Warning to those using online booking agents for flights.

[Sakeopete]

How a perfect Christmas family vacation gets spoiled.

I used Expedia.co.th to book flights and hotel for my family of 5 to visit Canada last December for Christmas. The flights were China Easter Airlines and Air Canada. Everything was fine on the inbound journey to Canada except the usual flight delays that happen with every carrier.

After a great visit with family and friends we started our journey home. The first leg of the journey was the flight from Calgary to Vancouver so far all was well ( I must say it was awesome having high speed internet on the Air Canada flight).

When we arrived in Vancouver we went to China Eastern Airlines counter to get boarding passes and they said that we have a booking but there is something wrong with the code from Expedia. So I call Expedia spending nearly 2 hours with their help desk (lucky to have free wifi in the airport and Line Out). In the end the Expedia agent blames China Eastern Airlines and the airline rep blames Expedia.

So my family of 5 with young children are stuck in the airport and our flight leaves without us. The Expedia agent tells us to buy a ticket home and they will sort it out and refund the cost (not that I believed that would happen but I had no choice anyways) so that is what I did. There were no more available flights until the next day in the end I was forced to pay over $4000 US to bring my family home after spending almost 200000 Baht for tickets through Expedia.

I don't care who's fault it was I blame Expedia. I booked my flights through them if there was a problem they should have bought us tickets home then sorted the code issues with China Eastern. Clearly we had tickets that were paid for and confirmed by Expedia. It even say on their confirmation e-mail that it is not necessary to confirm flights with the airline.

Why I am sharing this story now? Well it has been over 4 months with numerous e-mails to Expedia and as expected I'm getting the normal BS delay tactics.I'm sure I will never see my money returned. I'm not really angry about it as I make a decent living and the extra money spent isn't going to cause my family any grief.

However if it happened to a family who had to save all year or didn't have money to buy last minute tickets to get home it could have been devastating to be stuck in another country with no means to get home.

Lesson learned no more online booking agents for for flights from now I will try and book directly through the airlines even if it is less convenient and costs a bit more.

On a side note I had already booked a hotel in Buriram through Expedia before my trip to Canada for the WSBK races last March. Guess what the hotel said we had no booking it was a fight to get our room but finally the hotel conceded and gave us our room.

No more Expedia for me!

[theguyfromanotherforum]

You contact your credit card and request a chargeback.Why are you making it complicated?

You booked through expedia and they failed to deliver.

[55Jay]

Sorry you had a bad travel experience and learned the hard way.

I use consolidator sites and Google Air to get a feel for price trends, but always buy direct from the airline site to be a direct customer.

I've avoided the temptation to pay less and use the mainland Chinese airlines. I keep saying I'll give them a try one of these days but..... meh... just haven't gotten around to it.

Used Agoda several times for hotels and, touch wood, haven't had any issues yet.

Edited April 10, 2016 by 55Jay

[Lantern]

Direct to the airline is the best & safest way.

[Sakeopete]

You contact your credit card and request a chargeback.Why are you making it complicated?

You booked through expedia and they failed to deliver.

Honestly I never thought about that option I've never needed to do that. Is it possible with Thai credit cards?

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Ah, it's a Thai card. I don't know to be honest. The other issue is that there is usually a time limit on charge backs... Usually 60 days.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Ah, it's a Thai card. I don't know to be honest. The other issue is that there is usually a time limit on charge backs... Usually 60 days.

120 to 540 days for UK debit cards.

UK credit cards have even better protection, Section 75.

[jingjoke]

RE "I'm not really angry about it as I make a decent living and the extra money spent isn't going to cause my family any grief."

The rich remain rich 'cause they would never ever state what you said. Just saying....

[johnatong]

I am delighted that you can afford an additional $4000 ( on top of what ever was paid) and feel able to write that sum off.

By doing so you disadvantage those who do not enjoy your unlimited wealth.

Chase what you are owed by any and all means.

[loppylugs1]

That airline China Eastern is possibly the worst airline flying

[laolover88]

Horrible experience for you.

If you look at the extraordinarily complicated dealings whereby what is now Expedia has evolved from Microsoft you would not touch them with the proverbial barge pole. I would start hassling Expedia in Washington in the US. I cannot see why a Thai Visa/Mastercard would be any different from a US?UK/Canada one when it comes to chargeback; except, of course. the Thai Bank will pretend it does not understand and on your payment slip it will say "No Refund"

[Ricardo]

You contact your credit card and request a chargeback.Why are you making it complicated?

You booked through expedia and they failed to deliver.

But perhaps the cost of the last-minute replacement tickets was more, than the OP had paid to Expedia, so then he/they would still be considerably out-of-pocket.

Many years ago I used to work for an airline, and used to go to the local IATA-BSP meetings, it was always agreed that in a situation where the ticket had been issued and confirmed, then the airline would honour the booking & take it up with the travel-agent, if they were still in business.

So that the honest passenger didn't suffer, because of any unresolved commercial-problem, between the airline & its agent. But those days are clearly long gone, going by this particular case.

It always helps to check one's bookings on www.checkmytrip.com to be sure that the ticket/sectors continue to show as 'Confirmed'.

[siam2007]

If a hotel says " we don't have your booking" upon your arrival, it is in 99,9% of the cases the fault of the hotel (who maybe engage in overbookings or have carelessly ignored/deleted the mail/Fax by the consolidator).

Same pattern applies if a room looks different in reality than on the website or if facilities listed are not available actually - it is THE HOTEL that provides and in most cases maintains the information on the booking website (for example AGODA)

[Jblood]

I use Kayak and Skyscanner just to look for the best deals for a ticket, but then I contact the airline directly or use a reliable local agent to get the ticket... using a local agent can sometimes give you even better rate than what you find at Kayak.

From my experience flying before there even was internet, when dealing with an airline directly they manage to screw something up from time to time... That's why I was never going to trust some webpage on internet to do it all for me and expect myself to be completely worry free - that's why I never even trusted or considered using Expedia, Kayak and so on, and judging from what you told us today I realize I wasn't being at all paranoid. Even when I book directly with airline, I double and triple check my booking via their official webpage. Just like the old saying goes - if you want something done, you better do it yourself... The longer I live the more I'm convinced this statement to be regrettably completely true. Wherever there are humans there's always a possibility of human error, it's not possible to get rid of this factor completely, so when you delegate some work to people and don't do any additional quality control/verification - then you are always testing your luck

Since this happened in Vancouver - were the China Eastern Airlines reps the Chinese from China, or locals from Vancouver? It's possible that the locals were just really stupid, or just trying to be too smart for themselves, which happens a lot whenever there's a Canada vs US spat

In any case Expedia must return the money if they promised, but that might be difficult if you don't have it in writing.

I'm also really impressed that you manage to remain so calm having lost such a huge amount of money due to no fault of yours. I mean with me, even if somebody's negligence cost me only $100 I would definitely be raising hell over it They would have to compensate me and restructure their whole company just to please me, because I would just never let up till I'm satisfied...

Another option you may consider is that the Airline rep was indeed being an idiot by not letting you board the plane - if they said it was just the matter of some code - how is that the customer's problem? In which case it's not clear if Expedia should be responsible for the stupidity of the Airline's representative, or some of their internal issues. I think you should press and escalate this issue to both the China Eastern Airlines and the Expedia Headquarters. Just find and send an email to the CEO of both China Eastern and Expedia, and put as many people in CC as possible on both sides, the CFOs, Operational managers, regional operational managers and so on - explain what happened and threaten to go to the press with this... My guess is that if you prepare for this carefully, your problem will be resolved in a matter of a few hours. The problem is often that the CEO and all the upper management are not even aware of this issue, and all the subordinate managers are sending you for a run-around and only interested to keep a lid on this problem hoping that you will just go away, none of them want to be held accountable for the problem which they obviously created for you. I strongly suggest you escalate this issue directly to the CEO of both companies, otherwise you'll just keep wasting your time and put as many subordinates in CC as possible when you do this - make sure they all have something to talk about during one of their usual morning meetings

I had a problem with internet company once who kept billing me after I tried to disconnect the service. I wasted many hours on the phone with their customer reps but then I decided to change the strategy. It took me just a few minutes to write an email to the CEO, and I did some additional research about the company and put all the upper management in CC - I crafted and sent them a very scary email and my problem was solved almost instantly - I was refunded for almost half a year and I also got an official apology letter from their public relations manager or something like that.

[new2here]

I don't care who's fault it was I blame Expedia. I booked my flights through them if there was a problem they should have bought us tickets home then sorted the code issues with China Eastern.

The only problem with that, and I do see how you could see like that, is that Expedia only acts as or in an "agent" capacity.

So, depending on what the actual issue was will then say who is responsible for the ensuing problems. It is entirely possible that Expedia did everything right and thru no fault of yours OR Expedia's, the airline made the error.. In that case, I'd hold Expedia harmless and focus on the airline.

Conversely, it may also be Expedia who made the error, and if so, just the like above, then the onus to fix it would fall to Expedia, and not the airline.

So while I can see why one might unilaterally place all the fault on the agent - as that's the entity with whom the vast majority of the interaction took place, because the agent does not and cannot control the entire process, I think you need to know more details about specific origin of the error before you can say who is to blame and therefore should be the one to address any compensation/refunds due you.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I don't care who's fault it was I blame Expedia. I booked my flights through them if there was a problem they should have bought us tickets home then sorted the code issues with China Eastern.

The only problem with that, and I do see how you could see like that, is that Expedia only acts as or in an "agent" capacity.

So, depending on what the actual issue was will then say who is responsible for the ensuing problems. It is entirely possible that Expedia did everything right and thru no fault of yours OR Expedia's, the airline made the error.. In that case, I'd hold Expedia harmless and focus on the airline.

Conversely, it may also be Expedia who made the error, and if so, just the like above, then the onus to fix it would fall to Expedia, and not the airline.

So while I can see why one might unilaterally place all the fault on the agent - as that's the entity with whom the vast majority of the interaction took place, because the agent does not and cannot control the entire process, I think you need to know more details about specific origin of the error before you can say who is to blame and therefore should be the one to address any compensation/refunds due you.

Sorry, but this is wrong.

Even if this is a problem with the airline, Expedia is responsible for delivering what the customer paid for. The fault is 100% with Expedia even if the airline screwed up.

If you order something online and FedEx/UPS loses or damages the package, do you go ask FedEx or a merchant for a refund? Same here.

[KhunBENQ]

I have read many bad stories with misc. agents.

But really sorry to hear that also Expedia can get you in such trouble.

It's always tempting to select a lower price from some agent.

Better resist!

[loppylugs1]

Since this happened in Vancouver - were the China Eastern Airlines reps the Chinese from China, or locals from Vancouver? It's possible that the locals were just really stupid, or just trying to be too smart for themselves, which happens a lot whenever there's a Canada vs US spat

In any case Expedia must return the money if they promised, but that might be difficult if you don't have it in writing.

Another option you may consider is that the Airline rep was indeed being an idiot by not letting you board the plane - if they said it was just the matter of some code - how is that the customer's problem? In which case it's not clear if Expedia should be responsible for the stupidity of the Airline's representative, or some of their internal issues. I think you should press and escalate this issue to both the China Eastern Airlines and the Expedia Headquarters. Just find and send an email to the CEO of both China Eastern and Expedia, and put as many people in CC as possible on both sides, the CFOs, Operational managers, regional operational managers and so on - explain what happened and threaten to go to the press with this... My guess is that if you prepare for this carefully, your problem will be resolved in a matter of a few hours. The problem is often that the CEO and all the upper management are not even aware of this issue, and all the subordinate managers are sending you for a run-around and only interested to keep a lid on this problem hoping that you will just go away, none of them want to be held accountable for the problem which they obviously created for you. I strongly suggest you escalate this issue directly to the CEO of both companies, otherwise you'll just keep wasting your time and put as many subordinates in CC as possible when you do this - make sure they all have something to talk about during one of their usual morning meetings

China Eastern are FOUL ,never get anywhere writing,take them to court,did just that,court date looming,they settled..look on their Facebook page,that is the ones they do not erase

[new2here]

I don't care who's fault it was I blame Expedia. I booked my flights through them if there was a problem they should have bought us tickets home then sorted the code issues with China Eastern.

The only problem with that, and I do see how you could see like that, is that Expedia only acts as or in an "agent" capacity.

So, depending on what the actual issue was will then say who is responsible for the ensuing problems. It is entirely possible that Expedia did everything right and thru no fault of yours OR Expedia's, the airline made the error.. In that case, I'd hold Expedia harmless and focus on the airline.

Conversely, it may also be Expedia who made the error, and if so, just the like above, then the onus to fix it would fall to Expedia, and not the airline.

So while I can see why one might unilaterally place all the fault on the agent - as that's the entity with whom the vast majority of the interaction took place, because the agent does not and cannot control the entire process, I think you need to know more details about specific origin of the error before you can say who is to blame and therefore should be the one to address any compensation/refunds due you.

Sorry, but this is wrong.

Even if this is a problem with the airline, Expedia is responsible for delivering what the customer paid for. The fault is 100% with Expedia even if the airline screwed up.

If you order something online and FedEx/UPS loses or damages the package, do you go ask FedEx or a merchant for a refund? Same here.

In your example, assuming the merchant did deliver it to FedEx/UPS for delivery (to me) and subsequent to that but before final delivery it is "lost" in the FedEx/UPS system, then I'd go to FedEx or UPS as that is where the apparent failure originates. Yes, I would also get the supplier 'in the boat' if you will related to getting a replacement shipped, but ultimately the failure would be on the part of FedEx/UPS in that scenario.

In the same way, assuming Expedia fulfilled their role as agent, I think it is an unreasonable position that you can hold the agent liable for a proven failure on the part of an unrelated supplier.. Again, this is premised on the idea that the error is in fact on the part of the airline and not Expeida- which I don't think has been determined factually yet. I would agree with you IF the error is proven to be wIth Expeida

Expedia spells out their liability limitations in their Contract which appears to govern all transactions executed on the .co.th channel

"The carriers, hotels and other suppliers providing travel or other services on this Website are independent contractors and not agents or employees of the AAE Companies or the AAE Affiliates. The AAE Companies and the AAE Affiliates are not liable for the acts, errors, omissions, representations, warranties, breaches or negligence of any such suppliers or for any personal injuries, death, property damage, or other damages or expenses resulting there from. AAE Companies are not liable for any costs, expenses, claims or damages arising out of any services to recover any of the foregoing, including without limitation relocation costs."

https://www.expedia.co.th/p/corporate/termsofuse

I get why you and others may see it as wholly Expedias fault-- and until proven such, it very well may be.. But in the end, I don't think it's a correct position to day that it is or will be their fault "100%" as their terms do, to me at least, spell out where their limitations are relative to independent suppliers.

[Jblood]

https://www.expedia.co.uk/p/support/general-booking-conditions

These are the terms and conditions for Expedia bookings I found on internet.

Here are some interesting lines:

"The Website helps the Customer to find travel products and to make the necessary reservations, and acts as an interface in the transactions involved with the Suppliers"

Basically they are saying that they are not even an agent but just an interface of convenience connecting the customer and the suppliers.

And what later follows looks like they are saying for the most part that the Suppliers' problems are not Expedia's problems

3.1.1. Air transport terms and conditions

The Customer is responsible for complying with the instructions of the airline and/or tour operator, in particular with respect to flight check-in times. In particular, the Customer acknowledges and agrees that:

• Expedia, has no control over the allocation of seats on any air transport, even if pre-booked with the airline, and does not guarantee that specific seats will be available on departure.
• Expedia, has no control over any indications of the hours spent flying which are provided by the Supplier of the relevant air transport and are given for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation.
• It is the Customer's responsibility to confirm his / her return flight in accordance with the requirements of the Supplier of the relevant air transport.
• If Customer books a return journey and does not use the outward flight, the airline may cancel the return flight without refund. This also applies if the return flight is not taken and insofar as the travel is not taken at all. The Customer must use flight coupons in sequence.
• In the case of special or charter flights, the name of the airline, the flight schedule, the aircraft type, the itinerary and possible intermediate stops are only given as an indication of the outward and return flights in the trip. In accordance with a Supplier's Rules and Restrictions, these flights, aircraft types and flight numbers can be subject to change, and can be moved by up to 24 hours, even after confirmation.
• Additional charges may be imposed by some airlines for meals, luggage, preferred seat selection, etc. Expedia is not responsible for such charges and information on charges shown on the Website are for information only and may be amended by airlines at any time.
• The Customer must comply with all air transport Supplier's Rules and Restrictions on the carriage of pregnant women.
• The Customer must comply with the air transport Supplier's Rules and Restrictions on the carriage of children and in particular that children older than 2 years on the return date must have a return ticket at a child fare for both the outbound and inbound flights. Customers who do not comply with this will not be eligible for a refund of any seat charges incurred during travel. Children under 2 years will not be allocated their own seat in the aircraft, unless a child fare has been booked for them. Unaccompanied children under 14 will only be carried in accordance with the air transport Supplier's Rules and Restrictions.

Looks like above they are saying that the customer is actually responsible for confirming his return flight

And later I can see this:

3.1.9. Denied Boarding Compensation

If an airline cancels or delays a flight, is unable to provide previously confirmed space, fails to stop at a Customer's stop-over or destination point, or causes a Customer to miss a connecting flight on which a Customer holds a reservation, the Customer may be entitled to certain remedies from the airline.

The above means nothing at all - "may be entitled" means Expedia is not really entitled to reimburse you if the Airline fails to provide you with the seats that you booked on the plane or deliver you to your intended destination.

Maybe you can find a more relevant clause which applies here, this is all I found so far... Doesn't really look good, basically they are saying they are not even an agent, and don't hold any responsibility for the Supplier's end to perform their services.

[new2here]

I agree. Again, I see why someone like the OP or other posters may FEEL or THINK to the contrary, but as I see the facts as spelled out in their website, and absent some kind of prevailing law in Canada (where the issue appears to have taken place), Thailand (where it appears the transaction was executed, or Singapore (where Expedias Thailand operations appear to be based) I think this is an erroneous position.

There are limitations, and Expedia's liability really is rather small in totality - you, I or others may feel this is wrong, but based in what I can see, I think this is the correct interpretation of the facts that will apply here.

[HooHaa]

RE "I'm not really angry about it as I make a decent living and the extra money spent isn't going to cause my family any grief."

The rich remain rich 'cause they would never ever state what you said. Just saying....

ah thank you for that much needed truism.

[Sakeopete]

I don't care who's fault it was I blame Expedia. I booked my flights through them if there was a problem they should have bought us tickets home then sorted the code issues with China Eastern.

The only problem with that, and I do see how you could see like that, is that Expedia only acts as or in an "agent" capacity.

So, depending on what the actual issue was will then say who is responsible for the ensuing problems. It is entirely possible that Expedia did everything right and thru no fault of yours OR Expedia's, the airline made the error.. In that case, I'd hold Expedia harmless and focus on the airline.

Conversely, it may also be Expedia who made the error, and if so, just the like above, then the onus to fix it would fall to Expedia, and not the airline.

So while I can see why one might unilaterally place all the fault on the agent - as that's the entity with whom the vast majority of the interaction took place, because the agent does not and cannot control the entire process, I think you need to know more details about specific origin of the error before you can say who is to blame and therefore should be the one to address any compensation/refunds due you.

Sorry, but this is wrong.

Even if this is a problem with the airline, Expedia is responsible for delivering what the customer paid for. The fault is 100% with Expedia even if the airline screwed up.

If you order something online and FedEx/UPS loses or damages the package, do you go ask FedEx or a merchant for a refund? Same here.

In your example, assuming the merchant did deliver it to FedEx/UPS for delivery (to me) and subsequent to that but before final delivery it is "lost" in the FedEx/UPS system, then I'd go to FedEx or UPS as that is where the apparent failure originates. Yes, I would also get the supplier 'in the boat' if you will related to getting a replacement shipped, but ultimately the failure would be on the part of FedEx/UPS in that scenario.

In the same way, assuming Expedia fulfilled their role as agent, I think it is an unreasonable position that you can hold the agent liable for a proven failure on the part of an unrelated supplier.. Again, this is premised on the idea that the error is in fact on the part of the airline and not Expeida- which I don't think has been determined factually yet. I would agree with you IF the error is proven to be wIth Expeida

Expedia spells out their liability limitations in their Contract which appears to govern all transactions executed on the .co.th channel

"The carriers, hotels and other suppliers providing travel or other services on this Website are independent contractors and not agents or employees of the AAE Companies or the AAE Affiliates. The AAE Companies and the AAE Affiliates are not liable for the acts, errors, omissions, representations, warranties, breaches or negligence of any such suppliers or for any personal injuries, death, property damage, or other damages or expenses resulting there from. AAE Companies are not liable for any costs, expenses, claims or damages arising out of any services to recover any of the foregoing, including without limitation relocation costs."

https://www.expedia.co.th/p/corporate/termsofuse

I get why you and others may see it as wholly Expedias fault-- and until proven such, it very well may be.. But in the end, I don't think it's a correct position to day that it is or will be their fault "100%" as their terms do, to me at least, spell out where their limitations are relative to independent suppliers.

Regardless if it was Expedia's fault or not it is their responsibility to take care of their customer. They should not have left my family stranded in Vancouver instead get us on another flight then later deal with China Easterner. Expedia is a very large organization with plenty of clout and I'm sure they could have paid tickets for us to get home considering they acknowledged that we had valid tickets and the company is worth 6.9 billion I'm sure they can afford it.

[new2here]

I don't care who's fault it was I blame Expedia. I booked my flights through them if there was a problem they should have bought us tickets home then sorted the code issues with China Eastern.

The only problem with that, and I do see how you could see like that, is that Expedia only acts as or in an "agent" capacity.

So, depending on what the actual issue was will then say who is responsible for the ensuing problems. It is entirely possible that Expedia did everything right and thru no fault of yours OR Expedia's, the airline made the error.. In that case, I'd hold Expedia harmless and focus on the airline.

Conversely, it may also be Expedia who made the error, and if so, just the like above, then the onus to fix it would fall to Expedia, and not the airline.

So while I can see why one might unilaterally place all the fault on the agent - as that's the entity with whom the vast majority of the interaction took place, because the agent does not and cannot control the entire process, I think you need to know more details about specific origin of the error before you can say who is to blame and therefore should be the one to address any compensation/refunds due you.

Sorry, but this is wrong.

Even if this is a problem with the airline, Expedia is responsible for delivering what the customer paid for. The fault is 100% with Expedia even if the airline screwed up.

If you order something online and FedEx/UPS loses or damages the package, do you go ask FedEx or a merchant for a refund? Same here.

In your example, assuming the merchant did deliver it to FedEx/UPS for delivery (to me) and subsequent to that but before final delivery it is "lost" in the FedEx/UPS system, then I'd go to FedEx or UPS as that is where the apparent failure originates. Yes, I would also get the supplier 'in the boat' if you will related to getting a replacement shipped, but ultimately the failure would be on the part of FedEx/UPS in that scenario.

In the same way, assuming Expedia fulfilled their role as agent, I think it is an unreasonable position that you can hold the agent liable for a proven failure on the part of an unrelated supplier.. Again, this is premised on the idea that the error is in fact on the part of the airline and not Expeida- which I don't think has been determined factually yet. I would agree with you IF the error is proven to be wIth Expeida

Expedia spells out their liability limitations in their Contract which appears to govern all transactions executed on the .co.th channel

"The carriers, hotels and other suppliers providing travel or other services on this Website are independent contractors and not agents or employees of the AAE Companies or the AAE Affiliates. The AAE Companies and the AAE Affiliates are not liable for the acts, errors, omissions, representations, warranties, breaches or negligence of any such suppliers or for any personal injuries, death, property damage, or other damages or expenses resulting there from. AAE Companies are not liable for any costs, expenses, claims or damages arising out of any services to recover any of the foregoing, including without limitation relocation costs."

https://www.expedia.co.th/p/corporate/termsofuse

I get why you and others may see it as wholly Expedias fault-- and until proven such, it very well may be.. But in the end, I don't think it's a correct position to day that it is or will be their fault "100%" as their terms do, to me at least, spell out where their limitations are relative to independent suppliers.

Regardless if it was Expedia's fault or not it is their responsibility to take care of their customer. They should not have left my family stranded in Vancouver instead get us on another flight then later deal with China Easterner. Expedia is a very large organization with plenty of clout and I'm sure they could have paid tickets for us to get home considering they acknowledged that we had valid tickets and the company is worth 6.9 billion I'm sure they can afford it.

"Regardless if it was Expedia's fault or not..."

Ahhh.. That's something different.. I agree that they should HELP you, and as a matter of good service, I also think they should advocate on your behalf... However, just because they are a "very large organization" or the fact that they are "worth 6.9 billion" to me at least, does NOT then mean that they should be obligated to or pay claims or expenses that are not their liability. I think it is better, more equitable and in keeping with most forms of contract law, for the true responsible party to pay for what is their areas of responsibility and not to assign such to the largest party based solely on some measure of size nor capitalization.

[siam2007]

I use Kayak and Skyscanner just to look for the best deals for a ticket, but then I contact the airline directly or use a reliable local agent to get the ticket... using a local agent can sometimes give you even better rate than what you find at Kayak.

From my experience flying before there even was internet, when dealing with an airline directly they manage to screw something up from time to time... That's why I was never going to trust some webpage on internet to do it all for me and expect myself to be completely worry free - that's why I never even trusted or considered using Expedia, Kayak and so on, and judging from what you told us today I realize I wasn't being at all paranoid. Even when I book directly with airline, I double and triple check my booking via their official webpage. Just like the old saying goes - if you want something done, you better do it yourself... The longer I live the more I'm convinced this statement to be regrettably completely true. Wherever there are humans there's always a possibility of human error, it's not possible to get rid of this factor completely, so when you delegate some work to people and don't do any additional quality control/verification - then you are always testing your luck

Since this happened in Vancouver - were the China Eastern Airlines reps the Chinese from China, or locals from Vancouver? It's possible that the locals were just really stupid, or just trying to be too smart for themselves, which happens a lot whenever there's a Canada vs US spat

In any case Expedia must return the money if they promised, but that might be difficult if you don't have it in writing.

I'm also really impressed that you manage to remain so calm having lost such a huge amount of money due to no fault of yours. I mean with me, even if somebody's negligence cost me only $100 I would definitely be raising hell over it They would have to compensate me and restructure their whole company just to please me, because I would just never let up till I'm satisfied...

Another option you may consider is that the Airline rep was indeed being an idiot by not letting you board the plane - if they said it was just the matter of some code - how is that the customer's problem? In which case it's not clear if Expedia should be responsible for the stupidity of the Airline's representative, or some of their internal issues. I think you should press and escalate this issue to both the China Eastern Airlines and the Expedia Headquarters. Just find and send an email to the CEO of both China Eastern and Expedia, and put as many people in CC as possible on both sides, the CFOs, Operational managers, regional operational managers and so on - explain what happened and threaten to go to the press with this... My guess is that if you prepare for this carefully, your problem will be resolved in a matter of a few hours. The problem is often that the CEO and all the upper management are not even aware of this issue, and all the subordinate managers are sending you for a run-around and only interested to keep a lid on this problem hoping that you will just go away, none of them want to be held accountable for the problem which they obviously created for you. I strongly suggest you escalate this issue directly to the CEO of both companies, otherwise you'll just keep wasting your time and put as many subordinates in CC as possible when you do this - make sure they all have something to talk about during one of their usual morning meetings

I had a problem with internet company once who kept billing me after I tried to disconnect the service. I wasted many hours on the phone with their customer reps but then I decided to change the strategy. It took me just a few minutes to write an email to the CEO, and I did some additional research about the company and put all the upper management in CC - I crafted and sent them a very scary email and my problem was solved almost instantly - I was refunded for almost half a year and I also got an official apology letter from their public relations manager or something like that.

did you get the information regarding the options to contact the senior management through linkedin or how did you obtain it ?

[Jblood]

Most of the emails were available at the company website - I just picked all the most relevant one's, plus I did some search on google, I did find a couple more emails via google search. I didn't have to use anything more sophisticated than that with this particular company - but with some other companies some more creative ways may be needed to get this information. I was surprised at how quickly I got the response and how little work I had to do to get what I needed, as opposed to spending over a month on the phone with the customer reps of the company who were just driving me crazy the whole time, lol I would only recommend it as a last resort measure, because if everybody started doing this, it wouldn't have the same effect anymore I suppose.

[Heng]

Expedia customer service is pretty bad. Tough call though between using them and going back to my bucket shop.... who had all of their own little real world quirks.

[Jblood]

One interesting thing though is still why everything worked perfectly at the Bangkok airport - same airline, same code, everything works. But when you are in Vancouver - the same company, the same code doesn't work and you have to spend your night at the airport... and nobody even cares to help you unless you show them $4000 for it. It's definitely China Eastern fault but I would still like to have the name and photo of the rep who denied boarding at the Vancouver airport and what was the supposed reasoning for it. Maybe it was all due to lack of communication between the Vancouver branch and their Chinese headquarters - when the headquarters in China are playing one game but their branch in Canada is playing a different game, there's lack of communication - problems like this are actually likely to happen. In the end it's still China Eastern responsibility to make sure that the Canadians they hire to work for them in Vancouver act as they are instructed from their headquarters in China.

[Sakeopete]

One interesting thing though is still why everything worked perfectly at the Bangkok airport - same airline, same code, everything works. But when you are in Vancouver - the same company, the same code doesn't work and you have to spend your night at the airport... and nobody even cares to help you unless you show them $4000 for it. It's definitely China Eastern fault but I would still like to have the name and photo of the rep who denied boarding at the Vancouver airport and what was the supposed reasoning for it. Maybe it was all due to lack of communication between the Vancouver branch and their Chinese headquarters - when the headquarters in China are playing one game but their branch in Canada is playing a different game, there's lack of communication - problems like this are actually likely to happen. In the end it's still China Eastern responsibility to make sure that the Canadians they hire to work for them in Vancouver act as they are instructed from their headquarters in China.

It wasn't only 1 Eastern Airlines rep it was several over two hours, I even had to hand my phone over to the rep so she could talk to the Expedia rep. In the end they were both blaming each other until the flight left.

[Jblood]

One interesting thing though is still why everything worked perfectly at the Bangkok airport - same airline, same code, everything works. But when you are in Vancouver - the same company, the same code doesn't work and you have to spend your night at the airport... and nobody even cares to help you unless you show them $4000 for it. It's definitely China Eastern fault but I would still like to have the name and photo of the rep who denied boarding at the Vancouver airport and what was the supposed reasoning for it. Maybe it was all due to lack of communication between the Vancouver branch and their Chinese headquarters - when the headquarters in China are playing one game but their branch in Canada is playing a different game, there's lack of communication - problems like this are actually likely to happen. In the end it's still China Eastern responsibility to make sure that the Canadians they hire to work for them in Vancouver act as they are instructed from their headquarters in China.

It wasn't only 1 Eastern Airlines rep it was several over two hours, I even had to hand my phone over to the rep so she could talk to the Expedia rep. In the end they were both blaming each other until the flight left.

Well in that case we can only speculate as to what happened. You have no reason to just walk away from this - you need to escalate this to the upper management at both companies. Only the Senior Management has any leeway to bend the rules for the customer in completely strange situations like this, or order an investigation and root cause analysis - change internal procedures and so on. But if you keep working with the subordinates who are just following their procedures - they may be stuck in a loophole just as you are and just generally they are not at the pay grade to even care about any of this. Just keep pestering all the upper management on both sides till they give you a response you deserve, and keep both sides informed of the progress of this investigation - if you don't do that they will instantly forget about you. The higher up you escalate the faster the problem will be solved. People at the more senior level have a lot more experience and information than anybody else at the company, in fact most of them had to do quite a few escalations themselves they are more likely to understand and sympathize with your situation. By keeping a lot of relevant people in CC on both sides will make it very uncomfortable for each side to just ignore you, my guess is you will get the answer you seek much sooner than if you just keep going with their usual customer support reps.

In the end they could fix the holes in their system which would benefit all of us But if you do nothing - nothing will happen.