Does anyone else have this much trouble with airlines?

[Shannon12]

My outgoing flight from MCO to JFK has changed departure times 3x already.

 

[jennc27]

I am always the lucky one to have the gate change. Sometimes even the terminal, and of course it is the terminal that is the farthest away and the gate is the very last one. That is a lot of fun The best time was when I flew from Kansas City to San Francicso with a 40 min layover in Milwaukee. When we landed our plan stoped on the runway. The pilot came on and said that we will be sitting here for about 30 min due to an important person is flying out and the airport will be shut down till this person leaves. Once the important person leaves (never did find out who it was) I found out that the terminal and gate I need is far far far away. Time to run! Man do I love running on the moving sidewalks. Feels like you are flying.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Transportation board.

 

[AJKMOM]

We always fly Continental and have never had a flight changed on us, never dealt with any problems really. They have always been great and the customer service is excellent.

Now obviously I've gone and totally jinxed my upcoming flights!!!

Whenever I priced out Continental from my hometown, they have decent prices until they add over $100 in fees. Not sure why everyone elses are $70 or so. We have never flown with them, the price is always better somewhere else.

 

[grimley1968]

I’m just wondering if anyone else has this kind of trouble with airlines.

A month prior to our trip we get word that Delta has decided to pull out of our local airport and our flight had been automatically switched to Detroit. Detroit is about a 10 hour drive away from where we live in New York.

My short answer is: no, I've never been treated like this by Delta, though most of my worst flying experiences have been with Delta.

My longer answer is: that is an outrage! I understand all about the contract of carriage, etc., but to automatically assume that someone from (I assume) upstate NY is going to have no problem driving to Michigan just to catch a flight is beyond ridiculous. I thought I had it bad having to drive 2.5 hours to Louisville or 3 hours to Nashville to catch cheaper flights to Orlando (Allegiant Air has changed that recently - now I only need drive to Lexington, much closer to me).

I'm glad you got them to at least get you within a 90-minute drive to Syracuse for a flight.

But I don't blame you one bit for not ever wanting to fly Delta ever again. I sure wouldn't if I got reassigned to an airport 10 hours away.

 

[onelilspark]

What's your home airport? I've flown out of Buffalo, Rochester & Syracuse and haven't had a problem. If any of those are convienent for you, I would fly out of them. They are smaller, but they're large enough that the airlines don't mess around with them too much. Down to Orlando I tend to fly out of Rochester on JetBlue or AirTran and have great luck.

 

[seashoreCM]

Last year we booked a flight out of our local airport round trip to Orlando. A month prior to our trip we get word that Delta has decided to pull out of our local airport and our flight had been automatically switched to Detroit. Detroit is about a 10 hour drive away from where we live in New York. We called Delta and were rudely told at first no refunds and Detroit was our only option. After a couple hours on the phone the best we could get was a later flight out of Syracuse, which is about 90 minutes out of our way. ?

You probably would have gotten a refund by writing a letter to higher up if the persons on the phone didn't agree first.

(we were asked to be bumped last trip, last october.) .)

It is a good idea to say "No, I'll keep what I have" if you are asked to be bumped in advance via a phone call. The airline can say they are bumping you over the phone but has to compensate you when you say no and then show up at the airport anyway.

2. It is perfectly OK to do the asking yourself after getting to the airport if the flight seems to be full, namely you volunteer in exchange for compensation.

3. The airline can tell you at the airport you are being bumped (as opposed to ask you) in which case the airline has to give compensation.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[Tozzie]

I fly delta all the time and I have never had a problem, yes they switched flight times by about 10 or 15 minutes at the most. I generally don't book airfare until about 6 weeks before my trip, in fact I just booked my flights for August on Saturday so that may have something to do with it. I know many people think Southwest is the end all airline but you could not pay me to fly with them, I am not sitting by my computer with baited breath to check in and hope I get a good boarding number then have to worry about checking in when I am on vacation and unable to get to my computer, no thanks. I also refuse to go batty worrying about if I got the best fare and checking the computer daily, sorry not for me. I will stick with Delta, they never did me wrong, I am also lucky to live about 20 minutes from 2 major airports so flnding flights is not a problem.

 

[pooch]

I am not sitting by my computer with baited breath to check in and hope I get a good boarding number then have to worry about checking in when I am on vacation and unable to get to my computer, no thanks.

Aw shucks, that's half the fun!!!!! I hope you're right about Delta because, against all better judgement, I booked our flight down on them. Talk about sitting by my computer with baited breath! I check the Delta site every 1/2 hr panicked that they've changed my perfect flight time on me!!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ah, so Continental does have the same problems

All airlines do (even Southwest, a very little tiny bit - they've cancelled an occasional flight in advance, but rarely).

NOT excuse, merely explanation: In 2008, airlines cut flights as the year progressed, due to the high cost of fuel. In 2009, they're doing the same thing but due to the economy. Fewer passengers flying, fewer planes needed. They wouldn't necessarily be able to determine this 331 days in advance - although JetBlue is playing with its schedules, and they generally don't release them until just a few months in advance.

 

[iheartpeterpan]

I am always surprised to read all the issues people have with delta. I am a Delta frequent flier, I try to fly Delta whenever I can - I have been everywhere with them (international, cross-country, etc.) and have NEVER had an issue with them.

 

[DisneyWalker44]

No, I don't have that much problems with the airlines - in part because I fly Southwest 2/3 of the time. The best airline flying, by a wide margin.

One fun Delta story... the only time they've ever changed a flight on me was during Christmas (when every flight is 101% full, so if something goes wrong you are in big trouble.) Delta apparently thought it acceptable to tell us 3-hours ahead of time that our flight out of EWR was canceled, but they had rebooked us out of JFK. Which might be fine if we were coming from Manhattan. Not so fine coming from New Jersey. Somehow we manage to scramble to JFK in time (cursing Delta every step of the way) only to find out that Delta had managed to accommodate us by putting us on the only possible empty seat they could find, which happened to be out of JFK, and happened to be in First Class. We forgave Delta, but took every advantage of the free drinks!

 

[emmaleigh47]

Oh my goodness!!!! You saved a man's life! I hope they at least put you into a club lounge to wait for the new flight!!!

Surprisingly enough, that is not the first time I had had to do CPR or use the AED on a scene. Husband still cringes when we go to Disney World. 5 years ago, an elderly woman went down outside of Body Wars after riding it. I dont think my husband really knew what I did until that moment; I was relatively calm because unfortunately, its just another day in my world!

 

[dis-happy]

Surprisingly enough, that is not the first time I had had to do CPR or use the AED on a scene. Husband still cringes when we go to Disney World. 5 years ago, an elderly woman went down outside of Body Wars after riding it. I dont think my husband really knew what I did until that moment; I was relatively calm because unfortunately, its just another day in my world!

I had an echo done today, and am hooked up to a 24 hr. Holter monitor as we speak. Can I travel to WDW with you, just in case????

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

No travel troubles here....I stay with my favorite airline - Southwest.

The advantage of posting schedules only 4 - 6 months out is....they have a better idea how to react to changes in flying patters. This means fewer, if any, schedules are changed.

Oh yes, and fewer fees - no bag fees and even better, if the cost of your flight goes down, just re-book it and save the extra $$$ for your next flight - no penalty.

Ok, I'll take the cheerleading outfit off.

 

[emmaleigh47]

I had an echo done today, and am hooked up to a 24 hr. Holter monitor as we speak. Can I travel to WDW with you, just in case????

Hubby and I are going in October if you will be there at that time. I hope everything is okay with you.

 

[DisneyDad1964]

I’m just wondering if anyone else has this kind of trouble with airlines.

...This trip we booked through US Airlines. We selected a late afternoon flight so we would not need to take our child out of school for an additional day and because my wife was out of vacation time. I just happened to check our info online today (being paranoid with our last experience) and I big error message pops up saying I need to call US Airways because my flight had changed....

We had a very bad experience with US Airways a few years ago flying to Puerto Rico and swore we'd never fly with them again (despite the $200 in vouchers they gave us for losing our luggage). We landed on our flight from Detroit to Phil on time and they informed us of a 12 hour delay for the flight from Phil to San Juan. The plane was enroute from England. We eventually got on another flight, but our luggage did not. The original flight was actually 15 hours late- with our luggage.

The last two years we've flown AirTran to Orlando and have LOVED it! The latest any flight has been has been 20 minutes and that's only because of a long line of planes waiting to take off. We've been very happy with AirTran and their service.

 

[uva185]

It seems most people posting in this thread are unaware of the rules and rights they have in regards to air travel.

When the airline makes a significant* schedule change per the contract of carriage you are allowed a complete cash refund or the option to change your flights to a more desirable time (or city pair if service was discontinued). THIS IS YOUR RIGHT PER THE CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE!!

I am not defending the bad rude agents out there but it really helps to know the rules and rights you have before traveling.

*significant is defined differently for each airline but it is published policy. Before you book 330 days out call the airline and find out how they define significant

 

[DisneyWalker44]

It seems most people posting in this thread are unaware of the rules and rights they have in regards to air travel.

The fact that an airline had the right to mess up a family's plan by moving flights around doesn't make it any less unpleasant for the affected family. And a full refund doesn't necessarily do a bit of good if the family still has to book another flight - all of which may be much more expensive.

 

[uva185]

The fact that an airline had the right to mess up a family's plan by moving flights around doesn't make it any less unpleasant for the affected family. And a full refund doesn't necessarily do a bit of good if the family still has to book another flight - all of which may be much more expensive.

No, but the family does have the right to pick different flights that are more accommodating to their schedule. Instead of posting how XXX airline ruined your trip, find alternate flights, call the agent and ask to be put on the flights that work best for you.

When you buy an airline ticket you are essentially entering into a contract with the airline to transport you from point A to point B on a particular date. There are provisions in that contract that allow the airline to make changes. Yes, it is inconvenient when a change disrupts travel plans but it is written into the contract.

It seems a lot of people posting complaints about schedule changes don't know the rules and their rights. A little reading and research can go a long way when dealing with airlines these days. Even as a frequent flyer I have to argue with agents to get them to follow a rule. I can't count the number of times an agent told me one thing, I knew she was wrong, and it took a supervisor to agree with me.