Aren’t airlines multi-billion dollar corporations? Is there some sort of “Can’t hire anyone with common sense” clause in their corporate charter?
Ok! I admit I am on tilt as my poker buddies might say or “mad as hell” as Howard might say, and for me that takes quite a bit (as a passenger I have been through more than my fair share of Air France strikes).
I am now on day 2 (heading into day 3) of a saga with my 24 year old (first time over the ocean solo) Austrian cousin whom I purchased a ticket departing on US Airways flight 707 at noon on Wednesday from Munich to Dallas (via Philadelphia).
After 5 hours of diddling around on the tarmac on Wednesday they decided to “reschedule” the flight and put everyone up at a hotel and said the flight would “try” to take off Thursday at 5pm.
She is from Salzburg and took the train at 6am on Wednesday to get to Munich in time for her flight (or rather her tarmac taxi as it were), so it certainly isn’t convenient for her, let alone the people on their return trip to make other arrangements…
So Thursday rolls around (she texts us that it took 5 hours in line to check in) and another 3 hours on the tarmac in a 767 configured for almost full coach (described in a separate post) and low and behold they can’t/won’t take off again. Blah, Blah, Blah and the 200+ passengers are off to the hotel again for night #2 with the promise of maybe leaving Friday.
What can she do really, its promise after promise after promise and you end up getting irate with some nameless faceless agent who has no clue what is going on behind the curtain — all they can do is regurgitate the party line.
Someone with some common sense needs to fix this and start being straight up with passengers. If the plane is toast — it’s toast — just say so and help everyone make other arrangements.
US Airways had no problem LIFTING $1000 out of my wallet 3 months ago, how about doing me the courtesy and actually LIFTING off (at least 3 days after the scheduled departure…)
(Read my latest updates on the US Airways Ordeal — US Airways: The Final Battle?)
This is not a comment on that but a comment on the “common sense” being lost with airline employees.
My 7 year old son, 2 month old daughter and I paid 750 in plane tickets from Delta to fly roundtrip from MGM to BWI last week for a 2 and half week stay. I had no problem going. Coming back was not a festive experience. Other Airlines I have flown try to help you understand when delays occur, cancellations, alternate routings, etc are done. This is the first time I have come across an airline that did this to me: I checked in a stroller, infant car seat, and three piences of luggage where one weight 58 pounds and I paid 25 dollars to get it checked in because it was overweight after 2 and half weeks shopping in DC. Anyway people working at Delta and people working on luggage check if you see a stroller and a car seat you logically assume “okay I have to make sure this gets to its destination today. If I was a parent coming off the airplane I NEED TO DRIVE A CAR OR RIDE IN A CAR WITH AN INFANT TO GET HOME.” Yet we flew in on Sunday to MGM. I come to find out on Monday night after 48 hours of a run around with heaviliy accented non American English jumbling up trying to tell me where my luggage is. Anyway my luggage never left BWI on Sunday with me. They got to ATL on Monday morning. After that no one seemed to know where my luggage, stroller, and car seat were. On Wednesday I went to the airport because I got sick of calling and hearing the same thing. I went up to the counter and told the lady I wanted my luggage. She said “Did someone call you?” I lied and said yes and she had me follow her. The stroller, car seat, and luggage were stacked in a corner. If I had stayed at home and kept calling I would have gotten the same answer for weeks. From your experience should I at least get some type of voucher from Delta for my inconvenence. And no I swear I will never fly Delta nor will I recommend it to any of my freinds. Delta used to be known as the airline to fly with family I guess they are not the same anymore. **editorial removal of sentence***. Delta is an airline that you would not wish on any freind but an enemy. Don’t get me started on how many flights they cancel on a daily basis. Northwest has nothing on Delta with cancellations.
[...] my ordeal with US Airways continues. Last Wednesday, my cousin took a train from Salzburg to Munich and was supposed to fly [...]
[...] chronicled my ordeal with US Airways in several previous posts (Pack For a Few Days Extra on International Flights, On Hold For an Hour With US Airways, and US Airways on [...]
Hi Everyone,
I have updated my ordeal with US Airways and laid out the steps you need to take to file a claim in a new post. Hopefully it will help anyone who might have questions regarding flight 707 or other similar situations: http://www.rickseaney.com/index.php/2007/08/22/us-airways-the-final-battle/
[...] everyone a quick update on my ongoing saga with US Airways and my Austrian cousin’s ordeal on Flight 707. I finally heard back from good old Steve at US Airways. While it was several days after I was [...]