<p>Was the aircraft changed? </p>
<p>It was and that’s why the united air person rebooked on the incoming one.</p>
<p>Re: contracts prof on NPR. Reminds me of a local couple’s story. They wanted to sue Carnival for something and chose to sue them in WA, but apparently Carnival put some of that crap on the back of their tickets saying that all lawsuits against Carnival should be handled in FL. Guess who prevailed and who got “scr*wed” as this link says:</p>
<p><a href=“http://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1506&context=nlj”>http://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1506&context=nlj</a></p>
<p>If you contact Travelocity and don’t get any satisfaction, it might be worth sending your issue to Christopher Elliott (The Travel Troubleshooter) at <a href=“http://elliott.org/”>A 20 percent credit for my American Airlines tickets? That's insane! - Elliott Report. He generally gets pretty good results.</p>
<p>Cant stand third party vendors. If I look at them for pricing, I then go directly to the company (airline, hotel, etc) to book whenever possible. DH had been screwed out of hotel points more times than I can tell you b/c either once we booked through hotels.com (our mistake- never again) and more recently b/c the new vendor his company is using to book travel (egecia) is terrible and screws the travelers. DH has had status with many hotel chains, but has discovered, with egencia booking it, that when he arrives, that they haven’t applied his account #, want to charge for internet, don’t want to upgrade to the executive floor, won’t give him his points, etc. So don’t blame Delta. Blame travelocity or any other third party discount travel vendor.</p>
<p>Agree that whenever possible, we also try to book directly with the vendor instead of a 3rd party site like Travelocity or Expedia. We have NOT had much success with the 3rd party sites. Sometimes, when fares are crazy, we DO use local travel agent who can sometimes get us the prices BEFORE the price increase if we call him quickly enough. It has worked pretty well for us and after he makes our reservations, I call the disabilities desk and get us firm seat assignments. Because I fly with medical equipment, I always have to speak with disabilities desk anyway.</p>
<p>I like itasoftware.com to check out various prices for flights as well as potential dates. It is pretty accurate for me and then I go directly to the website for the airline, booking there (or with my agent).</p>
<p>Generally, the discount vendors make me crazy. I do admit sometimes I use PriceLine or HotWire, when I find the hotel rates higher than I’m willing to pay and have had some great deals that way. I do understand that I won’t get points or any other benefits using those vendors, but it can be a HUGE savings if I’m not picky about which hotel we will be staying at.</p>
<p>D had a massive issue years ago when she’d missed a flight in Mexico City due to the airport making those transiting go through customs. Then she went to the wrong terminal…and by that time the plane had left the gate. American was no help whatsoever, because of Expedia booking, she stayed overnight, on my dime and then had to pay an additional fee for changed routing to get home the following day. I learned from that experience to book with the airline. As compensation, Expedia gave me some nonsense points for all inclusives that of course I never used</p>
<p>However, there are times when the booking sites give better prices and routing due to booking you on different airlines each way. I have learned to get the travel insurance when I use them, to insure compensation if there are expensive complications. </p>
<p>I have never had problems with Delta, and I always book through their website. Found them to be very accommodating when I couldn’t get to the airport last winter when all of the highways in northern Indiana were closed by a storm. Sounds like your issue is with Travelocity, because they ripped you off.</p>
<p>I agree that it is a Travelocity issue. That’s the company you purchased the ticket from and it was up to them to communicate the purchase correctly to Delta. </p>
<p>I learned my lesson using third party sites. I use them for research and then direct book.</p>
<p>From some of the complaints I’ve read about Travelocity, this is minor. I can’t believe the stupidity of what they did to thumper. If something happens, they refuse to be responsible for it. At least if something happens when you book with the airlines, they can usually accommodate you in some way. Travelocity just blames it on the airline and does nothing for you.</p>
<p>However, I don’t see anywhere that they charge extra just to select a seat, any seat. Are you sure the $29 you paid was for seat selection? And if so, why would you pay that? Why not just go into the airlines website, put your frequent flyer number in there, and select it? If it’s not an upgraded seat, you should have been able to get the same seat for free.</p>
<p>Even when booking through the airline, if it’s a long flight, I check ahead of time to make sure they haven’t switched my seats. We booked an international flight, got seats together, and a couple of days before the flight they changed aircraft and switched us all around. I’d even paid extra to get my kids upgraded seats. They were gold status, we were diamond, and the kids still were scattered in center seats. Really annoyed me. I went online and swapped us all back to seats close to where we were in the first place. I imagine it was because we were all booked on separate tickets, but going from an economy comfort, extra cost exit row to a center seat in the very back…tacky. Had I not checked, we would have been really annoyed, for a 10 hour flight.</p>
<p>Okay, lesson learned. I never even considered before about the 3rd party thing. I just liked using travelocity because they saved my itinerary. I used to just fly occasionally, now it seems like it’s at least once a month as well as the kids coming back and forth. Knowing me I’ll forget which airline after I book. Obviously there is a way around that issue. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You can easily access your Delta itinerary online and print or email yourself a copy. On their website’s menu bar, just click on “My Trips”. </p>
<p>By all means continue using Travelocity to compare fares. Then when you find what you want, go to the airline’s website to book it. </p>
<p>The only problem is remembering which airline I booked the trip on. I’m not “loyal” to any one airline. I also get that’s my problem, not the “system”.</p>
<p>I save my own itinerary on my own computer. And I usually print it out, or write the airline and confirmation number on my calendar for the departure date. </p>
<p>I will NEVER use Travelocity again. NEVER. </p>
<p>Agree–I always print out any itinerary for any family member and stick it on the fridge until ater the flight has been completed. I also flag the email that has the flight info. I try to avoid 3rd parties for flights. I have been OK the few times I have used travel agents, but make sure I have a way to reach them if anything comes up related to my flights. The agents tend not to have any control over seating, but I arrange that with the airline disabilities desk and it works out OK.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I can’t remember what I’ve booked either, so I idiot-proof it for myself by emailing the itineraries to myself with really obvious subject descriptions like: “GMTson1 Thanksgiving Break 2014”. Then I can always do an email search. I also cc the passenger on the reservation, so I’m not the only one responsible for keeping track of the booking.</p>
<p>GMTplus7, I do the same thing – I forward the confirmation email not only to whoever the flight is for but also back to myself with a subject that tells me more specifically who/what/when the flight is. I also created a file called ‘upcoming trips’ within my email and place the email there so I know where to look. Finally, I use an online calendar and I’ll put the necessary detail, including confirmation number, on the date of the flight…my memory’s getting pretty bad but, between all these methods, I can always find my flight info! Finally, I have a friend who swears by the app tripit! I’ve only used it once thus far but it really was great, particularly for this trip which had lots of pieces (hotel, car, air).</p>
<p>Sorry to the OP about the mishap. One last thing, I find that kayak is a great search engine, allowing you to enter your parameters (no red eyes, departing only after x time, etc.) to find fare options. Kayak then directs you to sites from which you can purchase the one you like – they don’t sell tickets.</p>
<p>I use google flights or kayak to look up prices, but always book directly with the airline. And I completely understand about forgetting what airline/what flight. I file all emails into a special folder in gmail, tagged with a specific label - different labels for each holiday, different labels for each kid. Makes it easy to get to. And even though I mail the kids the itinerary as soon as I book, they always send me email asking for flight information a week or so before the flight 
Apparently, they can’t look through their email, but they figure mom can do the work :)</p>
<p>^Ha, arisamp, my kids do the same thing!</p>