(snarl)

[winterbadger]

...in all senses of the word.

Do not book flights with www.airlineconsolidator.com. It's just a huge pain in the ass.

I've already mentioned my failed attempts to change my ticket and the Catch-22 I got from the agent and from Air Canada.

So, pursuant to the advice *from the ticket agency*, I called Air Canada to confirm my tickets and get seat assignments.

"We can confirm your reservation is showing (lists details) but we can't give you your seat assignments. Your travel agent has to do that."

"But my travel agent told me to call you."

"I'm sorry, sir; your ticket was booked through an agent--the agent has to handle the seating."

Edit: Conversation with booking agent:

Me: "Hi, I'd like to get seat assignments for this flight?"
Agent: (tappitytaptap) "Yeah, we can't make that assignment, sir. Let me give you the number for Air Canada..."
Me: "Um, I spoke to them earlier, and they said they could not assign seats to me, that you had to do that."
Agent: "Weeeeel, they won't let us do that. Sometimes they tell people that becase they can see you booked your ticket through an agent, and they don't like us."
Me (to self): "I've quite come to share their opinion."

Comments

[silme.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel better, I didn't have seating assignments (just reservations) with Air Canada for my Heathrow-Toronto-Philadelphia nor Philadelphia-Montreal-Heathrow flight in December, and it worked out okay. Just try to get to your first airplane as early as possible. I wasn't in a middle seat on any of the flights, I swear, and I was flying the Friday before Christmas (for a wedding in Philly the next day) and I left North America on 23 Dec., busy times.

[winterbadger]

Yeah, I'm not afraid they won't let me on the plane. AC was willing to confirm that my ticket was booked. It's just evidence that these agents are feebly useless and that AC is going to do the least possible for anyone who books through an agent.

That's encouraging data about the seating, though. Being 6'+ and more leg than torso, flying coach is going to be painful enough even if I can get an aisle seat (though of course then the stews run over your feet with the incessant trollies...) If I didn't want to do this so often, I'd just bite the bullet and spring for business. Next time, at elast, I think I'll go with BA's premier economy.

[silme.livejournal.com]

I can understand about leg room. I'm only 5' 10", but I have long legs.

I fly whatever airline is cheapest, so I understand that also. Luckily, I've had a few free upgrades to business class. Those are lovely!

[winterbadger]

I was spoiled before. When I went in 2002, it was with redactrice and as a belated present to ourselves we flew the BA PE. And last May I was traveling with poliscidiva who "bought" us business class upgrades with all her extra miles from work travel.

[silme.livejournal.com]

It's the best way to go. But I've only done it via free upgrades. Come to think of it, I haven't had a free upgrade in a couple of years. I think I'm due. Maybe next April when we fly to DC; we still haven't bought those tickets yet -- I'm waiting for lower prices since there's plenty of time. (We're meeting up with friends in Williamsburg, then driving back to DC -- I have a niece there -- then to Philly where the rest of the biological family is.

[winterbadger]

If you guys have any time to kill in DC and would like to meet up for tea or a pint or something, let me know!

[thespis-mellie.livejournal.com]

What a pain :( I've had a snarl-up with Expedia over my tickets home at Christmas.

[incursus.livejournal.com]

Gods, talk about bloody annoying!

[silme.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what we're doing exactly. It's in early April. We're spending the first full week of April, starting whenever we land -- probably that Saturday -- in Williamsburg with friends from Colorado -- two who still live there and two who are in Atlanta now. One of the couples traded a time share in Vail for one in Virginia -- big enough for all of us. But the next Saturday, they return home. I have two weeks off for Spring Break, so if we have time and money, we're hoping to stay on a few more days and drive north. We must stop in DC because my niece and her fiance are there. We can exchange phone numbers later. (Okay, except you won't want to call us because it will be calling the UK for you. We may have better rates on our British mobiles in the US to US phones. :) And then, we hope to continue to Philly and visit more family.