Given the wealth of sad tales we can all tell about having turned to an airline for simple transport and wound up receiving an extended exercise in rage control, I would like to break with precedence by relating my good experience of yesterday.
We arrived at Sarasota (SRQ) in the AM to send our daughter and her hubby off to BWI and then returned a few hours later to get our flight to PHL via IAD. We attempted to check our bags at the automated kiosk and received the dreaded “See agent” message. Said agent sadly informed us that our plane wouldn’t be arriving due to mechanical problems, something we’d heard before from USAirways.
Unlike many of these previous experiences, the agent immediately started working the phones and we found ourselves booked on a 3PM direct PHL flight out of Tampa (TPA). Not only that, but the agent handed us a travel voucher to pay for the limo he’d already called to transport us to TPA from SRQ.
The end result of all this activity was that we arrived home more than an hour earlier than originally scheduled.
This is a great story and shows that not ALL airline employees are bad. Sometimes, we need to step back and realize all the things that the employees do for us consumers. There is so much complaining (including myself) but they do so many great things especially with all the concessions they have made to their companies (while their CEO’S run away will million dollar bonuses). Yeah, there are some crap apples out there but so many mean well.
The agent just knew you were a member of the FlightAware discussion boards and would post your experience on here. Kind of like the commercials where the guy gets really good customer service at the hotel because the employees know he is going to write a review on Hotels.com.
Unfortunately alot of passengers don’t realize how limited the Service Agents are. There are threats of losing jobs over transferring to other airlines, vouchers, transportation and the like. Agents push for more options all the time but with the industry becoming more and more focused on how to save a buck our options are dwindling.
Agreements between airlines usually means a full fare ticket to swap you over, even though you purchased your ticket at a discount on travelocity.
With airlines not even breaking even on the price of a seat, expecting vouchers and the like is a little outrageous.
But kudo’s to that agent, they really did go above and beyond, and its certainly not the norm.
When I pay the airline to move me from point A to point B, and they can’t because their plane breaks, vouchers, hotels, etc. are certainly warranted and should be expected.
When I pay the airline to move me from point A to point B, and they can’t because their plane breaks, - vouchers, hotels, etc. are certainly warranted and should be expected.
Cargo, I’m not saying that the passengers should not recieve anything. I’m saying that this is what the customer service agents are told.
Personally though, I don’t expect anything in that situation. If I purchase a ticket to a destination, I realize that there will be problems, and want only to get to the final destination. I would avoid taking the last flight of the night, so no hotel should be warranted unless I really can’t get there that day. I’m happing making it to the final destination within a reasonable amount of time from setting out. I’m obviously the odd-duck out on this one though, as I just don’t feel the same sense of entitlement.
If I recall correctly(its been a while since I worked there), just before I left Delta had just started a new refund policy. No restrictions besides cancel before flight time.
Northwest will probably still keep your money, but give you $500 of travel vouchers.
I try to authorize refunds whenever possible, because I can agree with that. If we’re not providing the service you requested, then you should get your money back and use it somewhere else if you see fit. It’s what I’d ask for if I were really upset.
There would be a lot more understanding customers if the rest of the business world thought like you.
The problem only comes in when weather is the cause of a service not being provided, and while I can see it’s not the airline’s fault, John Q Public is less understanding. After all, the airline didn’t deliver the service they requested.
Whenever there is weather or other things beyond the airlines control, I don’t expect much, as it’s not their fault and we all have to deal with it.
The mechanicals and crew shortages are where I expect the airline to take care of me if there is an issue.
My dad was supposed to be on US flight from BWI-LAX the other weekend. Plane went mx, flight cancelled. He never made his trip - they refunded him, end of story. I have no issue with that, that was the right thing.