<p>Okay so DS was supposed to come home tonight…First time in 8 months. Flight was delayed and he missed connection. I knew hours ago he was going to miss connection but of course, hours ago AA wasn’t willing to do anything. Told me they might hold the connecting flight (as if) and if not they would rebook on another carrier.<br>
Of course, three hours later the other carrier flight is sold out. So…now they are going to fly the second segment tomorrow morning. After several calls where their automated system said “no person available” or hung up on me I finally get a person. She can’t tell me why the first flight was delayed so no idea whether AA is going to cough up a hotel voucher or not.<br>
Hmm…options five hours round trip by car to pick him up, commuter bus that gets in one hour away from home at 1:45am or hotel tonight whether AA vouchers or not.
Opting for hotel either way…
Note to self: FORGET flying AA
Second note to self: never book the last flight of the evening on any carrier
Okay rant over.</p>
<p>I flew last month for the first time in about 10 years. The trip going was fine. Coming back was awful. But it was awful for huge numbers of peoples. Multiple problems in the system with equipment and flights bouncing around from gate to gate in Chicago. I think that the cost crunch in the industry is resulting in airlines doing whatever they can get away with to reduce financial losses. When you do that, customer service usually goes down the tubes. BTW, I flew with UA.</p>
<p>Remember, you have a choice in bankrupt airlines.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear of your problems with AA. I will tell you that they are better than Jet Blue. Last week we arrived at Newark Airport at 12 for our 1:35pm flight. Saw immediately that the flight was one hour delayed. Every hour they extended the flight delay until at 6 PM they cancelled our flight and told us they could not fly us home until THURSDAY (all their flights were booked, from all the airports in the New York area! Jet blue not only dosen’t put you up in a hotel, they will not put you on another carrier either. They simply will refund your money. We paid an exhorbitant amount to fly home the following evening on Continental AND had to pay for a hotel room as well (out of pocket). Air travel “ain’t what it used to be”.</p>
<p>Don’t complain about AA. I have the same problem with Continental all the time. I’ve had the pleasure of having to fly to Buffalo from NJ from time to time for work. It never fails, I am usually delayed for 3-5 hours - I could have driven there! They could never give me a reason why flights were delay either. Oh, it’s the weather - beautiful in EWR and Buffalo - it must be some strange storm in between. We actually drove to Detroit this summer (10 hours) because I didn’t trust the airline to get us there on time.</p>
<p>You have my sympathy. No, never book the last flight, and never book the first flight (not enough passengers).</p>
<p>Maybe we should go back to cross country train travel…yeah, I hear you about bankrupt airlines…they just don’t care anymore.</p>
<p>We have all said, I’m sure, in the last few years, that it is no longer a “pleasure” to fly. It is probably one of the most nerve-wracking events when it has to be done! I am already thinking about the flights home that our own student must make this year and dreading it for him. Good Luck to your son–I hope things work out and maybe by some miracle, AA will spring for that hotel voucher.</p>
<p>Not if it’s weather related. How do you prove 10,000 feet up there is no storm.</p>
<p>Any tips out there on how to make them spring for a voucher? What to say when they get to the gate agent?</p>
<p>Yup, I know not if it’s weather related. They can’t tell me either way right now…no clue why the delay.</p>
<p>I was on a commuter train from Grand Central to Stamford, CT. This left at 3:08 PM. Tons of people standing on the train. The AC didn’t really work. This wasn’t even at peak. I can imagine lots of business-people in suits melting on the 40 minute ride.</p>
<p>The prices for Amtrak in the Northeast are pretty high compared to taking the bus. And pretty high compared to driving when you have three or more going. Airlines and trains in the US are in poor shape from my perspective. Buses, seem to be in better shape in getting you there and back.</p>
<p>American Airlines once lost our luggage for three days on a direct, one-leg flight.</p>
<p>Their ground crew in Dallas is pretty impressive, too… We had a delay due to mechanical problems. We sat at the gate while the ground crew guy came by, fixed the problem, and pronounced us ready to fly. He had, however, parked his truck directly behind the plane, and had left on foot, taking the keys with him and leaving the truck to block our only way out. Forty-five minute extra delay. Awwwesome!</p>
<p>Though really, I only have a lot of American stories because those were pretty much the only airline that goes from Dallas (hometown) direct to every place that I’ve lived since I left college. Every other airline I’ve flown has had its shining moments, too.</p>
<p>Y’all are making me feel better! D’s first flight on Sunday was delayed, and she missed her connection. “Only” had to wait 10 hours for another flight. She arrived home 6:20 a.m. Monday. </p>
<p>I have a good story, though. Her cell phone wasn’t working, so she called us from a payphone in Portland. Alaska Air hadn’t provided any help for those who missed connections, D couldn’t find an open Delta counter, and she didn’t know what to do. I heard the panic growing in her voice.</p>
<p>After she called, I called Delta and got her re-booked. The Delta agent was really nice, and I wish I’d gotten her name. I even begged for first class and got it! D was flying with Frequent Flier miles, and had been in first class for the flight she missed. </p>
<p>D called us back a little while later to say that she found a Delta counter (she didn’t know I had already rebooked her), and they weren’t being very helpful, saying everything was Alaska Air’s problem. (We booked the entire flight through Delta. They are the ones who put her on Alaska!) Alaska Air was at the other end of the terminal, and D was in tears, frustrated at being sent back and forth. She was relieved to hear I had it already settled, though.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, her seatmate on Alaska Air was a fireman. He saw her crying while she was talking to me, and took her under his wing. He walked her back to Alaska Air and sweet talked them into giving D a meal voucher. Then he let D use his cell phone to call me back.</p>
<p>The airlines are a pain, and there were many frustrations on Sunday. However, I had a helpful live Delta agent on the phone, and an angel in Portland, in the form of a fireman, helping my D. And D arrived home safe, and slept sound in a comfortable seat all the way home.</p>
<p>There’s an article at ABC News about a TSA agent damaging 9 American Eagle planes when using sensitive instruments as a ladder step. Not sure if this caused some of AA’s problem but it’s certainly a headache for the carrier.</p>
<p>[ABC</a> News: TSA Snafu Damages Nine Planes at O’Hare Field](<a href=“TSA Snafu Grounds Nine Planes at O'Hare Field - ABC News”>TSA Snafu Grounds Nine Planes at O'Hare Field - ABC News)</p>
<p>Wow, I have flown a few times already this summer and have not had similar problems yet. The only bad one was I had to change flights, and that cost over $150, but that was due to my error.</p>
<p>What you described has happened to everyone in my family because we live in a city that’s relatively hard to get to. All of us have used airlines vouchers to stay in hotels or have had to spend the night in airports sleeping on chairs. We are such veterans at this that when it happened when S was 19 and flying alone, none of us got ruffled, including S. We’re all at the point that when we have an evening flight that’s supposed to get us home, we’re pleasantly surprised when we do get home that night. That’s life in this age.</p>
<p>My airplane story dates from wayy back. I was due to fly out to London on a 7pm flight. There was a problem with a chute. No replacement was available, but the crew would not let us off, nor would they serve anything to eat, though they did hand out beverages. At 11pm, they finally decided to let people out, suggesting that those who could go home should. But a lot of us were in transit and there was no hotel room available. So we just stayed in the plane. It ran out of drinks, esp. milk for the babies, and it ran out of toilet paper. Finally a replacement chute was found, but the plane needed to be restocked, and the food supplier did not start until 5am. A delivery man came with milk and breakfast. The door closed, we began taxiing. Suddenly someone realized the milkman was still on board. Back to the gate. Another ladder had to be located, the door opened again so the milkman could get out. He surely did not want to go to London!</p>
<p>Marite, that definitely tops my last personal AA flight. Flights were delayed by fog, we were kept in a small holding room past gate security for 5 hours. No bathroom/no food and they kept adding people even though the airport was fogged in.
When we asked if we could go back through security for bathrooms and food we were told we could not.<br>
Topper was when one of the reservation agents stood on a desk screaming “the airport is closed…all flights have been cancelled.” Like something out of a bad movie. Turns out she was wrong and about twenty minutes later we finally got on a plane and took off.</p>
<p>Last February I flew on Singapore Airlines. The flight was delayed for six hours because of a storm. Half-way through our wait, everything closed down, so we could not buy food. But Singapore Airlines came through with lots of sandwiches, orange juice and coffee. This is one of the things I like about that airline.</p>
<p>Road warrior advice:</p>
<p>Never fly United if you can avoid it. I would add America West and USAir, too, but they aren’t issues any more. </p>
<p>Fly non-stop if flights exist, and don’t worry that it costs more. Every layover is a whole new set of opportunities for the airline to mess up.</p>
<p>Be nice to ground agents. VERY nice. They can make those little computers do whatever they want.</p>
<p>If you put expensive things in your luggage they will get stolen and your bags will be sent out of the country “by mistake.” </p>
<p>Never book “code share” flights. The airline your’re flying will disclaim responsibility for you, and frequently you will be in terminals where the booking airline doesn’t have any personnel. The story up above in the thread is typical.</p>
<p>Don’t fly airlines with old airplanes. One of the best things about Alaska is that they have a fleet of new planes (I think their average fleet age is less than eight years compared to about 75 for United.)</p>
<p>Don’t schedule layovers in Dallas in the summer, Chicago in the winter, and Denver any time.</p>
<p>Ignore the airline – carry everything on the plane that you can. Try not to check bags. Bringing your favorite 12 ounce shampoo is considerably less important that keeping your bags on the right airplane.</p>
<p>Never, ever, ever joke around with TSA. They have all had their sense of humor surgically removed. A little power is a heady thing to those making $8.25 an hour.</p>
<p>Just assume that every single thing about your flight will be miserable. Bring your favorite entertainment (book, video player, MP3 player, crossword puzzles, etc.) and buy a big bottle of water before boarding. Send your mind to a happy place and pretend not to be on the airplane.</p>
<p>Always be really nice to flight attendants. Hardly anyone is, and you will stand out. I can’t say it’s paid off big for me, but I get a full can of cranberry juice, which is usually all I want.</p>
<p>Bring earplugs. The drone of a jet engine really causes stress.</p>
<p>Get there early. The day of running onto planes as the Jetway pulls back are long gone.</p>
<p>If you prefer aisle or window seats with no one next to you, pick row 28 instead of row 6. Because everyone wants to sit in the front, they fill the middle seats from the bulkhead back. You might have to wait a while to “deplane” from seat 28C, but the chances are good that no one will be sitting next to you during the six hour flight.</p>
<p>And my best advice: fly as little as possible. With Webex, teleconferences and email, there is less reason to travel than ever. Just tell people that you are respecting your company’s “green” initiatives by not traveling.</p>
<p>Good luck and have a good – well – you know.</p>
<p>Sheeesh…this thread is not making me feel better!! DS is flying home on Delta next week, and DD on United. In December, DD is coming on Southwest, and DS on USAir. </p>
<p>I hope they make it!!</p>