Continental Airline Tickets

i am stuck in the philippines?

My name is Landon Weaver formerly of the united states Army. I have recently traveled to the philippines to see my wife and new born daughter. I was to fly back to the U.S. on Aug. 21st at 6:45am . I arrived at the airport at 5:30am. I was told shortly after that my seat had been given away to a stand by because i was not 2 hours prior. When i spoke to one of the agents they told me that it is a policy and i would not be booked on another flight. i was then asked to leave the airport and find another way home. When i returned to my wife's house I proceeded to look on every regulation and faq for Northwest Airlines. Nowhere did i find anything saying two hours or you may lose your seat. Also on their website it states that if you are late to check in you will be re booked on a later flight but when I contacted NWA they first refused to rebook and said that i could buy and entirely new ticket. Also the price for the new one way ticket is almost double of that of my original round trip. I am now forced to become an illegal alien in this country because of their actions and have no money left to get home. I am stuck here in the Philippines. Do i have any legal stance to sue 30M MIN LEFT BEFOR I HIT THE 60 MIN MARK YES I UNDERSTAND I SEE THE REG THAT STATES RECOMMENDED 2 HOURS BUTMUST BE 60 MIN I WAS THERE AT CHECK IN AT 5:30 AND MY SEAT WAS GIVEN AWAY BY THEIR POLICY IT IS MINIMUM OF 60 MIN SO WHY WITH STILL 3O MIN LEFT DID THEY GIVE MY SEAT AWAY

Public Comments

1. I think u must go to US embassy in the Philippines and seek for advice and help, call your relatives or friends in US to give you some backup money. I think that airline is pretty harsh, you also can sue the airline and there is no rules (well some airline), that you must be there 2 hours before... I wish you good luck.
2. NWA airline policy (http://www.nwa.com/travel/tips/airport.html#checkin) states that you must have completed check-in 60 minutes prior to departure at the latest. It says : NOTE TO ALL TRAVELERS: If you do not check in for and board your ticketed flights by the specified time, all segments of your flight itinerary may be cancelled and the value of your ticket may be lost. Further it states : "Recommended arrival time for international flights is at least 2 hours prior to departure ... All reservations and advance seat assignments may be cancelled if the passenger has not checked in and received a boarding pass at least 60 minutes prior to departure and may not be eligible for denied boarding compensation" In addition check-in times may vary from airport to airport and may be longer for Manila. What may have happened is that you were at the counter just under 1 hour prior to departure (it takes a while to get from the taxi sand to the check-in counter), so they have the right to give away your seat and do not haven pay you any compensation. The US embassy will not be able to help. What you can do is contact the NWA office in Manila and ask for a re-booking. Alternatively you can complain to the head office once you are back in the US, stating that you were at the counter 1:15 prior to departure. If you are lucky they will offer to re.book your flight. But legally they are likely not obliged to, unless you can prove that you were at the check-in counter exact 1:15 prior to departure, which will be difficult for you to do. EDIT : Check your math : if you arrived at 5:30 for a depature at 6:45 then that is 1 hour 15 minutes prior, not 1:30. You could have easily spendt another 10 minutes waiting in line, meaning that you would not have *completed* check-in before the 60 minute mark. Either way it will be very difficult to prive otherwise if check-in staff insist you were late.
3. 1. You have no legal stance to sue. You were late checking in. 2. The US consulate cannot help you except to assist your family back in the US to wire funds for you to buy a new plane ticket. 3. You have a wife in the Philippines. She can apply for your immigration to the Philippines and you could probably stay there the rest of your life - legally! You also have the option of requesting an extension of your visa from Philippines authorities, and can probably arrange such an extension very easily. Get out of panic-mode and start thinking rationally.
4. for all international flights,you must appear at least 2 hours earlier, (check-in,suitcases) you have no legal grounds to complain nor get reimbursed, sorry, but that is the rule for international flights.
5. stay there