I had quite an adventure with airlines over the past few days. The result: Airtran considered harmful. It all started a few days ago...
I had flights for Sunday through Saturday with Vanguard Airlines. But, of course, Vanguard went bankrupt on me. To make things more interesting, I had already used one leg of my trip at the time of the bankruptcy.
At the time of the bankruptcy, Vanguard had arranged special deals for stranded-travellers with Frontier and National airlines. However, I quickly found out that neither Frontier nor National flew to both Pittsburgh and Dallas :-/. So, that’s where Airtran comes in.
I had checked the usual sites, but Airtran consistently had the best fares for one-way trips from Pittsburgh to Dallas. Of course, “best” is all relative, as the one-way flight that I ended up booking with Airtran cost only $10 less than the two-way flight that I had booked with Vanguard.
The flight with Airtran was for Saturday evening, via Atlanta (so far, so good). The flight to Atlanta was scheduled to leave Pittsburgh at 8:05pm EST, but it only ended up leaving at 9:30pm. So, even though the Atlanta-to-Dallas flight was running an hour late, that didn’t cover the difference — I missed my connecting flight from Atlanta to Dallas.
Of course, Airtran arranged for hotels for us. But, because virtually everyone on the Pittsburgh-to-Atlanta flight had a connecting flight (that he or she ended up missing), there were a couple hundred people in the line for the Airtran customer service counter. So, two hours of standing-in-line later, I had a voucher for the local Crown Plaza. The customer service agents were handing out vouchers for various local hotels, and the Crown-Plaza-bound bunch of us boarded the shuttle to the hotel.
Upon arriving at the Crown Plaza, however, they informed us that they had no vacancies (“The airlines don’t always keep track of how many vouchers they hand out&rdquo, we were told). Luckily, the Crown Plaza was able to arrange for rooms for us at a nearby Holiday Inn. Frickin Airtran.
The morning flights were mostly uneventful. I had asked for a later flight (around lunchtime), as I wanted more sleep than a first-thing-in-the-morning flight would have afforded me. The flight was scheduled to leave at 12:05pm. And, we boarded the plane about 20 minutes before scheduled takeoff (fairly normal).
After boarding, though, we sat on the runway for about an hour. At that point, one of the crew members came over the intercom to let us know that “We’re just waiting on one more crew member. Once he gets here, we can head off.”, to which he added sarcastically “Welcome to the airline industry”. So, it wasn’t even weather-related or even mechanical — they just couldn’t keep their appointments. The AWOL crewmember did eventually arrive, about 20 minutes after that announcement.
As such, I will hesitate in flying Airtran ever again.
man…that sucks. glad you made it home safely, though.
“I will hesitate in flying” — Awkward. Is there a more succinct way to phrase this? :(
Maybe there is a more succinct way, Julie ;). Do you have a suggestion?
Hey. Wasn’t me. I’m a member of the Grammar Patrol, not the Grammar Police.
Hey man, I’m sorry about what happend to you.. I’m a gate agent for AirTran in ATL. Sometimes things like that happen. I’m sorry that you had to go through that 2 times in a row though. There is really no excuse for that. Please give us another chance….
Jusitn
Joe Leonard
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Airtran Inc.
I was scheduled to fly from LAX to Pensacola ,Florida on
Airtran Flight #2 at 12:35PM on Sunday, June 6, 2004.
When I called to confirm on Saturday I was told that Flight #2 would no longer make a connection in Atlanta and the next flight would be !!:55PM that night.
I found this unacceptable, and asked for an explanation and was told the there was a change in Atlanta and therefore my LAX #2 at 12:35PM flight would no longer connect.
I asked to speak to a supervisor to pursue other alternatives and was “accidentally” cut off, meaning I now had to call back.
I called back and got “Jo” on the line ( no doubt from somewhere in Bangladesh) and was told there was NO LONGER a flight #2 from LAX on Sunday June 6 at 12:35PM.
What happened to the lack of connection in Atlanta?
Now lets move to the “inconvenience.”
I was told by “Jo” the change in flights had happened on February 27,2004.
I had booked, paid, reserved and confirmed on February 17. I was not notified of any changes until I called on June 5…a period of 3 months, the possibilities of notification include e-mail, letters or phone calls… If I had known about the change (having carefully chosen a day flight) I would have changed days, flights or AIRLINES.
Moving on. I am nearing retirement as are my friends in L.A. who are taking me to the airport (as a favor). None of us drive at night, particularly in L.A. We are now offered with the opportunity to drive at night (10:30PM or so) or going early and hanging around the airport for hours.
Hotel. Check out time at the hotel is 12 noon. With my original plan I would get up eat a breakfast with my friends, drive to the airport at 10:30 and leave at 12:35.
I am now sitting around the lobby of the hotel for 12 HOURS WITH MY LUGGAGE and no place to go. I am also now buying lunch and dinner for this 12 hours, an additional $60 for two.
I chose the day flight so I could enjoy my own bed at the end of a long 3 week trip, I am now sitting up in an uncomfortable plane overnight, not sleeping and arriving on a “red eye” and name given for, I assume, good reason.
I have someone watching our house and pets while we were gone until Sunday evening, June 6 He has a job and cannot check on the animals on Monday, June 7 before we return…dirty carpets…can I send you the bill?
We arranged for this friend to pick us up at the airport on SUNDAY JUNE 6. He has a job so he can’t come and pick us up on Monday. Taxi home $20…please remit.
I have a job. That’s how I pay for plane tickets. My job starts at 8am on Monday, so when I come in on flight #2 on Sunday I get a good nights rest followed by catching up on three weeks of work on Monday.
I am now going to be late for work plus, if I go to work, will have the now assured “red eyes.”
I expect an written apology, an honest and truthful, and verifiable explanation of what happened to Flight #2 ( so I don’t feel you book a non-existent flight and then change so you fill up a later less popular flight which constitutes fraud).and some kind of compensation.
Remember that on your contract it says the you can make changes, well I can make changes also…in my choice of airlines.
Sincerely
Duncan E. Stewart
321 W. Desoto St.
Pensacola, Fl. 32501
dstewart@uwf.edu
850-432-8585
Cc: Chairman FAA
800 Independence Ave. SW
Washington. D.C. 20591
Douglas Marsh, Esquire. LLP
715 Baylen St.
Pensacola, Fl 32501
I can certainly relate to that story. My newly turned 21 year old southern daughter whom has never traveled alone before was excited to have the opportunity to go stay in New York for 3 nights with a college friend. She got on a flight that was rerouted because of weather (understandable) to Baltimore where they stayed for 5+ hours. We of course were disappointed for her losing that time in the city, but again it was understandable. She surely would make it to New York before midnight. She would lose the afternoon and evening in the city, but at least they could get up early and see the sites. Well the flight was then sent back to Atlanta for some reason! (not understandable at all) No one at Airtran could give me any information about this situation. The Web site gave no up-to-date information (not a good thing for a parent.) “OK,” we said to ourselves, trying not to get stressed or too disappointed for her, “if we can just get her to NYC early tomorrow and change her return trip for one day later, maybe we can keep the trip from being an expensive mistake.” My daughter unfortunately is only allowed to stay a maximum of three nights with this friend at her dorm in Chinatown. A short trip for visiting the city, but we wanted her to have the experience without the hotel expense.
I then called customer service to see if we could change her return trip home since she missed a third of her trip due to this forced return to Atlanta. I was told that we could change it for a $50 fee. Not their problem. Now I understand a fee when we as passengers choose to change our minds, but it is ridiculous to charge us in a situation like this. The company is keeping the average person from being able to fly or even wanting to fly. We now are looking at having spent almost $300 for a ticket and $100 prepaid car service just for her to go spend two nights in New York. I know $50 is not that much, but there are not a lot of average parents that will pay $400 for travel (plus probably another $400 for entertainment and other expenses) for their child to take a three night trip, let alone a two night trip. This day has been a nightmare so far. By the time Airtran finally gets her there she will be worn out. Not only that, but I now have the choice of traveling 2 hours at 12pm tonight to go pick her up in Atlanta at $80 a tank (getting home at 4am) and then take her back in the morning or spend $120 for a room in Atlanta so that she can catch yet another flight with lovely Airtran. The earliest flight they offered her was at 12. (Funny I saw a flight at 10 with openings in business class, but that was not an option. You know they can’t let the peons in that area.) Airtran also did not offer her any hotel voucher. They said all hotels were booked. Funny I immediately found rooms at the Westin for $109+ taxes. Now, if I want her to stay the third night, I am also going to have to spend that $50 to change the darn flight. Needless to say her dad and I are not happy. They have us over a barrel. I doubt I will ever use Airtran again. This discount airline somehow always costs me more in the long run. They do not care about their customers. Thanks Airtran for all your help.
Sometimes, as the old adage says, you get what you pay for. Airtran is cheap, but I urge travelers to beware. This is a dishonest airline, with at least on tickent agent in Boston who has personal problems he needs attended to.
This weekend my husband, 23-year-old son and I traveled from Baltimore to Boston for my nephew’s wedding, which was held in Central Maine. We met our Daughter (who flew to Boston on another carrier), rented a car and drove up to the wedding.
Our Airtran experience, both coming and going was bad. The experience on the return was beyond belief.
Going–We got on the Boeing 717 (sardine sized) on time and pushed back on time. We landed about fifteen minutes early, but we had to sit on the tarmac for 25 minutes waiting for a gait. It was 9:30 before we arrived at the baggage claim. My rolly suitcase (which I would have carried on except I needed my mascara for the wedding and mascara is now contraband in carryons) finally rolled out of the conveyor at 10:30. It took 1 hour for the bags to get to us. The flight itself was only 58 minutes.
Off we went to Maine, saw my nephew hitched to a lovely girl, then on Sunday we returned to Boston. We arrived at the gate at around 7:00 pm, tired and hungry after five hours in a car. We’re facing a still-long road home. We live in DC and our son needed to get all the way to Richmond. So, We go to the kiosk to check in and discover the flight is 45 minutes late. (It’s a beautiful day in Boston, so what gives?)
We ask. We are told that the flight is delayed because of runway contruction.
Runway construction? Like they didn’t schedule this or know about it? It sounds like some kind of wacky made-up excuse. The ticket agent says the delay might be longer–an hour and half and that there was a chance the flight might be cancelled. The ticket agent says every flight into and out of Logan is delayed by an hour or more.
Needless to say we were skeptical of the explanation and we were grumpy tired and probaby pretty unpleasant when the bad news came down. However, we never said anything personal to this agent, nor did any four-letter words get used. This was the usual unhappy customer scenario.
So we stand around near the ticket counter while we try to decide if we should bail on Airtran and try to find an earlier flight so my son can get back to Richmond at a decent hour. Meanwhile, I call my daughter on the cell phone. She’s in the US Airways terminal at Logan Airport waiting a flight to Rochester, NY, and I wanted to see how long her delay was. She tells me she’s not delayed at all. And that none of the USAir flights are delayed.
At this point we return to the agent and ask for a better explanation of the situation. A new agent gets involved when we challenge the veracity of what we’ve been told. AT this point things got a little testy, but none of us threatened or used abusive language. We did press for the usual–will you put us up overnight if the flight is cancelled–and got the usual answer–no, this is out of our control and we’re a cheap airline so deal.
We reconnoiter a bit longer. Decide we don’t want to spend the money on the USAir shuttle. By the same token we don’t want to get stranded in Boston without any luggage. So we open our suitcases and stash all the liquids and gels into one of them and return to the gate to check it, planning to carry on the others. At this point we enter the twilight zone.
When my husband returns to check the bag, the ticket agent informs him that he’s decided not to let us board the airplane at all. He said “I have the right to deny you boarding and I’m going to do it because you weren’t nice to me and because you called me a liar.”
We did call his veracity into question, I don’t think any personal epithets were bandied about. But we did say something like, “Oh c’mon you’re making this up.”
We were stunned. At that point I asked if we could get a refund. At first the answer was no, but eventually he relented and told us we could have a refund for my ticket and my husband’s ticket but not for my son’s. My son was not singled out, because he was a nice person and my husband and I were not. We told him that we didn’t wish to be spilt up. He told us that our son, “had to fly and we had to stay.” Like he was commanding it or something.
This guy was not wired right.
I was pretty upset by this point, but not nearly as upset (and frighted) as when the police officer appears at my elbow read, I’m sure, to take me into custody. I repeat, neither my husband nor I used any four-letter words or threatened anyone in any way, and suddenly this big guy with weapons is there ready to cuff us.
I spoke to the cop, and I tried to apologize to the agent. The cop listened the agent tells me to shut up and stop talking or the offer of the refund will be recinded.
The manager arrives and doesn’t try to defuse the situation. He says. “I back up my employees 100%. If you were rude then you don’t get to fly.”
We stop trying to talk. My husband goes to the end of the counter and stands there while they take care of the refund, all the while this ticket agent is ranting at him about how he’s tired of having to deal with people who are unhappy about delays that he has no control over and he’s decided to “make an example of me and my husband.”
We say nothing. He gets finished doing his paperwork, and then–unbelievably–tells us that he’d be happy to sell us a ticket for the following moring.
My husband, whose mouth momentarily dropps open in astonishment, says, “Are you nuts? We’re never flying with Airtran again.”
To which our gate agent says. “Fine, we don’t want people like you as customers.”
So my husband and I make other arrangements to get back to the DC area. My son, goes ahead and takes this flight. He doesn’t get to our home in DC until almost 2:30 in the morning. (The flight was supposed to get to Baltimore at 10:15pm and even figuring an hour and a half, he still should have gotten home before midnight.)
The ultimate coda to this story? My son gets home, opens the bag he checked and discovers that he’s been ripped off. His personal gaming system has been stolen along with several games.
So, today, we spent all afternoon on the Baltimore Airtran “customer service” line trying to make claim for the missing property. We have not yet spoken to a human being. My own take on this, is that the property was not stolen by any baggage handlers. Why the gate agent decided to retaliate agains my son, who the thought was a “nice person” is a mystery to me. But I don’t believe in coincidences. That property was taken on purpose.
And of course, the fact that people can go into baggage and take things, doesn’t make me feel very safe. If they can take things, they can put things in the luggage, too.
So, bottome line, do not fly this airline. Their employees are unbalanced and dishonest.