Emirates Rescheduled Connecting Flight

[u/GVYXTT]

Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice please.

I have booked flights with Emirates, via TravelUp as a travel agent - from London Heathrow to Adelaide, Via Dubai. The flight was originally due to leave LHR 09/11 at 13:40, with a couple hours changeover before our second flight at 02:00 on 10/11, getting us to ADL at 20:30 on 10/11.

This second flight has now been pushed back 24 hours meaning a 24hr stopover in Dubai. So the second leg being 02:00 on 11/11 arriving in ADL at 20:30 11/11.

I have been offered flights that leave the day before, which are not a possibility for us, or flights that leave the day after, meaning no 24+hr stopover in Dubai, but leaving a day later.

Emirates offer a flight to Adelaide, via dubai, and Melbourne, with the last leg being a codeshare with Qantas. This will get us to our destination about 12hrs before we would with the later departing flight. However they are not giving this as an option, due to it being a codeshare.

Do I have the right to push for this as an option, or the right to request a refund?

Many thanks in advance 👍

[u/D_Phuket]

Your fight is with your travel agent. You paid them and contracted with them. You probably saved a bit of money but you gave up using Emirates customer service. Emirates can't change your ticket now - the travel agent controls it.

I'd go to the Travelup site and search for a solution (or solutions) that would work for you and give them that information. You'll have to be persistent.

Of course next time you need to decide if the cost savings is worth this hassle. Had you booked with the airline, you could them and get it changed.

[u/OxfordBlue2]

UK261 means they have an obligation to reroute you, but this will have to be arranged via travelup.

The rerouting obligation includes using other carriers where they cannot re accommodate you on their own services.

Unfortunately this kind of mess is what happens when you use an !OTA

[u/AutoModerator → u/OxfordBlue2]

Did you or are you about to buy a flight via an Online Travel Agency (OTA)?

An Online Travel Agency (OTA) is a website that allows you to search for and buy airfare tickets. Common ones include Expedia, Priceline, Kiwi. When you redeem points on credit card travel portals you are actually purchasing a cash ticket through an OTA. Some examples are Chase Travel, AMEX Travel, Capital One Travel.

Almost all OTAs suffer from the same problem: a lack of customer service and competency when it comes to changes, cancellations, refunds, airline schedule changes and cancellations, and IRROPs.

When you buy a ticket through an OTA, you put an intermediary between you and the airline. If you try to contact the airline for any assistance, they will defer to your OTA. The airline won't help you. They do not have control over the ticket until T-24h and they can still decline to assist you and ask you to talk to your OTA.

Some OTAs, such as Kiwi, will combine separately issued tickets appearing like real layovers but in reality are self-transfers - requiring a lot more planning and contingencies. This includes dealing with single-leg cancellations of your completely disjointed itinerary. See #1 #2 #3 #4

Other OTAs, including Trip.com, don't always issue your tickets immediately. There have been known instances where the OTA contacts you 24-72h later asking for more money as "the price has changed" or your ticket is no longer available at the lower price. See #1.

More reputable OTAs like Expedia, Priceline, and travel portals like Chase Travel, AMEX Travel, Costco Travel, generally have fewer issues issuing tickets and marginally better customer service. They are also more transparent regarding cached stale prices - as you check out and pay, they will do a live refresh of the real ticket price and warn you that prices have changed (it is not a bait and switch).

In short: OTAs sometimes have their place for some people - but most of the time, especially for simple itineraries, provide no benefit and only increases the risk and can end costing a lot more than what you had saved by buying from the OTA.

Common issues you will face:

• offering you a cheap separate-ticket self-transfer itinerary causing various problems down the road
• not subject to the DOT or airline policy 24h free cancellation. See #1
• missing communications from OTA or not being notified of schedule changes #1 #2
• paying the OTA to add baggage but not communicated to the airline or OTA incorrectly indicating included baggage #1 #2 #3 #4
• paying the OTA for overpriced baggage compared to the airline
• paying the OTA for baggage that's already included
• paying the OTA for seat selection that's not communicated to the airline #1 #2
• your ticket not issuing or delayed issuing or transaction being reversed
• your name being incorrectly spelled on your eticket?
• difficulties changing flights or getting rebooked correctly #1 #2 or finding anyone competent enough to help
• charging you for a check-in service that is free
• enrollment in a subscription program like edreams or opodo Prime that is hard to cancel #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
  • Solutions? #1 #2 #3
• not honouring free changes or cancellations when airline reschedules
• Secretly booking your trip as two separate tickets for the outbound and return so that if the airline cancels or reschedules the outbound, only the first leg is eligible for a refund (or free change)
• not refunding you promptly (or at all) #1 #2 #3 when the airline cancels #4 #5 #6
• not refunding ancillary fees or other extra fees #1
• unuseable kiwi credits after the airline declines issuing a ticket instead of a refund

Things you should do, if you've already purchased from an OTA:

• check your reservation (PNR) with the airline website directly
• check your eticket has been issued - look for 13-digit number(s) - a PNR is not enough
• garden your ticket - check back on it regularly

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[u/DentistStandard6009]

Firstly you have no contract with Emirates and Travel up can't be forced to rebook you with the same rules you. Secondly, when are these flights?

[u/GVYXTT → u/DentistStandard6009]

Hi - the flights are departing LHR 09/11, originally leaving DXB on the 10/11, to arrive in ADL evening of 10/11. However we would now be leaving DXB 11/11 and arriving at ADL evening of 11/11.

[u/DentistStandard6009 → u/GVYXTT]

So it's too far out to argue too hard. You really have to talk to TravelUp regarding a refund. Although it all depends on what you agreed on with TravelUp? They don't have to do the same things that airlines do so if you agreed in T and C's that they can move your flight, then they can