[johncrass@sbcglobal.net]

Background:

This booking was made through Dooley Vacations who I have copied on this eamail. The Dooley Reservation number is 20110000548414. The return leg of this trip was scheduled for June 21 on EI 109 schedule to depart Dublin at 17:00. The passengers were:
- John
- Karen
- Sarah
On the night of June. 20 prior to scheduled departure my daughter got food poisoning. In the morning she was sick enough a doctor had to be called to the Hilton. She was given an injection and told to wait 2 hours to see if she would be able to fly. Vomiting continued and the doctor wrote a letter stating she could not fly until the next day and only if the vomiting subsided.

The only information I received for my flights was the confirmation number 28K5CJ and a US phone number for Aer Lingus, not a Ireland number. My confirmation number could not be located when tried online or through automated checkin sevice agent Aidan since Dooley made the reservations. When we checked in on the flight to Dublin on June 13 again nothing was given as to terms and conditions to changing the flights.

I realize that illness is not covered. I did get the only travel insurance offered by Dooley's. When I called Aer Lingus the first time I was told to contact Dooley's since they made the reservation. Dooley's told me to contact the insurance company. The insurance company said it was not covered.

At 14:45 on the June 21 I called Aer Lingus's Dublin number to change my flight. I was put on hold for almost 40 minutes. When I explained my situation to the Aer Lingus representative I was informed I could not make changes within two hours of flight time. I asked to speak to a manager who stated the same thing even after my explanation and even though the flight was still over 1.5 hours from departure. He said I had to buy new tickets. If purchased on the phone they would 569.81 Euro a piece plus tax. He told me to go online. I asked for his name and he did not or would not give me his full name only his first name of Mohammed. After going online I was forced to pay 1695.65 Euro or $2528.76 US for three return tickets. More than the original round trip tickets.

I was extremely upset on how everything was handled and went to the customer service desk at Aer Lingus in Dublin after checking in for my flight. You can imagine how upset I was when I talked to a very helpful customer service representative by the name of Naimh Obyrne. She said she had never heard of the two hour policy. She called to her superiors who have not heard of the policy.

I called the complaint line for Aer Lingus and was told they only accept complaints in writing. The complaint phone is only answered Monday through Friday from 9am to 12 pm Eastern Standard time. I filed a complaint on June 24th. It is now July 5th and I have gotten no response.