BigDavyG

So my flight at 12.55 was cancelled and they put me on the 5.10pm. I bolted to the airport to try to make the 10.30 am and arrived at 9.55.
2 people were at the cancellations counter, both with customers. The woman in front of me in the queue said they had both been there for about 20 minutes and that if I was in a hurry I should try elsewhere.
Ran to the first class check-in - no queue. Explained my situation - bird told me it was the first class check-in window and my ticket wasn't a first class one - she couldn't help me.
I decided not to trail her over the counter and dance on her head - instead i politely asked for the manager.
2 minutes later a 75 year old woman who had more fake tan on than any bodybuilder i have ever seen came hobbling over. I explained the situation. She informed me that i didn't have a first class ticket and that i'd have to join the regular check-in queue.
I looked at the queue, then asked her if she was a customer service rep. She replied yes. I looked at the queue again and said "Its 10.05. I'm trying to get on the 10.30 flight. The queue is at least 30 minutes long. Do you think that you'll be able to help me by the time I get to the front of the queue ??"
She replied something along the lines of "um, err, um, err".
I then gave up - asked for her name so I could complain then asked her if she'd had a nice vacation. She looked confused, then I said, "Well I guess you're just back from vacation if you have a tan like that" and walked off.

I have to ask - what ******* use are these people and whatever happened to common sense ??

Celsius

... but you didn't actually have a seat on the 10.30am, did you?

britontour

But he did have a seat on the 12.55 which they cancelled so they should have be abit more accommodating, if only to tell him there were no seats left on the 10.30.

BigDavyG

No, i was trying to get one - but how could you get one if they make you join a queue you can't get to the front of til 10.35.
Oh, and its not like i was late- this only arose cos they cancelled the earlier flight apparently due to mechanical difficulties.
You'd have thought that an airline the size of american could have rustled up a spare plane at their home airport, or am i just being daft ??

Jerseygirl

Oh dear, I hope you managed to get the flight. Yes I know exactly what you mean, dumb, dumb, dumb.


Have a great weekend.

BigDavyG

Thank you
I didn't think i was being unreasonable

Celsius

The OP says the airline put him on 5.10pm. At the time he heard that, why didn't he call/speak to the airline to ask about the 10.30am to check availability?

BigDavyG

Because at the time they called me it was 9.30 and i was at work.
I asked about the earlier flight and they couldn't guarantee me getting to the airport in time to make it so I took the 5.10 as a guarantee and tried to make it to the airport to get on the 10.30. Given that they said they could book me on the 10.30 i assumed that there were seats available.
If i'd taken the 10.30 how the hell could i have checked in for it anyway as i would have had to join "the back of the queue".

Are you being deliberately awkward or are you a tw*t on a permanent basis ??

britontour

A few years ago I had a flight booked from East Midlands to Edinburgh on New Years Eve I booked it 3 months in advance and they decided to cancel the flight 1 week before. All they did was give me my money back by this time all the prices had gone up on any similar flights and they just don't give a toss what inconvenience they create you.

BigDavyG

They are all w**kers
(By they I mean all big companies)

Celsius

There. You said it yourself. "They couldn't guarantee me getting to the airport in time to make it"... It was 9.30am and you should know that internal US flights have a minimum checking in time of an hour and you don't even have a ticket!

PS: you need to take a chill pill. No need to get bitchy!

Sarah

have to say whenever I've watched one of those airport programs that show people going off the rails because they've arrived at 1.00pm and are suprised they can't catch the 1.05pm flight I've always thought they were the idiots rather than the staff they feel so free to verbally abuse.
However I do know what its like to be in a rush, and they should have been more accomodating seeing as your original flight was cancelled.

Philgr

The odd occasion this has happened to me I've found most success calling up the Frequent Flyer people - it obviously helps if you're in the higher tier programs but even on the basic tier I have found that they can get things done faster than waiting for people at the airport.

If you use a travel agent and have a changeable ticket they can sometimes help out faster as well.

Jerseygirl

I think its disgraceful that airlines are allowed to overbook and that the last to check in doesn't get a seat, when the airline may have had the money for months. Surely when you pay for your seat it is a legal contract, so how the hell can they sell it more than once. We flew overnight to the UK Christmas Eve arriving Christmas morning, fortunately we checked in on line the night before because the flight had been overbooked. Can you imagine hoping to arrive to spend Christmas Day with your loved ones and not being able to get there until the following day. The flight was from Newark to Manchester and there is only one evening flight per day.

I know the reason why they do this but it just isn't right.

BigDavyG

Yep - if they'd told me the flight was full, or i was too late i didn't have a problem with that.
To tell me to join the queue when i was prob already too late anyway was just plain daft, especially since they caused the mess by cancelling the flight in the first place.
That is the point i was trying to make.
I agree with you about those progs though.