Posted on 05/15/2014 2:41:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Brad and Rebecca Buchmiller are frustrated a single letter could cost them their 25th anniversary trip to Cancun.
Rebecca Buchmiller booked with online travel agency CheapCaribbean.com, but the itinerary that came back incorrectly spelled their last name “Buhmiller.”
CheapCaribbean.com told them not to worry about it, but when the couple feared the typo might keep them from their $2,000 anniversary trip, they called Kurtis.
The Buchmillers booked the trip over the phone, after locating the trip they wanted online. But when their email confirmation showed up days after they booked, they realized the name on the Aeromexico plane tickets was wrong
“We haven’t been alone on a vacation in 25 years,” Rebecca Buchmiller told Call Kurtis. “I would think that it would take someone five minutes.”
But adding the “C” back in Buchmiller wasn’t so easy.
“You’d like to reach through the phone and just strangle them,” Brad Buchmiller said.
CheapCaribbean.com claimed it had alerted the airline, but wrote the Buchmillers saying their reservation “will still appear the same” and it “should not present a problem at the airport.”
The Buchmillers weren’t convinced, because airline Aeromexico told them the opposite, saying the couple couldn’t board unless both of their names were exact.
Aeromexico said the change-of-name order would cost them $150 per ticket.
Travel agent Trudy Flores of The Travel Store said, with heightened travel security, passengers’ tickets must match their passports of IDs.
“That’s not acceptable,” he said. “It needs to be changed.”
A travel agent’s typo could keep you from getting past security, Flores said. “It wouldn’t be something I’d want to risk,” she said.
CheapCaribbean.com blamed the mistake on a typo.
“It’s a human error. These type of errors happen all the time,” a spokesperson told Call Kurtis. “We’ve rebooked the customer with the correct name.”
But on that new ticket, the Buchmillers found another typo — this time their last name was misspelled “Buhcmiller.”
After another email from Call Kurtis, CheapCaribbean has fixed it now — a huge relief for the couple, who are now focusing on that much-deserved getaway.
“I shouldn’t have to go to this length to get them to correct what they’ve done wrong,” Brad Buchmiller said.
Airline tickets can be canceled for free within 24 hours of booking, so it’s important to check how your name is spelled in that time frame.
In this case, the Buchmillers say it took CheapCaribbean two days to email their itinerary, so they couldn’t cancel.
This may also show a benefit to booking online yourself, where you have the control. But you also have to make sure you spelled everything correctly.
Morons. It’s very frustrating, it’s like almost no one cares anymore whether they do a good job or not.
They should have kept their mouths shut. When you get to the airport take your ticket to the kiosk, scan it, get your boarding pass and go to the gate. No problem.
I had a similar problem, airline ticket booked under my nickname. I have ZERO pieces of ID that use my nickname. The airline agent changed it, but had to go against the rules that allow changing one or two characters to account for simple typos.
Incompetent a$$hole$ should not be allowed to use any computer system.
!
Anyone at the security checkpoint that knows how to spell would be able to see that it was simply a typo. Perhaps with so many of our security people under-educated that might be asking too much. However, when I encountered a similar problem as a customer service supervisor the security folks would confer with the airline (me) and the passenger would be subject to secondary screening. Just the same as if you had no proper id on you and wanted to check in. You could, you just got the four-star treatment at the checkpoint.
The last Israeli airliner that was hijacked was about 30 years ago and went to Entebbe. Israel rescued the passengers and killed most of the bad guys.I am a white boy and my wife is from Mexico but could easily be mistaken for being Arab. Each time we go through security at Heathrow or Gatwick she is singled out. However, the last time we went through security in Madrid I was singled out for extra security. I have absolutely no problem with this. They are profiling and it works.
The best security is what the Israeli’s do...
Perhaps, but that will never happen here as long as slimy liberals who hate the USA control our bureaucracies and weak kneed GOPes agree with them.
I’ve heard all the arguments including the one that says the Israeli model can’t work here because we have so many more passengers to deal with. As with anything, it’s a commitment and if safety of passengers and airplanes is the goal it CAN be done.
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