Flights Gone Bad

Delta forces family into worst seats on the plane

2012-10-07T12:03:00.003-07:00

Date: 9 April 2012
Airline: Delta Airlines, flight 3482
Location: Atlanta, GA

My family of four flew Delta to Savana, GA for Easter vacation this year. On our return flight, our seats were changed at the boarding gate from rows fourteen and fifteen to row nine without explaination. Upon boarding the plane, our orginal seats and new seats were occupied. My family and I were forced to sit in the last row of the plane, row twenty. The flight attendents made no attempt to resolve the problem.

Overhead storage and leg room were occupied in two of our seats by "flight crew" baggage, no window seat, the last row was next to the engines and restroom where every passenger slammed the door and we were last to receive in-flight services. I contacted both Delta's president Ed Bastian and CEO Richard Anderson who arrogantly and insultingly sent me flight vouchers for future flights on their pathetic airline when I requested a refund of the flight.

-Jim

Note from AirSafe.com Unfortunately, in the US airlines are allowed to make these kinds of last minute changes without penalty, and are not required to provide passengers with any compensation. However, any reasonable person would agree with the passenger that this treatment was unacceptable.

While offering free flight vouchers was a good gesture, it would have been much more effective if the airline had also included a full refund as well as some some kind of apology or acknowledgement of the airline's role in ruining that family's flight.

Schedule changes causes shorter holiday

2012-07-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Date: 18 June 2012
Airline: Spirit Airlines, flight 244
Location: Guatemala

I am requesting partial refund of my airfare. My return trip was changed just prior to my flight. As a result I had to alter my vacation plans and was forced to shorten my stay in Guatemala. I am only requesting partial compensation.

I called the customer service line on this matter prior to my flight and was told I had to make the request at the airport. I then spoke to the agent at the airport prior to my flight and was told I had to call the customer service line.

-Preston

Note from AirSafe.com: Typically, airlines are not required to compensate passengers for costs not directly related to the trip. While the schedule change may have affected their holiday plans, that is not covered by most airlines.

If a passenger is concerned about delays affecting other parts of the trip, consider options such as purchasing insurance.

United not honoring Continental refunds

2012-07-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Date: 4 February 2012
Airline: Continental, flight 839
Location: United Customer Service

I spoke with my case manager Lida [redacted] who had authorised my refund from LA to Melbourne Australia for flight 839 on the 4th of February 2012, eticket [redacted] Confirmation Number [redacted] plus a further 30,000 points as a gesture of goodwill onto my Mileage Plus card.

Final confirmation was early April 2012 and I was advised all had been approved and the follow up for the refund would now be passed onto a different dept and that if I had any problems I could get back to Lida at her email address.

I had not heard anything further about my refund and attempted to email Lida but the email came back as this email address no longer accepts inbound messages due to technical changes to Continental Airlines changeover. I have tried to contact Lida on numerous emails address but all come back undeliverable.

I have filled in refund forms online numerous times but still no one contacts me. I have filed complaints on United website and I have yet to have any reply back. I filled out the status form online to check the status of my refund and it advised me to ring 1-800-WECARE2 and I wait on hold from Australia and when I finally get through the representative can't assist me or puts me on hold and I wait again and often times the calls drops out.

I am at my wits end trying to get a response from a United refund representative as this has been going on for months but just can't get through to anyone who can assist me. That is why I am now putting in a complaint with your organisation hoping you may be able to advise me where do I go from here or who i should be contacting.

- Marita

United almost causes missed overseas connection

2012-07-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Date: 12 May 2012
Airline: United, flight 4148
Location: Atlanta, GA/Newark, NJ

We arrived at the airport three hours prior to our departure as instructed. We were booked on UA 4148 departing at 12:20 pm, arriving in Newark at 2:43 p.m. with connection with UA 0106 departing at 5:35 pm.

Our Atlanta flight had a mechanical problem and they had to fly a part in to repair it. I ask that they re-book us with another airline to make our connection; the gate agent told me we had a “bulk price” ticket and no one else would accept it, and that all they could do is leaves us on the flight that was scheduled to depart now at 5:45. I spoke with a supervisor and she said she would re-book us on another flight out of Newark.

When we arrived in Newark I went to United customer service, because I saw no United flight departing for Munich. The service representative told me they had no record of us having a flight. I ask where my luggage was and he had no idea. He said the only flight left was Lufthansa 1926. I should go see them because they (United) had no record of our travel even though I gave him the confirmed ticket number and reservation code.

We went down to Lufthansa and they had no record of our flight. I think the agent could see I was about to blow up and she decide to help as much as she could. It took her an hour to find the record, but she found it. United would not even look for it they just said it was non-existent. Lufthansa put us on standby. I literally begged them to please put us on the flight, and they did.

-George

Delta delays and luggage issues lead to changed wedding plans

2012-06-30T09:52:00.007-07:00

Date: 28 April 2012
Airline: Delta, flight DL2854
Location: Richmond, VA

I was traveling with my fiance to our wedding on April 28, 2012 from Richmond to Hong Kong. The flight was delayed from Richmond which caused us to miss our connecting flight in Detroit. Delta was unable to put us on another flight that day. We were forced to take a flight the next day with an extra connection.

We specifically paid more for our original ticket for one less connection. This also caused us to miss our transportation in Hong Kong because we arrived at a later time. We had to pay more for local transportation when we arrived in Hong Kong. Furthermore, we were unable to reclaim our baggage because it was already on the delayed flight to Detroit. We were without our personal belongings on Saturday night. Because of our delayed flight, we were forced to change our wedding plans.

We would like to be compensated for our rebooked and delayed flight, the extra connection in our travels, and not having our luggage.

United and US Airways Ruins Wedding trip to Puerto Rico

2012-06-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Part 1 - Outbound Flights

Date: 29 December 2011
Airline: US Airways, flight 706
Location: San Francisco, CA to San, Juan, PR

Written on 2/1/2012 to the airline: On December 29th, my fiance and I were en route to our wedding in Puerto Rico via United Airlines, where he is a longstanding Premiere member. He surprised me with first class tickets and we were so excited to depart. After hours on the tarmac, they finally offloaded and cancelled the flight to to a computer glitch/ mechanical issues.

The stewards were really nice but had no information; the booking agent at the counter was very rude and pushy - she refused to walk me through multiple booking options and instead, tried to force us to take a red eye to Puerto Rico, leaving SF late at night. Finally, we were able to rebook with an agent on the phone who was helpful.

We were routed through Philadelphia, where we had to spend the night. We were given a very dingy room ar Four Points and two lame $10 meal vouchers that weren't even worth appetizers. This was not how we envisioned the beginning of our wedding trip. On top of this frustrating experience, we missed our first night in Puerto Rico at the Sheraton in Old San Juan, where we had booked with saved points for the occasion that have yet to be refunded. Overall, and despite nicely voicing our frustrations, the United agents we encountered failed to understand the unique circumstances of our trip-- which we had been planning and saving for since 2010.

We are disappointed with our United experience and hope that your customer relations personnel are able to address and respond to our concerns. As always, it is important to give both people and companies second chances, as long as we communicate our frustrations. However, this traveling experience was intolerable and without the appropriate response, I will hesitate to fly United again.

Part 2 - Return Flights

Date: 9 January 2012
Flight: US Airways, operated by United flights 700 and 975
Location: San, Juan, PR to San Francisco, CA

On January 9th, 2012, my husband and I returned from our wedding in Puerto Rico via US Airways, where he surprised me with First Class tickets. Our flight to Washington, DC was just fine, but after four hours of delays for our flight from DC to San Francisco (including hours in the terminal and on the plane and de-icing), our flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues.

A Premiere representative was able to help us re-book for a later flight the same day to San Francisco; however, the flights were not first class. She took our email addresses and old boarding passes and promised to arrange for first class vouchers for future flights. We have not heard from her since. We have tried calling and emailing through your online system. After two weeks, we still have heard no response and are feeling very frustrated. How do we resolve this issue and receive either monetary compensation or vouchers for our downgrade to the main cabin?

Our flight home was a miserable experience. After hours of traveling and exhaustion, our stewardess was horrible. She refused to give me a bottle of water, and I was at the onset of a panic attack. Luckily, an Air Force paramedic sitting next to me was able to help and my husband was able to get my medicine, but I spent a good portion of the flight in tears. The stewardess was very rude, until she realized what was going on- still, she didn't need to behave that way to begin with.

Upon arrival in SF, all of our luggage was lost. We were told it would arrive the following day on the next flight to San Francisco from DC. It did not. We got three out of four bags two days later and the fourth bag arrived 5 days later. The process for contacting US Airways about our bags was arduous, to say the least and extremely frustrating. It required hours of follow-up on our part. Overall, our experience on the second leg of our trip was horrible. We are looking forward to hearing your response to this situation.

I hope that US Airways Customer Service is able to appropriately address these multiple issues. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Delayed luggage ruins wedding experience

2012-06-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Date: 3 May 2012
Airline: Air Canada, flight 3630
Location: Toronto/Oklahoma City, OK

We went from Toronto to OKC for three days. We arrived Thursday May 3 at 9:30 pm to attend a wedding for Friday May 4th. However our luggage was lost. It was disastrous situation as the next day at noon we had to be at the ceremony. They had no idea where our luggage was which was quite puzzling as I though with the RFID tags they should be able to track it.

They ruined the wedding day. We had miss the ceremony to go to the only mall 40 minutes away to find a dress and shoes. My husband came to the wedding in his jeans because he couldn't get his suit to be taylored on time. Finally after the most of the day being ruined the luggage arrived at the airport in the evening and my husband changed at the airport. I found everyone extremely incompetent starting from the check in person in Toronto up to the luggage department in OKC and then afterwards the 1-800 number for lost luggage which we spend hrs on the phone with and they seemed clueless as well.

-Mina Baghaee

Best man misses wedding and Delta owes compensation

2012-06-27T09:06:00.001-07:00

Date: 17 May 2012
Airline: Delta, flight 2
Location: Dusseldorf, Germany

Letter to Delta:

We have received the Transportation Credit Voucher. This is not the compensation that we were promised by the ticket agent at Dusseldorf. We printed a copy of Regulation EC 261/2004 from your website which clearly states that when a reserved flight originating in the EU (European Union) is cancelled by Delta, we are eligible for a 600 Euro (about $760) compensation per passenger.

We had to wait until the next day to catch another flight. One member of our flight missed part of his brother's wedding (he was the best man by the way) due to the cancellation. The regulation also clearly states that the compensation will be paid in cash or electronic transfer. Only with our written consent should we be compensated with travel vouchers and if
so, the Transportation Voucher amounts will be higher than the cash amounts.

The $200 credit per passenger is obviously not according to the terms outlined by the regulation. Please issue the 600 Euro credit per passenger rather than the travel vouchers.

It is important to note that the flight was not delayed; it was
cancelled. You mentioned in your email that it was delayed by 4.36 hours. There was no Flight 25 that day and we were forced to catch another flight the following day.

Also, we did not receive reimbursement for the taxi fare to the hotel or back to the airport the next day. We have our receipts and we turned them in by mail to Delta. We have not heard back from Delta about the taxi reimbursement.

Airline offers five bad choices to passenger with wedding gown

2012-06-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

Airline: Hawaiian Airlines

I was trying to get assistance on how to travel with a wedding gown as my carry on. (my daughter is getting married in the Philippines). I spoke with two "so called" service supervisors and these are their responses:

I can hand my carry on gown to one of the crew members and she can store it in a closet but this closet is not always available.
I can store the precious gown under my seat.(so i can rest my feet or even kick it around a few times during the flight)
I can store this oversize garment on the overhead compartment( it will be a big ball of mess by the time we get to our destination, just imagine people constantly shoving their bags in and out).
I can pay for an extra seat for this gown.(they're not kidding!!)
I can checked it in.( I'm afraid it might get lost and then what??)

I just want someone to take this gown and handle it with care just like their own but no one cares from this airline business. Very frustating.

American Airlines booking error ends up costing a passenger

2012-06-25T08:53:00.018-07:00

Date: 16 June 2012
Airline: American Airlines

I purchased a travel package for two on June 16th going from from John Wayne (Santa Ana, CA) to Miami. I specified that I would cancel the trip if I could not get upgraded. I have 190,000 miles with AAdvantage.

She told me that in order to get the upgrade that I would have to purchase the coach tickets and only after that I would be able to contact AAdvantage and get the upgrades. She told me told if I cancelled I would have to pay $150 per ticket. She stated that there were many first class seats available and I would have a good chance of getting the upgrades.

She then booked the flights and I got a copy of my tickets 8:08 am this morning 18 June 2012. I then called Aadvantage and they said there were no upgrades available to 75% of my flights. I then called AA Travel (Lynn)and canceled. She told me I had to eat (purchase) the tickets and pay a $300 fine.

I then spoke to Becky and wanted to know what happened?? She booked the flight from John Wayne to Miami as Booking code K and the return as Booking Code V. Because she didn’t book the first part of the flight as V it now becomes a non-refundable flight. This is not what I agreed too. I was never informed that I would be stuck with the tickets.

I am willing to pay the $300 because I agreed to that. But because American travel took it on their own to change the code and make it nonrefundable they should refund the difference.

-John

Delays and Lost Bags on a Jamaica Wedding Trip

2012-06-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Date: 29 December 2011
Airline: Continental, flight 4627
Location: Pittsburgh,PA

I filed a complaint with Continental Airlines around January 5, 2102 due to terrible service, delayed flight, rude customer service and overall bad experience on my trip from Pittsburgh, PA to Jamaica. The trip was to commence on December 29, 2011 and return on Jananuary 2, 2012.

The trip was a destination wedding for my son that was to take place in Jamaica on December 30, 2011. The rehearsal for the wedding was to be the evening of December 29, 2011.

We had a total of 10 passengers that were on this flight (eight of us were on CO-FL03L3 reservation while 2 others were on a different reservation number but had the same last name--[redacted])

We left Pittsburgh around 5:45 on flight 4627. We were to fly into Houston and depart for Jamaica on flight 1400 at 10:25. Our flight was diverted to San Antonio where we sat on the plane for approx. 1 hour. We were then taken off the plan in San Antonio for approx. 1 1/2 hours. We were then put back on the plane and sat there for another hour and 45 min (approx). By the time the plane got back to Houston we missed our flight to Jamaica. We had rude service throughout the entire experience except for a very kind flight attendant who was on the Pitt to Houston flight (I believe her name was Maria). She was the only one who tried to make our experience tolerable.

Once we got to Houston we stood in a line for about 45 min. before being told that we had to go to another location. From that location we were told to go to still yet another location to be rebooked. By the time that we got to an agent who was willing to work with us, there were no other flights leaving that would have gotten us into Jamaica that day. We MISSED my son's rehearsal celebration. He was very upset as were we!!!!

We had a total of eight adults and two babies (two-year-old and a three-year-old). Needless to say this was extremely difficult to deal with.

Finally an agent said that if we wanted to make it in time for the wedding which was the next day that we would have to fly to Charlotte to try to get a flight early the next morning. If we stayed in Houston we would not have gotten into Jamaica until after the wedding was over. We went to Charlotte and then were told that we would have to get a hotel because the flight wasn't leaving until early on the morning of Dec. 30--the day of the wedding!! We were also told that we could not get a room from the airlines but that they would get us a 'distressed' passenger rate---when we got to the hotel we got the same rate that others who just walked in off the street got--NO DISCOUNT WHATSOEVER!!! I thought it was very inconsiderate and rude of the agents to say that they could not GIVE us rooms and also then to give false information about the distressed passenger rate.

We finally got to Jamaica around 11:10 on Dec. 30, 2011--we started our travel Dec. 29, 2011 at 5:45 AM.

Coming back from Jamaica on flight #1485 we were yet again delayed!!!! This time we were told that the plane was being held for some late arrivals from another flight!!! We didn't get that consideration when we were trying desperately to get to my son's wedding!!!

I called and filed a complaint when I returned and the best the agent said she could do (and I must admit she was also very RUDE) was a $100 travel certificate for each passenger on the flight!!! I told her that I paid 732.31 for each ticket (total of 10 equals around 7320 dollars) and that I thought she should do better than that. I also told here that that didn't even cover the room that we had to pay for once we got to Charlotte. Her response was more or less--"take it or leave it!!" I told her I would take it but that I would be filing a complaint with the travel agent and any other source that I could. I was so upset!!

It is now Jan. 19, 2012 around 2 weeks since I talked with the Continental customer service person about this issue and I still have NOT received the vouchers. I don't feel our compensation was in line with the time that we had to spend waiting and the rudeness that we experienced. I also don't feel that Continental did anything to try to make amends for the inconvenience. I lost 25% of my vacation (we were staying at the RIU Montego Bay which is an all-inclusive a total of approx. $1200), I had the added expense of a 5 hotel rooms (approx. $500) at the Hyatt in Charlotte.Along with added expense of food and trying to keep the babies occupied for approx. 30 + hours. I would hope that you would be able to provide each passenger with a refund of the rooms in Charlotte and at least a roundtrip ticket for each.

I feel that Continental is leaving me no recourse except to file a complaint with the Transportation Department and/or the Aviation Consumer Protection agency (Airconsumer@ost.dot.gov.). I have read and understand the Air Rights that we are entitled to.

If I don't have adequate resolution to this issue within 5 business days I will also contact the TV consumer advocates.

My hope is to resolve this issue amicably, but up to this point I have gotten no satisfaction from anyone from Continental.

-Darlene

American Airlines Does Not Give Promised Refund

2012-06-23T11:05:00.010-07:00

Date: 30 December 2011
Airline: American Airlines
Location: Houston, TX

I purchased tickets on American Airlines on September 12, 2011 for my 10th wedding anniversary with my wife. We purchased round trip tickets from Houston to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero Mexico with a connection in Dallas.

We checked in online for our flights on Friday December 30th at about 4pm, I also purchased a seat upgrade from Dallas to Zihuatanejo. Our itinerary had us departing from Houston at 6am and landing in Dallas at 7:05am, then leaving Dallas at 10am and landing in Zihuatanejo at 12:55pm.

At 3:15am on December 31st I received a call from your American Airlines automated system informing me that our flight departing Houston was going to be delayed and would not leave Houston until 9:40am. Obviously this is a problem because we would miss our connection in Dallas. I then called American Airlines reservations department in an attempt to resolve the issue.

When I did call the recording mentioned that our flight had been delayed again and would not be departing until 11:40am. Once I did get to speak to a representative they informed that there are no other options and that there was nothing that they could do. While all of this was going on my wife was busy on the internet trying to find another flight that might get us into Dallas on time. She found a continental flight that left intercontinental airport at 7:30am and landed in Dallas at 8:30am.

I then told the representative about the flight, she made an effort to put us on the flight before getting back on the line informing me that it was not legal for us to fly out of one airport and back into another. I then asked her if it was possible for me to purchase the tickets and still carry on with the rest of our trip. She said that was fine and that I would be fully refunded for the first leg of our trip.

Which brings us to where we are now, refund. I have been attempting to get in contact with someone in American Airlines refund department to no avail. I have emailed, and called several times and have yet to hear back from anyone. In addition to this I paid $38 for a seat upgrade that was not given.

I received an email from American Airlines today letting me know that they processed my refund and I would be getting $88.42 for my cancellation. I spend $408.40 with Continental for the one way tickets I had to purchase. My tickets with American Airlines cost me $889.32 I do not see this as an appropriate refund.

Bag with wedding clothes arrives after epic journey

2012-06-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Date: 3 May 2012
Airline: United, flight 6179H
Location: Chicago, IL; Albany, NY; and Wilkes-Barre, PA

Although traveling with United in the past has generally been a reasonably smooth experience, I would like to report that my most recent travel experience was borderline disastrous due to a number of incidents demonstrating incompetence, rudeness, and total disregard for customer satisfaction.

The Four-hour Delay
My wife and I were scheduled to fly from Chicago (ORD) landing in Wilkes-Barre (AVP) on May 3, 7:16 PM, flight UA 6179H. The weather was causing some delays on various planes that night, with many of them being cancelled. Although delays are understandable, the manner in which this was handled was unacceptable. At one point, a frustrated gate attendant began audibly cursing and slamming his phone around, clearly causing an uncomfortable atmosphere to people already on edge from constant 15 minute delays totaling over 4 hours. Despite many flights being cancelled due to plane damage, ours was thankfully not, and nearly 5 hours later we boarded our plane.

After sitting on the plane for about 30 minutes, our pilot informed us that the flight was canceled, because the flight would mean him working over 16 hours. We then waited almost 40 minutes to get off the plane, since there was no gate available for us to return to. This is completely unacceptable, because a very basic calculation would have prevented us from wasting several hours of our time boarding a plane that could have never possibly taken off—United should have been able to calculate hours before that the flight could not occur due to the pilot being unable to work longer.

We were then shuffled off to a customer service area where an airline employee was rudely yelling and acting impatient with understandably outraged customers, as if she was annoyed that she had to perform her duties. Eventually we were seen by a representative.

A Key Checked Bag Gets Lost
Now, my wife and I were traveling to Wilkes-Barre where we would spend the night with my family and drive to Schenectady NY together the next morning. The next flight to Wilkes-Barre was too late the next day such that our family would not be there to pick us up, as there was a very important wedding rehearsal dinner occurring at 6:00 PM in Schenectady. In order for us to attend this dinner, we needed to change our flight destination to Albany, NY. After some debate with a United representative who was saying we’d have to pay for the new flight despite our original one being cancelled (which he comically denied ever happened, even though the room was full of people from the same cancelled flight!), we were finally transferred to a new flight to Albany, flight UA5905, departing March 4th at 7:49 AM.

Before leaving the airport to try to get a little sleep, we were told that our luggage (one bag) was not automatically transferred for us and that we’d need to go to United baggage services to ensure that it was transferred. The lady there looked at our boarding passes and said that they were already transferred, which is of course impossible considering what we had just been told. We asked her to make sure, and she did something on her computer and then assured us that it was done.

More Delays the Next Day
After returning to the airport the next morning and reaching our gate, we once again were informed that our plane to Albany was delayed. Except this time, the delay was handled with extreme unprofessionalism. We were moved to a number of different gates over and over. At one point, we were told to go to another gate because our plane was there waiting for us. It was not waiting for us, meaning we were blatantly lied to by a United representative.

At another time, we were told it was ‘on its way from the hanger’, and then told an hour later that it was still sitting at the hanger. We received completely different stories depending on who we asked. Eventually, we learned that the reason our plane hadn’t arrived at the gate, almost four hours later, is because there was no personnel to taxi the plane from the hanger to the gate. Our pilot had been sitting at the gate for over an hour at this point, and he was then summoned to be driven over to the hanger so he could taxi the plane himself. Note that if communication wasn’t so terrible, this could have been done at least an hour before.

Moments before boarding the plane, I spoke directly with the person loading the bags onto the plane. Skeptical that my bag was properly transferred, I had him take a look at my baggage claim ticket, asking him if he could please verify that my luggage was loaded onto the plane. After consulting with another man, inputting some numbers, and then scanning my baggage claim ticket, he assured us that the bag was on the plane.

United Unsure of Bag Location
We arrived in Albany shortly after, but our baggage did not. It was now 2:45 PM, meaning we’d have to go to a rehearsal dinner without the clothing in our baggage. A man at United baggage services in Albany filed a report (Reference [redacted]), and was unable to locate where our bag actually was, although he suspected it was still in Chicago since it wasn’t in Albany and wasn’t in Wilkes-Barre. Luckily there was another flight to Albany that evening, since we had a wedding the next day at 4PM, and desperately needed our clothing (suits, dresses, toiletries, medication, etc.).

I spent a great deal of that afternoon and evening speaking with various representatives from the provided hotline, 1-800-355-2247, making sure that the bags would indeed be sent on the next flight to Albany, where we could pick it up that evening as to be prepared for the wedding the next day. Some of these representatives were confused about the current location of the bag, insisting that it was in Albany since it was scanned onto the Albany flight (I suspect this is because the aforementioned bag loader scanned my claim ticket). After insisting that no, the bag was not in Albany, I received yet more reassurance that the bag would be sent out on the next flight to Albany.

The Bag Shows Up in the Wrong City
That evening, I called the hotline again to check on the status of the bag, since by about that time it should have been en route to Albany, and would have been scanned. The representative said that yes, it had been scanned, but to Wilkes-Barre! So, after spending hours on the phone with baggage services, it’s as if everything I had requested had been completely ignored. At this point, my wife and I were very worried that we’re not going to receive our baggage in time for the wedding. Although there was a flight from Wilkes-Barre to Albany the next morning, my confidence in the ability of United to properly execute any request has been demolished. Regardless, I asked them to do this, which of course they assured me would be done.

United Customer Service Continues to Fall Short
Note that the calls themselves also demonstrated extreme unprofessionalism on the part of United. On at least one occasion I was told I would be called back by a supervisor, only to never be called. On others, I was put on hold for 20 minutes while a representative tried to answer a very simple question. Asking for a supervisor was a huge ordeal, as the representative I spoke to completely ignored my request and tried to solve my problem herself, despite the fact that several had failed before her. At no point was there any respect for the urgency of the situation, nor were there ever any options for me to escalate the problem to someone with more power or knowledge.

Another Company Saves the Day
The morning of the wedding, I received a call—not from United, but from ‘Best Value Passenger Services’ at the Wilkes-Barre airport (AVP). So, United failed to act on my request yet again, and my bag was a three-hour drive away with no more flights available before the wedding. However, I was relieved, because finally my bag was in the hands of somebody that wasn’t United Airlines. And thanks to them, we were able to receive our bag about an hour before the wedding, because an employee of theirs delivered our bag directly to us, a 3 hour drive away.

Overall, my wife and I are extremely disappointed in the quality of service we received from United. Our trip was certainly marred and came very close to being completely ruined. At no point during the entire support process were we ever offered any compensation. We do believe we should be compensated for the flight and baggage charges and look forward to hearing what United can offer us.

-Eric

United Partner Airline Issue Ruins Wedding Night

2012-06-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

Date: 24 December 2011
Airline: United, flight 2533
Location:

I booked a flight for two unaccompanied minors, and paid the additional fees for United to provide an escort. Yet, on Christmas Eve, my children were left stranded in the airport. The partnering airline refused to allow them to travel. I had chosen United because they were the only airline that assured me they allowed unaccompanied minors and provided supervision for a fee. When I contacted the airline to address the situation, the customer service representatives offered little to no help.

I was on the phone for three hours on my wedding night trying to resolve the situation. I was then forced to then purchase an additional ticket for my brother to escort them. United employees' are directly responsible for failing to ensure that purchasing tickets specifically for unaccompanied flights would be accepted through their partners.

This incident not only nearly stranded two young children on Christmas Eve, but ruined our wedding night and honeymoon, as well as left my brother stuck in airports for the Holidays. United still owes me a refund for the escort fees and should be refunding the additional expensed incurred to provide a chaperone. Lastly, I sent their customer service an email and have yet to get any type of response.

Passenger sprains knee and wants apology for airline response

2012-06-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

Date: 1 June 2012
Airline: United, flight 709
Location: Baltimore, MD

It was June 1st 2012 I left BWI on my way to Chicago and then to LA and lastly San Diego. I got on the plane put my baggage in overhead and immediately tried to sit before the plane took off and twisted my knee. My complaint goes to the treatment I received after the injury.

Customer service in Chicago told them what happened and they had someone wheel me to the Medical Center and once I got there I was denied service because she said she had three people in front of me and I would miss my connecting flight.

I hopped around the airport until I got to my final destination. I went to the VA Medical Center once in San Diego and was told by the doctor that my knee was in fact sprained. I would like an apology from the airline for their conduct and want to be reimbursed in some form.

-Donna

Claim of unprofessional TSA conduct in Atlanta

2012-06-11T09:17:00.003-07:00

Date: 2 June 2012
Airline: AirTran, flight 31
Location: Atlanta, GA

I was detained by two TSA black females to a private room. The females were very disrespectful to me as a senior citizen. I was treated like a common criminal because I was layered. I am anemic and I do layer myself to keep from getting extremely cold as advised by my doctors. I can understand them doing their jobs but where is professionalism, respect, and dignity for people especially for seniors as myself? You may have not trained them to be professional and respectful but this should have been taught somewhere in their lives.

The young lady at the computer made a remark; "Y'all should know how to dress yourselves when you come here." This statement was made very disrespectfully to me. The other female did the searching and she continuously stared at me; looking me up & down after the completion of the search. I tried to remain quiet and professional and waiting for them to release me to get on the train to my boarding gate. For 2-3 minutes of silence and stares from the female attendants; I was finally released.

Even after I was found not a threat I should have been immediately released and not just stared yet for that period of time. The one that searched me remarked very sarcastically "have a good day". This was the first time I traveled this airline and will be the last time. As mentioned earlier, I don't mind the employees doing their jobs but with professionalism and respect.

I spoke with my lawyer and was informed that if I didn't receive a response from someone that he will be making the contacts himself. No one apologized to me at all. I have been having sleepless nights since this has happened. I am a heart patient w/high blood pressure. I am very stressed out over this situation.

-Delores

Yemenia Airways loses valuable zam zam drums

2012-06-10T09:02:00.003-07:00

Date: 29 May 2012
Airline: Yemenia Airways, flight IY854
Location: Jeddah, Saudia - Bombay (Mumbai), India

We travelled by YEMENIA AIRWAYS from Jeddah to Sanaa and from Sabaa to Bombay on 29th of May, 2012. Our flight number was IY 854. The flight departed from Jeddah at 17:00 on Tuesday in that flight we have boarded our luggages in the flight. We were five members of the same family.

Unfortunately when we arrived at Bombay, we didn't find our one bag which contains some valuable things which we purchased from Jeddah, it worth more than 20000 Indian Rs., Along with this bag, our ZAM ZAM drums (6 drums) did not come in the flight.

On that day when we decided to complain, the Officer incharge at Bombay console us and promised us that you will get your lost luggages on Friday. He also told that every Friday Big Flight is scheduled between Jeddah - Sanaa - Bombay. He has given the telephone number of the Bombay Office. On Friday at 8:00 AM, we inquired at Bombay Office but we didn't get any satisfactory reply from the office. The officer in charge also told there is no need to complain and worry as you will get your luggage back. But still now we haven't got our luggage.

-Haji

Delta Airline rules put new grandmother in a bad situation

2012-06-08T08:55:00.002-07:00

Date: June 2012
Airline: Delta
Location: North Carolina

The reason I am writing is because Delta cancelled a return flight that I had. I booked a round trip ticket from Colorado Springs to North Carolina for June 5th and to return to Colorado Springs on June 30th. I had to get an earlier flight out to North Carolina for an emergency delivery for my daughter's baby.

I am already in North Carolina but I needed that return flight that I paid for and already had booked so I can return home but Delta cancelled my flight and is now trying to charge me a $100 flight change fee plus an extra $700 for a new flight. It is crazy and immoral. My flight should not have been cancelled and I should not have to put out extra money. What can I do to get home because I do not have the money to get another flight? Thank you for your help!

-Karrie

American Airlines does little to help after canceling flight

2012-06-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Date: 7 June 2012
Airline: American Airlines, flight AA2401
Location: Dallas, TX (DFW)

I would like to file a complaint regarding AA lack of assistance for my parents and aunt (record locator [redacted]) to get them to their connecting flight LAX due to your canceled flight 2401 today, 7 June 2012. Final destination is Phnom Phen, Cambodia (international flight).

They were looking forward to this trip to visit their homeland after 10yrs of leaving it. But thanks to AA, their happiness have been drained from them.

It is in their policy to provide them assistance because they are the one at fault, all of sudden they canceled the 6:50am flight. Their policy is stated here http://www.aa.com/i18n/customerService/customerCommitment/conditionsOfCarriage.jsp&locale=it_IT

Basically my parents and aunt ran around like puppets at the airport today because they are unwilling to help find another flight for them, lugging with them all the boxes and luggages. AA send them back to Asiana Air but Asiana Air sent them back to you (AA). It doesn't matter what the reason why AA canceled their flight but the way I see it is that since AA is the one who canceled their flight (not Asiana) then AA should be the one to provide further assistance to get them on the next available flight out, if not today then tomorrow or the next day. I never heard of such nonsense that they cannot do anything what-so-ever!

AA have lost my whole family as a customer and we will never ever fly with them again for as long as we live. This company needs to shut down because they are in the business of customer service but they provide lack there of.

- Teri

Witness claims off duty drug use by Spirit Airlines flight attendant

2012-06-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

Date of Complaint: 1 June 2012
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Airline: Spirit Airlines

My complaint is about Spirit Airlines hiring drug users and putting passenger safety in their hands. I thought airlines had higher standards for their flight attendants. But Spirit has a FA based in Las Vegas. Her name is [redacted]. I believe she said she's been with Spirit since about March 2012.

Well, I have watched this girl smoke marijuana and take ecstasy a number of times recently while out partying in Las Vegas. All while laughing about how they can (her and her friend who is also a FA) because Spirit nor the FAA ever drug test. And if they do, it's a urine test which they can easily get around with fake urine...which is actually how they passed their initial drug test to get hired.

Is it really the practice of Spirit to hire and allow such druggies to work for them? To put customer's safety in the hands of people like this? Are the safety regulations such as drug testing really THAT easy to get around? I am DISGUSTED and I will NEVER fly that airline again and I will be sure friends of mine that fly Spirit also know this. I believe this is something the FAA should look into and drug test these girls with something more efficient than a urine test.

-Michael

Notes: AirSafe.com has no way to independently verify this claim. Also, this complaint was NOT submitted anonymously. No specific dates were given for the alledged drug use.

United fails to deliver food and is mean to an infant

2012-05-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Date: 26 April 2012
Location: Newark, NJ
Airline: United, flights UA 6127 and UA 26

(Addressed to United Customer Care)

I am writing to you regarding a recent trip that my husband, my three-month old daughter and I made to New York, Newark, with United Airlines.

Our tickets were purchased through Expedia and the flight numbers are as follows (UA 6127 and return UA 26).

On our outward journey my husband had booked a vegetarian meal for himself and a seafood meal for me from the available drop down menu. Shortly into the journey we were informed in a less than apologetic manner that there was neither. In fact there was nothing on board for us to eat. We were not on the list for special meals despite a phone call through Expedia confirming meals with United prior to the outward flight. We were quite surprised and eventually some cheese and crackers were found. On a transatlantic flight I really do not think that this is acceptable.

On our return journey my husband had again checked that there would be a meal on the flight. He had been advised by outward cabin crew to go on to the United Airlines website to confirm the return meals, which he did. He spoke to "Alex" the virtual advisor and joined the United Airlines membership and "edited his profile including meal preferences!" this was confirmed online.

We paid $394 extra for upgraded seats and were at the front of the economy cabin against the bulkhead. (Return journey seat numbers were 8F and 9E.)There was a male member of your cabin crew who was very helpful, Mr Josh Hollifield, (International Service Manager), he did provide us with a sky cot for our daughter.

However, despite being subjected yet again to your United Airlines promotional video staring "Jeff" , your CEO, telling his captive audience how all passengers on United Airlines are very well looked
after while on board one of his flights, there was again nothing to eat! Surely not twice?

Now you may be starting to think that this letter is simply from two grumpy passengers who had to survive six hours each way on a micro bag of salty pretzels. This however is not the case.

My three-month old daughter slept for most of the journey and she did not at any point need anything at all. Fortunate as there probably would
not have been a meal! I did not even have to ask for a bottle to be warmed as I am breast feeding. (I could go down the breast feeding mother needing food as a priority route but I'm afraid that just isn't me.) So all I'm highlighting is that I did not have to pace the aisle trying to comfort her or cause any extra work for your crew.

When we landed we asked for the stroller to be brought to the door of the plane so that the journey through customs would be easier. We waited while the majority of passengers left the aircraft and the ground staff at Birmingham located the stroller which was in a travel bag and brought it to the aircraft door. When it arrived my husband went to remove it from the bag and get it ready.

To my horror at this point one of your female crew, Ms Mary H., stomped back onto the aircraft and without realising that I was within earshot said in an angry tone of voice "Yes, and he's opening the buggy like it's Christmas morning!"

I interpreted this to mean that he was being very slow and holding her up as she was extremely keen to leave the aircraft. I stood up and asked her what she meant and on realising that I, and her colleagues had also heard her, she was acutely embarrassed. Eventually she apologised but this did not negate the fact that we were clearly delaying her and looking after us was certainly not on her list of priorities. Josh was horrified by his fellow colleague's behaviour and apologised profusely. We suggest you look into this cabin crew members conduct personally.

I have two other children aged 6 years and 8 years and have travelled withvarious airlines all over the world with them. I have NEVER in all that time come across such unhelpful, rude and unprofessional cabin crew. I am extremely angry at the manner in which we were treated and would appreciate it very much if you could run this experience past "Jeff" and ask him if he believes that any ofthis experience is of the standard he expects for his customers.

We are appalled and do not feel your airline has provided good customer service or value for money. The airline certainly cannot justify the premium economy upgrade costs we were charged and we expect this to be refunded in full as a minimum.

-Hiten

Flight attendant behavior causes loss of medication

2012-05-25T09:03:00.046-07:00

Letter sent to airline by dissatisfied passenger
Airline: Southwest Airlines, flight 3463

To Whom It May Concern
Re: Flight 3463 from Houston Hobby to Harlingen, Texas
Date: 6 May 2012
Subject: Alicia xxx --Flight Attendant

I realize as I write this letter of complaint; I most likely won't get a response but I feel compelled to let you know what happened to me on that flight (Flight 3463)

On Sunday evening I boarded a flight from Houston Hobby headed on a direct flight to Harligen, Texas I decided to take the very front window seat to the left of the aircraft. Next to me was a lady and her seeing-eye dog. I had no carry on bags, only my purse. To get situated I placed my purse behind my feet (with my medication on top of my bag) on the floor under the seat because I had medication to take within a 30 minute time frame.

Before takeoff, the flight attendant (Alicia xxx) yelled at me very loudly "give me your purse" initally I said, "no" but before I could explain to her i needed to get my medication out of the purse she yelled again "give me your purse". At that time I tried to fit my purse under the seat but she said, "I said give it here-someones' bag is under there". When I tried to hand it to her she jerked it out of my hand and threw it in the overhead compartment.

She then stood there, and yelled "is there a problem"? I said "no" Her response was: " I dont understand why you are looking at me like that" "Your purse has to go up top" ...I replied "I heard you the first time". She then responded "Then you need to quit looking at me and turn your head the other way" "I will have you kicked off this flight; you are looking at me in a threating manner and I'll have you kicked off immediatly". I was frieghtend that would get kicked off so I turned my head and said nothing.

She continued to yell at me stating "I dont take attitude, I will have you removed, you understand that?" Everyone around me head the exchange I was humiliated. To make matters worse, she began to call the other flight attendants up after we got off the ground to brag about how she told me off and how she put me in my place.

When the flight was over in baggage claim many passengers came up to ask me my name and stated I was treated harshly and it was un called for. I was humiliated.

As a result of her throwing my purse; I didn't take my medication. When I went to the rest room at the airport in Harlingen, my medication was nowhere to be found, nor were my keys. I am convinced that when she threw my purse in the overhead compartment that my medication fell out along with my keys to my home. Because I didnt place my purse in the overhead compartment nor retrieve it upon exit of the plane; I dont know what was left behind. My purse has no zipper so anything could have fallen out.

I feel really disrespected by how this flight attendant treated me. I flew Southwest becuase it was most cost efficient for me and you don't charge for bags and my job sends me to the Valley often and I wanted to take advantage of your frequent Flyer Program, but now I will opt to fly with United; they are pricer but at least I will have better luck not getting humiliated.

-Jessica

Mystery date change with Singapore Air

2012-05-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Two tickets were purchased and confirmed on 24 November 2011 to fly from Houston to Moscow for 30 April 2012. On Saturday 31 March 2012, I received a phone call from Singapore Air stating that we could not fly on the date of the purchased ticket and had to change the date of departure.

Initially offered an earlier date, I argued against that change since our visas would not allow us into the country for that arrival date. Then I was told we would have to go either on the 1st or 2nd of May 2012 and settled on 1 May 2012. The tickets were reissued that day with the same ticket numbers and the date of purchase (not change) was backdated to the original purchase date.

When queried about the reason for this change I was not told nor was I told when I called the airline nor was my complaint ever answered by Singapore Air. I would still like us to leave on the original date and return on the original date (22 Jun 2012). To arbitrarily change a date for a purchased ticket without any reason and tell they cannot go on that date is the height of airline arrogance. Although this is the only complaint having used Singapore several times before, this one seems to be serious.

-Jimmy

Can't fit standard infant carrier in some US Airways seats

2012-05-23T09:09:00.018-07:00

Date: 9 May 2012
Airline: US Airways, flight 1247
Location: West Palm Beach, FL

I was traveling with my 5 month old infant son as well as my 4 year old daughter and mother. My father paid for two seats for the infant, one going to Palm Beach and one for the return flight to Philadelphia There was no problem with using the baby carrier on flight down. However, on return flight, attendant said baby had to be buckled into window seat.

The infant carrier did not fit in the window seat and US Airways' attachment seat buckle did not fit around carrier. US Airways neglected to tell passenger that the older planes do not properly accommodate baby carriers on window seats, even though US Airways mandates that babies have to sit in the window seats.

I had to hold my 17 pound baby during the entire trip. Paid for a choice seat for an additional cost. Seat was never used. I am requesting a refund for the unused return flight seat. Lack of communication regarding baby travel requirements was the fault of US Airways, not the passenger.

-Kristine

United employees accused of popping slides for no good reason

2012-05-22T09:00:00.015-07:00

Date: 13 May 2012
Airline: United, flight 1098
Location: Houston, TX

I am outraged that my flight to Houston scheduled to leave at 5:01 after a 4 hour layover was sabatoged by a United employee on the arriving flight, at the gate. A mechanical delay was announced. A United employee whispered that a slide had been deployed, on the A320, at the gate following landing.

I went to the service desk and was told the plane probably would not fly until the next day and was told that this was the third slide deployment at the airport by a United employee. This is outragious, and a terrorist act as the employees are damaging and disabling airplanes.

I was scheduled to land in Lake Charles, LA at 10:55PM Sunday evening for an interview the following morning. I was forced to take a flight to New Orleans, LA which arrived after midnight and drive three hours to Lake Charles, LA arriving 3:30AM Monday morning. These United employees seem to face no consequences of their actions, but look how their actions impacted
... just me. I am outraged and want action taken against United and the terrorists!

-Richard