My nightmarish experience getting a flight canceled by Expedia

This post has been updated beginning with its conclusion.

After tweeting incessantly about my horrible experience, and hash-tagging Expedia, I got a tweet back asking me to send my email and itinerary number in a direct message. Fewer than 15 minutes later, I checked my email and saw a cancellation confirmation. At about the same time, the rep I was on hold with came back on the phone to tell me she was still waiting for a supervisor. My call time read 53 minutes, and then some. I hung up when she put me on hold. This time, I actually got a call back within the minute. She said she finally had a supervisor for me, and I stayed on the phone just to let them know I had gotten it resolved a different way. When she kept me on the phone for another two minutes, I hung up again. This time, I got another direct call from the supervisor. She apologized for the dropped calls, and I let her know this time I was the one who hung up since I already got the resolution I need. 


I think it's sad, yet a beautiful thing, that social media has become the most effective way to get proactive actions or resolutions. I'm never one for public shaming, which is why I waited my due diligence hoping to get things resolved by speaking to humans. I cannot believe that after more than 3.5 hours combined waiting on hold or talking to several customer service agents and supervisors, it took a series of tweets to get a confirmation within 15 minutes. Please read on, for my initial post summarizing my experience.


Three days ago, I called Expedia to cancel my flight to Brazil amid growing concerns about the Zika virus and overall safety in Rio. After 2 hours and 3 dropped calls, I was finally told my flight was canceled and I'd receive an email confirming the cancellation. I was also given a $50 credit to use on a later booking.

After 3 days waiting with no email, I contacted them today to ask for a confirmed cancellation email. I was hung up on my first call, but not before I was sent two confirmation emails alerting me that my flight was still confirmed to go. I called back a second time, and after going through a similar experience, I was "transferred" to a supervisor. Instead I got a "Welcome to Hotels.com. For bookings..."

My 3rd call back (by this time, now increasingly annoyed and a tad bit irritation coming through in my voice,) I was put on hold for 36 minutes to speak to a supervisor. The average wait time I was told was 30 minutes. Fine. Whatever it takes to get my refund (which by the way the airlines had already approved per two customer service reps I spoke to on Day 1.) Four minutes into my conversation saying it was getting tiresome repeating my itinerary number and phone numbers (for call backs if disconnected) knowing that I haven't gotten called back after every dropped call. The phone gets dropped again!

I have now called for the 4th time, and have begun another presumably 30-minute wait for another supervisor all in a bid to get my flight officially canceled. It's been several years (long enough that I can’t actually recall the last time I used this booking service) since I booked anything through Expedia, and it’s painfully clear that I wouldn’t do it again. I found a really great deal to a country I have been dying to visit and thought that I could take advantage of it. Sadly, even the $50 credit I was allegedly given (couldn’t find any record of it in my account) or anything else I may get, isn’t enough to make me book through this service again. For what would amount to a few more dollars at best, I’ll gladly going with anyone else.

At the conclusion of this, I’m still on hold waiting for yet another supervisor, who I hope won’t hang up on me again. I hope to add an update later saying I have finally reached a resolution and gotten my refund. But I am chronicling this episode, because as a frequent traveler, I love to share my experiences, good or bad, so people may have an equally good or better experience on their turn. I'm sure others may have had good experiences with Expedia, and I think if you book through them and follow through with it, then you will be fine. But I think it's important to note that you may not have the best experience when it comes to customer service issues; particularly cancellations.

Canceling my summer trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I didn't want to, but today I had to; canceling my upcoming trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that is.

Ever since I scored a great deal on tickets to fly in a day before the start of the 2016 Olympic Games, back in January, it's all I'd talked about to anyone who would listen. My former graduate school roommate, who is Brazilian and currently lives in Rio, was excited. Since she left the program in 2010, we've talked about me visiting her exotic South American abode. I couldn't make it to her wedding, and she'd recently given birth to her first child in January; a girl named Mariah. So it was a good time to fulfill my promise.

So we were both excited about my impending trip. I was already fantasizing about what other South American country I would tag on to my trip, with Argentina and Peru being my top choices. To compound my excitement, the Brazilian government announced it would be waiving the $150 visa fee for the summer months between June and September to encourage more tourist visits to the country around the Olympics. Major score!

It wasn't too long after that reports started pouring in about an outbreak of a new virus called Zika, which researchers have said is spread through mosquitoes. if you know anything about Brazil and its sprawling amazons, you can understand how the virus could spread quickly. And with the Olympics scheduled to begin Aug. 5th, many were questioning if the event should be postponed or the venue moved. I had covered a FIFA World Cup tournament, but had never been to an Olympic event. So this was going to be it for me. Plus, I was communicating with my dear friend, who I felt was more reliable than the excessive media reports about the outbreak. Since airlines were promising to issue refunds for tickets purchased to Brazil, we decided I would wait it out with hopes that the situation would get better as the date drew closer. Last week, I even started looking at tickets to Argentina.

But few days ago, I read this news story from one of Brazil's most prolific soccer players Rivaldo, who strongly suggested that tourists avoid Brazil this year due to the increasing level of violent crimes, saying the government couldn't ensure our safety, nor could hospitals protect our health. I'm not one to be easily swayed by public fear (I visited Istanbul, Turkey amid increasing street protests by its citizens and went to South Africa over similar fears of violence during the World Cup,) so I brushed it off. But the negative reports continued. Another news story mentioned that the virus was increasingly getting worse. It was time to check in once again with my girl.

Rivaldo says 'don't come to Brazil...so I won't.'

Sadly, after a chat with my friend today, I made the painful decision to call and cancel my flight when she explained that the situation has indeed gotten worse. As I mentioned, she recently had a baby (thankfully without any complications,) and she summarized our conversation by saying, "I have never been so scared here. They are stealing cars a lot and killing people like it is not a big deal. I wish I could take Mariah and leave there."

I always felt that since I would be staying with her, I would be fine emulating exactly what she was doing. Using a lot of repellent to hold off mosquitoes and moving around with her. But now even she was seriously concerned?

I planned to take my new camera to work on two mini documentaries I had in mind. How can I walk around freely holding something so expensive while people were being killed during robberies? I'd not only be endangering myself, but my host and her family as well. More importantly, how would the virus affect me in the long run? So far, scientists have been able to provide sound proof that the virus is linked to birth defects, but media reports have also cited others saying no one has been able to determine exactly how long the virus stays in the body. I am not pregnant, nor do I expect to be in the next year. But how can I live with myself if I find out much later in life that my trip could have a life-altering effect on me and my possible future family?

It may seem a little farfetched, but other women are pondering similar decisions. U.S. women's soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo has publicly shared similar concerns about the issue. But men aren't exempt from the ramifications of contracting the virus as it can be transmitted sexually to their partners as well.

There'll be no visit to the famous Christ the Redeemer statue

Needless to say, there won't be a trip to Brazil or South America this year. But I will be posting my long overdue trips to the Caribbean between the Christmas and New Year breaks. I've been working too hard to be able to afford these trips, and I haven't had much time for regular blogging. I know a lot of people look forward to where I would be headed next, and this cancellation won't end my goal of visiting at least one new country every year. I have something else in the works, which I hope to share sooner than it's taken to share my Caribbean cruise. Until then, I encourage my readers to get out more and "discover, explore and share" your experiences with me.

Note: I wrote this while waiting on hold to cancel the flight, and I have to say I was still struggling from buyer's–or should I say refund's–remorse. I was asked five times if I want to go ahead, and each time I wanted to stop myself and say NO!