BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

[ozjuice]

I am a little bemused by some of this....Firstly, you bought a ticket. A legitimate purchase. If it is then cancelled you should have a right to call and ask why. Secondly...You may question the purchase but it matters not.....you bought it! You didn't steal anything. There is a lot of feeling as if it was stolen. It wasn't. It wasn't a mistake by anyone who bought a bargain ticket.
Personally i wouldn't call to ask anything but treat it like a booked flight. If they cancel then you have a right to ask why and then challenge it.
Otherwise..just enjoy a cheap flight.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

I am a little bemused by some of this....Firstly, you bought a ticket. A legitimate purchase. If it is then cancelled you should have a right to call and ask why. Secondly...You may question the purchase but it matters not.....you bought it! You didn't steal anything. There is a lot of feeling as if it was stolen. It wasn't. It wasn't a mistake by anyone who bought a bargain ticket.
Personally i wouldn't call to ask anything but treat it like a booked flight. If they cancel then you have a right to ask why and then challenge it.
Otherwise..just enjoy a cheap flight.

Exactly! That is my take. These were legitimately offered fares and I expect them to be honoured. Because why not?

 

[Happy Trails]

The '13 stages' probably warrant a rerun at this point.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer..../mel-lax-oct-nov-rt-69053-17.html#post1270701

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Exactly! That is my take. These were legitimately offered fares and I expect them to be honoured. Because why not?

because if it was a mistake, and certain other conditions can be met, the airline may be able to cancel the tickets quite legitimately. If the fares weren't a mistake, no problem!

 

[CaviAck]

Not sure. I called VA just to understand what happened and they escalated it to managers to look into. When I hear something back, will post results.

I think a lot of people just became very cautious now...

That probably isn't the best news for those of us who still have bookings - rule #1 - Never call the airline

This would have to be the number one rule!

Harsh when he or she is personally affected. And it's not as though they're not aware at this juncture.

As harsh as it may be, everyone is personally affected. With these deep discounted fares everyone is possibly in the same position, one phone call can ruin it not just for themselves but everyone. There's a reason why the number one rule is to never call the airline and why one can be yelled at for doing so over on FT.


There was someone here posting about Australian protection laws, AFAIK and am aware of these tickets were purchased and ticketed in USA hence their laws covers it and not Australian consumer laws. I couldn't find the post again after scrolling past it for some reason... I know it's there but I just can't seem to see it again...

 

[greenfish]

What seems particularly unfortunate is that the call to the airline is most likely pointless in this case - it is very unlikely the airline will reinstate a "mistake" fare (if it is one) even if the cancellation is for some other reason. It just highlights to the airline that there's something requiring further investigation.

I'm also not clear why the poster called the airline and not Orbitz, who advertised the fare, provided the e-ticket and presumably were responsible for the cancellation. Not that ringing Orbitz would be a good idea either in this case

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There was someone here posting about Australian protection laws, AFAIK and am aware of these tickets were purchased and ticketed in USA hence their laws covers it and not Australian consumer laws. I couldn't find the post again after scrolling past it for some reason... I know it's there but I just can't seem to see it again...

Good point, although that probably doesn't put the consumer in any better position?

As the ticket involves travel to or from the USA it would also be subject to US DOT rules, although the DOT has currently suspended most of the protection provisions in relation to alleged mistake fares. While the DOT provisions would theoretically require an airline to cover reasonable expenses incurred in relation to the ticket (connecting flights and hotels), the problem is the definition and application of 'reasonable'. If a passenger suspects the fare is an error, and doesn't take steps to confirm the fare, their actions may not be considered 'reasonable'.

 

[CaviAck]

Good point, although that probably doesn't put the consumer in any better position?

As the ticket involves travel to or from the USA it would also be subject to US DOT rules, although the DOT has currently suspended most of the protection provisions in relation to alleged mistake fares. While the DOT provisions would theoretically require an airline to cover reasonable expenses incurred in relation to the ticket (connecting flights and hotels), the problem is the definition and application of 'reasonable'. If a passenger suspects the fare is an error, and doesn't take steps to confirm the fare, their actions may not be considered 'reasonable'.

That's the risk you take when booking these deep discount fares. You have to accept that you're not the only one and there are many many other people that your one action can impact.

I have no comments on the DOT rulings while this is still active. To me this is a deep discounted fare that's specially negotiated for Orbitz/(Expedia) as indicated by the tour code in regards to the booking details.

 

[deva22]

<snip>

There was someone here posting about Australian protection laws, AFAIK and am aware of these tickets were purchased and ticketed in USA hence their laws covers it and not Australian consumer laws. I couldn't find the post again after scrolling past it for some reason... I know it's there but I just can't seem to see it again...

Not true [-](edit: it appears I may have quoted the wrong post, I meant to quote the one about aussie consumer law)[/-]. All products/services sold to Australian consumers by overseas vendors are subject to Australian Consumer Law.
As long as you put your Australian address in as the purchaser, and used your Australian credit card, you're protected under ACL.
That being said, it's much more difficult to take a vendor to task under these laws if they're an overseas organisation, but it can be, and has been done.

All of that aside, I'm staying mum until I arrive at the airport, and I'm booking my connecting flights on points that will only cost me $60 to cancel if I need to, and can cancel up to 24hrs before scheduled departure

 

[JohnK]

That probably isn't the best news for those of us who still have bookings - rule #1 - Never call the airline

I think I still have a booking and scottz95 also thought they had a booking. Their booking was cancelled. They called to find out about their booking. They owe us nothing.

If my booking was cancelled I am not going to sit around wondering what has happened. Sorry that is not how it works.

 

[greenfish]

I think I still have a booking and scottz95 also thought they had a booking. Their booking was cancelled. They called to find out about their booking. They owe us nothing.

If my booking was cancelled I am not going to sit around wondering what has happened. Sorry that is not how it works.

Fair enough John. I personally wouldn't call, as I know that there's minimal chance of having the booking reinstated - and I wouldn't want to risk ruining it for others. To each their own.

 

[Coops1]

If my booking was cancelled I am not going to sit around wondering what has happened. Sorry that is not how it works.

Totally agree. If it's going to get cancelled it's going to get cancelled. Nobody is special.

 

[Dr Ralph]

All products/services sold to Australian consumers by overseas vendors are subject to Australian Consumer Law.
As long as you put your Australian address in as the purchaser, and used your Australian credit card, you're protected under ACL.

Sorry but this isn't correct.

There are several problems with your claim. I'll start with just the value of you product or service being a relavant factor. You might want to read the legislation more carefully.

 

[Dr Ralph]

I am a little bemused by some of this....Firstly, you bought a ticket. A legitimate purchase. If it is then cancelled you should have a right to call and ask why. Secondly...You may question the purchase but it matters not.....you bought it! You didn't steal anything. There is a lot of feeling as if it was stolen. It wasn't. It wasn't a mistake by anyone who bought a bargain ticket.
Personally i wouldn't call to ask anything but treat it like a booked flight. If they cancel then you have a right to ask why and then challenge it.
Otherwise..just enjoy a cheap flight.

You don't seem to understand how a contract is formed. There is a great difference between an offer and an invitation to treat. The advertisement of the cheap fair was NOT an offer, rather it was an invitation to treat.

Let alone the possibility that this was a contract formed over international boarders - hence international law also being relevant.

 

[Dirah]

DOT rules apply to all fares that touch US soil - doesn't matter if consumer is US.
DOT rules and intervention regarding so called "mistake fares" was created precisely on account of current situation - to protect consumer from a delayed cancellation by the carrier (i.e. once other non-refundable plans were put into place).
DOT issued a statement last year they would stop enforcing mistake fares on account of the United/Norwegian Dollar Fiasco.
However, I think if VA/Orbitz tried to cancel now, they would find a very unsympathetic DOT to say the least, because well over 72 hours has passed without a single statement from either VA/Orbitz.
I'm not saying it is impossible for them to cancel, but I think they would be up against a lot if they tried to cancel at this stage.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

DOT rules apply to all fares that touch US soil - doesn't matter if consumer is US.
DOT rules and intervention regarding so called "mistake fares" was created precisely on account of current situation - to protect consumer from a delayed cancellation by the carrier (i.e. once other non-refundable plans were put into place).
DOT issued a statement last year they would stop enforcing mistake fares on account of the United/Norwegian Dollar Fiasco.
However, I think if VA/Orbitz tried to cancel now, they would find a very unsympathetic DOT to say the least, because well over 72 hours has passed without a single statement from either VA/Orbitz.
I'm not saying it is impossible for them to cancel, but I think they would be up against a lot if they tried to cancel at this stage.

I'm not aware of any 72 hour requirement: https://cms.dot.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Mistaken_Fare_Policy_Statement_05082015.pdf

The Canadian Transportation Agency has mentioned a 72 hour period for cancellation by the carrier, but that time only starts running once the carrier becomes aware of the mistake. Additionally, it is only the opinion of the CTA that a carrier should, as a matter of practice, cancel within that time period - it is not, from what I understand, 'law'.

Full decision: https://www.otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/177-c-a-2014

 

[Dirah]

I'm not aware of any 72 hour requirement:

I didn't intend to say that 72 hours is a requirement.
Rather, that by allowing a significant time to elapse without the airline alerting its customers or making any info available, it could be argued that they were either indicating that the fare would be honoured, or were purposely misleading their customers.

 

[Princess Fiona]

The '13 stages' probably warrant a rerun at this point.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer..../mel-lax-oct-nov-rt-69053-17.html#post1270701

That is gold !!!

 

[stoneman]

The '13 stages' probably warrant a rerun at this point.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer..../mel-lax-oct-nov-rt-69053-17.html#post1270701

Hahaha THAT'S PRICELESS! :-D

 

[sausagefingers]

That is as accurate as anything I've ever read.. and I am so the Novice in this :-(