View Full Version : Wrong destination mistake
SpringHeeledJack
8th Jan 2012, 17:45
One for the panel....
A friend of the family has booked a return ticket to Melbourne (AUS) and has been issued with, wait for it....... Melbourne (FL, USA) :hmm: I know not which airline or booking agent etc, but apparently the 'Melbourne' wasn't distinguishable from the less famous version. After explaining this they were told that "no dice, a booking is a booking" which might be caveat emptor, but strangely the website now clearly displays Melbourne (AUS) and Melbourne (FL).
Is there any recourse in such a situation, said people are not well off and it was to visit a newborn grandchild ? I promised that I'd ask more knowledgeable minds, so if anyone has any thoughts that I might pass on, please could they oblige ?
PAXboy
8th Jan 2012, 18:08
This has happened many times before and has been discussed in here before - although not for some time, I think.
As far as I recall (notice the deep caution!) the agent has to verify the destination. For example, whilst many people asking for a ticket to 'Sydney' would mean the big city in New South Wales, others might mean the town of Sydney in Nova Scotia.
If the agent did not notice that there was more than one Melbourne on the system, it is likely to be their fault. For example, Wikipedia lists 5 Melbournes is the USA alone Melbourne (disambiguation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_%28disambiguation%29), so why did they not check which of THOSE five it was??? The link also mentions three Melbourne's in England and two in Canada. Since the New World, Oz and NZ were all populated by Europeans, it might have occurred to this travel agent that there is a good reason why a certain town was first called New Amsterdam and then renamed to New York. :rolleyes:
Gulfstreamaviator
8th Jan 2012, 18:15
From where to destination.????
If an agent then different problem.
If on line then no potentally no comeback.
I would think the fare/routing might have give the game away if on line or agent.
Good luck resolving.
SpringHeeledJack
8th Jan 2012, 18:21
As far as I'm aware it was booked online, but am unsure if it was direct with an airline or through a (UK) long-haul specialist. Would that fact change anything for them ? As pointed out there are many duplicate cities around the globe, but you would've hoped that the most popular or 'trended' (to be groovy) of those would be the first shown ?
From where to destination.????
From London (LHR) to Melbourne. As to the fare, I think it was in the ball-park of what a return to AUS costs these days!
As far as I recall (notice the deep caution!) the agent has to verify the destination. For example, whilst many people asking for a ticket to 'Sydney' would mean the big city in New South Wales, others might mean the town of Sydney in Nova Scotia.
The famous pax from London (England) who actually travelled, by Air Canada and changing in Toronto, to arrive there before they found they were in the wrong Sydney, were not as silly as you may imagine.
Their booking website (don't know if agent or AC) listed, on consecutive lines, Sydney NS and Sydney NSW for these two, with no further guidance as to which was which. In fact, looking at the Star Alliance (Air Canada) timetable PDF just now I see they are now shown as Sydney NS AU and Sydney NS CA, which is ludicrous given the likelihood for confusion. Air Canada serves both and offers through ticketing from London to both.
Thatnamenotavailable
8th Jan 2012, 22:35
How did they pay? If it was by credit card they might find some help through that route. It's arguable that the service they paid for hasn't been provided.
I agree...
If the fare(s) were paid for by credit card, as would have been the case booking on the internet, if the other avenues fail to get your money back, the card company would be the next one to chat to!
Cheers :)
Here's an article on the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7883894.stm) which includes the Sydney/Sydney mistake and some others.
I've heard of people trying to get to Vancouver Washington State (across the river from Portland) arriving in Vancouver BC. However in these days of Passport requirements that, fortunately is unlikely to happen again.
Gibon2
9th Jan 2012, 10:53
The credit card idea is worth trying, although the agent will presumably respond that they have in fact provided the item that the client actually ordered (albeit in error).
But I think it would be worthwhile trying again with the agent directly, if possible with someone more senior than the "front line" customer service people (whose primary mission is probably to make problems go away). I'm assuming that the fare from UK to Melbourne (USA) is less than the fare to Melbourne (Aust). So it would presumably be in the agent's interest to correct the booking and charge the higher fare. I mean, what car dealer would refuse to take back a Ford Fiesta when the customer realised he really wanted the BMW?
I'm sure that if the client ends up having to buy a new ticket to Melbourne (Aust), he/she will not buy it from that particular agent. So what is the advantage to the agent of not helping the customer in this instance?
If all this is explained politely to someone who understands the economics of the situation, it may be fixable.
UniFoxOs
9th Jan 2012, 15:25
Some less well known similar names exist. Mate of mine bought 4 tickets to visit his daughter in Norway, nearest airport Rygge. Having been told verbally the destination, he booked the flights to Riga. Needless to say he got no compensation from RYR for his mistake.
easyflyer83
9th Jan 2012, 16:00
Some less well known similar names exist. Mate of mine bought 4 tickets to visit his daughter in Norway, nearest airport Rygge. Having been told verbally the destination, he booked the flights to Riga. Needless to say he got no compensation from RYR for his mistake.
"His mistake". You said it.
SeenItAll
9th Jan 2012, 17:40
I would have thought the itinerary indicating a change in planes in Altanta, Georgia or Charlotte, North Carolina (the only airports from which you can fly to Melbourne, FL) would have been a dead give-away.
Saintsman
14th Jan 2012, 10:20
I would have thought the itinerary indicating a change in planes in Altanta, Georgia or Charlotte, North Carolina (the only airports from which you can fly to Melbourne, FL) would have been a dead give-away.
It might be obvious to you but there are still may people who are not well travelled. Not everyone is a master at geography either.
No longer ATC
18th Jan 2012, 12:26
I once checked in some honeymooners, and commented on their unusual choice of destination....Mauretania...of course, they thought they were heading for Mauritius..whoops!
Also had people heading for Naples, Italy, when it should have been Naples Florida...
I once encountered United loading up at two adjacent gates in Chicago, for Springfield and Springfield. One is in Illinois and one is in Missouri. I wonder just how many transposed bookings they get.
geriatrix
18th Jan 2012, 20:00
Had an agent once who booked LHR -FCO -DKR (Dakar in Senegal) for some poor guy who wanted to go to DAC in Bangladesh. The pax actually travelled and arrived in DKR and it was a hell of a job to get him back again.
From accounts of the recent Costa cruise ship sinking :
'People Falling Everywhere': Cruise Critic Member Shares Her Story Escaping From Stricken Cruise Ship - Costa Cruises (http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4715)
"Survivors of the disaster ..... the cruise line did pay for food, the hotel and their airfare home, Fleser said, although they booked them on a flight to Albany, Georgia, instead of Albany, New York -- a mistake the family discovered in the Atlanta airport."
vctenderness
19th Jan 2012, 09:08
A number of years ago a BA flight from Kingston Jamaica had two passengers who questioned why the Captain had given information about their destination, Gatwick, as they were going to Heathrow.
It transpired that as you board on foot in Kingston via the apron these two ,who were booked on Air Jamaica to Heathrow, had walked up the steps of the BA aircraft parked next door.
By chance their seat numbers were unoccupied and the crew did not notice two extras!
The CSD took the bizarre course of action by not telling the Captain and assuring the passengers that BA would provide transport for them from Gatwick to Heathrow. He ended up slinging trays at the back end of the aircraft after a disciplinary.
grassy
21st Jan 2012, 05:45
Unless there's been fraud and the ticket was bought as sold the credit card co. Aren't interested.
old,not bold
21st Jan 2012, 17:30
In the 1980s an elderly couple drove from Birmingham to Plymouth to take the car ferry to Santander.
They carefully followed all the signs "To the Car Ferry" and drove on to the ferry when waved forward.
The ferry set off, and a few minutes later arrived at Torpoint, across the Tamar/Hamoaze. Slightly confused at not having had time for a good rest, but prepared to make the best of it, they drove off the ferry. As they did so, they stopped to ask a crew member the best way to Madrid.
They were returned on the same ferry, with some advice about how to get to the Santander ferry.
ConstantFlyer
22nd Jan 2012, 14:42
Some less well known similar names exist. Mate of mine bought 4 tickets to visit his daughter in Norway, nearest airport Rygge. Having been told verbally the destination, he booked the flights to Riga. Needless to say he got no compensation from RYR for his mistake.
I think the mistake was made by whoever told him verbally the destination. In Norwegian, 'y' is pronounced more like 'oo' (i.e. 'Rooga'). Quite different from 'Reega'.
Westlakejawa
23rd Jan 2012, 19:44
Some years ago my son and myself were flying Ryanair,Bristol to Frankfurt (Hahn)intentionally i may add,as it was solely a spotting trip.A young couple sat across the aisle asked my son if he knew which Terminal we would arrive at,he promptly replied "there is only One"
After considerable discussion it materilized they had won a competition in a local paper for`a short weekend break`.
It appeared they had arranged to meet up with another couple at the airport Frakfurt(Main)for the weekend,as we were on the Friday evening flight and they were returning on the Sunday mid morning flight two rather discontented people.(note,not Ryanair bashing ,39 flights and never a problem)
Well, it's a TD but here goes:
Announcement on an FR at GRO: "If there are any passengers on board this aircraft who are travelling to Paris Beauvais, would they please disembark and go to the aircraft parked on the next hardstanding, as we are heading for Rome Ciampino".
Two red-faced people got up, removed their handluggage, and struggled down the aisle, to the accompniament of sarcastic cheers and applause.
jabird
28th Jan 2012, 21:46
Probably one for another thread, but there are quite a few well documented cases of planes turning up at the wrong airport too, so mere mortal SLF aren't the only ones prone to mistakes.:=
My parents live on Nevis, West Indies, where there is a small village called Newcastle, adjacent to the airport, which for all other purposes is just known as Nevis, or 'Vance Amory', after the island's first premier.
Every year there are always one or two people who end up there, expecting to be either in Newcastle, Oz, or of course NCL. You wonder how they can get so far out - but as in the example quoted at the start of the thread, not everyne has the same understanding of geography, and sometimes the options / tick boxes get ingnored.
You'd think the IATA coding system would remove all doubt, but that is only if the person making the booking knows which code to check against.
Otherwise, someone expecting to go to LOS Angeles or LAS Palmas or GOA might be in for a bit of a surprise.
tom775257
29th Jan 2012, 09:39
I know an FO who moved to longhaul at another airline in the UK. He was very excited about his first flight with the airline to LOS and his expected time spent looking around Los Angeles
GroundedSLF
30th Jan 2012, 07:09
If booked online - probably nothing that you can do, as the booking system will have had a "tick if you agree to the terms & conditions" box - which you have to do to finalise the booking. somewhere in the T&C note will be a phrase along the lines of..."I have checked my itinerary and agree all is fine"...
I know 99% dont read the T&C but we check the box to say we have...
Now, if it was offline with human intervention, then totally different ballgame. You should have been made aware (if on phone then the agent should have read out the Country of arrival), but ALSO, you should have recieved some type of written confirmation.
These days it is generally via email, but will give a full breakdown of all flight data (as well as times/dates etc) - if you have not recieved anything in writing, then you have a strong course of action against the company who booked you.
The "it goes via ATL", or "its flying on US Airways (or whomever)" argument doesnt wash, as it is the travel companies responsibility to ensure you understand what you have booked.
If you have recieved something in writing and either not looked at it, or not noticed, then your out of luck.
The reason the company isnt doing anything about the "error" is because it will cost them a lot to put right (original ticket flight to USA is probably non refundable, and the airline wont refund as a gesture of goodwill, and the differance in cost between MEL FL and MEL AUS is huge.)
jabird
30th Jan 2012, 19:04
T&C note will be a phrase along the lines of..."I have checked my itinerary and agree all is fine"...
Should there not also be a clause along the lines of 'I understand that the US now requires visa waiver pre-clearance, and I understand it is my responsibility to arrange this before I depart, and that if any of the following apply (I'm a crimbo / journo / commie / infected with lurgi / Al Qaeda United fan), I will make a separate application to the US Embassy - even if I am just transitting through the USA on the way somewhere else' - and that should have been clear as the Philadelphia Bell, whatever booking method. Aussies don't have a problem with convicts coming in, they are already full of them :ugh: