This is an email I sent Travelocity with the whole story - results?
They told me that there was nothing they could do.
After clearly explaining to five people in their company that this airline didn't exist, they are still advertising flights with it on their site.
Here's the story - the airline is called AfriNat.
#
So, here is the whole story for you.
I got a reservation with trip ID xxxx for April 27th.
I got a call from Travelocity two days before the flight saying that it was cancelled and that I needed to contact the airline.
I called the airline and was told that I needed to reschedule for the next flight, which was two weeks later (Yesterday) so I did.
Yesterday I called Travelocity to confirm the reservations and was told that the flight was on time and ready to go.
I drove 5 hours to the airport (JFK in NY), and when I arrived there I looked for the airline which I had a ticket for. I couldnt find it, so I started asking people where it would be. No one could tell me if that airline existed, so I went to the help counter. There, they told me that over a year ago that airline had tried to have one flight which never got off the ground, and since then they had not been at the airport at all for over a year this airline has not flown from JFK. They researched it on the web, and could find no information that the airline ever flew anywhere at all.
I called Travelocity, who also could find no information on the airline and couldnt contact anyone, so I drove home arriving at 4 am after 10 hours of driving and three hours on hold with Travelocity in the airport.
I called Travelocity this morning, and was nicely informed that the airline didnt fly and that I could receive a full refund for the ticket, but if I wanted to get to Gambia I would have to purchase a new ticket for a week later costing thousands more than the original, and that I would have to pay out of pocket because the price of the previous ticket couldnt be transferred.
Now, here is what I am doing.
I am trying to start an international micro-lending institution to give loans out to people interested in starting small businesses in developing countries. I have been on the front page of local newspapers and have been interviewed on NPR about this project. There has been a huge amount of good press behind this project. You can find info at http://www.globalgift.org.
Because of time limitations (I have not been working for over a month because I originally prepared to leave weeks ago, and then didnt return to work because I was just delayed for a couple of weeks, and I need to return to work to feed myself) If I do not get to Gambia this week, I am not going to be able to travel there this year. I have been invited to speak on talk shows and radio shows when I return that are aired to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. I would much rather tell them that Travelocity really came through for me donating a plane ticket to my organization when a crazy airline flaked out than tell them that Travelocity sold me a ticket to an airline that didnt exist, delayed my flight for a month so I didnt search for another ticket, and then would only refund my money destroying the whole fabric of this project for over a year and causing our first loan series to be unable to go out because it will now cost me thousands extra (of donated money which I cant really spend on an airline ticket) to fly to the Gambia which have already been allocated to loan funds for the people of West Africa whereas if Travelocity had told me originally that the airline didnt exist I could have looked to other companies for lower rates in the time frame that I needed.
Now, I have reservations for a United Air flight out of Hartford, CT for tomorrow at 7 am. I have no idea how I am going to pay for them, and I will be doing a killer fund raising job on the phone today. I hope that you may be able to purchase these tickets for me so that I can forget this all ever happened, or at least find a good alternative solution.
I look forward to your response.
#
0 comments