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Well, somebody's gotta pay for the hotel room

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Well, somebody's gotta pay for the hotel room

Q. A coworker of mine booked a flight on Orbitz to travel from Tampa to Budapest. The itinerary includes flights on US Airways and British Airways. He departs this Friday and received notification last night that his return flight from Washington Dulles to Tampa had been cancelled, and his new flight requires an overnight in Washington. He spoke with both US Air and Orbitz and both refused to allow him to cancel and rebook his ticket, or provide for his hotel in DC. He did purchase trip insurance but we haven't gone so far as to check whether they will pay for the hotel room as it seems clear to me that this is the responsibility of the airline. What do you think?

A. Absolutely, he should be able to cancel his flight and get a full refund. We think that if he is persistent, Orbitz will make this right. However, according to Brian Major, a spokesperson for TravelGuard travel insurance, most travel insurance policies, including many issued by TravelGuard, would cover the hotel stay. In additon, Major states, "Travel Guard's services would help this traveler find the lodging alternative and assist with the flight re-booking." Other insurance companies that offer similar protection are Access America and CSA Travel Protection.


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If Orbitz won't do their job and help their client, I'm sure the client has friends in many places that can post the experience and lack of care from Orbitz in many free boards, such as Craigslist. The negative press will be read by millions. And likewise, if Orbitz does pull through for him, do the same as a reward.
by Negative Press on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
We had a problem in Feb. when a connecting flight was changed several times. This resulted in an unrealistic time to make the next flight. I was very pleased to find Delta was willing to change our flight. (Thank you Airfarewatchdog!) We ended up arriving back home even sooner than we would have w/out the flight changes! Kudos to Delta!
by mlbcruiser on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I would have to save a truly great amount to consider buying an itinerary with two different airlines...unless one of those airlines was selling the ticket directly. Especially in this time of shrinking frequencies.
by ed hardy on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
ed hardy,
Isn't that what I posted on Sept 18? You could have at least put it in quotes.

by jaded on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Is USAirways correct to refuse compensation (reimbursement) for hotel and meals if delayed departure and missed connection is the result of weather delays (so they claim)?
by molly99 on Sunday, September 20, 2009
If delay is the result of weather (or a mechanical), they don't have to compensate.
by jaded on Sunday, September 20, 2009
So, Hawaiian's flights have remained stable, but not Delta's?

Should be relatively easy, if it is a Delta schedule change, to call Delta to address the outbound segment: ask them to provide a departure that would give you 2 hrs to "connect" in Portland. And make sure that you show your Hawaiian boarding pass (yes, check in online before departing) so that the agent can check your bags through to the islands.

The harder one is the return. If there aren't any flights leaving Portland late enough, you have to arrive earlier. HA has flights that arrive @ 9:40 and 11:20 pm. But it seems that the last DL flights leave around 9 pm.

If Hawaiian will take you to Seattle (although they have no responsibility to do this), then DL operates many more flights there. Of course, DL has no reason to change cities (and prices into PDX are probably much lower than SEA, which is why Orbitz selected that route), so, even if they did, the additional fare would be higher.

But Portland is a very nice city. I might work with DL to get, in effect, a full day there. The light rail takes you from the airport to downtown, if you don't want to rent a car.
by jaded on Friday, September 18, 2009
At some point during this re-scheduling, we actually have been routed through Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis and Atlanta and this is what they have come up with. Delta, I believe, has consolidated flights and the ones we were originally on are no longer available. I have my elderly parents with us which is why I booked the flights originally (not too much layover for them) and I don't think it is good for them to sit in an airport all night on the way or coming back. I am unsure on where and who I should direct the overnight issues with, Delta or the insurance. I guess start with one and if no luck, go to the next one.
by browns1997 on Friday, September 18, 2009
But hotels is only part of the problem. While being "stranded" in Portland may not be a huge issue (an early flight out out Oregon is going to get you into Hawaii about the same time that most people might be finally getting up and about the morning after a late departure from the west coast. While you technically "lose" a night there, it really isn't much.

The return, though, has other implications. If I catch a red-eye from the west coast, then I can be at work on the east coast the next morning, even if I am a bit tired. Having to overnight and take a morning flight means that it is going to be at least 9 am, maybe as late as noon ET before the plane even takes off. With a 4 hr flight (never mind connections), I loose a day of work.

I would have to save a truly great amount to consider buying an itinerary with two different airlines...unless one of those airlines was selling the ticket directly. Especially in this time of shrinking frequencies.

You want to make this the carrier's problem, not an insurace company's problem. If you were booked on Delta for the entire flight, then you might have had the opportunity to reroute via non-stops to Seattle , SFO, or LAX on the west coast, Salt Lake or Minneapolis in the more central part of the country, or even via Atlanta.

Good luck.
by jaded on Friday, September 18, 2009
browns1997, ABSOLUTELY someone should be paying for those besides you! That's what you bought trip insurance through Expedia for. There should be a contact number to call & start a claim with them. You may have to pay & be reimbursed, but it should NOT be your responsibility
by sayhello on Friday, September 18, 2009
We have this issue currently. We are flying to Hawaii in October and they have cancelled one of our flights which leaves us stranded in Portland over night, 10 p.m. until 10:45 a.m. the following day. We purchased the tickets (4 tickets) through Expedia and it is Delta and Hawaiin Airlines. We also purchased insurance through Expedia. And, two days ago, Expedia contacted me again. The same thing is happening on our return trip. Two nights of hotels! Should someone other than us be paying for these?
by browns1997 on Thursday, September 17, 2009
RE: a refund. Even if they refunded the purchase price, with the close timeframe for departure, a new ticket is likely to cost more than the additional marginal cost of a hotel out by Dulles.

It isn't clear whether this itinerary is on the same "record". As British and USAirways are not in the same alliance (Oneworld vs Star), it would not seem likely to be the case. It may be that Orbitz cobbled together a cheap international routing with a cheap domestic one to minimize the fare. (Maybe it was enough savings to pay for that hotel in Dulles?) And USAirways out of Dulles to Tampa? Sounds like a codeshare with United and United canceled the flight.

There have been many posts on this (and other) sites about combining tickets on different airlines. This is just one example of what can go wrong. With one itinerary and one record, everybody knows what is happening.

If the itinerary is 2 records, this is another good data point to illustrate why I would advise infrequent travelers to be wary when using Orbitz. If I recall correctly, at one time they routinely offered (and, I am sure, sold) international itineraries where the international flights would come into/out of JFK, but the domestic connections out of LaGuardia. JFK is bad enough just to change terminals (I remember a few years ago when I arrived from Paris on Air France and had to connect to Delta for the domestic flight). Now imagine the added complexity of having to find your own transportation to an entirely different airport!


by jaded on Thursday, September 17, 2009
The exact thing happened to me in 2004 when I booked a American Airlines/British Airways flight on travelocity through Spain. After they told me they couldn't help me, I kept asking until they found a seat for me on another flight on my original day (requiring 3 connections instead of two). Of course, I missed one of the connections because the transfer time was completely impossible and British Airways barely lifted a finger to make sure I made my connection.

I will never fly British Airways again. I find it interesting that the same thing happened to you on BA.
by floresita on Thursday, September 17, 2009
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