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Hotwire.com - Rip Off - Non Delivery of Paid Item
Plane Ticket - Complaint
Review by melwyche on 2012-11-14
Rating: 
LAFAYETTE, INDIANA -- I bought a ticket through Hotwire for the first and last time. When I booked the ticket I thought the flight would be between 6am - 9am. I was wrong it was 9pm - so the woman said (honestly I still think it said 9am). However, I called 2 minutes latter to discuss my options. I wanted to not show up for my outgoing flight and use the return flight ticket. She said I couldn't that once I missed my outgoing flight I forfeit my return flight. I don't understand why. I paid for those tickets. The return flight ticket is mine. How can they forfeit my ticket if I tell them not too. I feel like I just got scammed. I want my return flight ticket not because I'm trying to get over but because I paid for it. I did call Hotwire and they told me to call the airlines and the airline said to call Hotwire. To me it sounds like the employees know it doesn't make sense but don't know what to do.
Comments:
Posted by Ben There on 2012-11-14:
All airline tickets are like this, regardless how you purchase them. If you miss one flight, all others are cancelled.
Posted by olie on 2012-11-16:
Reason 1: 9/11. Such a purchase might be viewed as a security issue.
Reason 2: Back in the day, travelers used to be able to scam the airlines by doing this: Say you wanted to fly from JFK to Chicago. It was significantly cheaper to take the JFK-O'Hare-Denver route than a nonstop to Chicago. So people would book the cheaper flight, and just not board the O'Hare-Denver leg. Since the return flight was the same, they'd be able to have their vacation in Chicago for a lesser price.
The scam on the airline was that they might have been able to find a paying passenger for that Chicago-Denver flight.
You might have had some recourse if you'd booked directly with the airline.
Reason 2: Back in the day, travelers used to be able to scam the airlines by doing this: Say you wanted to fly from JFK to Chicago. It was significantly cheaper to take the JFK-O'Hare-Denver route than a nonstop to Chicago. So people would book the cheaper flight, and just not board the O'Hare-Denver leg. Since the return flight was the same, they'd be able to have their vacation in Chicago for a lesser price.
The scam on the airline was that they might have been able to find a paying passenger for that Chicago-Denver flight.
You might have had some recourse if you'd booked directly with the airline.
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