Dream trip ends early, but refund late to arrive
Many fans of reality TV are familiar with Mandana Dayani from her days on “The Rachel Zoe Project.” A former attorney and vice president of Zoe’s fashion empire, she offered a cool and calm presence on the sometimes-frenetic series. Dayani has parlayed her love of vintage pieces, fashion and antiques into a new career with the tech startup, Everything But the House (www.ebth.com), which makes estate sales accessible online. Dayani, EBTH’s chief brand officer, is based out of Los Angeles. An edited version of our conversation follows.
Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: I’ve traveled to many places, and love experiencing and learning about different cultures, but my favorite vacation destination would have to be Paris. I love everything about the city: the history, fashion, architecture, food, culture, interiors and energy. Fashion will always be my greatest love, and all my fashion heroes are rooted in Paris.
Q: To someone going to Paris for the first time, what would you recommend that they do during their visit?
A: Didiet Ludot is one of my favorite vintage fashion destinations. It’s like the most well-curated museum of vintage couture. L’As du Fallafel may not be the sexiest eatery, necessarily, but it is the best falafel I’ve ever had. It’s also in the Le Marais (neighborhood),
Qwhich is always fun to visit, especially for its great shopping.
Q: What untapped destination should people know about?
A: Iguazu Falls. I recommend viewing from both sides of the border so you can get both perspectives of the immense waterfalls. The Argentina side gives you a closer experience, but the panoramic viewpoint on the Brazilian side is absolutely breathtaking. The magnitude of the falls is awe-inspiring and the most humbling experience. You can’t help but feel so small in the presence of such a majestic and powerful wonder of nature.
Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A: Definitely stay away from making too many plans. The best experiences I’ve had traveling are the times I’ve gotten lost in a city, eaten street food and experienced the local culture.
Q: Where is the most romantic destination?
A: Cadaques in Spain is where my husband and I visited on our honeymoon. It’s a little fisherman town that was frequented by artists like Dali and Picasso. The picturesque landscape, cobblestone streets, Vespas and local culture — it’s just so untouched and romantic.
Q: What are your five favorite cities?
A: New York City, Paris, Istanbul, Nantucket (R.I.), Capri.
Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A: I would love to experience the culture and the food of Marrakesh. Yves Saint Laurent used to call Marrakesh home, and its influence emerges in some of my favorite collections of his.
Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A: I always pack lots of skin care items, a silk pillowcase, cashmere pajamas, tech adapters, a camera, Polaroid and sanitizing wipes.
Q: What would be your dream/fantasy trip?
A: A safari in Botswana with my husband and daughter. For more from the reporter, visit www.jaehakim.com.
A: I’m sorry to hear about your 67th birthday trip. That’s what folks in the travel industry call a “trip in vain.” You flew to Dallas, only to have to return home right away.
I’m troubled by the perception that American Airlines didn’t care about getting you to your final destination. American and British Airways are codeshare partners, which means they are taking responsibility for each other’s flights. No one from American should have left you with the impression that the airline was “finished” with you when you arrived in London.
A call to your online travel agency, Expedia, or to British Airways might have yielded a different result. As your travel agent, Expedia should have figured
I recently booked round-trip airline tickets on British Airways to fly from Albuquerque, N.M., to Inverness, Scotland, on British Airways. I made the reservation through Expedia, which included one night’s lodging at the Culloden House Hotel. I also booked five nights at the Ullinish Country Lodge directly.
My flight from Albuquerque to Dallas was operated by American Airlines. I was scheduled to connect with another American Airlines flight to London, but my overseas flight was delayed because of a mechanical problem. That meant missing the only daily flight to Inverness.
An American Airlines representative made a tentative reservation for me to fly to Inverness on the next available flight. I asked if I could be rerouted through Dublin, but all flights were booked. It became clear to me that once my American Airlines flight arrived at the gate at London, American’s responsibility to me would be finished. I would be stuck in London for the next 24 hours with no luggage.
My dream trip for my 67th birthday had come to an end.
An American Airlines representative at Dallas was able to book me on a flight home at 9:30 p.m. I arrived back in Santa Fe at 11 p.m. The representative also agreed to initiate a refund request for the unused portion of my ticket. She told me that I would receive a refund in six to 10 days.
When no refund appeared, I called American Airlines. Another agent made another request for a refund. It’s been almost four months, and I’m still waiting. Can you help? out a way to fix your dream vacation; that’s what good travel agents do.
“Trip in vain” policies vary from airline to airline, but, generally, they should offer a refund of the unused portion of your ticket. The money would be sent to your travel agent, which then would return it to you.
I list the executive contacts for American Airlines (elliott.org/company -contacts/american), British Airways (elliott .org/company-contacts/ british-airways/) and Expedia (elliott.org/com pany-contacts/expedia/) on my consumer-advocacy site. I think you could have successfully appealed this delayed refund to one of them.
As best I can tell, your | refund followed a confusing path. If British Airways ticketed you, then it had your money. American would have had to ask British Airways for the refund, and then it would have been sent to Expedia. That may account for the delay, but it doesn’t fully explain it.
At my suggestion, you reached out to one of Expedia’s executives. Within a week, you had a full refund for your unused tickets. Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of “How to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler.” You can read more travel tips on his blog, , or email him at