Having done a successful ex-EU to Las Vegas last year I booked another one almost straight afterwards, again via Expedia. The first sector was Brussels Airlines (SN) from BRU to LHR, then VS43 LGW to LAS, VS44 LAS to LGW, then a BA flight from LHR to BRU (the day after VS44 arrives back ) as the final sector.
We positioned on BA last Friday lunchtime with an ample 5 hours in Brussels before the SN flight back to LHR. Despite being able to view my booking on the SN website, including selecting Business Class meals, I’d been unable to complete OLCI. Therefore we exited landside so we could go to normal check-in & collect our boarding passes. This is where the nightmare began!
Initially the friendly check-in agent checked we were happy with our seat selection of 2A & 2C to which I confirmed yes, she also confirmed the pre-ordered “gourmet” meals. However she then called over her supervisor, telling us not to worry there was a glitch in the system.
To cut a long story short we were told that unfortunately they would be unable to check us in and issue a boarding pass because the ticket is a 932 prefixed (VS issued) ticket and Brussels Airlines have no interline agreement with Virgin Atlantic!
Our hearts sank and, with desperation in my tone, I showed the printouts of my booking that I’d taken from the SN website (I always print anything I can if I feel it will evidence my booking in case of issues). The supervisor was very polite, and offered empathy, but said (and showed me on her screen) that they have no power to access the ticket, and that’s needed to check passengers in. The wording on the screen was “no interline agreement”.
She said we had no option but to contact out agent Expedia to sort things out. By this time we had moved from the check-in area over to the ticket desk area. Thankfully it was quiet and we had a little area to stand for me to phone Expedia. I got through to an agent in the call centre quickly and explained the sheer urgency of the situation. He was actually quite good but had to constantly put me on hold while he spoke to his supervisor. This was happening on an off for 2 hours and 7 minutes (I dread to think what my mobile bill will be!). The SN supervisor was in the vicinity throughout this time and spoke to the Expedia agent on several occasions, with me passing over my phone each time. She became more & more frustrated with him as he seemed to be saying that SN needed to honour the ticket as the VS/SN interline agreement ended last July and I had booked this ticket last June. She though eventually got him to understand that they physically could not access the booking to check us in!
The Expedia agent then told me he would need to contact VS as they are the ticket issuer. I said “surely you’re the people who need to rectify this, why not just book us on the BA leaving at 19:20 (the original SN was due to depart 21:30). The minutes ticked passed and Steve & I were becoming more & more resigned the to the fact that our holiday was slipping away before our eyes.
Then…..while still on hold with Expedia…I receive this text:
“Hi James, My name is Cxxxxx Hxxxxx, I am the Operational Team Leader at Virgin Atlantic & I am trying to call you with regards to your ticket from BRU to LAS. Are you free for me to call you. Kind regards Cxxxxx”
I immediately ended the call (2 hours and 7 mins by now!) with Expedia and called Cxxxxx on her mobile number. From that point onward I became increasingly more positive by the minute. She explained that the VS/SN interline agreement had indeed ended last year but that Expedia would have been notified by VS so that Expedia could re-book the flights. Given the urgency of the situation (by now there were 50 minutes to go until the BA 19:20 departure) she explained that she’d added two J class seats on the BA flight & asked us to hot foot it through security to catch that flight. She went on to say that she that there would be no issue with our booking (“I’ll fix it!”) given that we would not be flying on the original SN.
At the precise moment I ended the call with VS the lady from SN came out from the office behind the desk and said “James we’re taking you” and handed me two boarding passes for the original SN flight! She said that they felt so sorry for us they’d created a fictitious ticket that would allow us to fly and added “I’ve overridden the rules & will sort it out with Accounts on Monday!” I explained that VS had got us on the BA flight and she said not to worry, just get through security and if you can catch the BA so be it, if not you have the SN to fall back on. I reached out across the counter & shook her hand, along with the gentleman (I think her boss who had authorised things) and said I would be emailing SN with thanks for the lengths she had gone to. Indeed we’d had getting on for three hours of her uninterrupted attention with my phone being passed between Expedia and her!
We got through security fast and down to the BA gate, which was already boarding. I phoned Cxxxxx to say that we had the SN to fall back on and she was the voice of calmness emphasising that she was working until late tonight and whatever flight we took our booking would remain valid saying “no worries I’ll re-synch your booking to remove the BA flight….now get yourself in the lounge & have a drink or two!
As it happened we did not have time to get on the BA flight as the all important ticket number was still “in process” and despite having a PNR the Belgian gate team at BA could not print a boarding pass for us. Cxxxxx even spoke to the agent saying that the number would be forthcoming in 2 minutes but alas they had to close the flight.
No worries we had the SN flight and a choice of two business lounges to relax in for another two hours….so whiled away the time sipping champagne and mopping our brows, reflecting on the ex-EU that nearly never happened!
We got back to LHR fine on SN, despite a delay owing to lack of dispatcher! The flight was good, excellent food and great crew. A restful night at the T4 Hilton and a Tristar Mercedes down to LGW in the morning and a perfect check-in at VS UC check-in. Like last year there was no mention of us having originated in EU!
Onward it was to the delectable Clubhouse followed by a virtually on time VS43 to LAS. As I write this I’m sitting in the clear Palm Springs morning sunshine reflecting back on what, at the time, was a truly horrible experience last Friday!
The fact that we’d been hand luggage only definitely helped. I would never do the ex-EU bit with luggage!
It just goes to show that, despite having full visibility of ones booking on the web sites of all airlines involved, along with checkytrip.com, it goes to show that anything can go wrong! For me I think the learning experience is that next time I may well avoid Expedia and ask VS to book the ex-EU itinerary instead.! Had it not been for VS & SN’s proactive handling of the situation our holiday would not have happened!
We positioned on BA last Friday lunchtime with an ample 5 hours in Brussels before the SN flight back to LHR. Despite being able to view my booking on the SN website, including selecting Business Class meals, I’d been unable to complete OLCI. Therefore we exited landside so we could go to normal check-in & collect our boarding passes. This is where the nightmare began!
Initially the friendly check-in agent checked we were happy with our seat selection of 2A & 2C to which I confirmed yes, she also confirmed the pre-ordered “gourmet” meals. However she then called over her supervisor, telling us not to worry there was a glitch in the system.
To cut a long story short we were told that unfortunately they would be unable to check us in and issue a boarding pass because the ticket is a 932 prefixed (VS issued) ticket and Brussels Airlines have no interline agreement with Virgin Atlantic!
Our hearts sank and, with desperation in my tone, I showed the printouts of my booking that I’d taken from the SN website (I always print anything I can if I feel it will evidence my booking in case of issues). The supervisor was very polite, and offered empathy, but said (and showed me on her screen) that they have no power to access the ticket, and that’s needed to check passengers in. The wording on the screen was “no interline agreement”.
She said we had no option but to contact out agent Expedia to sort things out. By this time we had moved from the check-in area over to the ticket desk area. Thankfully it was quiet and we had a little area to stand for me to phone Expedia. I got through to an agent in the call centre quickly and explained the sheer urgency of the situation. He was actually quite good but had to constantly put me on hold while he spoke to his supervisor. This was happening on an off for 2 hours and 7 minutes (I dread to think what my mobile bill will be!). The SN supervisor was in the vicinity throughout this time and spoke to the Expedia agent on several occasions, with me passing over my phone each time. She became more & more frustrated with him as he seemed to be saying that SN needed to honour the ticket as the VS/SN interline agreement ended last July and I had booked this ticket last June. She though eventually got him to understand that they physically could not access the booking to check us in!
The Expedia agent then told me he would need to contact VS as they are the ticket issuer. I said “surely you’re the people who need to rectify this, why not just book us on the BA leaving at 19:20 (the original SN was due to depart 21:30). The minutes ticked passed and Steve & I were becoming more & more resigned the to the fact that our holiday was slipping away before our eyes.
Then…..while still on hold with Expedia…I receive this text:
“Hi James, My name is Cxxxxx Hxxxxx, I am the Operational Team Leader at Virgin Atlantic & I am trying to call you with regards to your ticket from BRU to LAS. Are you free for me to call you. Kind regards Cxxxxx”
I immediately ended the call (2 hours and 7 mins by now!) with Expedia and called Cxxxxx on her mobile number. From that point onward I became increasingly more positive by the minute. She explained that the VS/SN interline agreement had indeed ended last year but that Expedia would have been notified by VS so that Expedia could re-book the flights. Given the urgency of the situation (by now there were 50 minutes to go until the BA 19:20 departure) she explained that she’d added two J class seats on the BA flight & asked us to hot foot it through security to catch that flight. She went on to say that she that there would be no issue with our booking (“I’ll fix it!”) given that we would not be flying on the original SN.
At the precise moment I ended the call with VS the lady from SN came out from the office behind the desk and said “James we’re taking you” and handed me two boarding passes for the original SN flight! She said that they felt so sorry for us they’d created a fictitious ticket that would allow us to fly and added “I’ve overridden the rules & will sort it out with Accounts on Monday!” I explained that VS had got us on the BA flight and she said not to worry, just get through security and if you can catch the BA so be it, if not you have the SN to fall back on. I reached out across the counter & shook her hand, along with the gentleman (I think her boss who had authorised things) and said I would be emailing SN with thanks for the lengths she had gone to. Indeed we’d had getting on for three hours of her uninterrupted attention with my phone being passed between Expedia and her!
We got through security fast and down to the BA gate, which was already boarding. I phoned Cxxxxx to say that we had the SN to fall back on and she was the voice of calmness emphasising that she was working until late tonight and whatever flight we took our booking would remain valid saying “no worries I’ll re-synch your booking to remove the BA flight….now get yourself in the lounge & have a drink or two!
As it happened we did not have time to get on the BA flight as the all important ticket number was still “in process” and despite having a PNR the Belgian gate team at BA could not print a boarding pass for us. Cxxxxx even spoke to the agent saying that the number would be forthcoming in 2 minutes but alas they had to close the flight.
No worries we had the SN flight and a choice of two business lounges to relax in for another two hours….so whiled away the time sipping champagne and mopping our brows, reflecting on the ex-EU that nearly never happened!
We got back to LHR fine on SN, despite a delay owing to lack of dispatcher! The flight was good, excellent food and great crew. A restful night at the T4 Hilton and a Tristar Mercedes down to LGW in the morning and a perfect check-in at VS UC check-in. Like last year there was no mention of us having originated in EU!
Onward it was to the delectable Clubhouse followed by a virtually on time VS43 to LAS. As I write this I’m sitting in the clear Palm Springs morning sunshine reflecting back on what, at the time, was a truly horrible experience last Friday!
The fact that we’d been hand luggage only definitely helped. I would never do the ex-EU bit with luggage!
It just goes to show that, despite having full visibility of ones booking on the web sites of all airlines involved, along with checkytrip.com, it goes to show that anything can go wrong! For me I think the learning experience is that next time I may well avoid Expedia and ask VS to book the ex-EU itinerary instead.! Had it not been for VS & SN’s proactive handling of the situation our holiday would not have happened!
Even though I knew you were already in Las Vegas, it didn't stop my heart coming into my mouth!
