When a flight’s canceled, who’s responsible?

Question: I booked a ticket on United Airlines through Cheaptickets.com from Washington to Colorado Springs, Colo., recently. My reservation even appeared on the United Airlines website (I’m an elite-level customer on United).

All’s good, right? Five days before my flight, I checked and the reservation was gone. I went to Cheaptickets and the website had a note that my reservation was canceled. No notification — nothing.

I called Cheaptickets and a representative told me that United had declined to issue a ticket and the reservation was canceled. The original fare was $595, and now it’s $1,246. Cheaptickets is offering a refund only. I think they should honor my reservation.

Have you heard of this happening? What should I do? — John Rutledge, Washington

Answer: This looks like an accidental flight cancellation, a problem I’ve seen a time or two. But the question is, whose accident was it? Did you push the wrong button, did your airline, or did your online agency?

I’m inclined to rule you out. You’re a frequent flier on United, so it’s unlikely you would have accidentally canceled your reservation. That leaves the airline and your online travel agency.

Given that Cheaptickets offered a full refund, I’m guessing something happened on its end. Normally, the rules are pretty strict when you cancel a ticket a few days before your flight, so for an online agency to offer a full refund probably means there was some kind of glitch that caused your ticket to be voided.

The right thing to do, under those circumstances, is to work with the airline to honor your itinerary — even if it means your agency has to rebook the ticket at a higher fare. A refund will just make it your problem. And it isn’t your problem.

I can think of several ways you might have resolved this after the sudden cancellation. You could have appealed directly to United or sent a brief, polite email to a manager at Cheaptickets or Orbitz (both are owned by the same parent company). You can find links to all of the names and numbers on my customer service wiki, On Your Side.

I don’t think you should have to pay an extra $651 for a flight that’s already been confirmed. I contacted Cheaptickets on your behalf, and it apologized for the cancellation and rebooked your ticket at no extra cost to you.

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  • sirwired

    In the case of a cancellation or change, it’s the agency’s job to notify the customer.  If they fail to do so, it seems pretty unambiguous that they should be the ones to pony up to rebook you.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BLOLQUUS23NO5TCO2ATNVUEL6A Jim

    The one who caused the problem…  I can’t click that, Could be the TA or the airline Who’s system glitch caused it should pay..

    The problem should be fixed, and the TA/Airline can work it out behind scenes, in the back office. 

  • http://twitter.com/johntbaker John Baker

    I agree. I vote option D. The owner of the system that screwed up.

  • MarkKelling

    I think whoever caused the error should correct it without additional charge to the customer.

    Glad this one worked out for the traveller.  

  • http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.finger.37 Jennifer Finger

    Whoever caused the system error should be responsible for the effects, including any costs of rebooking or otherwise repairing the travel plans.  It should definitely not be passed off to the customer (unless the customer caused the problem, which I think is rare).

  • http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.finger.37 Jennifer Finger

    Whoever caused the system error should be responsible for the effects, including any costs of rebooking or otherwise repairing the travel plans.  It should definitely not be passed off to the customer (unless the customer caused the problem, which I think is rare).

  • Rosered7033

    No brainer, as others said – the one who caused, or under whose watch the “glitch” happened, should be the responsible party. I voted the airline because in most cases, the airline sells the ticket and should take ownership, but I can see it could be the TA or purchaser.

  • TonyA_says

    Am I missing something here? He pays the OTA, it issues a ticket with the confirmation online, then it says the airline has declined to issue a ticket. Chris Elliott, does the OP have his original eticket numbers? If so please tell me the first 3 digits of the 13 digit number. Thanks.

    ADDED are you sure this is not a mistake fare or a tricked ticket?

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/JWIDK73REHGADBHYLCUC3FBV7Y Bob

    Well, it depends on whose fault the glitch is.
    But I haven’t heard of or experienced glitch like this when booking directly through the airline, so it seems that travel agents would be most at fault in these situations. 

  • Raven_Altosk

    I think you need another choice: Network Gremlins.

    If we are to believe this was a system glitch and not UA saying, “Hells to the no, we’re not honoring this fare!” then…it really wasn’t anyone’s fault, was it?

    Glad this one worked out for the traveler, though.

  • AirlineEmployee

    This is typical of CheapTickets, et al, etc.   They constantly make mistakes and dump the problem on the passenger and the airline they are flying.  ….”United declined issuing a ticket and the reservation was cancelled” (???)……
    CHEAPTICKETS was paid by the passenger, CHEAPTICKETS has their money - it’s their responsibility to provide the product paid for.  I feel bad for passengers when this happens and many times have been dickering by phone while passengers are at the ticket counter trying to check in.   They are notorious about doing this – if they didn’t have control over the whole situation, how can they offer a refund ??

  • Chris_In_NC

    Dear Mr Rutledge,

    If you are an United elite member, why, oh why, did you book your ticket through Cheaptickets.com? I’m happy for you that Mr. Elliott was able to “fix” the problem, but if you travel as much as you do, didn’t you see this coming?

  • Bill___A

    Good job Chris.  Cheaptickets did the right thing with some encouragement from you.

  • sershev

    When we buy an airline ticket through an online travel agency,  the credit card is charged by the airline. Original funds hold will be shown as from travel agency on a bank website but when tickets are issued the charge will appear from the airline directly with linked ticket numbers. When original reservation made tickets are not issued right away. It might take an airline from few hours to a few days to issue the ticket. Here is a situation that might lead to cancellation: a flight reservation is made on an online website. The website obtained authorization from a credit card, put hold for the funds and sent your reservation to the airline. The reservation can be seen on the airline website, however tickets are not issued yet. Shortly after that, the airline internally process the reservation and trying to issue tickets. Depending on how the system is set up, the airline may ask for another authorization from the credit card, while there is already a hold on the amount of the ticket from online travel agency. And if there is no available funds at the moment due to prior authorization the reservation could be cancelled. I always check for issued tickets after making reservation and if tickets are not issued in timely manner I call directly to the airline and ask if there is a problem. After tickets are issued it is almost impossible for reservation to be cancelled unless someone actually clicks on a cancel button or flights are cancelled.

  • Ari Ofsevit

    This happened to my sister a couple years back: she found a good fare, booked it through an online agent, and they canceled it a few days later (they did bother to tell her). They were happy to offer to rebook it at double the fare, but wouldn’t honor their contract to get her from point A to point B for cost X.

    After several hours on the phone, we were able to convince them to rebook the ticket on the original flight (which they had claimed was canceled until I pulled it up on their website) and even gave her a voucher. Still, this seems to be another example of an online travel agent booking a cheap fare, thinking better of it, canceling it, and only honoring their agreement for the few people who have the time, energy and wherewithal to complain.

  • JeannieRest

    Cheaptickets.com.   You expect service?

  • http://www.facebook.com/asiansm Dang Ph

    Technically the airlines and Cheaptickets (not a real person TA) are responsible for the malfunction of their systems. But Cheaptickets is the direct seller and must compensate the traveler whatever the outcome with the dispute of the Airlines.

  • Elmo Clarity

    One other item to point out.  The OP states the reservation showed up on United’s system… 

    “My reservation even appeared on the United Airlines website (I’m an elite-level customer on United).”

    It sounds like United did issue a ticket and Cheaptickets is using a cheap excuse trying to blame United for not issuing the ticket.  I’m not sure how the entire system works, but I would think that United wouldn’t be listing in it’s system if it hadn’t issued a ticket.  Glad it all got worked out but it shouldn’t have taken Chris to step in to get it fixed.

  • Elmo Clarity

    I did have a glitch like this some time ago with SWA.  I ordered a ticket and got a confirmation number.  After not seeing the charge go through for several days, I called SWA back to ask what was going on.  Gave them the confirmation number but they said they couldn’t find the number in their system.  Ended up having to pay even more for another ticket.  That was the last time I ever flew SWA.

  • Elmo Clarity

    I have purchased several tickets online and *NEVER* has my bank statement changed the source of the charge from the OTA to the airline.  From reading this blog for awhile, it is my understanding that the OTA purchases the ticket from the airline through their financial accounts.  They never, or they are not suppose to, pass your credit card information on to the airline.

    I have purchased tickets using sever different banks/credit cards and like I said, have never had the charger’s name changed so it wasn’t just something with one bank or credit card.

  • bodega3

    No, this isn’t correct. 

  • bodega3

    I am wondering if a schedule change came through and a Cheaptickets employee in cleaning up the PNR, as we call it, canceled the reservation by mistake. 

    How far in advance did the OP buy the ticket?  If it was a few weeks out, then his credit card company would show the purchase.  Tickets are reported to ARC once a week and the charge doesn’t show up until after the report has been filed.  A print out of the PNR’s history can be obtained from the GDS company, for a fee.  This would show the cancellation and if the carrier or issuing agency made it.  A canceled ticket doesn’t show up until it is reused in another PNR.  A voided ticket can only be handled within 24 hours and shows up in the report the week it was issued, unless it was handled on a Sunday and voided on a Monday, which then puts the ticket issue on on report for that week and the void in the next weeks report…a very stupid move for any agency to do.

  • bodega3

    If you purchase an regular published fare airline ticket from an OTA, the airline will be the merchant on your credit card.  If you purchased a bulk/net fare ticket from an OTA, the OTA will show up as the merchant. 

  • sershev

    Here is an example from my credit card statement. You can see the charge is from United Airlines and a separate charge for each ticket. A charge from OTA would only appear if it is an airline based outside of the US or if it is a bulk fare

    And here is a screen shot from the ticket receipt I can see in my reservations section on united.com. The airline has my credit card info even I purchased tickets on expedia.com

  • sershev

     Sorry, I tried to take screen shots from my credit card statement for a tickets I recently purchased on expedia and from ticket receipt but it did not appear in the reply I posted below

  • pradcliffe

    How can you answer your question–who should pay? It depends on who was responsible for the glitch.  In this case, it appears that it was Cheap Tickets.  God help the passenger if the airline and the agency start blaming each other.  One can only hope that one or both would act in a reasonable fashion.

  • andrelot

    I think when someone uses a travel agent’s services, brick and mortar or online, the costumer is ultimately choosing to deal with the agent as its “point of entry” into the mesh of air travel procedures, issues and service.

    So I think travel agents have a responsibility to deal with the problem, and sort themselves with the airlines about who foots the bill or how it gets solved.

  • sershev

     Usually there is a 24 hr window from the time reservation is made until tickets are issued to guarantee fare. Here is a standard wording from fare rules for United tickets. If the reservation is not ticketed within specified time from when it was made it is subject to cancellation and the airline is not obligated to honor fare. It may not be a right thing to do but it is possible.

    TICKETING MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 1 DAY AFTER
    RESERVATIONS ARE MADE OR AT LEAST 7 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE
    WHICHEVER IS EARLIER.

  • bodega3

    Yes, an agency has a responsibility.  When you use vending machine company, are you expecting service?  My tickets are dealt with immediately, not when Chris Elliott gets a letter!

  • bodega3

    Cheaptickets should have been the issuing agency, not UA.  UA can show a reservation that hasn’t been issued.  A reservation number doesn’t mean a ticketed PNR.  Only a ticket number proves a ticketed reservation.

  • SooZeeeQ

    Getting a headache from so many issues where the travelers get the shaft.

    I’m staying home.

  • sershev

     Not always. I made a reservation on united.com on June 7 for travel on August 13. The reservation is instantly appeared on my account on united.com but was not ticketed as of July 5. Luckily it was not cancelled. I called United on July 5 and they issued tickets right when I was on the phone with a representative.

    07/05/12
    07/05/12
    CONTINENTAL AIRLINES HOUSTON TX
    $

  • sershev

     OTA does not issue tickets. Airline always issue tickets regardless of where tickets are purchased.

  • bodega3

    I haven’t had the chance to test the airlines on the 24 hours window to see if they guarantee the fare.  As per your post, no mention of it, just that you can hold a reservation now for 24 hours if you make the reservation with them, providing the advance purchse of the fare is being met.  We have always been able to hold a reservation, but the fare is never guaranteed until ticketed and we still state that. 

    I have had fares change during the ticketing process.  It is a PITA on my end, but the carrier has always honored the fare that was stored in the PNR at the time I was trying to issue the ticket.

  • TonyA_says

    Excuse Me! What is it that I [Tony A.] and Bodega do all day? As far as I know, we travel agents issue tickets. In fact we tell the airline the ticket numbers we issued. Maybe I need to quit my job and you can take over :-)

    Added: In fact I am busy doing tickets now so I cannot even participate actively in this forum now. Later.

  • sershev

     aa.com and united.com (it is tricky but possible on united.com) for example give you an option to hold a reservation until 11:59 pm of the next day before you actually provide a credit card info. If the reservation is not paid by then it will be cancelled, but until then the fare is guaranteed. delta.com or OTA does not give you that option. However if you call Delta, depending on a representative they may create a reservation and hold it for 24 hr.

  • bodega3

    Really????  Wrong!!!

  • bodega3

    Yes, they now allow a reservation to be held.  But I don’t see in the copy you provided that they state that they ’guarantee’ the fare. I never guarantee the fare until ticketed.

  • sershev

     You do the physical work but the airline is ultimately owns the ticket since you do use airline ticket stock and airline does pay you a small cut for it.

  • TonyA_says

    Sorry, but an agency has plates. A travel agency ISSUES tickets ON BEHALF of the airlines it has appointments.

    Sershev are you an agent with ARC certification or are you an airline employee?
    Please …

  • Lindabator

    Depends – was it the airline or the OTA who goofed – then they should pay.

  • Lindabator

    No small cuts for YEARS.  Hence the reason for fees.

  • Lindabator

    But we don’t know if CheapTickets actually issued the tickets, or just held a reservation.  Big diff!  (And yes, the reservation will show on United’s site, you just have to look on the bottom to see if there are actual ticket numbers!

  • Joe Farrell

    First question – who canceled the reservation.  That’s who pays.  

    Customer enters into a contract with a travel agency.  They are the agent of whom?  Another question.  

    If there EVER was a ticket number issued the question then is pretty simple:  Who cancelled.  

    If the airline somehow canceled the res – they must provide transportation at the agreed upon fare.  

    If the travel agency computer somehow canceled the flight due to a glitch – then its Cheap Tickets problem to find and book or reimburse a customer for the differnece in fare. 

    “The airline ‘declined’ to issue a ticket?”  WTF does that mean?   If Cheap Tickets sold inventory that did not exist then its on the hook for the ticket.  Its just that simple.   Once they take your money [did a charge hit the credit card?] then they a contract has been created.  

    Answer the first question, and the answer presents itself.   Looks like Cheap Tickets knows the answer and when called on it did what they had to do . . . otherwise there is no way they would pay for someone elses flight that they had nothing to do with causing the problem.

  • Michelle Norton

    Even if were the airlines ‘glitch’ I would still expect my booking agent to make it right.  They can then fight with the airline on their own time

  • sershev

     How do you explain this: I had a non refundable ticket purchased through a corporate travel agent last year. Plans changed and I cancelled the ticket by calling directly to United and used different airline. Eleven months later the ticket was about to expire and I called directly to united and used it for a new ticket. They even refunded $5 difference to a travel agent’s credit card.

  • bodega3

    Yes and No.  An agent can only do what the carrier allows. 

  • TonyA_says

     Re:When we buy an airline ticket through an online travel agency,  the credit card is charged by the airline.
    Sorry, Wrong Again.

    Note the wording in your statement:
    05/18/12 05/18/12 UNITED AIRLINES ARC ELK GROVE TOWIL

    If you or anyone (in the USA) buys an airline ticket from an AGENCY, your credit card will be billed EITHER by:
    (1) ARC – Airline Reporting Comp, a company owned by the airlines (together)
    (2) the Agency itself and they will in turn settle the payment (in cash account)  thru ARC.

    The airlines use ARC in the USA as the payment settlement company for all agencies (as far as I know). ARC collects and then pays the airline later. It is a complex process since Airlines can issue and validate tickets on other airlines, too.

  • sershev

     Perhaps, when a reservation is made through a corporate travel there is a statement about additional ticketing charge added.

  • y_p_w

    All vending machines are required to have contact information in most states and a way to resolve issues if the machine malfuctions. I’ve gotten refunds before. Once I had a postal vending machine fail to dispense, and I called up the number right from my phone and had a replacement sent within days.

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