(Long Island, NY) Two recent incidents have convinced me that Amtrak is the king of hassle-free travel. Confession time–I was an airline snob after 13 years of jet setting across the world covering stories as a military news reporter. I never once gave Amtrak the time of day when I was a hardcore frequent flyer.
Once I left television and started working in print, naturally the travel budget went way down and I was forced to consider other options for short trips. On my first ride with Amtrak I was full of doubts–how could this possibly be a decent alternative to flying? But I quickly saw the benefits–with a wireless internet connection I managed to surf and work the entire trip, only losing my internet connection for about 20 minutes of a four hour journey.
Try doing THAT on an airplane.
Other perks–with Amtrak, there’s nobody demanding you to remove your shoes, or threatening to take you to the little room for a strip search if they think you’re giving them too much jet-lagged attitude. The only lines I’ve ever waited in with Amtrak are the ones where you’re actually getting on board the train. Contrast that with the lines to the electronic check-in, the security line, and finally the wait you must endure while the counter agent cheerfully informs the crowd that the flight’s been oversold and can somebody please please please give up their seat?
Needless to say, I started warming to Amtrak, but after my recent experience with Travelocity, I am positively sold on the rail service as THE way to travel except in cases where the travel times force you to consider subjecting yourself to airport torture.
I booked a flight via Travelocity to San Antonio on United Airlines. Somehow–my fault or theirs I do not know–I had my company name printed on my tickets along with my real name. This causes a problem with the grim, humorless types at the airport, and after three hours on hold, the Travelocity agent told me that all was well, that Travelocity got United to agree to change the name on my tickets. “Just show up extra early,” I was told, since the process might take some time.
When I got to the United counter, I spent about an hour while the United rep tried to help, but to no avail. I was informed that Travelocity could have issued the name change themselves, but didn’t want to pay the change fee; they passed the buck (and me) to United instead. When you spend hours on hold with Travelocity, you hear the same patter over and over about how Travelocity is “your advocate with the airlines” but that the airlines have “the final say”. In this case, United’s final say is that they can’t do anything to change travel agent or third-party issued tickets. And Travelocity knows this.
End result—No flight taken. Three hours total time spent on hold. One hour at the ticket counter at United. Travelocity’s outsourced customer service reps assured me that all I needed to do was go to United and change the tickets. But they were completely full of hot air. In the end I did not get to take my trip. $400 tickets turned instantly to expensive bookmarks.
If I HAD been able to take a flight, I would have been charged a change fee for the name change or possibly even be asked to buy new tickets. All flights to Texas were sold out for two days solid and I was stuck, so the point was moot.
Lesson learned? If the airlines can’t change tickets issued by a third party, book your tickets directly with the airline. You may pay a bit extra, but you will never wind up with a set of $400 bookmarks. Thanks for nothing, Travelocity. You not only lost a customer, you also gained an advocate against the kind of services you offer. I’ll never use third parties again, thanks. The rules seem clear—if there’s a problem with the third party, the airline can’t help you. You’re screwed.
Compare my airline hell with another experience I had where I needed to have my tickets changed. A few weeks ago, I booked a round-trip journey with Amtrak. When I picked up my electronic tickets at the station, they had the wrong dates on them. I don’t know whether that was my fault or some kind of electronic glitch, but the ticket agent did about two minutes of checking, rebooked my tickets immediately and sent me on my way with a smile. Unlike the airlines, there were no change fees or surcharges—I did pay an extra $15 because the fare I was rebooking into had a slightly higher price. But Amtrak didn’t feel the need to charge me extra. They also didn’t charge me a $15 luggage per bag.
Try getting away with THAT on an airplane.
