I booked a three-legged trip on Orbitz because I thought I was going to be on multiple airlines. The first leg went off without a hitch, but when I went to check in online for the 2nd the airport reported that no such flight existed! I went to Orbitz, and they still showed me as on the original flight. The airline site for the 2nd leg told me I'd have to try to check in with the airline for the first leg. Of course that airline site told me it wasn't their job, but suggested I was rebooked on another flight leaving earlier. That would have been nice to know, since I need to get to the airport soon, but I still didn't know if it was true that I was booked on this other flight. I called Orbitz, and got put on hold (with nothing telling me how long the wait would be), then the promptly disconnected me after 35 minutes of holding. Finally, I reached one of the airlines and received verbal confirmation that I actually had a new flight (and of course a new, worse seat). They said that Orbitz would have received email communication notifying them of the changed flight back in August, but here it is November and they haven't figured out that that flight hasn't existed for months.
It all worked out, but results could just as easily have been disastrous. I won't be using Orbitz again.
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