Airline frustration

So, I booked my flight to India on Orbitz and I got a great deal on it. Received my confirmation right after booking and didn't give it a second thought. Now it is 2 days before I leave and I receive an email from Orbitz reminding me that my trip is in 2 days. I am glad I took the time to read the entire email because this one shows my return flight on May 29: Chennai to Dubai, check - Chennai to Houston Intercontinental arriving at 4:25 pm, check, Houston Intercontinental to Dallas departing at 4:15 pm, check, no wait, that's not the flight I booked and how in the hell am I supposed to get on a flight at 4:15 pm when I don't even arrive from Dubai until 4:25 pm??

So I call American Airlines and get a snippy guy who I guess must be totally frustrated with the whole volcanic ash in Iceland thing, who very rudely tells me that American Airlines reserves the right to cancel flights at any time and since my flight was underbooked and it's a holiday weekend (Memorial Day) they are sending the aircraft to an airport that "needs it more". He tells me I need to call Emirates Airlines since they are my international carrier. I then respond with "this is another reason why I hate American Airlines" and he very sweetly says, "Thank you for calling American Airlines" and hangs up on me!

So I call Emirates Airlines and they also must be totally flooded with calls from people who are stranded in various parts of the world due to the volcanic ash in Iceland because I was ON HOLD for over 1 hour, the entire hour spent being told by a recording that my call is on priority and will be attended to shortly. They finally attend to my call by telling me that because I booked my flight with Orbitz, I have to call Orbitz.

So....call #1 to Orbitz: I give them my name and reservation number, briefly explain why I am calling and right in the middle of a sentence the call is disconnected. Call #2 to Orbitz: I give them my name and reservation number, longer explanation as to why I am calling. She looks up the reservation and tells me that she needs to call American Airlines because Orbitz doesn't have any information about the flight being cancelled. She puts me on hold and 35 minutes later the call is disconnected. Call #3 to Orbitz: (and now I'm ticked!) I give them my name and reservation number and a lengthly explanation as to why I am calling and why I don't want to be placed on hold. Needless to say, I'm on hold anyway.

The "helpful" Orbitz rep has just come back on the line to tell me that American Airlines will be happy to book me on a flight from Houston HOBBY to Dallas on the evening of May 29. I explain to this helpful person that I WILL NOT travel over 20 hours from India to Dubai, Dubai to Houston Intercontinental, then try to find a taxi to take me to Houston Hobby to catch an American Airlines flight back to Dallas. I don't think I'm being difficult, I just want what I paid for. Now I'm on hold again while the Orbitz rep explains to the American rep that I'm not doing what they are suggesting.

I would like to point out that this series of phone calls began at 9:42 pm and it is now 12:08 am. I have other things I could be doing right now, like sleeping. 12:26 am...still on hold and losing every game of Spider Solitaire that I have played. 12:33 am...still on hold.

12:52 am...the Orbitz rep says that the Emirates rep needs confirmation from American that the flight has been cancelled. Their recommendation is for me to call Orbitz when I get to India to determine whether or not American has contacted Emirates with the flight cancellation confirmation. I've already been on hold with Orbitz for 1 hour and 17 minutes on a free 1-800 call. I refuse to fly to India and then hope that the internet phone works long enough for me to call Orbitz so they can book a different flight.

Now I'm on a conference call with Orbitz and Emirates. The Orbitz rep is trying to call an American rep to put them on the conference call so the American rep can tell the Emirates rep that my original flight has been cancelled. REALLY???? In this day of modern technology it has come down to this....an Orbitz rep who I would bet my paycheck is in India, an Emirates rep who is somewhere in the Middle East but who could possibly be in India, and an American rep with an American attitude...all on a conference call with a frustrated Texan/Okie who wants to go to bed. I really wish that I could record this call and post it somewhere because it would actually be kind of funny if I wasn't so frustrated. I think I am going to cry.

1:08 am...Emirates has put all of us on hold. 1:14 am...the Emirates agent is now trying to re-issue my ticket and book me on a United flight from Houston Intercontinental to Dallas. I hope this thing doesn't get FUBAR'D. Listening to the accent of the Orbitz rep and the accent of the Emirates rep I feel like I am already in India.

1:21 am...these 2 cannot figure out what they are doing. I hope they don't cancel my entire flight in error.

1:34 am...still waiting.

1:45 am...entire itinerary had to be rebooked but Orbitz just sent an email and it looks okay. Hopefully it is. Now I will go to bed so I can get up at the butt-crack of dawn to go load my car with my luggage, go to work for a few hours, drive to a small town in Oklahoma to look at an apartment complex my bosses are considering buying, and then drive to Dallas to spend the night with my BFF who will be driving me to DFW Airport on Thursday morning. That is when my REAL adventure begins....off to India for LOVE!