Albany,n.y. Posted November 11, 2006 Posted November 11, 2006 This summer I booked a round trip flight to Baltimore for the Bills/Ravens 12/31 game with my return flight leaving BWI at 6:34 pm. I got home yesterday and I had received an e-mail from Expedia telling me that something in my trip had been changed & Expedia accepted the change in my behalf. When I called Expedia to learn what the change was, the computer voice indicated that the status had been changed to booked. I figured it was just some accounting thing, but I answered that I wanted to hear my entire itinerary just to play it safe. It turns out they changed my 6:34 departure to a flight leaving Baltimore around 2:30. Needless to say, that didn't work for me. WTF are they thinking? I book an evening flight out of Baltimore on Sunday after arriving on Saturday and they can't figure out that I might need to be in Baltimore Sunday afternoon. I called last night & the person on the phone indicated he'd try to get me a 7:30 pm flight out of Baltimore & they would probably notify me within a few hours. I didn't get any message so I called back & nothing had been done! I called back & after close to 1/2 hour, I finally was able to get them to book me an 8:55 pm flight out of BWI. Now I have to wait another day to confirm that the flight was actually changed, since the turnaround time on their website is 24 hours. In the future, I won't be booking anything with Expedia where I only am staying 1 night and they have an opportunity to screw things up this badly. I've had flights changed where I'm leaving after my business or pleasure is done, but a planned 30 hour stay leaves too little room to have a major screwup occur if they change things on you. Just a warning to all, if you're booking months in advance for a football game where you're coming to town, staying one night & then leaving shortly after the game, Expedia & similar agents might not be the best choice. It might be better to book with a travel agent who understands the purpose of your flight & won't change it to the middle of the game.
daquixers_is_back Posted November 11, 2006 Posted November 11, 2006 Why would you book a flight leaving so early after the game? Plane status' suck. I always (if I am going somewhere to watch a play/game/event) book the flight many hours after the event is over. That being said, plane status's suck.
Albany,n.y. Posted November 11, 2006 Author Posted November 11, 2006 Why would you book a flight leaving so early after the game? Plane status' suck. I always (if I am going somewhere to watch a play/game/event) book the flight many hours after the event is over. That being said, plane status's suck. 832526[/snapback] I figured if there was a delay, I'd still get home the same day. I didn't expect them to move my flight 4 hours forward. I'm now leaving at 8:55 & I'll have a lot of spare time. I'll be waiting hours at the airport now, because I'll probably hop on the MTA light rail to the airport shortly after the game. They run about 9 trains between the time the game ends & my flight. At least I should have no trouble getting to the airport on time, I know I was cutting things close, but I always figured on booking the earliest flight out because of delays. Now I don't have to rush out of the stadium so in the long run it probably is better & I've learned a few things since yesterday.
daquixers_is_back Posted November 11, 2006 Posted November 11, 2006 I figured if there was a delay, I'd still get home the same day. I didn't expect them to move my flight 4 hours forward. I'm now leaving at 8:55 & I'll have a lot of spare time. I'll be waiting hours at the airport now, because I'll probably hop on the MTA light rail to the airport shortly after the game. They run about 9 trains between the time the game ends & my flight. At least I should have no trouble getting to the airport on time, I know I was cutting things close, but I always figured on booking the earliest flight out because of delays. Now I don't have to rush out of the stadium so in the long run it probably is better & I've learned a few things since yesterday. 832531[/snapback] Makes sense.
eSJayDee Posted November 11, 2006 Posted November 11, 2006 Outta curiosity, why don't you drive? It's certainly WAY more convenient, likely cheaper and probably not substantially less time overall.
Albany,n.y. Posted November 12, 2006 Author Posted November 12, 2006 Outta curiosity, why don't you drive?It's certainly WAY more convenient, likely cheaper and probably not substantially less time overall. 832562[/snapback] I didn't want to chance a snowstorm or drive for a long time on the night of New Year's Eve. I figured that for $285 including a motel for Saturday night, it was worth flying. If I had to do it again, I'd probably drive, since I found out I can't bring anything into the stadium & if I drove I could have brought a suitcase.
smokinandjokin Posted November 12, 2006 Posted November 12, 2006 My brother-in-law is from NY, but now lives in Boston. He is a big NYG fan. The only game he scored tickets for this year was NYG-Chicago at the Meadowlands this weekend. He is going with his brother who is flying in from California. Of course, months after all of their flights were set up, which included flying out Sunday night, the NFL and NBC changed the game to the Sunday night game. He's still going, and everyone knew before the season that changes could be made to the schedule to set up a marquee matchup in primetime, but it still was a pain in the ass to make all of the travel adjustments, which now includes an extra night at the hotel, etc. I was thinking about how those changes would affect out-of-town travellers before the season when the idea was announced. It was funny that someone I know was affected by the very first switch...
aussiew Posted November 13, 2006 Posted November 13, 2006 It would have been the Airline that initiated the flight change. Expedia is just the booking agent.
Just Jack Posted November 13, 2006 Posted November 13, 2006 Just remember there's a slight chance the game could still be moved to Sunday night, instead of afternoon, requiring another change.
taterhill Posted November 14, 2006 Posted November 14, 2006 Just remember there's a slight chance the game could still be moved to Sunday night, instead of afternoon, requiring another change. 835965[/snapback]
Albany,n.y. Posted November 14, 2006 Author Posted November 14, 2006 Just remember there's a slight chance the game could still be moved to Sunday night, instead of afternoon, requiring another change. 835965[/snapback] I can see it now, Baltimore has clinched their playoff spot & has nothing to play for, so they start Boller & Madden conducts a clinic all night on how not to play QB in the NFL.
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