I wasnt sure what to title this but I wanted to post about what happened to me so hopefully nobody else gets stuck in this situation...
I purchased my tickets and like everyone else received a phone call from Elal requesting that I a switch my airfare to direct. We spoke about dates and they were able to offer me an outbound flight that was good for me so i acquiesced. On the return flight I wanted the overnight flight Sunday so that I can be back for work on Monday morning but they would not give me that flight so I left my return unchanged. A few days later Elal called me again and was quite pushy in insisting that I must change my flight as my current flight was likely to be cancelled (completely false) and they reluctantly agreed to give me the Monday 1am flight. I received confirmation of the change and when logging into Elal to check my reservation it was noted that I was on that return flight.
Upon arriving to the airport, I went to check-in and I was told that while my reservation had been changed there had been no ticket issued and as such I would have to go speak with ticketing. After spending over an hour with ticketing the end result was I had no ticket and would have to pay $245 for changing my flight if I wanted to get home and I could take it up with Elal afterwards. they said the fees were because my flight had changed to a different day (because it was the 1am flight) plus a surcharge for making the change in the airport.
Upon arriving home I attempted to contact Elal by phone with no success and with multiple emails, all of which went unanswered. I had put the charge on my Chase Sapphire and figured I would file a dispute and see what happens...this being the first time ever filing a dispute I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of the transaction. I filed online, received a call a few days later asking me for more information which I relayed, and then called me back within ten minutes letting me know that the dispute had been approved and I would be seeing a refund within the next few days.
All in all I am not sure what occurred with Elal, somehow my reservation was changed but they had failed to issue me a ticket representing that change. My Sapphire card really came to the rescue though and all is well that ends well...
Anyone have a similar experience?
