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<p>I agree. It sounds like the reaction of someone who doesn’t fly a lot and doesn’t get that sometimes, as annoying as it can be, this stuff happens.</p>
<p>Sorry to read/hear about these horror stories.</p>
<p>I have flown from the time I was 12 years old, several decades ago. Our kids have flown since they were six months old & hubby has flown for even longer than that. We have had better and worse service from time to time, especially when we book very far out (once we had booked flights using our UAL miles to & from Yellowstone and they didn’t tell us that the flight we were booked on ceased to exist–luckily we found out when I called to confirm weeks/month before the flight & we were able to adjust accordingly without charge to us–never did get a phone call about that tho). Our kids attended school in LA, which is a 5-6 hour flight from our state & we have no regrets & have had no major hassles (other than always having to pay or otherwise arrange transportation). Generally, I much prefer flying over driving extended distances and so do H & the kids–it’s safer and generally less hassle to us than the extended driving.</p>
<p>We have flown most airlines and been OK with most–AA, UAL, a few continental & NW flights, Alaska, Aloha, Hawaiian, and a few others. I have noticed that airlines are charging to make changes (like catching an earlier flight), even if there is plenty of available space, probably to help with their profit margins and keep them in the black or helping them get out of the red.</p>
<p>For the most part, we have never had major issues with airlines, AS LONG AS we showed up at the gate at the time we were supposed to (once we missed the flight because we miscalculated the time change and were sitting in the restaurant enjoying a meai while our flight was boarding). When we have had a flight cancelled due to a mechanical problem, we were given the option of a voucher & transportation for a free hotel night or taxi fare to our home & to get back to the airport the next day (if we chose to go back to our home rather than the Waikiki hotel; we chose the latter). My understanding also is that you are compensated unless it is the weather that causes the delay/cancellation. (You also receive no compensation if you get to the gate too late & your seat is given away.)</p>
<p>I have never needed an attorney or even the threat of one to get the airlines to properly pay for what they should and refund anything that was deserving. It does sound a bit early to be working with an attorney & those I know would not accept a case at this point–no significant damages and not much attempt to resolve the issues among the parties.</p>
<p>My favorite was the time that American had to reschedule our flight several times one spring. It was pretty clear that the computers had not been programmed to handle Arizona’s non-participation in DST.</p>
<p>I got 4th row seats to a Chicago Bulls game during the playoffs in the later Michael Jordan years. Game ticket cost more than the plane ticket. Make a long story short, got delayed and delayed and delayed and made it to the United Center 1/2 way through the 3rd period. And that only because I bawled at the ticket counter in MSP and they put me on a different airline that got in 1/2 hr earlier :o</p>
<p>About the only place I fly is Las Vegas, and lately have been flying US Airways with only the occasional short delay. My D recently had to fly to NYC from DFW during our recent ice/snow “event” (weekend of the Super Bowl). She had to drive 50 miles to the airport in snow in the middle of the night for a 6:30 a.m. flight (mom was a nervous wreck) and when she got there, her flight had been delayed until 1:00. US Airways got her on another flight connecting in a different city, and she was on the ground in Charlotte before I even knew she had left Dallas. I have heard good things about Southwest, also, but there are weird flight rules in Dallas, so I have not used them recently.</p>
<p>I heard that United story on the radio. What a shame for you and many others. I hope it works out ok.</p>
<p>This may not have helped you, but you can actually check and see which flights tend to get cancelled and book accordingly. For example, I know there are 6 daily flights between City A and City B. I also know that Flight #1 is cancelled less than 1% of the time, and I know that flight #4 is cancelled about 17% of the time. Guess which flight I NEVER book?</p>
<p>^I agree, there is information out there about which flights are more likely to be canceled or delayed. </p>
<p>[RITA</a> | BTS | Airlines and Airports](<a href=“http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/]RITA”>Airline Information for Download | Bureau of Transportation Statistics)</p>
<p>I fly extensively and have this type of thing happen on nearly every US airline. It’s very common. There’s not much you can do about flight cancellations but you can avoid getting bumped by checking in on-line the day before the flight (sometimes they won’t let you do this if it’s an international flight).</p>
<p>Other tips I can pass on:</p>
<p>-If you have to be somewhere on a certain day and it’s very important to you, always come in the night before. Flights are canceled and delayed every day on every airline. It’s just a fact of traveling. You would be surprised how many cruise ship passengers try to fly in the day their ship departs and end up literally missing the boat.</p>
<p>-Book an earlier flight in the day rather than later - that way you have a better chance of getting re-booked the same day. </p>
<p>-Check to see which other flights are going to your destination. I often write these down, particularly if we have a tight connection or absolutely have to be somewhere. That way you aren’t relying on the ticket agent to tell you what your options are. I’ve done this and the person who was trying to re-book me never even looked at the flights I had listed until I’ve suggested it and then they say, "Oh, okay. We can do that.'</p>
<p>-Demand they put you on a competitor’s flight - they can do this, they just don’t like to.</p>
<p>-The further out a flight is booked the more likely it is to be canceled or rescheduled.</p>
<p>-Keep checking the status of your flight - particularly as it get close to your departure date. The quicker you can discover a flight has been canceled the quicker you can rebook. </p>
<p>-There are things that happen that are out of everyone’s control…weather, mechanical issues in particular. It’s irritating but there’s not much you can do but try to find other alternatives to get to your destination. If you are spending a lot of money on a vacation, buy travel insurance.</p>
<p>-The nicer you are to the ticket agents, the more likely they are to do you ‘special favors’ like book you into first-class on the flight you eventually get on. These people are dealing with irate passengers every day and are constantly getting slammed. They appreciate passengers who are respectful and pleasant. Trust me, it’s hard to do sometimes especially when you have been traveling for days and are exhausted.</p>
<p>Every year I watch as airports close due to severe weather and am amazed at how irate people get…as if the airlines have control over the weather.</p>
<p>Since the economy has gotten bad, I’ve noticed there is a lot more rescheduling and canceling of flights. The airlines are trying to manage passenger loads more efficiently. It is rare to get on a near empty flight these days and the number of flight options seems to have decreased, which of course makes it that much harder when you need to be re-booked.</p>
<p>Love to travel, hate to fly…I keep hoping they will develop a Star Trek-like transporter where you press a button and are instantly transported to your destination…hey, it could happen…never would have dreamed we would have the internet 30 years ago and look where we are today. :)</p>
<p>I just want to reiterate a point that MomLive makes above about getting in a day earlier if you have an important event to attend. Years ago when I was a poor student, I booked the NY to DC cut rate flight instead of the “guaranteed” shuttle flight to save some money. I did not fly that much then, although I had already been through one harrowing experience (more later). Of course my flight was delayed, and I arrived late to an interview, which basically made the whole trip a waste of time. I would never try to fly out in the morning for something like that again.</p>
<p>My other really lousy experience (decades ago back in grad school) was being diverted from a landing in LGA due to a snowstorm and arriving in Boston (in the same storm) at around 10 pm. Per the airline, no hotels available due to ECAC hockey tournament, and no flights till the morning or later. Their solution was to provide a bus (in the snowstorm) to NY LGA. (I doubt they would ever do that now). Since two other people from school were on the flight and were opting for the bus, I went. Fortunately we arrived safely at about 6 am. I don’t think I would do that again.</p>
<p>This happened to S2 going back to school after Thanksgiving a year ago on United. He was connecting through Chicago. The first leg of his flight was delayed more than an hour for no apparent reason. There were no weather issues anywhere; no mechanical problems were mentioned. Everyone was on the plane waiting. Of course, he only had 75 mn to connect and with the hour delay he missed his flight to Rochester, NY. As you can imagine, there weren’t many seats on flights on Thanksgiving Sunday. We were on our way back home and texting madly. They finally said they could get him to Buffalo, but he had to decide right then because they were closing the doors. Since he had class the next day, and it was only an hour away, I told him to go for it. He used his last cash to pay for a taxi to the bus station, waited 4 hours for the bus to Rochester and ended up getting in after midnight and calling a friend to pick him up. </p>
<p>The worst thing in all these circumstances is that they treat you like crap. Most of us know that it’s not the agent’s fault that you’re dealing with but their attitude will rile anyone. </p>
<p>I take Southwest if it goes anywhere near where I need to go.</p>
<p>The only way I cope with air travel now is by assuming anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. I have to fly, don’t have a choice, so to avoid the extremely frustration and unfairness of it all, I try to build nothing into my expectations. Sick and wrong, if you ask me. It shouldn’t be this way. But I will admit this perspective I’ve been working to adopt has helped a whole lot.</p>
<p>Odd, most of our flights go off without a hitch in the many decades we have flown.</p>
<p>I have missed two flights, both my/our fault. I have had two flights cancelled on me–one because of weather back in the 70s when they were waiting for another plane to land while the blizzard started, stranding us (we would have been fine if they had just left when they were supposed to). One other flight H & I were cancelled because of a mechanical problem with the plane but put on the same flight the next day; S & D who really needed to get to LA were on two different airlines from us & both arrived around the scheduled time & were able to carry on without us until we arrived late the next evening. Twice, I have been voluntarily bumped–once in the 70s & got a check for $300 or so and the next flight two or so hours later and once in the early 2000s & we all got vouchers meals & toward another flight of our choice and seats on the next flight. The flight we got off was stuck on the runway and landed about the same time we did with no one allowed off the plane. We were happy but the folks who were stuck on the tarmac for those hours were pretty salty. Once, when we had free tickets from miles, the flight we were scheduled to fly no longer existed, but we found out when I tried to confirm a while before the scheduled flight & we were able to make appropriate changes w/o hassle.</p>
<p>I will continue to hope that my/our luck holds out. Flying is the most convenient, fastest (and often cheapest) way for us to get most places we need to go. It is really hard to leave our island except via plane.</p>