing and the  manipulation is caught and changed back to what you contracted for, you get angry at the cruise line and not yourself?

[mahdnc]

Sorry about the hassle.  However getting a business class upgrade while paying for economy the way you described it sounds like something that isn't supposed to happen. Airlines do perform complimentary upgrades, but not like that.  Now you have to change the title of your thread....

 

By the way, if you logged onto your account at the UA or LH website, did it show two different outbound flights listed under the same ticket number?  I suspect not.

Edited June 23, 2023 by mahdnc

[Stockjock]

Is it slick to accept an unsolicited change by the airline?  Is that manipulative?

If the airline changes your ticket and says, "We changed your ticket and you can select a different flight for no cost.  Click here to see your options".  You click to view the options and half of them have a leg on business class.  So you select one of those more favorable offers.  You tell your significant other than you received a comped (partial) upgrade to business class, and they are thrilled because they have never flown on first or business class.

Later, your choice is nullified through incompetence.  That's okay?  That's "manipulative" or "slick"?  You have no right to be annoyed?

Lufthansa made me an unsolicited offer.  I first called Flights by Celebrity to see if it was okay to accept that change.  They told me that it was.  So after seeking and receiving approval, I accepted the change.  That's somehow wrong?

I don't understand your logic one bit.

Here's a hypothetical.

You book an economy ticket with a travel agency.

You log in to view the reservation to insure it's in good order.  Upon logging in, you are informed that due to a schedule change you can change or cancel your flight at no cost.

You call the travel agency to make sure it is okay to accept the offer and they tell you it's fine to do so.

You select a free option showing one leg on business class at a more favorable time and you are thrilled.  Your reservation is now in good order showing only the new replacement flight.

2-3 days later, the travel agency that you spoke with reinstates the original flight so initially you have 2 flights under the same ticket and booking number.

You call them and spend hours on the phone trying to get the situation straightened out. 

Later that day, the travel agency cancels the better flights.  You no longer have a possibility of selecting a leg on business class.

That's acceptable?  You'd have no reason to be upset?

Edited June 23, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

It did show 2 outbound flights under the same booking number and the same ticket number.  This was confirmed by FbC as well as Lufthansa.

Celebrity's solution was to give Lufthansa control of the tickets.  I was told to then request that the more favorable flights be moved to a different ticket number.  Unfortunately, those more favorable flights were cancelled before that could happen.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Stockjock

[mahdnc]

10 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

It did show 2 outbound flights under the same booking number and the same ticket number.  This was confirmed by FbC as well as Lufthansa.

Celebrity's solution was to give Lufthansa control of the tickets.  I was told to then request that the more favorable flights be moved to a different ticket number.  Unfortunately, those more favorable flights were cancelled before that could happen.

I see.  If LH had control by then, is it possible they cancelled the "favorable" flights to correct what might have been an error in allowing the free J upgrade?

[Stockjock]

5 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I see.  If LH had control by then, is it possible they cancelled the "favorable" flights to correct what might have been an error in allowing the free J upgrade?

Hard to say, but I can say that LH definitely did not have control of the flights.  Allegedly a Celebrity supervisor is investigating this and will call me this morning.  So far, I haven't heard back from him.

Anything is possible.  Still a frustrating situation, at a minimum.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

It strikes me upon thinking about this, that there are a couple of types of individual attitudes when it comes to situations like this.  Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1. That's so cool.  I'm not sure why you were offered a leg in business class, but I'd be thrilled if they made me that offer!  I'd definitely snap it up in a second!  And of course, I'd be very annoyed or frustrated if the new better flights were later cancelled, potentially due to the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing.

Type 2. Ha ha ha!  You don't *deserve* business class!  You didn't *pay* for business class!  I think it's great that they cancelled your tickets!  That's not what you booked!  I don't care what they offered, the fact that your partial business class flights were cancelled makes me happy!  In fact, it makes my day!

So of these 2 types of individuals, I am Type 1.  I am happy when good things happen to others.  I empathize with their disappointment when things take a turn for the worse unexpectedly.  I share some of the excitement upon learning of upgrades, "deserved" or otherwise, even though I might be slightly envious.

But I do understand that some revel in the misfortune of others, as justified by a misplaced (in my view) personal sense of self-righteousness.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

Just to follow up on this, I received a call from the Flights by Celebrity supervisor and he said that they did not cancel the business class flight.  He told me to call Lufthansa and see if there were any other flights they could offer me.  He also offered me $50 per person OBC for the inconvenience, and upon my urging, he increased that to $100 OBC per person.

I called Lufthansa and they said the business class leg was cancelled because the travel agency (Celebrity) added back the original flights.  They also said they couldn't change the flight without Celebrity's intervention, and of course the Celebrity supervisor just told me the exact opposite.

All of this would have likely been avoided had I booked directly, so that's what I'll be doing in the future.  Giving up control over these reservations means that I cannot resolve issues on my own, and in my case, having Celebrity involved made things much worse, rather than helping.  Had they not intervened by rebooking the original flights on the same booking number and ticket, I don't suspect that the new business class flight would have been cancelled.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

Just to follow up further, Celebrity went in, cancelled the original reservation, rebooked the same flights (original).  Now, there is no option to switch to a different flight, since the original booking is gone.  Spent 7 hours on this yesterday, 4 hours on it today.

 

[Stockjock]

FWIW, I did just have a conversation with a very nice fellow at Flights by Celebrity.  He asked me to take their survey after the call concluded.  I said...

Me: Let me ask you a question.  Several people have asked me to take the survey, and I would have been glad to give them good ratings, just as I would be glad to give you good ratings.  But, the very first question they ask is, "How likely would you be to recommend Flights by Celebrity to others?"  And the honest answer is that it's about a 1 or unlikely.  So if I gave that answer, would be reflect negatively on you?

Him: Unfortunately it probably would, because the survey is about the employee's performance in assisting you.  So if that's the answer, it's probably better if you don't take the survey.

But let me tell you one thing that is very good about Flights by Celebrity.  Every now and then a reservation gets really fouled up, like yours, and I am sorry that happened.  But today, we had a guy and his flights got cancelled, or greatly delayed, and he was going to miss his cruise.  Because he booked the flights through us, we are going to fly him to the first stop and he will be allowed to board there, and all of that is at our expense.  So even though there can be uncommon problems, in my opinion, the benefit you get that protects you if something unexpected happens, makes it worth it

[mahdnc]

13 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

FWIW, I did just have a conversation with a very nice fellow at Flights by Celebrity.  He asked me to take their survey after the call concluded.  I said...

Me: Let me ask you a question.  Several people have asked me to take the survey, and I would have been glad to give them good ratings, just as I would be glad to give you good ratings.  But, the very first question they ask is, "How likely would you be to recommend Flights by Celebrity to others?"  And the honest answer is that it's about a 1 or unlikely.  So if I gave that answer, would be reflect negatively on you?

Him: Unfortunately it probably would, because the survey is about the employee's performance in assisting you.  So if that's the answer, it's probably better if you don't take the survey.

But let me tell you one thing that is very good about Flights by Celebrity.  Every now and then a reservation gets really fouled up, like yours, and I am sorry that happened.  But today, we had a guy and his flights got cancelled, or greatly delayed, and he was going to miss his cruise.  Because he booked the flights through us, we are going to fly him to the first stop and he will be allowed to board there, and all of that is at our expense.  So even though there can be uncommon problems, in my opinion, the benefit you get that protects you if something unexpected happens, makes it worth it

 

I assume that you were unassuaged.

[mahdnc]

There are many CC-ers who swear by FBC and many who swear at them. 

 

Your story about long times on the telephone and having FBC and the airline pointing at each other is not uncommon--the worst thing is that they can both agree something needs to be done but will insist that the other guy has to do it.  Surely you have seen the FBC-is-killing-me thread that comes up at least once a month (unfortunately yours is the one for June).

 

On the other hand there are many CC-ers who are very happy with FBC.  They get a better air fare price than what they could get directly through the airlines or how FBC was quick to the rescue on a major problem during the day of travel (e.g switched them to a different carrier).

 

I agree with you that not having control over your own ticket when problems have to be resolved is a major drawback.  On the other hand, not having to pay for the air fare until your cruise final payment is due is a major attraction.

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

There are many CC-ers who swear by FBC and many who swear at them. 

 

Your story about long times on the telephone and having FBC and the airline pointing at each other is not uncommon--the worst thing is that they can both agree something needs to be done but will insist that the other guy has to do it.  Surely you have seen the FBC-is-killing-me thread that comes up at least once a month (unfortunately yours is the one for June).

 

On the other hand there are many CC-ers who are very happy with FBC.  They get a better air fare price than what they could get directly through the airlines or how FBC was quick to the rescue on a major problem during the day of travel (e.g switched them to a different carrier).

 

I agree with you that not having control over your own ticket when problems have to be resolved is a major drawback.  On the other hand, not having to pay for the air fare until your cruise final payment is due is a major attraction.

Haven't seen that thread, but I can understand why it was written.  Going forward, I'll likely book my own flights and either buy insurance and/or use my Amex Platinum which has some benefits as well.  I can see some appeal to Flights by Celebrity if things go right, but in this case, they cost me a business class ticket and I've spent approximately 12 hours trying to straighten things out.  I understand that there are some who have the attitude that I might not "deserve" business class since I didn't pay for it.  I bet to differ, since it was an unsolicited offer that was accepted with seat assignments and such.

 

Even though it doesn't make up for the problems, they said they'd give me $200 OBC, but instead gave me $100 and then denied that, saying they had given the $200 (they didn't).  So I had to go back to old invoices as proof and I've been on hold for maybe 20 minutes as I write this so they can maybe straighten that out.

[Stockjock]

27 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Haven't seen that thread, but I can understand why it was written.  Going forward, I'll likely book my own flights and either buy insurance and/or use my Amex Platinum which has some benefits as well.  I can see some appeal to Flights by Celebrity if things go right, but in this case, they cost me a business class ticket and I've spent approximately 12 hours trying to straighten things out.  I understand that there are some who have the attitude that I might not "deserve" business class since I didn't pay for it.  I bet to differ, since it was an unsolicited offer that was accepted with seat assignments and such.

 

Even though it doesn't make up for the problems, they said they'd give me $200 OBC, but instead gave me $100 and then denied that, saying they had given the $200 (they didn't).  So I had to go back to old invoices as proof and I've been on hold for maybe 20 minutes as I write this so they can maybe straighten that out.

Still on hold w/Celebrity, 43 minutes and counting.  

I had $300 OBC ($200 from the initial booking + $100 OBC for a shareholder credit).  They said they added $200, but it only increased from $300 to $400.  I had to spend quite a lot of time to convince them that $300 + $200 = $500 and not $400.  They didn't seem to believe that 3 + 2 = 5 and are double-checking my math.

Edited June 24, 2023 by Stockjock

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Haven't seen that thread, but I can understand why it was written.

 

It's not a single thread. I'm just saying that every month someone starts a thread that discusses a negative experience with FBC.

[TMaine]

As many, I have had my own issues with FBC recently and have come to the same conclusion as you, book my own flights.  I get it, mistakes happen but often a simple solution is turned into many hours on the phone and a of stress for what should be an exciting experience booking a vacation.   In my case, no one wanted to take my money to pay for the flights I had booked.  Seems ridiculous, but then again, that's what it has come to with  X.

[kruzerci]

Infuriating. I had a similar experience with Royal Caribbean choice air. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 6/22/2023 at 5:51 PM, Stockjock said:

This turned out to be a major PIA.  I don't expect that I will use FbC again, or any travel agent, for booking flights.  If I did it on my own, I could work with Lufthansa to fix this issue.  But now, I'm at the mercy of Flights by Celebrity and it's quite a frustrating experience, to say the least.

When I started reading this post I said to myself...sounds too good to be true...wonder when the other shoe will drop...

 

On 6/22/2023 at 6:56 PM, Stockjock said:

Then, Flights by Celebrity, for reasons unknown, added the original flights back into the reservation, so I had 2 outbound flights at 2 different times on 1 booking number and 1 ticket number.

and...here it is...