[jsmithart]

To beat the holiday rush of ticket buying I purchased a ticket July 26, 2011 for travel December 2011 from Des Moines, IA to Eugene, OR and back. I have the comformation email. In November I went into my reservation to check arrival time to set up a car rental. To my shock I found that the portion of my ticket (Des Moines to Denver out bound and return) had been cancelled. I was never notified by email or phone (they had both) from either US Airways or United.

After many phone calls (and you can imagine how long on hold at that time of year) I find that I am not able to return on the dates that I purchased my ticket for. I have to extent my stay with all the added expenses another 2 days.

I have spend many hours talking and emailing both airlines for some type of compensation for the delay. Neither airline feels they need to do anything about it.

I have written to the heads of both airlines, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Trade Commission. Nothing.

Does anyone have any other ideas? I have saved everything I have recieved and I am thinking of taking my original email with comfirmation of original dates to the airport when I check in and make a scene at the counter. I am not checking any luggage as I have lost luggage at Christmas time before.

Times are hard for everyone and the extra expenses for an adult full time student that works part time is not going to be easy.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

[chriscolombo]

Unfortunately, you are very vague about the details. Which airline did you book the itinerary on? Which airline is flying which leg of the trip? Did you purchase the ticket directly from the airline, a travel website, or an agency?

Airlines are allowed to change flight schedules without notice. This is part of the contract of carriage which you agree to when purchasing a ticket. However, airlines generally do inform customers to such changes when an e-mail address and/or phone number is provided by the customer. When a customer purchases tickets not directly from the airline, but from a website (for example), it is the responsibility of the agency selling the ticket to notify the customer.

Until you provide details, no one can answer your question.

[jsmithart]

I purchased my ticket through US Airway and they code shared the ticket to United. They had my email and phone number for contact information. My whole trip was flying with United Airlines.

Since, I have been "talking" with both airlines and they keep pointing the finger to the other as the problem and to talk with them. I paid my money to US Airways who accepted the responsibility to get me to and from my destination.

All I was asking was to be on the flights for the date that I purchased my ticket for. As it stands I am returning 2 days later. My original purchased return was for December 31, the flights I am on now return January 2. My question still stand, why am I not flying December 31.

[chriscolombo]

There are two flights available on December 31st between Eugene and Des Moines. The first is at 5:30 am, and requires a connection in Denver. The second is at 5:45 am are requires connections in Portland Oregon and Denver. If in fact your entire itinerary was cancelled due to a schedule change, United should have re-booked you on new flights either on or as close to the same dates of departure. These flights are both available for sale, and therefore United can easily confirm you a seat.

However, I need to know what happened to your outbound flight. Was the outbound cancelled, and if so what happened? Did United re-book you, or did you change the outbound to a different date. You only mention that the Des Moines to Denver portion was cancelled, but do not mention anything about the connection flights. If your outbound flight was cancelled, then your entire itinerary should have been cancelled, including Denver to Eugene and Eugene to Denver.

If you changed the outbound flights to a different date, United is not obligated to get you back on December 31st at the same fare you originally payed for back in July. You would have to pay the difference in fare, plus a $150 change fee. However, if United had a schedule change resulting in a complete cancellation of your itinerary, then United would rebook you on or close to the same dates of travel as your original without penalty. I need to know who changed the outbound flights, and what were they changed to. Your return flight, believe it or not, is contingent upon your outbound.

With that said, US Air is the booking agency, and the responsible party for notification. If US Air claims that if an email notifying you of the schedule change was sent out, request to see a copy. If they say United sent it out, request a copy from United. Regardless, US Air is the responsible party, but you may need to work with United in terms of getting what you need.


PLAN A:
If you purchased your ticket with a credit card, some cards have travel protection on them. You can request a full refund from the credit card company, even though it was booked back in July, because the service was not rendered. Of course, I'm assuming United cancelled your entire trip, and you were not responsible for changing your outbound.

PLAN B:
Instead of canceling the return, see if United will issue a travel voucher. Again, I don't know when your outbound flight is/was, so I have no idea if you are in Des Moines or Eugene. If you have not started your trip, you may be able to replace the value of the ticket with a voucher, eliminating the need for a change fee. If you are are already in Eugene, you can still request a voucher for the value of the unused return portion. I still find the story a little odd, because there are two United flights available for booking on December 31st, and had United changed their schedule, they would automatically rebook you on alternate flights on the same day. Regardless, you can keep the vouchers for future travel and book a one-way between Eugene and Des Moines, although a lower fare may exist between Portland and Des Moines. There is a fare for $344 between Eugene and Des Moines on US Air for the 31st, and a $253 fare between Portland and DesMoines on the 31st which is available on Cheap Tickets.com. Frontier has a one way fare of $281 on the 31st.

Regardless, I need to know what happened to your outbound flight. Who changed it, and what was it changed to. Are you in Eugene or Des Moines now? Again, if United changed the outbound, then you are entitled to a seat on the 31st of December and seats are available. If you changed the outbound (Des Moines to Eugene with a connection in Denver) you are not entitled to anything, because you are traveling on a restricted advance purchase ticket. You would have to pay the difference in fare plus $150 change fee to fly back on the 31st, or wait until January 2nd. Let me know.