Confirmed Airline Reservations... Ha!
Six years ago my family planned a summer vacation to Alaska.
Because Alaska only has a couple months of warm weather, we knew
that the month of July would be a busy time to travel there.
That's why we purchased our airline tickets six months in
advance. With paid tickets in hand, I called the airline the day
before to confirm our reservations. They confirmed that we had
paid reservations for the flight.
The next day we got to the airport 1.5 hours before departure
time. That's when we were told that the flight was oversold and
we did not have confirmed seats on the plane. I said, "How can
this be? We bought these tickets six months ago! We were among
the first passengers to purchase tickets for this flight! And
we're here early... most other passengers have not even checked
in yet!!" The agent behind the ticket counter explained to me
that, because we had purchased the tickets so far in advance,
seat assignments were not made at the time of purchase. (We
since learned that most airlines do not have their computers set
up for seat assignments until 60-90 days out.) Those who
purchased tickets or called to request seat assignments within
60 days of departure had reserved seats. We were placed on the
waiting list.
Our story had a happy ending. We got the last three seats
available... all in First Class! Although we had a favorable
outcome, our vacation could have ended in disaster. This is one
lesson I will never forget! I've just purchased airline tickets
for December to Hawaii. Although the flight is almost sold out,
the airline will not make seat assignments until 90 days prior
to departure. Guess who has a reminder in her tickler file to
call the airline in September!
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