Oh, the joy of repeating myself. Did we not talk about business ethics in Mexico once before? Alas, I was wrong. I thought that it was local, small business that were ethically challenged, but apparently, the BUCK DIDN"T STOP THERE. Mexicana airlines, bankrupt? Who would have thought that Mexico's leading airline company would bite the bullet and terminate services? Mexicana apparently halted services earlier in August and many travelers were left stranded without flights. Competitive airlines came to the rescue, offerering slightly discounted flights to stranded passengers. Refund, perhaps?
have you ever heard of a refund without a fight in Mexico?
I think not.
Hubby is now safe in Madrid. Our European adventure has begun. But it wasn't easy. Thursday morning, hubby was packing suitcases, leaving that afternoon. We stopped by the shop to pick up some last minute things. "Uh, babe, let me double check your flights. Something doesn't feel right." Lo-and-behold.... his first flight, in a few hours, was cancelled. GDL to MEX. and the return. WTF?!?!? No warning. No email. No replacement flight. The entire trip was booked with http://www.despegar.com/ . I called despegar, who after transfering me 500+ times, declared that their company was not responsible for the cancellation and that I would need to take it up with the airline for a replacement flight and/or refund. The flight listed was Lufthansa. I checked with them, and the rest of the flights were fine.... except for the GDL to MEX. Their reply? Nope. Not their problem. The booking company was responsible for everything. Back to Despegar, nope. They don't even have the first flight listed. Where did I get this info? "Uh, from my itinerary, Jacka**" Lufthansa finally revealed that the missing flight, listed as their airline, was actually contracted through...
you guessed it.
Mexicana.
So while Mexicana, the company has halted ticket sales, other booking agencies, Travelocity, Expedia, and Despe-pinche-gar, are still booking travel packages with Mexicana.
And people,like me, are screwed.
Scrambling around, we finally found some flight with AeroMexico that worked with hubby's existing flights... but it wasn't cheap. And off he went.
And the refund money?
In the air. Despegar basically told us that we're screwed. Since it was sold as a package , they can't refund part of the money. They would have to cancel the entire trip and book again. (at twice the price, of course!) And since neither airline company wants to take the wrap and since the airline supposedly booked was listed as Lufthansa, it isn't valid on Mexicana's refund page.
Why steal from the poor, when you have the entire country at your disposal? And the gov't reaction? They'll grant Mexicana bankruptcy, thus eliminating the requirement to refund issued tickets.
So before booking, call the airlines directly to confirm flights, before you're left hangin....
