Confusing If Not Deceptive Practice.

 A friend of mine has to fly over to Honolulu for a couple of days next month and, as we all do when flying inter-island, he went to the Hawaiian Airlines website to book a roundtrip ticket. Once the on -line purchase had been completed—a late-morning flight out of Maui—the website asked him, “What about a hotel room for your two nights in Honolulu?”
 
Well, sure … he’s going to need a room for a couple of nights and the hotel where he usually stays was one of the options right there on the screen in front of him. So (click) he accepted the “terms and conditions” and (click) the room was booked for two nights.
 
The next day he realized that his 10-year-old son has a big role in a school play on the afternoon he was going to Honolulu. So, being a good dad, he called Hawaiian Airlines intending to switch to a later flight, and fully aware that he would have to pay a cancellation fee.
 
But not so fast! It turns out that Hawaiian Airlines didn’t actually book the hotel room. It was orbitz.com. And even though he had bought the hotel room on the Hawaiian Airlines website and as a result of their suggesting it, the whole deal—the round-trip flights and two nights at the hotel—had all turned into what was essentially an orbitz package tour.
 
And here’s the problem according to one of the orbitz reps: if he changes his flight to Oahu, orbitz will consider him a no-show not only for the flight he originally booked, but for the hotel as well, which would cause him to forfeit the first night’s room charge.
 
A long and frustrating conversation with an orbitz rep led nowhere and the promised call back from an orbitz supervisor has never come. A representative at Hawaiian Airlines was sympathetic, but couldn’t help because if there’s a problem with your Chevy, the Ford rep can’t help.
 
Sorry. This one is on Hawaiian Airlines and sympathy doesn’t cut it.