Monday, December 28, 2009

Possible Short Break

I'll see what I can do about posting stuff, but please be aware that I'm SICK, and so I am likely to not make much sense, and misspell stuff a lot. I imagine we'll be back to normal by New Years at the latest. Just a warning in case I don't post, or post something that doesn't quite compute.

I finally made it back after two canceled itineraries on Northwest. The first one (which NWA told me via phone an hour before was not canceled) involved me getting up at 4AM. They also claimed that the cancellation (into Memphis) was due to weather, and ordered by the FAA. Clearly that was not the case because other airlines were flying into Memphis, and both the FAA, and the Memphis airport were reporting all clear with no delays over 15 minutes. So I don't know if a certain creep from Nigeria was responsible, or if it was some kind of other issue (E.G. Northwest recently merged with Delta, and Northwest flight crews were unionized, but Delta's weren't).  I just know that having multiple canceled flights sucks, that, and I'm NEVER using Travelocity again (except to maybe book a hotel to use the $100 off lodging voucher they finally gave me). Who in the hell (at Travelocity, when picking a substitute route) decides that Tulsa to the Twin Cities, to Detroit, to DCA sounds like a good idea? Did I mention it (if it hadn't been canceled) would have taken like 13.5 hours instead of the 4.5 hours it should take to travel that distance?


USE ORBITZ, OR SOME OTHER PROVIDER. DO NOT USE TRAVELOCITY. THEY DO NOT ANSWER THE PHONE, AND THEY WILL LIE TO YOU IF YOU EVER ACTUALLY TALK TO THEM. PLUS, THEY WILL SEND YOU ALERTS THAT YOU FLIGHT WAS CANCELED 12 HOURS AFTER IT TOOK OFF.  IF YOU ARE VERY PERSISTENT THEY WILL GIVE YOU A SMALL VOUCHER, THAT DOESN'T COVER IT. FYI, THEY APPARENTLY WON'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING AFTER YOUR TRAVEL IS COMPLETED (as per their website).  So if there are no posts, blame Travelocity.  They suck.

8 comments:

DCJaded said...

Having used sites like orbitz in the past, my opinion is that they can never help you in emergency situation or during heavy travel times. You always have to call the airline directly.

inked said...

I did both. NWA mostly didn't answer. I got through to Travelocity only after long delays, and their site has some text about only going through them. Despite the NWA flub (they told me it was cancelled, and then said it wasn't cancelled) I can kind of forgive that. The holidays are a tough time, but all the various stuff (that I'm not detailing here because I really don't have the energy) really pissed me off. I'm now home, but very weak, and basically puking up anything I eat. I shouldn't have to spend 6+ hours on the phone with Travelocity and NWA (I had two lines going at once with my cell and a landline) just to get the wrong info half the time.

Anonymous said...

Welcome home anyway. Sorry that you got sick. By the way, I will take your advice

Anonymous said...

i've had awful experiences with travelocity as well, so i second your emotion, sucks big time to be jerked around like that. i dealing with any travel agency or airlines, i've found that you just have to keep asking to talk to the next higher up supervisor, they'll keep giving you the run around otherwise. but sometimes nothing works... welcome back, get some rest

DCJaded said...

I definitely sympathize. My girlfriend spend 3 hrs on hold and was bounced around for hours after that trying to reschedule her flight because of the Snowpocalypse before Xmas.

Jeff Teitel said...

Glad you made it home but sorry to hear about your travel woes. Hope you get well soon.

K said...

The only thing I use travelocity for is their hotel ratings. You might also try kayak.com for good rates.

I'm sorry to hear about your sucky journey, but glad you're back to blog!

Alan Page said...

welcome back despite the headaches...hope you get well soon!