Disappearing, duplicate itineraries create double dose of frustration
— -- Question: I reserved two one-way flights on United. The first booking was from Burlington, Vt. to San Francisco, and the second was one week later from Oakland to Montreal, Quebec. I had problems with the airline's website, so I called United for help. I was told to reserve online and then pay for the tickets at the airport. I originally wanted to fly from Montreal, but apparently United does not issue tickets there.
Before heading to the Burlington airport, I checked United's website and discovered that my reservations were not in the system. I re-reserved the two itineraries. However, when I arrived at the airport, both itineraries were missing yet again. The United agent at the airport booked new tickets for me for both trips.
A week later, when I attempted to check in for Oakland flight, United did not have my reservation. I called the airline, and was informed that instead of the Oakland-Montreal itinerary I had requested, the agent in Vermont had booked me on a flight from Montreal to San Francisco—on the same day as my original flight from Burlington.
I told the agent and his supervisor that there was no way I would have ticketed same-day flights from both Burlington and Montreal to San Francisco, arriving only hours apart. The agents told me they had to charge me an extra $209.90 to change my ticket so I could get to Montreal that day. I contacted United repeatedly about this matter, but was told that the fee was applicable. Can you help?
— Kevin Bundy, San Francisco
Answer:It certainly didn't make sense for Bundy to have bought same-day, one-way tickets from Montreal and Burlington to the San Francisco Bay Area. But sometimes the obvious can get overlooked by harried ticket agents and customer service representatives alike.
Bundy wanted to use a United voucher towards his purchase, but he had a paper certificate, not an electronic one, and paper certificates can only be redeemed in person or by mail. United doesn't have a ticketing counter at the Montreal airport, so Bundy duly trundled over the border to Burlington to ticket his two flights.
