Because my flight was into Charlotte, my choice of airlines was limited. Virgin America doesn’t come anywhere near here, and Southwest doesn’t either. So I had to book a flight through one of the more conventional airlines. United was the cheapest and the times fit nicely with my schedule (and that of my dad who picked me up and drove me to the mountains) so they earned my business. It was a terrible mistake.
When I arrived at SFO airport Tuesday morning at about 6:451 I went to the United section of the terminal because I had booked my flight through United and the confirmation email came from United.com. I waited in line for an unfortunately long amount of time with the awkward burden of my computer bag, a full suitcase, and my snowboard bag. Finally I reached the front and typed my confirmation number into the little monitor I was shooed towards. I was then informed that my flight information could not be processed because I was at the wrong airline. In fact, my flight was on US Airways, which was of course located at the terminal on the opposite end of the airport. Upon closer review of my confirmation email I found that this minor detail was mentioned in the small print halfway down the page. Naturally I don’t take the time to read all that, assuming that once I’ve spent the time to book the flight and gotten my confirmation number, I don’t need to waste any more time on it and can just show up and get on the plane. I guess United doesn’t necessarily mean United anymore.
So I hauled my load of bags across terminal 3, up an elevator, over to the airtrain station area, up another elevator, and then waited for the next red line train.2 I rode around the airport, got off at terminal 1, and semi-illegally took the escalators because I was too tilted to wait around for elevators. When I arrived at the US Airways station I learned that there was no seat on my flight for me because I was too late. I was bumped to the 11:20 flight, approximately 4 hours after my scheduled departure. Also, I was charged $40 for my checked bags. At this point I was none too pleased with the situation, but there was nothing to be done except go find a nice place in the terminal to sleep for the next few hours. Fortunately there was a nice row of seats without armrests right near my gate.
When I awoke around 10:50 and began boarding the plane, there was an airline official at the end of the skybridge offering that anyone who wanted to check a bag now could do so, since the plane was full. Not only that, but these bags would be checked for free. Of course when I got to the end I asked him if I could have a refund, since I had paid heavily to have my bags checked earlier. He brushed me off with some jive, and I didn’t have the energy to press the issue any further.3 My seat was, of course, cramped and uncomfortable, but that isn’t a problem of this particular airline as much as all of them. Thats what I get for being so tall and handsome.
When the plane had taken off and leveled out, the drink cart came by and I asked for an apple juice. It cost me $2. Ordinarily this wouldn’t have bothered me much, but when compounded with all of the other issues it was much worse. Its not even like it was a short flight either, this was a nonstop flight of almost 5 hours. Gouging me for a simple can of juice after an already-bloated fare and an additional bag-checking fee is simply unacceptable.
In the end, I arrived in one piece, and all of my bags got there too, but my rage continued to stew. I refrained from exploding at any of the uneducated peons working for the airline because I knew it would serve no effective purpose, and I doubt I’ll end up registering any official complaints either, because my time is too valuable to waste on that when the most I’ll get out of it is a voucher for some free juice or something. The best thing I can do is no longer support their business and encourage everyone I know to do the same. So, if you’re making travel plans in the future, I wholeheartedly encourage you to choose an airline like Southwest or Virgin America that will treat you right.4
Also, if you’re a stock trader, you might want to consider shorting their stock too. I don’t know anything about the price or trends of airline stocks, but if that is the way they are regularly conducting their business they can’t possibly be headed in a good direction.
edit 12/1/08: The Onion, hilarious as always, seems to agree!
- Part of the reason this whole process sucked so bad is that I had to wake up so early in the first place.
- obviously the last one left just as I was arriving
- I doubt he could have done anything for me anyhow as just another pawn in the US Airways game.
- Krantz has said good things about JetBlue too, but I haven’t flown with them yet so I can’t say one way or another.
No comments:
Post a Comment