EnderWiggin Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 (A tl;dr version is at the end.) As some of you know, I was set to leave for vacation this morning at 2 am from Philadelphia International Airport, one stop to Belize City, Belize. To start: this is a family vacation - my parents and I, my girlfriend and my sister, and my one set of grandparents. I'm the oldest in the family so my grandparents are still on the younger side. Well, let me recount a few of the details of my day. I wake up at about 2 am, leave to go to Philadelphia International Airport, and arrive as planned. The first problem occurs when we try to use the automated kiosks in order to print our boarding passes. Three tries later we are told by an agent that the problem is that one of us is on the Security List - but of course, she doesn't know who, so all of our bags need to be Xrayed and searched. Granted, that's not the airline's fault - yet. Just wait for it. Ok, now we fly to Miami, my one stopover. The flight isn't too rough, the crew seems nice, and the 737 is clean. So we get off the plane, and we're lucky in that the reboarding is at the same gate. We go to the bathroom and come back to our gate and the flight information is no longer up on the board. I go up to ask the agent and he tells me that my flight is canceled. No announcement, nothing. About 10 minutes later he comes on the loudspeaker and tells me (and the 50 other people on the flight) that we should go to the next gate to get rebooked for the 1:45 flight to Belize instead of the 10:10 departure we were expecting. Annoying? Yes. Acceptable? I guess so. But that's not all! We go over to the counter and we get a woman agent talking to us. I'll say this upfront - she was an idiot. Incompetent, incompetent imbecile. She tells us at first that she has nothing to do with this - and that she has no idea as to why our flight was canceled. So we ask her to give us new boarding passes and she says that she can't and that they'll give us new boarding passes tomorrow morning. At this point, I become quite irate. And, if you guys know how I get over the internet, imagine how I act when I actually yell in person. So me (and I'm 6'3") and my dad (who is 6'2" and bigger than I am) start to make a scene. My grandfather tears up his American Airlines Advantage card and starts talking about how he was never flying with them again. The woman (who at this point, we assume has nothing to do with our problems) books us for tomorrow's flight. I start to talk to the group of 8 behind us (a Church Mission trip) and they are being put on tomorrow's too. Well a few minutes later the mission trip group gets boarding passes because apparently the other agent isn't an absolute moron. They let us know what happened and we complain even more. The most that the agent can do is give us hotel vouchers - we have 7 people and we demand 7 hotel rooms. We get put up at the Holiday Inn. They give us $10/person for lunch and $10/person for dinner and $5/person for breakfast tomorrow. Maybe that is acceptable if we're buying food in Philly or in Wisconsin - but in Miami, FL? $10 bought me a slice of pizza and a soda for lunch. I can't wait until I get to the hotel restaurant tonight - a pasta dish starts at $14.95. All the while, we're asking to see a supervisor and being told that it's not her fault. Oh, but it is. Best part: we get told that our luggage is being pulled off the plane and that it will be ready - in 2 or 3 hours. Absurd, yes. But we go to the hotel and wait about 4.5 hours and go back to the airport. As we get back to the airport we see that the other flight (the 1:45pm one) was delayed almost an hour. Perhaps that was a luggage problem? I beg you, continue on. Well we get downstairs to the baggage claim. We ask the guy where our luggage is (7 bags, mind you) and he tells us that he's not sure. It hasn't been pulled off the plane yet. "None of it has..." and other assorted lies. He gives us a phone number to call and check (we're supposed to every hour) to see if our bags got off. So we walk back upstairs, march to the first class counter and demand to speak with a supervisor. Thank God, we get someone with some intelligence this time. Ms. Soto calls around to 5 or 6 different people and finally tells us that she's pretty sure our baggage likely got sent on without us to Belize City. She also told us that we could file a claim with AA after buying things for ourselves in Miami (mind you, we have no transportation at all except the bus between the hotel and the airport) since we're not sure where anything is. I thought (like that House episode) that you couldn't send a plane off without the passengers of the checked luggage? Go figure. Well, guess who now has no clothes? My dad has one swimming suit and one shirt, I have one pair of boxers, and my girlfriend has one pair of shorts. The other 4 members of our party have absolutely nothing to wear for the next 24 hours. For now, I'm stuck in a Holiday Inn hotel room, in my pajamas with no clothes and no deodorant. Our connecting flight from Belize City to the Island off the shore needs to be rebooked. Our luggage may in fact be missing since we can't confirm where it is. Our house that we rented (not cheap) is sitting empty. The food we had delivered to that house today is sitting in the refrigerator. The scuba dive boat my dad chartered is not, in fact, ferrying him to a good dive spot. It's like throwing money out the window. I can't wait to come back tomorrow and tell you the rest of the story - since our problems seem far from over. For all of you who like the tl;dr version: I'm stuck until tomorrow morning at 10:10 am at a Holiday Inn in Miami instead of in my rented house on an island off of Belize. American Airlines is a sucky company - one mistake after another. Never ever use them. Please comment on this travesty. Please tell me that my anger explosion is justified. Please. _EW_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan7 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 (A tl;dr version is at the end.) As some of you know, I was set to leave for vacation this morning at 2 am from Philadelphia International Airport, one stop to Belize City, Belize. To start: this is a family vacation - my parents and I, my girlfriend and my sister, and my one set of grandparents. I'm the oldest in the family so my grandparents are still on the younger side. Well, let me recount a few of the details of my day. I wake up at about 2 am, leave to go to Philadelphia International Airport, and arrive as planned. The first problem occurs when we try to use the automated kiosks in order to print our boarding passes. Three tries later we are told by an agent that the problem is that one of us is on the Security List - but of course, she doesn't know who, so all of our bags need to be Xrayed and searched. Granted, that's not the airline's fault - yet. Just wait for it. Ok, now we fly to Miami, my one stopover. The flight isn't too rough, the crew seems nice, and the 737 is clean. So we get off the plane, and we're lucky in that the reboarding is at the same gate. We go to the bathroom and come back to our gate and the flight information is no longer up on the board. I go up to ask the agent and he tells me that my flight is canceled. No announcement, nothing. About 10 minutes later he comes on the loudspeaker and tells me (and the 50 other people on the flight) that we should go to the next gate to get rebooked for the 1:45 flight to Belize instead of the 10:10 departure we were expecting. Annoying? Yes. Acceptable? I guess so. But that's not all! We go over to the counter and we get a woman agent talking to us. I'll say this upfront - she was an idiot. Incompetent, incompetent imbecile. She tells us at first that she has nothing to do with this - and that she has no idea as to why our flight was canceled. So we ask her to give us new boarding passes and she says that she can't and that they'll give us new boarding passes tomorrow morning. At this point, I become quite irate. And, if you guys know how I get over the internet, imagine how I act when I actually yell in person. So me (and I'm 6'3") and my dad (who is 6'2" and bigger than I am) start to make a scene. My grandfather tears up his American Airlines Advantage card and starts talking about how he was never flying with them again. The woman (who at this point, we assume has nothing to do with our problems) books us for tomorrow's flight. I start to talk to the group of 8 behind us (a Church Mission trip) and they are being put on tomorrow's too. Well a few minutes later the mission trip group gets boarding passes because apparently the other agent isn't an absolute moron. They let us know what happened and we complain even more. The most that the agent can do is give us hotel vouchers - we have 7 people and we demand 7 hotel rooms. We get put up at the Holiday Inn. They give us $10/person for lunch and $10/person for dinner and $5/person for breakfast tomorrow. Maybe that is acceptable if we're buying food in Philly or in Wisconsin - but in Miami, FL? $10 bought me a slice of pizza and a soda for lunch. I can't wait until I get to the hotel restaurant tonight - a pasta dish starts at $14.95. All the while, we're asking to see a supervisor and being told that it's not her fault. Oh, but it is. Best part: we get told that our luggage is being pulled off the plane and that it will be ready - in 2 or 3 hours. Absurd, yes. But we go to the hotel and wait about 4.5 hours and go back to the airport. As we get back to the airport we see that the other flight (the 1:45pm one) was delayed almost an hour. Perhaps that was a luggage problem? I beg you, continue on. Well we get downstairs to the baggage claim. We ask the guy where our luggage is (7 bags, mind you) and he tells us that he's not sure. It hasn't been pulled off the plane yet. "None of it has..." and other assorted lies. He gives us a phone number to call and check (we're supposed to every hour) to see if our bags got off. So we walk back upstairs, march to the first class counter and demand to speak with a supervisor. Thank God, we get someone with some intelligence this time. Ms. Soto calls around to 5 or 6 different people and finally tells us that she's pretty sure our baggage likely got sent on without us to Belize City. She also told us that we could file a claim with AA after buying things for ourselves in Miami (mind you, we have no transportation at all except the bus between the hotel and the airport) since we're not sure where anything is. I thought (like that House episode) that you couldn't send a plane off without the passengers of the checked luggage? Go figure. Well, guess who now has no clothes? My dad has one swimming suit and one shirt, I have one pair of boxers, and my girlfriend has one pair of shorts. The other 4 members of our party have absolutely nothing to wear for the next 24 hours. For now, I'm stuck in a Holiday Inn hotel room, in my pajamas with no clothes and no deodorant. Our connecting flight from Belize City to the Island off the shore needs to be rebooked. Our luggage may in fact be missing since we can't confirm where it is. Our house that we rented (not cheap) is sitting empty. The food we had delivered to that house today is sitting in the refrigerator. The scuba dive boat my dad chartered is not, in fact, ferrying him to a good dive spot. It's like throwing money out the window. I can't wait to come back tomorrow and tell you the rest of the story - since our problems seem far from over. For all of you who like the tl;dr version: I'm stuck until tomorrow morning at 10:10 am at a Holiday Inn in Miami instead of in my rented house on an island off of Belize. American Airlines is a sucky company - one mistake after another. Never ever use them. Please comment on this travesty. Please tell me that my anger explosion is justified. Please. _EW_ I can understand your anger... I don't know how the law works in the US but in the UK the Airlines are liable for your booked accommodation for the time your unable to be there - i.e. they should pay for the days you miss of your rented accommodation, as well as paying for your hotel etc. Both my dad and myself are well connected with journalists; so both of us (with different styles) will a) ask to speak to a superior and keep going, until we get as high as possible, and then b) threaten said superior with the bad publicity unless they acquiesce to what we want. If I had been in your situation that would be a 5 star hotel. With regards your lost luggage, I would have petitioned for money to buy new clothes - unless the wearabouts of my luggage were made known straight away, and I would be able to get them (yeah, I know how to gripe ). As is, if I were you I would ring up American Airlines, get someone as high up the food chain and complain about what's happened. My 2 cents bro - sorry your vacation is stressful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevron 7 locke Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Please comment on this travesty. Please tell me that my anger explosion is justified. Please. _EW_ Your damn right your anger is justified. That level of imcompetence is inexcusable. I hope you can somehow find a way to get the airlines to pay for it all. Or if that doesn't work, try and get em to pay for your meals and buy something really expensive at each meal. Sorry about your vacation, hopefully it gets back on track soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trench Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 The world is full of ineptitude. Most of it can be found in airports, and government offices. My favorite quote is: Lets pray that the human race never escapes Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediAthos Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I definitely agree...your anger is 100% justifiable. I believe the airline should be 100% responsible for all of it, but unfortunately I don't know how much you'll get out of them. The U.S. has yet to establish a firm passengers bill of rights and make the airlines responsible for the continual lousy service they dish out on a daily basis. Things like this are the reason I would rather drive for 18 hours than fly for 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astor Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 That sounds like a terrible start to what should, by all means, be a dream vacation. I can't say i'd be any less angry if I were in the same situation. I hope that you do manage to enjoy your holiday (or what's left of it) when you finally arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerGod Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I've never liked American Airlines, and neither has much of my family. Your experience so far of AA has been very similar to my first trip on an airplane. Just without my stuff being sent to my destination without me. After getting repeatedly pissed off by their ****ty support, we just drove to Orlando. I think that, before a company/business hires someone, they (the company) should make sure the new guy is at least competent and intelligent. It would probably make many companies more credible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demongo Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I never really planned travelling by plane, but don't think so I will after I read this. Your anger is 100% justifiable as the others said. I feel sorry for you:( and I know the feeling when something screw your Holiday up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigundr Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I've never had a problem with them, but what do I know, I don't book the flight.... But, in other words, DAMN THEM TO HELL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I certainly hope they pull their heads out their arses so that your whole trip isn't a drag. My trip earlier this year wasn't as bad as yours sounds to be shaping up to be. I wake up at about 2 am, leave to go to Philadelphia International Airport, and arrive as planned. The first problem occurs when we try to use the automated kiosks in order to print our boarding passes. Three tries later we are told by an agent that the problem is that one of us is on the Security List - but of course, she doesn't know who, so all of our bags need to be Xrayed and searched. Granted, that's not the airline's fault - yet. Just wait for it. I'm so inured to BS when travelling by plane I've actually come to expect it...welcome to the club. You sound like a bigger complainer than me, but, I don't mind that. I took a weekend trip at the beginning of May this year for my great granny's 100th. Congrats, you and me both dislike AA. I could not request a seat online (as promised) nor could I print out my tickets while online to avoid that little problem having to go to a terminal for check in tags and tickets as they also promised. BUUUUUUT: No dice there. I was also told it was through American Airlines. Part of it was, but I had to go through gate changes. In other words small time sub-contractors. This is the WORST. Similar starting situation to you, I actually nearly missed my flight the first morning because I am standing there at the American Airlines check-in gate. I get there @ 4:45AM for a 6:30 departure... I am waiting nearly half an hour just to get to the front in line when they decide to open up the "quick check-in" line. That's right, amongst all the others with paper tickets who have not upgraded to the 21st century. I am at the front, and relief, I get the check in tag, thank god. I'm waiting another 5-10 minutes. The guy at the front is a complete turd--not to me, just in general. Couldn't care less. He's having computer problems. Ones he obviously can't fix and calls the staff--it'll be another 3 minutes. People try to ask him something during that time--he waves it off and says "don't bother me I'm having computer problems," anyway. Rude as can be. People are standing there, ones like me with our tags but no ticket. Time is still ticking. Carrier "To Be Announced". I waited until I knew I could throw off the jerk. I audaciously walk up right in front of him, go straight to asking about my flight info in just the most cold and piercing tone I could muster. My demeanor that of a cop, staring him in the eyes. He was about to read me the riot act, but when his eyes met my stare, it startled him out of his moping. He checked my tag out, then notified everyone on my flight and another flight all had to change over to a different carrier, Horizon/Alaska Air internaitonal (their Int'l. subcontractor at American Airlines). Nothing like the resounding of 25 people. SO, we all get over there and get our tic's PDQ--I'm last for my flight. Not even going go there about computer crashing right after me and all the people on the other flight @ 5:40 were gonna miss it--it was now 5:30. On to Security: Keep in mind, I hadn't shaved my face and I actually look like Victor (Vincent?) on cowboy beebop anime--the sicko. Thankfully only a backpack for a weekend trip. Security was short (relatively) for me, but they still searched *every* article. Actually asked me if I had a gun. Shorter than any other check in I ever had but on top of delay upfront, I'm late. Thankfully not so late that I can't make it on. <Whew!> I get to the final gate and basically they are waiting for me. Small planes with propellar engines are clausterphobic and their flight is moderate smoothness at best. I'm ~5'8"+ with a ~6'1" arm span. Aside from posture issues and being called ape man, I have to fold my arms into my chest so my shoulders only graze the seats as I walk down the aisle. Anyway, I had to actually duck my head to get in. I'm not a huge guy and I felt like Andre the Giant: I am a full head taller than everyone else on the flight, and were I much taller I'd have to duck my head walking in the aisle. You're 6'3"? Hoo boy. Airline attendants were cool this time but on the way back--ugh. I was able to proceed after that flight just fine on the next plane, have my weekend trip, come back...first AA flight back was okay, in fact security was even better there. However, now mid way through, I'm changing terminals in LA. It's hot and muggy in the afternoon. They force the issue with terminal change by deception. You should not have to security check *every time* you are at the airport--they have shuttles from one terminal to the next so you can avoid it--right? Riiiiight? Well, all shuttles are allowed to leave from that terminal but not enter it or they get in trouble. Here I am, at terminal 3 instead of terminal 2. Airport regulation. I ask why. Agent told me internaitonal flights (even within the contiguous US) *requires* another check in--or so I was told which I think is just a total load of BS. Shuttles between terminals avoids that in the first place because if you obviously got through security and are in the terminals, you must be fine, shouldn't have to check in again. But, ce` le-vie. Walk a good half mile through the airport, security shakedown, check in. Get there just in time. OH, but there is a hold up. Everyone wait 30 minutes... cancelled...no wait, we got it fixed! Get on and the attendant has a fit because "your bag isn't all the way under the seat! ZOMG! ZOMG! ZOMG!" Attendant is chatty over intercom. Takes 20 minutes to say what others say in 5. Rough flight through wind and clouds. At this point, I become quite irate. And, if you guys know how I get over the internet, imagine how I act when I actually yell in person. So me (and I'm 6'3") and my dad (who is 6'2" and bigger than I am) start to make a scene. Ah, Sonny Corleone. Very apt. My grandfather tears up his American Airlines Advantage Well, okay, so it *isn't* just me. <brevity> She also told us that we could file a claim with AA after buying things for ourselves in Miami (mind you, we have no transportation at all except the bus between the hotel and the airport) since we're not sure where anything is. I thought (like that House episode) that you couldn't send a plane off without the passengers of the checked luggage? Go figure. What The Hell? Mistakes *do* happen, I guess. Well, guess who now has no clothes? My dad has one swimming suit and one shirt, I have one pair of boxers, and my girlfriend has one pair of shorts. The other 4 members of our party have absolutely nothing to wear for the next 24 hours. Once I had a road trip for spring break with 2 pals. Long and the short of it, fates conspire against us, this was supposed to be a 1 week trip, cut down to 3.5 days due to a multitude of problems. Relevant point: We were wearing the same clothes for most that time because our cooler fractured open under heat and all our food leaked out on our clothes. We wore the same clothes for 52 hours straight. <brevity: situation, currently> It's like throwing money out the window. Google a dollar tree or some other dollar store nearby--ain't no beating their deals for necessities. Maybe look for a Ross near you for clothes if it's lost luggage. I can't wait to come back tomorrow and tell you the rest of the story - since our problems seem far from over. Happy trails. Good luck. American Airlines is a sucky company - one mistake after another. Never ever use them. QFT--at least for their minor flights...but now I'm not so sure I want to take a big trip with them after having read this... Please comment on this travesty. Please tell me that my anger explosion is justified. Please. While justified, you might get better results, shall we say being more focused with that anger. Like how I dealt with idiot in above paragraph. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HdVaderII Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Don't you just love air travel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 ^^^'Bout as much as I loved the stomach flu and heartburn while I had that trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigundr Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 ^OOh, yummy. That sounds like a recipe for fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hope you're on the plane now to Belize instead of reading this. If this happens again, and you get an idiot agent, immediately call the airline's 800 number. Sometimes re-booking over the phone will get you a new flight faster than standing in line talking to a moron. Most of the time, things go OK, sometimes not. As for the luggage, this is advice to everyone--always, always take anything important (like prescription medications, contact lens solution and case, spare glasses, and at least one day's change of clothes) in your carry-on bag. Airlines lose luggage a lot. One time, my flight went to Kansas City, and my luggage went on to Denver without me. They got it back to me that night, but they weren't entirely up front about when it would arrive, i.e. they said it would arrive at 6 pm and 2 hours later it finally arrived. Don't put anything fragile or that you don't want to lose in your luggage--it can be opened and searched at any time, and the gov't doesn't take care to repack it as carefully as you have, or it can get lost. Hope the rest of your vacation is fun. @GTA--I got stopped by TSA one time, too, who went through every single thing. I got the question if I was carrying firearms, too, because my overweight, blue-eyed, mother look must remind him of some felon somewhere. Maybe it's the red hair. It turned out a metal medallion I had (which was irreplaceable and thus NOT in the checked bag) triggered security. They even wiped things down for gunpowder residue, and when I asked what it was (because I am allergic to a LOT of chemicals), I got even more questions and the 'cop-stare' because of that. Once I explained the allergy issue, however, the man was quite nice about it and actually was happy to answer my questions because I was actually interested in what he was doing and not terrified. He explained the medallion had a lot of medal and the agent scanning it couldn't figure out what it was on the x-ray, hence the search. When I flew home, I took the medallion out from the rest of the carryon luggage for them to check separately, and that solved the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salzella Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I do love airtravel as it happens... but ouch. I'd be making a scene aswell, but at about 5"9, it'd be rather less intimidating. but wtf. I particularly like the bit about the vouchers actually. crazy times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderWiggin Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 Hope you're on the plane now to Belize instead of reading this. ... Hope the rest of your vacation is fun. I was, Jae Thanks for the wellwishing. Everything went fine today, and the island is gorgeous. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and put them up for you to all drool over _EW_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Great. I'm glad that this incident didn't ruin your whole vacation, which sounds pretty damn deluxe and must have taken a lot of planning/preparation. Horror stories like this are why I never fly -anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 ^^^Smart move, if.f you can avoid it. Unfortunately, it is cheaper and quicker just to fly when it is a trek from mid northern CA to Springfeild MO. @GTA--I got stopped by TSA one time, too, who went through every single thing. Lose any containers for being over the 3.5 size limit or whatever? I lost $5 of energy drinks for that. The dude who took them was actually curious as to what brand. He said they would be thrown away. I have my doubts there about unopened cans and bottles: I know what *really* happened--gimmie a break. That look in his eyes, first chance he got, he probably chugged it down. Bawls g33k beer, & wild'n'out strawberry lemonade, both very addictive flavors. Real nerd stuff. Yeah, right, just tossed them out. Right. Such a sales gimmick. "If we stall them, we'll make sure they don't carry food or drinks on board so they are more likely to buy it on the plane." I got the question if I was carrying firearms, too, because my overweight, blue-eyed, mother look must remind him of some felon somewhere. Maybe it's the red hair. Me, I'm something like Vincent. Just make the chin a bit more prominent with a cleft and the eyes brown and bloodshot. There you have it. Oh, and probably crankier looking, if just as sadistic feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I was, Jae Thanks for the wellwishing. Everything went fine today, and the island is gorgeous. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and put them up for you to all drool over _EW_ Belize has some AWESOME birding if you're into that kind of thing. Have a rum (the good 151 stuff) drink for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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