Friday, May 1, 2015

Good Travel Agents Are Worth Their Weight in Gold

A case in point - in March I booked us on an Air France flight to Paris on June 11th.  In due time we were billed and paid.

And then came broken hip.

During Wednesday's post op with the surgeon, I asked him if I could make the flight.  He looked rather shocked (or as shocked looking as he is likely to get.)  He said after some thought, "I'd put it off until September."

This was a surprise.  With my typical optimism I thought it would be a "Go!"  On the other hand, the thought of being subjected to "French medicine" was a daunting one.  The French depend on an ambulance to stabilize the patient rather than to slam the back doors and take off avec tout vitesse to the nearest hospital.  No, thank you. 

So I called Peggy, who had booked the tickets in the first place and asked if it would be cheaper to rebook now (knowing the airline would put the boots to us for it or cancel entirely, get a refund (however much they would allow us) and rebook in late August?  September is a shoulder season in Paris and tickets are bound to be cheaper than peak season - middle of June. 

Before I knew it, Peggy was on the phone with a 3-way conversation with a man at Air France.  Because it was a medical cause for the change and because it was doctor's orders not to fly until September, Air France waived the $300 per person re-booking fee.  We saved $600 then and there. 

And the change in booking is good until March, 2016. 

Peggy Pelligreni
Zen Travel Services
310-528-6516
:  Will have spent it by then ...


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