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Orbitz - Minor Travelers

Orbitz • Air travel • Hotels • Minors • MWI charges • Unauthorized charges --- News • Orbitz Takes Top Spot in J.D. Power Study

Robert of Tombstone AZ (7/02/03):
This concerns the using of deceptive advertising by the travel agency Orbitz - owned by the Big 5 airlines - to lure consumers into purchasing airline tickets for minor travelers, then charging hefty fees to change flights in order to comply with unaccompanied minor policies. Orbitz uses the pop-up service "Save!" to advertise it will book travelers aged 12-61 as adults, then imports the data from the pop-up window to its website data entry, bypassing the point where consumers would normally detect the restrictions on minor travel.

Once the flight is booked, changes to flights are required and Orbitz charges hefty fees (sometimes 2 to 3 times the original fare). Consumers are faced with only two options: Pay the additional hefty fee, or cancel the flight and lose the entire initial fare.

Here are the facts of my case: On May 18, 2003, I searched the internet for airline tickets to send my 13-year-old daughter from Arizona to North Dakota to visit her elderly great-grandmother. I visited the Expedia and Travelocity websites, but neither allowed consumers to purchase tickets for travelers under the age of 18 - they listed "adult" travelers as 18 and over. As I attempted to book on these sites, a pop-up ad from the "Save!" pop-up service, part of WhenU.com, appeared advertising for the travel service Orbitz, and listing adult travelers as age 12-61 (this pop-up ad can be viewed at http://spweb.whenu.com/pop_up/aud_orbitz103_popup.html ).

The "Save!" pop-up service is installed on user's computers who download certain freeware (in my case, it was the freeware "Weathercast"). The pop-up service keys in to your internet use, and provides pop-up ads for similar products. Thus, "Save!" keyed in that I was searching for airline tickets and perhaps even airline tickets for a 13-year-old traveler. The pop-up ad allows you to fill in all information on the pop-up ad itself - then, when you submit the information it is exported to the Orbitz website, and you are taken to Orbitz's site with all your travel information already filled in. The information on the pop-up ad and website are identical, except on the website, adult travelers are listed as age 18-64. However, since all your previously entered information is now input into the data screen, most users will not pick up on this (I certainly did not).

Also, when you enter the information in the pop-up screen as one adult traveler age 12-61, the pop-up automatically selects adult traveler on the Orbitz website, so you are even less likely to notice the subtle difference. So I used the pop-up window and website to book the flight for my daughter on Orbitz. This was on May 18. The cost was $573 and the carrier was Northwest Airlines, part-owner of Orbitz.

On June 10, 2003, I visited the Northwest Airlines (NWA) website and browsed other flights. I noticed on their website restrictions on the travel of unaccompanied minors, which they defined as travelers 14 and under. I emailed the NWA customer service, providing the details of how I booked the flight on Orbitz, and provided the dates, times, and flight numbers, asking if my ticket would be valid and my daughter allowed to board. I received a response back from NWA on June 11, 2003, stating that the ticket was valid but that I was required to use NWA's Unaccompanied Minor service and I would be assessed a "small fee" for the service at the airport at the time of check-in. The representative (Heather Staff) also provided a phone number I could call if I wanted to make arrangements for the service prior to check in.

On June 26, 2003, I called the number (1-800-225-2525) to arrange for the Unaccompanied Minor service prior to check in. The customer service representative told me the service was unavailable for that flight, because it was the last flight of the day, and that I would have to contact Orbitz to change the flight. Northwest refused to have any part in settling the problem, even though it is part-owner of Orbitz and even though its customer service representative had earlier informed me the ticket was valid for unaccompanied minor travel. I then phoned Orbitz and spoke to a customer service representative (Mallory) who told me my only options would be to change to an earlier flight that day at a cost of an additional $610 (more than the entire original fare of $573), or I would have to forfeit the entire original fare.

I explained that the "Save!" pop-up window deceptively advertised "adult" travelers on Orbitz as age 12-61, but was told there was nothing that could be done, I would have to pay the additional $610 or lose the entire $573. I reluctantly agreed, but out of duress of having no other sensible option. I was told the flight would be changed and the additional $610 charged to the account (Amex) I originally provided when booking the flight. I was told this would be complete within 24 hours.

On June 28, I checked the Orbitz website for my itinerary, and saw that my flight had not been changed. I checked my Amex account and saw that my account had not yet been charged. I contacted the Orbitz customer service via email, and received a reply that my itinerary had now been updated. I checked the itinerary and it indeed listed the new flight. On the morning of July 1, less than 48-hours from the flight, I check the Orbitz site again and found that the itinerary was now back to the old flight information. I phoned Orbitz customer service and spoke with Lisa, who researched the issue and found that my flight change had been cancelled by "a supervisor." Evidently no one intended on informing me, but rather would have me drive 200 miles to the airport only to be denied boarding.

I expressed my frustration at all this, and told Lisa to cancel the original flight as well (the flight change had already been canceled according to Lisa). Lisa then spoke with her supervisor, and then offered to me to change the ticket to the earlier flight at no charge to me – if I did not cancel. I agreed reluctantly, but asked for a guarantee in writing, via email. Later, Lisa called me back and told me the ticket would be changed to the earlier flight and the cost would be the original price of $580 plus a $30 fee. I took this to mean the original price of the ticket. As I reviewed my records I saw the original ticket was $573. The $580 plus $30 fee amounted to $610, which was the amount Orbitz was going to charge me for the flight change initially.

I immediately contacted Orbitz customer service again, and spoke to another representative (also named Lisa, but a different Lisa), who informed me that I was going to be charged the additional $610, and that there was nothing in the record to indicate I would not be charged. This was after the first Lisa informed me Orbitz would change the ticket at no charge if I did not cancel. I told this Lisa to cancel everything, that my daughter will not visit her grandmother this summer - she will not fly to North Dakota. So far, I am out the original $573 (money I spent based on Orbitz’s deceptive advertising of booking adult travelers as ages 12-61). I fear as well that Orbitz will try to also charge my Amex for the change fee of $610 (I have contacted Amex but was informed that there is nothing they can do until Orbitz actually makes the charge, at which time I can dispute it).

So then I had to inform my 13-year-old daughter that she will not be able to visit her great-grandmother this summer, who is approaching her nineties and this may have been my daughter’s last time to see her. During this entire process, I have spoken and exchanged email with numerous customer service representatives and supervisors, all who have denied any responsibility on behalf of NWA or Orbitz, for Orbitz’s deceptive lure, and whose only answer is pay up or lose the money of yours we already have. I'm sure this has happened to many others. I would presume there is an entire class of consumers who have been forced to pay for flight changes to flights they scheduled online as a result of deceptive advertising.

The best way to see how deceptive Orbitz’s advertising is, is to download the freeware "Weathercast" (simply do an internet search on "Weathercast") then begin searching the websites of airlines and travel services (United Airlines, Expedia, Travelocity, etc.). I think there may be a 12- or 24-hour delay before the "Save!" pop-up windows kick in, in order to keep you from immediately uninstalling the freeware (the pop-ups are quite ubiquitous). Note that Orbitz has several pop-ads, so it may take a while to hit the correct one that advertises adult travelers as age 12-61 (it took me about two hours to hit it again when I was trying to intentionally).

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