Couple Almost Left at Altar After Booking Honeymoon on Internet

For most people, honeymoons evoke thoughts of romance, of jetting off to a secluded, beautiful place to be with the one they love.

But, thanks to bad luck and bad planning, Lake Forest resident Tim Higgins almost remembered his more for a snafu with American Airlines.

Higgins booked his October honeymoon in April via the Internet, buying a $2,010 five-day package to Maui from American Airlines Vacations that included air fare for him and his bride, their hotel and a rental car.

He secured the reservation with a $200 deposit, promising to pay the rest no more than a month before the trip. His fiancee charged the remainder of what they owed on her credit card several days before the deadline.

So far, so good.

But then the charge didn’t go through--not enough credit available on his fiancee’s card. The airline tried calling them, but they had moved.

When the tickets had not turned up two weeks before the Big Day, the couple called American, only to be told that their reservation was gone, along with their deposit. And there was a dentists’ convention in Maui. So the package would cost $3,500 to rebook.

Higgins said the airline should have tried harder to reach them. “It’s not like we were buying a T-shirt,” he said. “It’s a big deal.”

American Airlines Vacations officials counter that customers need to read Web site fine print more carefully, making sure they understand the terms and conditions of their contracts. Most of all, consumers need to verify--carefully--the information they leave with the airline and to keep it up to date, said Gene Harden, vice president of information systems.

Luckily for Higgins, American--in love with love--has honored his reservation even though the company had no legal obligation to do so. How’s that for a fairy-tale ending?