Do we/should we have any recourse Airtran

[momoftwins]

We had a flight back from MCO on Friday 1/3/14 to PA.

When DH went to check in online, it would not allow him but said to call Airtran. Understandable since there was the major snowstorm in the NE.

He was told our flight was canceled and we were rebooked. Lucky we were able to get another SSR room for the night.

(I do digress here, since this is my PSA. When I looked at the email they sent us on the rebook, lo and behold they booked us 1/4/14 at 9:40PM from MCO to ATL and 1/5/14 9:00PM ATL to PHL). I just happen to read the email several hours later. Called back Airtran explained we were told our flight was canceled and when they rebooked us they made an error. Their reaction: "well that's strange the days ended up that way! That's impossible! Guess it wasn't. They fixed it and rebooked us correctly on 1/4. So my PSA, check those emails!!)

Later on 1/3, we get a text from a flight service saying our original flight was delayed and taking off at 11:00PM. WHAT????

We called back Airtran and asked why our cancelled flight was now flying. They tripped over themselves with excuses, often conflicting from one excuse to the next. Too many to go through here. My DH asked the Rep for a Supervisor and was told no. Not a good thing.

The Supervisor finally made it to the phone, and had no reason why this happened. Told us he could not help us and gave us the Corporate #.

Are there any FAA rules on this type of thing? Our original flight was not cancelled, but we were! Are we entitled to any compensation?

 

[Halle]

Air Tran IMHO is not trustworthy. We too have been on the receiving end of their spin of the truth. So sorry to hear that it happened to you and your family.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

What was the flight number? You can go here to look and see what really happened to your flight:

http://flightaware.com

It is possible the flight was cancelled and then was put back on the schedule.

Airlines set their own rules for compensation in these cases, not the FAA. You can always complain to AirTran and ask for compensation; it's possible they'll give you some FF miles.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Was it a nonstop, or with the late departure would you have been stuck in ATL?

 

[momoftwins]

Thanks for your comments. No our flight was nonstop.

It was actually Flightaware that sent us an email that the flight was delayed to the 11:00 time.

DH is calling them tomorrow.

 

[Huff]

It is my understanding that FAA stipulates compensation if delay or cancellation is not caused by weather. May have to dig up the FAA regulations when calling the airline if you get a quick no.

 

[gdrj]

With AirTran being part of SWA it makes me wonder. I've had SWA flights in the past that were "cancelled due to weather" or delayed.

Not the same as in your case but I have had flight cancelled where conveniently they were able to book passengers on the following two flights instead. To me it seemed more of a ruse to fill 2 planes with customers from 3 flights when flights weren't booked solid.

I think if you bark loudly they may compensate.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

It is my understanding that FAA stipulates compensation if delay or cancellation is not caused by weather. May have to dig up the FAA regulations when calling the airline if you get a quick no.

That is not correct. As I previously posted, compensation policies are set by individual airlines, not the FAA.

 

[Lewisc]

Sounds like your original flight was either cancelled (and later restored) or AT anticipated cancelling the flight. I'll speculate the weather cleared up enough to allow the plan to go where it would be needed the next morning for a flight to Orlando (or some other destination).

Compensation isn't owed for weather related issues.

Would you rather have waited in MCO for hours? Not knowing if your flight would be taking off? Knowing AT didn't think the flight would take off?

Assume the flight never took off and you later found out AT thought they had a 10% chance of flying.

You're assuming flightaware is accurate.

 

[jdh008]

The OP is not the only one that dealt with this issue. While I was standing in the two-hour line to check my bags on the morning of 1/4 at MCO, the guy in front of me told me the same story. He saw his early A.M. flight to Baltimore (I think) was cancelled and he was planning to just show up to the airport and try to get on a later flight. We can argue about whether or not that was a good strategy on his part, but that's a conversation for another day.

Anyhow, he woke up that morning and went to look at available flights and saw that his original flight was departing. By that point, it was obviously too late for him to catch it.

I just think this past weekend was a cluster(you know what) for everyone involved in the airline industry.

 

[bumbershoot]

Our original flight was not cancelled, but we were! Are we entitled to any compensation?

Was the flight on the 4th honored? There should be a trail showing what happened when, because you were informed by AT, they changed your flights, and then you changed them again with their help. And the. They can see if your originally booked flight did fly.

Sounds like the reps were confused because it was a weird situation!

 

[Kimmy629]

I worked for AirTran for a few months out of Ft. Myers, FL. Cancelled flights were a nightmare for us!! But, what I really wanted to say (although it has absolutely nothing to do with this thread), is that we actually sent a plane out from Ft. Myers to New York with ONE passenger on it!!!!! Another plane went out with 2 passengers! To this day I cannot figure that one out!!!!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I worked for AirTran for a few months out of Ft. Myers, FL. Cancelled flights were a nightmare for us!! But, what I really wanted to say (although it has absolutely nothing to do with this thread), is that we actually sent a plane out from Ft. Myers to New York with ONE passenger on it!!!!! Another plane went out with 2 passengers! To this day I cannot figure that one out!!!!!

It's likely the plane had to be in NY for another flight.

 

[Skywise]

That's typical for my experience with AirTran.

There was one connecting flight I was on in ATL that had been delayed for 4 hours. I talked to the gate attendant and she said it's possible that it would actually be 5 hours. So I went from that concourse C to concourse A to eat at a restaurant there. Come back an hour later to find that the flight has been rescheduled to Concourse D and was taking off in 5 minutes.

No text message from the AirTran service that I was registered for. No update on their website on the flight change (that I had been checking during dinner). The airport screens HAD been updated, however but in ATL you can't see AirTran's flight times if you're on a different concourse (unless you're downstairs by the tram which shows all flights).

So we race down to D and, of course, miss the flight along with about 10 other people. The attendants were less than helpful, basically tossing up their hands and saying there was nothing they could do and they could put me out on a flight first thing next day.

I still fly AirTran as I mainly fly into Florida a bit and there's really only 3 carriers that cover my destinations (Delta, US Airways and AirTran... Occasionally Southwest but I usually have to fly out of my way to get to my destination) but they're the last I'll pick.