I am curious, what exactly is the point of toiling for hours over picking flights, comparing times, looking for and PAYING MORE for shorter flights and travel times, picking seats, getting as close to what we want that meets times one wants only to have the airline change everything in the end. Since I made  reservations with US Airways for a trip to Spain to race Duathlon World Championships, in 2 weeks they have changed our flight itinerary 2 times with the most recent change a dramatic change of 2 hours! 2 hours! Why did we spend time making the selections we wanted only to have airlines have the power to endlessly change it as often as they want and as they see fit so that by the end of the change process, nothing we picked is actually what we paid for or agreed to or selected.. or wanted? I ordered product A, by the time this is done, I will actually be given product B. But I paid for, searched for, and bought product A.

Now, we could have selected a different airline, flown cheaper, and gotten the flight times we wanted elsewhere at this stage. But we choose them based on those same facts and in the end, they have changed them all up on us. Both departure and return flights have changed now. How is that proper as they now added hours onto our itinerary, an itinerary we specifically choose to be less travel time, make comfortable connections for international travel and get us home at a proper hour as compared to other itineraries. If we wanted the flight times they have changed us to, WE WOULD HAVE PICKED THEM FROM THE START!!

Oh, and when I called.. they gave me the “this is normal” speech and the “sorry we know it is frustrating” speech, but when you press to answer you about at what point do they start to understand they are making unreasonable changes that transform the product into something radically different than what you originally purchased, they gave me the “we have the right to change itineraries” speech and showed no understanding that at a certain point they are doing away with our choices and just giving us what they want.

Oh wait, that is what airlines do now. It is amazing how much of flight has become about bending the consumer over and giving one no recourse. None.

Not sure why they don’t just have a system where you pay them $xxx for travel and with the understanding that they will put you on whatever flights they want and will just let you know 3-4 days before you go what you actually ended up with. Because in the end, that is the roulette wheel they have you on anyway. One of fake up front choices that by the end, meant nothing and were an utter waste of time to even make.