What for messing up themselves and who from ? I would say they were lucky to get a roll and drink from whoever supplied that.

Perhaps if they are going to spend time in their own property in a foreign country they should consider learning the language.

how did they mess up themselves? basically the airline changed the flights, which meant hanging round at the airport for 6 hrs, basically wasting half a day. if the number on the tickets had an english speaking person on the other end maybe this wouldn't have happened as they would have left the house at a different time.

a roll & a drink is enough for sitting in a cramp aiport which is literally like a box for 6 hours, wasting half a day? i don't think so...

Peakta said-
'Perhaps if they are going to spend time in their own property in a foreign country they should consider learning the language'

Its a holiday home; they visit it 4-5 times a year. If an airline can't even have an english speaking person on the end of a ticket helpline then how stupid is that? I bet alot of people who have homes abroad don't speak the local language so therefore many people would be put in this situtation.

I would think it unlikely they are entitled to any compensation. At least they got their flight home, just imagine if it had been changed to an earlier time, they would have missed it completely and then had to buy themselves another ticket! I am very surprised that the confirmation number didn't have an English speaking person - are they absolutely sure they dialled the correct number? Who were they flying with?

yes it isn't the first time they have dialed the number and not managed to get any help. they dialed the number at xmas and again a turkish lady answered and couldn't help. but isn't that the point, what if it was changed to an earlier time? luckily it was later than they thought it was really.

They flew with excel airways

I think it is the responsibility of passengers to double check flight times I'm afraid. There would be no comeback had they missed their flight, and not understanding the person they spoke to would not be a valid excuse. Knowing they had had a problem before, was there no other way of finding out about their flight?

but what can you do when your out there? it wasn't just them that didn't know about the flight, other people that own homes or didn't travel with a tour op didn't know about the flight change, and one other person they spoke to had also tried the helpline but experienced the same problems.

So, do you think, the roll n can of drink that they were given at the aiport is all that is going to come out of this?

I read this and similar postings and wonder at times what sort of world people live in. You are in a foreign country and yet demand that the person at the other end speaks your language. Yes in an ideal world then you will have. It cannot always be that way. You say that this is not the first time that they have had this problem. Then I would have thought they would have learnt from that and spoken with the airline in Uk and asked for an alternative number. The flight time was changed - so what - have you never waited for a bus that did not come on time. Aircraft can be delayed just like any other form of transport. Why should you be compensated? They did get them home and that is the main thing. Sorry if it offends but we do not live in an ideal world. Sometimes we have to compromise. Sometimes we have to think for ourselves.

fwh

So, do you think, the roll n can of drink that they were given at the aiport is all that is going to come out of this?

Yes because that is all they were entitled to. It was your parent's responsibility to check the return flight times, which is why they are told to check 24 hours beforehand. Therefore the airline are not responsible as the responsibility was placed in your parents hands to check the details - regardless of whether the person at the other end of the phone spoke English. Did they try called reservations in England after they suffered troubles understanding? Because I am sure they would have been able to give more help had your parents put themselves out a bit to try and make more than one phonecall.

i was on holiday this year and i was told that i HAD to reconfirm my flight home because if i never i was entitled to NO compensation etc I had no rep and managed fine. it is not the airlines responsibility to make sure people are there at the correct time it is the customer.

also my parents own many family homes and i can speak both french and spanish from going there on holiday. if they go 5 times a year how have they not picked up on any.

solution to this learn abit about the country and its language
la solution àceci, se renseignent sur le pays et c'est langue
la solucion a esto, aprende sobre el país y es lengua

Its surely poor customer service though for an airline that serves the UK and the majority of whos customers will be English speaking to provide a reconfirmation contact point where no one speaks English.

We flew with Excel independently and had no rep.

We had to dial the number on the tickets and was a bit apprehensive as it was a local greek number but the person on the other end spoke english and just asked for our names and confirmed the flight details for the following day.

Had no problems.

works both ways though sunbear. i find it bad manners of tourists who go to foreign countries and expect everyone to speak perfect english. at the end of the day they should just learn from their mistake or learn turkish

I would have thought that if they travelled to their holiday home 4-5 times a year, they must know someone out there who speaks both Turkish and English and they could have asked for a bit of help with the phone call.

I feel sorry for your parents having the wait at the airport but as the other posters have said, at least they got home eventually.

Cic

exactly

lucky the flight wasnt early as they would have to had to pay their own way home as they did not reconfirm correctly