Skylark Doesn't Stand Behind Their Recommendations
I rarely write reviews, but in this case I feel compelled to do so because I’m incredibly disappointed with Skylark. Skylark mishandled my daughter’s flight, refused to take any responsibility for it, and then ghosted me when I asked about it.
I used Maddie at Skylark in May 2023 for a birthday trip to Tuscany, Italy with my youngest daughter. Skylark charged me a $750 fee to arrange our trip, including booking our airfare. Since my daughter and I live in different states, Skylark booked us on separate flights—me on KLM airlines, and my daughter on British Airways—with both of us flying into and out of Florence. It rains frequently in Florence in May and was raining on the morning of our departure home. Once we arrived at the airport, I checked in for my KLM flight, without issue, then headed over to the British Airways counter to check my daughter in. However, I was advised by a British Airways agent that my daughter’s flight home was canceled due to the rain. I was told that, unlike every other airline, British Airways has a long-standing policy that it will not fly into nor out of the Florence airport if it rains. That’s because the Florence runway is very short, and British Airways’ planes are very large. Remarkably, when they booked my daughter’s flight on British Airways, Skylark never advised me of British Airways’ long standing rain policy in Florence. If Skylark had done so, I never would have booked my daughter on that flight. Instead, I would’ve asked that she be booked on another airline, or that both of us be flown out of another airport, like Pisa, which is much bigger and just an hour away. Skylark never mentioned the risks, nor the alternatives, to me. As a result, I was completely blindsided by British Airways’ rain policy.
The British Airways agent presented me with two options for my daughter. First, my daughter could spend the night in Florence, and come back when it stopped raining. This option was not feasible, however, because it was supposed to rain in Florence the next three days. Second, my daughter could take a shuttle to Pisa and, once in Pisa, she could be rebooked on another flight home. I was told the ticketing agent in Florence could not rebook my daughter himself, and that my daughter would have to wait until she arrived in Pisa to determine how and when she would be getting home. I was told there was no guarantee a flight would be available to my daughter that day or even the next.
As there was absolutely no way I was going to board my flight home without knowing how or when my daughter was getting home, I was forced to purchase a new one-way ticket home for her on another airline at a cost of almost $11,000. I was told it was the last ticket available to get my daughter home out of Florence that day.
After returning home, British Airways refunded a portion of my daughter’s flight, but even so, to this day I’m still out of pocket nearly $6000. Regrettably, Skylark has refused to take any responsibility for this loss even though they recommended the British Airways flight without telling me about the risks, nor advising me of the alternatives.
Skylark has never explained why it did not present all of our flight options or warn us of the particular risks with flying British Airways out of Florence. It has just ignored my inquiries. It’s disappointing to say the least, because with adequate disclosures and planning, my $6000 loss could’ve been avoided.
There are many good travel agencies out there with extensive knowledge and experience in Italy, and that stand behind their recommendations. Skylark is not one of them.
10 mei 2023
Review zonder uitnodiging