Travel Troubleshooter: New name, no credit
Gena Welsh and her husband each receive a $150 certificate when their flight is delayed. But now the company that gave them the voucher -- TransGlobal Vacations -- has become Funjet Vacations. And it's balking at giving them the credit. What should she do? we had chosen a scheduled flight instead of a charter flight. Our travel credits did not list airlines that were eligible for a credit. We're planning to take two trips next year -- to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and to Las Vegas -- and we'd like to use our vouchers. Can you help us? -- Gena Welsh, Champlin, Minnesota which is referred to as its "vacation contract" -- looks slightly different than the garden-variety airline agreement. (You can read the full copy online at http://www.funjet.com/cs/billofrights.asp). According to the contract, on a mechanical delay of between eight and 12 hours on a charter flight, you're entitled to a $150 per person credit on a future charter air-inclusive trip. The credit is valid for one year from the date it's issued. In other words, you have to buy a vacation package with a charter flight -- not a scheduled airline flight -- in order to qualify for the credit. The vouchers you received from TransGlobal didn't say which airlines they could be used on because they could only be redeemed on a charter, air-inclusive vacation package -- and that's clearly stated in the contract and on the voucher. This could have been prevented if you had called Funjet before making your reservation. You might be forgiven for overlooking that if TransGlobal hadn't become Funjet. But any time a company merges with another or changes names, you should consider double-checking to make sure all of your agreements are valid. I contacted Funjet on your behalf. Your ticket clearly didn't qualify for the travel credits, and as it turned out, Funjet was well within its rights to deny your claim. But it decided to make an exception for you, and will honor the vouchers. |
