I was supposed to fly to Seattle today… but thanks to Air France flight attendants and one of their >:XX strikes, I’m litterally grounded in France… It’s been 4 days now! :-/

Of course I wish there were other options for flying non stop from Paris to the west coast, but I’m afraid there aren’t a lot. I even suspect the flights that have been canceled are precisely the ones with the least competition available. Bast>:XX (I mean: sensible capitalists! :|)

Anyway, here’s a couple of things I learnt while canceling my hotel and domestic flight reservations:

  • Orbitz will charge you $25 when canceling an hotel reservation (more than 24 hours in advance) whereas canceling at reservation made directly with the hotel would generally be at no charge. On the other hand, booking through Orbitz oftentimes gets you a better rate. So it's a close call...
  • Canceling a hotel within the last 24 hours prior to arrival can be super expensive. You need to try and cancel as soon as possible.
  • Canceling my $186 flight with United from Seattle to LA cost me $100 charged by United an $30 charged by Orbitz. The remaining $56 credit is valid for one year but is going to be a pain to reuse (no automated procedure).
  • Had I waited to actually be in Seattle before booking that flight (i-e: booked it tonight), it would only have cost me $20 more ($207 total). I think I'm done with booking domestic flights way in advance.

Still, I really really should find out how to not rely on Air France any more… ‘coz you know… they made their point: they’re just unreliable! :-/


Comments from long ago:

Comment from: Mox Folder

Alors là putain les batards !!!

J’hésite toujours à prendre l’assurance annulation, en général je la prend en me disant que ça sert à rien mais en te lisant je me dit que bon finalement je fais bien de la prendre… même si, bon air france maintenant c’est du passé pour moi et de toutes façons leurs prix sont trop cher ;o)

2007-10-29 02-51