It's only natural to try and save as much money as possible when booking a flight...with 100 brokerage companies out to win your business, it's pretty fast and easy.  With a few clicks you can have to trip of your dreams all planned out, that is until 'they' forget to tell you that they've changed your itinerary. 

This summer, I decided to do the responsible thing by booking my flight 2 months in advance. In the past, I'd wait until the last minute which always resulted in a higher fare. 

A week before my trip, Expedia emailed my flight details; great, except now I was no longer flying directly to Montreal. Instead, I was stopping in Toronto for an hour...then re-boarding a new flight that would finally take me to Montreal.  Weird, I booked a non-stop flight, paid for a non-stop flight...and yet, Expedia decided to dump me on a flight that I never booked.  Wait, it gets better...

I called their customer service center...in the Philippines...and of course got nowhere. 

The day of my 7AM flight:  I booked an airport shuttle, they came to pick me up at 4AM, got me to the airport at 430AM...first time in my life that I actually arrived early enough for all the security and customs crap.  I stood in line at the Air Canada ticket counter for 30 minutes, patiently waiting for their 5AM opening.  At 5Am, I handed the agent my passport, gave him my destination he, in return, gave me a blank stare.

"Oh sir, that flight doesn't exist, It's been canceled for over 2 weeks" 

Now keep in mind, that it is 5AM and I've been up since 3AM...so naturally I started to panic...was it the right day?  Did my watch stop... total Twilight Zone... within that time, the agent went on to tell me that my flight was actually at 10AM, not 7AM, - boarding at 930AM...so for 4 1/2 hours I was able to scrunch myself in between the airport chairs and get some 'sleep'...

Needless to say, I finally got on the flight and when I got to my destination (Montreal) I checked my email...and sure enough EXPEDIA emailed me my change of itinerary...6 hours after my flight had taken off!!!

So I got back on the phone with the Philippines, to ask what the phuck had happened and why I spent 4 + hours needlessly at the airport.  Her reply..."Oh it's Air Canada's fault"  Of course I called Air Canada..."It's Expedia's Fault"

Now of course Expedia are not the ones changing flights, or canceling them, the airline does - but it's Expedia that needs to inform their customers BEFORE the flight, not after.  Not after they have seriously inconvenienced their customer.  What would have been the story had I arrived with my dogs, or an infant?  

Here's the thing, we can all expect some kind screw up or mix up when dealing with online bookings or purchases etc.  But the shitty thing is, nobody takes any responsibility for it.  They play the blame game.  So the best way to avoid such incompetence, is to book directly with the airline, they offer the same prices, sometimes they are even cheaper.  Sure, they may still screw up your plans, but at least you know who to blame.  And this is America isn't it?  There's always someone to blame.