"Best International Airline"... Yeah .... Ok ....

All i wanted was to get tickets at decent prices to fly off to spend my first white christmas with Dar. So i saw a deal offered on the "best international airline['s]" (as mentioned on CNA, 12th July 2005 @ est. 12.15pm) website and pounce on the deal. Dar was really sweet enough to offer to use his mom's card to pay for the ticket so that she could get airmiles.

So everything was done and i was elated and feeling like i was the luckiest girl on earth.

Till yesterday morning. This airline insisted that they require the credit card that was charged to pay for the ticket to be presented upon check-in. Ok, one regulation i can understand but figured if the airline i flew on to Melbourne who are more strict with their regulations can allow passengers to board with the e-ticket and passport without the credit card. Why can't this airline do the same? Afterall, i did suggest and offered to have Dar or his mom sign on the form to allow the card to be charge for this transaction.

But nooooooo the airline staff insisted that i get the card holder to go down to the airline's office in Vancouver to sign the form in front of one of the airline staff. Which i promptly told the reservations lady attending to me that if she thinks that i am going to get either Dar or his mom to fly down to Vancouver from wherever they are just so i can avoid a 75 admin charge is ridiculous. RiDICULOUS i tell you.

All this time i have kept my cool, was trying to reason with them that i understand they require the credit card upon check-in to prevent fraud. Despite me having suggested all the ways i could prove to show that this wasn't a fraud and that i have permission to charge the ticket to this credit card. The only workable solution the airline was offering me - cancel the booking and incur the 75 admin charge.

I've suggested having them fax the form over to Dar or his mom right now while i call them on the phone so that they can sign on it and fax it back. No.

I have suggested calling either Dar or his mom in front of the customer service officer at this airline's service centre to prove that i am not lying. No.

All they could offer was that the person whose name is on the credit card must head down to the office in Vancouver to sign in front of an airline staff. Which was a no go.

Or. Cancel the ticket and incur the 75 admin charge.

At this point in time i could safely say i would have reach both arms into the phone and wring all three of the airline's reservation staff if i could while screaming my head off.

Is it just me or does this airline just wants to earn an EXTRA 75 bucks from me????

Like i said in the beginning all i wanted was to go on a holiday. But i end up having a massive headache and unduly stress caused by an airline whose staff are very very inflexible.