Connecting-flight check-in worries
I purchased two round-trip tickets from CheapAir.com on Oct. 10, 2009, for travel from Los Angeles to Pisa via New York and Rome on April 27, 2010. These were Alitalia/Delta code-share tickets.
When I purchased the tickets, the Los Angeles-New York flight was scheduled to depart LAX at 6:10 a.m., and my wife and I would have a 2¼-hour layover at JFK. This was the key factor in our purchasing these particular tickets because not only would it be necessary to change terminals to make the connection but we would have to go through security again.
On Dec. 1 we were e-mailed an alert from CheapAir.com that the flight had been canceled and we had been transferred to a flight departing LAX at 7:00 a.m. If on time, this flight would give us only 1½ hours to make our connection at JFK. Checking the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ website, (www.bts.gov/xml/ontimesummarystatistics/src/index.xml), I noted that this flight was late 26% of the time.
I found another Alitalia/Delta code-share flight that left LAX at 6:05 a.m., arriving in Atlanta at 1:24 p.m. and giving us a 3½-hour layover before a flight left for Rome. The ticket price was similar to what I had paid for the routing through JFK, and the flight would arrive in Rome early enough for us to catch our connection to Pisa.
When I contacted CheapAir.com to discuss the problem, I was informed that a 1½-hour layover was considered adequate and they would not make any ticket changes. I contacted Alitalia and was told that any schedule change would have to be done by CheapAir.com. I called CheapAir.com again and again was told that they would not make a change in routing. When I asked if I could pay for a change in tickets so we could fly through Atlanta, I was told the change fee would be $800.
I realize that airlines need to change their time schedules as demand changes, but I think I should be given the opportunity to change my flights, since the same airlines are involved, the ticket prices are similar and there are many seats still available on the alternate routing through Atlanta. By the way, my wife and I have Elite status with Delta.
PETER WEINER
Ventura, CA
ITN mailed and e-mailed a copy of Mr. Weiner’s letter to CheapAir.com (16633 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 815, Encino, CA, 91436; e-mail accounting@cheapair.com) and received a reply with the following.
Mr. Weiner’s account of the schedule change is correct. We received notification from Alitalia of a flight change from 6:10 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and notified Mr. Weiner, who requested an earlier flight.
We contacted Alitalia Airline Sales Support and were denied the request. Their reasoning was that 1½ hours is enough time to make a connection at JFK. Therefore, if Mr. Weiner wanted to change to the earlier flight, it would be considered a “voluntary change” and he would be responsible for the change fee plus any difference in fare.
As an agent for Alitalia and other airlines, we still are subject to their rules and policies. These rules and policies are the same regardless of whether a ticket is purchased from the carrier itself, from a travel agent, from another online booking site or from CheapAir.com.
In this case, Mr. Weiner wanted to change his reservation to a more expensive flight than the one he bought and paid for. Alitalia does not permit this, even during a schedule change, because another suitable flight was available in the same fare category and with a similar flight time.
Mr. Weiner contacted Alitalia himself but was instructed that only Cheapair.com could make the change. What the Alitalia agent failed to explain was that, in doing so, we still would be required to collect (on behalf of Alitalia, not for us) the additional cost of the more expensive flight option.
A week later we contacted Alitalia for a second time to plead Mr. Weiner’s case and again were denied the request.
About a month later, this situation was brought to my attention from ITN. Being the General Manager, I have access to airline representatives who sometimes are in a position to waive rules. In an effort to help Mr. Weiner, I escalated the issue through one of my contacts at Alitalia, requesting for the third time an exception to their policy. Though our contact was sympathetic to the situation and looked for a way to resolve it, she was ultimately unable to do so.
TERRY ROBIN, General Manager, Cheapair.com
ITN e-mailed Alitalia (51 Madison Ave., Ste. 2000, New York, NY 10010; customer.relationsnyc@alitalia.it) on March 5. A few days later, the airline e-mailed, “As the schedule change is not acceptable to the passenger, our sales office will be contacting the travel agency in order to rebook and reissue the tickets at no charge. — Alitalia Compagnia Aerea Italiane S.p.A., Customer Relations USA & Mexico”
On March 12 Mr. Weiner wrote to ITN, “CheapAir.com has been able to change our flights and we are being routed from Los Angeles to Atlanta and then to Rome, thus avoiding JFK entirely. I know that if ITN hadn’t taken an interest in our situation, the switch in routing never would have happened. This is exactly the routing change that I had requested, and which was denied, when the problem first arose.”
Regarding flight connection times, ITN then asked both CheapAir.com and Alitalia the following question: “Who or which establishment determines the ‘official’ minimum amount of time necessary for an arriving passenger to catch an ongoing flight? Is it the airline itself or the airport authority or the federal government?”
Mr. Robin of CheapAir.com replied, “The airline is responsible for setting minimum connection times. Passengers are advised to arrive 1½ hours in advance of a domestic flight and a minimum of two hours before an international flight, but that is a recommendation, not a requirement. When creating schedules, all airlines include minimum connection times for their flights. A connecting flight cannot be booked if the connection time does not meet the minimum that is programmed into the schedule. When a travel agency attempts to book a flight with an invalid connection time, the booking is rejected and there is no way to legally make the booking. The actual minimum connection times will vary, but in most cases it is 40 minutes, not 1½ hours.
Alitalia’s Customer Relations office replied (comparing the minimum amount of time necessary to change planes versus when first arriving at the airport), “Minimum connection times differ from originating flight check-in times. We do recommend as much time as possible (two to three hours is best if there are available flights). The 1½ hours advised is most probably a legal connection (the system will only allow bookings for “legal” connections) as long as the originating flight is not delayed. In cases of code-share flights, luggage is transferred to the next carrier and passengers do not have to check their luggage again, themselves, which saves time.”