Travelstart chief executive Stephan Ekbergh was quoted as saying: “Consumers are realising that onli

I'm Robyn Christie, CEO of ASATA (the Association downtown disney hotels of South African Travel Agents). My job is more than just a title, it's a lifestyle, lots of people to meet and places to see. So, when I'm not blogging, downtown disney hotels I'm travelling, meeting travel downtown disney hotels professionals locally and internationally to promote and improve the local travel industry.
Last November I incurred the wrath of many travel agents by featuring in this column the results of a Synovate survey which found that consumers could fly to domestic and international destinations far cheaper if they booked using online travel agencies instead of traditional ones.
Travelstart chief executive Stephan Ekbergh was quoted as saying: downtown disney hotels "Consumers are realising that online travel agencies offer them the advantages of lower prices, greater transparency, more flexibility, convenience, downtown disney hotels a wider choice, and more control over their flight booking experience."
Naturally, Robyn Christie , chief executive downtown disney hotels of the Association of SA Travel Agents (Asata) had a different view, saying the traditional travel agents' service – for which clients pay a fee – included the negotiation of competitive rates, providing 24-hour access in the event of any unforeseen changes, and interpreting complicated fare rules to avoid unnecessary charges.
The fact that the main flights in both directions were delayed by many hours, causing major disruption to our schedule, was not Orbitz's fault, of course, but the agency was guilty of shocking communication.
My parents downtown disney hotels and I had just finished dinner in the airport at around 9pm when my mother did an e-mail check and discovered an e-mail sent by Orbitz, saying the flight had taken off at 8.30pm as scheduled.
Panic-stricken, we raced back to the boarding gate to discover that the flight had yet to take off. As it turned out, it didn't leave until 2am the following morning and we ended up getting to Vancouver 24 hours later than planned (see sidebar).
Worse was to come on my return, this time travelling alone. Concerned about my tight connection in New York, I called United Airlines from Vancouver on my departure day – June 30 – to say I'd be rushing to make the flight, and that I had no check-in baggage.
Having held on for answers from Orbitz for well over an hour on a cellphone, a consultant told me SAA had indeed cancelled my New York to Joburg flight, and maybe I should ask Air Canada to refund that portion of my trip and buy a new ticket to get home.
Orbitz's customer service supervisor, Logan, followed up with the following e-mail, sent that evening, just hours before my departure from Vancouver: "We would like to informed (sic) you that your flight from JFK to JNB was just cancelled yesterday by South African Airways. We tried to reinstate the flight directly with the airline.
When I made it to the SAA counter at JFK the following downtown disney hotels morning – ironically in good time for the originally scheduled flight – they confirmed downtown disney hotels the almost 10-hour delay and the fact that I wasn't booked on the flight.
I tried to get hold of Orbitz downtown disney hotels last week, e-mailing "Logan" with a media query. I received a cellphone call from a blocked number with a message so garbled that I heard nothing apart from the words "New York".
The airline's customer service executive, Suretha Cruse , began by saying that the flight was delayed because an incoming flight left Joburg about 12 hours late on June 29, and the crew had to get their mandatory 48 hours' downtown disney hotels rest before doing the New York to Joburg return flight.
downtown disney hotels Because when things go wrong, as they do, you need the agency to which you paid your fare to be in your corner; to be accessible; to take ownership |of the problem and make it possible for you to be kept informed of any changes in good time.
No refreshments were provided to the waiting passengers. Having landed at Heathrow, we'd missed our Air Canada flight to Vancouver and were told by a Virgin rep waiting outside the plane to go to that airline's transfer counter for help.
Having finally made it to the desk, we were directed to a nearby hotel for Virgin-paid dinner, bed and breakfast, and issued with Air Canada tickets for a flight to Vancouver the next morning – 24 hours later than the one we'd been booked on.
I have since e-mailed Virgin Atlantic, questioning its handling of the delay, downtown disney hotels as well as its failure to provide refreshments on either end, which contradicts the airline's website promises in the event of the kind of a delay that we experienced.