Irritating Airtran experience in Indianapolis

[delilah]

On Dec 19, my son and I were booked on the 7am flight from Indianapolis to Orlando. To me, it seemed I had done all I could do to make things go smoothly. I printed my boarding passes on line, and prepaid my baggage fees. We arrived at the check in counter at 5:30 am. There was a long line, but, that's not unusual. But, this line didn't seem to be moving. There were 4 windows open, and two were taking care of those who didn't have bags to check, and two for those with bags. The problem was that one of the agents had a group that for whatever reason took 45 minutes to check in. We waited in line, and finally, we took about two minutes of the agents time to check in and print tags for our luggage. It was 6:30 by the time we finished, and by the time we reached the gate, it was ten minutes before the door was going to be shut. Now this is where things get really annoying. We were told we would need to check our carry on bags. I really only had a change of clothes and my SLR camera and accessories in my carry on. My camera bag was in my checked luggage, because it is too big to fit in the small (20") bag I planned to carry on. So, I removed my valuable camera from my carry on. Fortunately, I had a mesh back pack that I was able to stow the camera and the telephoto lens I had. If that wasn't bad enough, somebody else was sitting in our seats when we got on the plane. This person wanted us to sit in the middle and aisle seat even though we had prepaid for the window and aisle seat. I told her that I would get confused and claustrophobic if I didn't sit in the window seat, and she wouldn't want that to happen. We compromised, and my son took the middle seat. If that weren't bad enough, when we got to Orlando, we waited and waited for our carry on to come out on the carousel. About an hour passed, and the same few bags were going around and around, and everyone else was long gone. So, I went to the Airtran baggage office to inquire about the whereabouts of our bags. The agent there made some phone calls, and then, another agent was able to hunt down our bags, which magically had appeared on the carousel. I suspect strongly that our carry ons had been put on the next flight to Orlando, which left at 8am.

We to MME to our hotel. In a similar manner, our bags took forever to get to our room. They arrived late in the evening, after my son and I had come back from Magic Kingdom, and I had called down to the valet at the hotel to hunt them down. Once again, I suspect that our checked bags also had been put on a different flight.

So, technically, Airtran got the plane to Orlando on time, but, I suffered extremely poor customer service. I complained to Airtran when we got back home, and never received any acknowledgement of any kind. In the future, I will avoid the 7 am flight.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I understand your annoyance, but AirTran did nothing wrong concerning giving away your seats and making you check your carry-on bag. They can't control huge groups checking in or passengers who haven't a clue who hold up the line.

If that wasn't bad enough, somebody else was sitting in our seats when we got on the plane.

You arrived at the gate too late and your seats were given away. This is how it works with all airlines. I'm guessing you had to check your carry-ons because the overheads were full. Again, your fault for arriving at the gate late, not AirTran's fault.

I told her that I would get confused and claustrophobic if I didn't sit in the window seat

I would think someone claustrophobic would want to avoid being boxed in at the window. How would sitting anywhere else be confusing?

I suspect strongly that our carry ons had been put on the next flight to Orlando, which left at 8am.

If your bag was checked in at 6:30 as you indicated, then this may have happened. AirTran requires bags be checked in at least 45 minutes before flight time.

Next time, get to the airport earlier.

 

[dudspizza]

I understand your annoyance, but AirTran did nothing wrong concerning giving away your seats and making you check your carry-on bag. They can't control huge groups checking in or passengers who haven't a clue who hold up the line.



You arrived at the gate too late and your seats were given away. This is how it works with all airlines. I'm guessing you had to check your carry-ons because the overheads were full. Again, your fault for arriving at the gate late, not AirTran's fault.



I would think someone claustrophobic would want to avoid being boxed in at the window. How would sitting anywhere else be confusing?



If your bag was checked in at 6:30 as you indicated, then this may have happened. AirTran requires bags be checked in at least 45 minutes before flight time.

Next time, get to the airport earlier.

My guess is that whoever was sitting in their seats figured those seats were going to remain empty and had moved to a better spot.... then on comes OP.....

Some times things don't work out as planned, that is why it is always important to get to the airport early.

I agree with the bag check..... 45 minutes is the cut off, so the checked bags probably went on the next flight and got to MCO a bit later.... as for the carry ons, they were checked at the gate, so they were put on the plane the OP was on..... maybe they were brought up to the jetway and when no one picked them up, they brought them to baggage claim... maybe they were on the last cart coming in... who knows......

I am a bit confused as to the bad customer service received. Maybe OP isn't telling us something. Sounds like Airtran did what they would do to anyone who almost misses their flight.... they got OP to MCO on time and found their bags....... their luggage arrived later in the evening... they don't even know if it was Airtran, ME, or bell services who had the delay......

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

My guess is that whoever was sitting in their seats figured those seats were going to remain empty and had moved to a better spot.

Possible, but if that were true, a complaint to the flight attendant would have been all it would have taken to get the interloper to move.

I am a bit confused as to the bad customer service received.

I am as well.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The airline didn't give away the OP's seat. The passenger in the middle seat took the OP's seat, then refused to move into her own assigned seat. lost*in*cyberspace is correct, speaking with a Flight Attendant should have resolved the seating issue - no compromise necessary.

dudspizza is correct about the checked luggage, too. Each airline has its own time by - not at - which luggage needs to be checked. Hindsight is 20/20, but when the option is available even at a cost, curbside check-in is always faster. At any rate, my brother was once delayed flying cross-country. He got to the legacy airline's counter right at the 45 minute mark - and couldn't check his luggage. HE couldn't even get on his flight. Instead of eight hours, it took him twelve hours to get to his destination... and it took his checked luggage THIRTY SIX.

So while it's regrettable that the OP's luggage was delayed and her son didn't get his original seat, things could have been worse; and being proactive and assertive are good things

 

[Hoopfamily]

Also not to be that guy, but the Op's flight was at 7am and they showed up to the gate at 5:30. If they had been there at 5 the group that took forever would have been behind them in the line and they could have avoided all the trouble. Always early never late.

 

[delilah]

Also not to be that guy, but the Op's flight was at 7am and they showed up to the gate at 5:30. If they had been there at 5 the group that took forever would have been behind them in the line and they could have avoided all the trouble. Always early never late.

Actually, the group that took all the time was there already at 5:30. I can be proactive by booking the 8 am flight, because, quite frankly, getting up at 4 am to get onto a flight at 7am, and standing in line for 60 minutes is pushing it already. I usually get up at 5am to get to work, so, getting up then to get to the airport at 6:30 for an 8 am flight is reasonable. The Indianapolis airport itself recommends arriving 90 minutes before departure, as does the Airtran website. I already have a game plan in place. No carry on. Later flight. Check everything. Nonstop flight.

 

[delilah]

I would think someone claustrophobic would want to avoid being boxed in at the window. How would sitting anywhere else be confusing?



If your bag was checked in at 6:30 as you indicated, then this may have happened. AirTran requires bags be checked in at least 45 minutes before flight time.

Next time, get to the airport earlier.[/QUOTE]
r
FYI--In my day to day life, I am a family physician. I have treated countless patients with claustrophobia and/or motion illness related to air travel, and, also, to travel in cars. I have never had a patient, in 25 years of medical practice, who did better in a non-window seat than in a window seat in that situation. I have had friends of my son ride in my car who had such bad motion sickness that they couldn't even ride in the back seat. (Which we learned through an unpleasant experience on a road trip involving emesis). I had a friend who couldn't even ride in the front passenger seat--she had to drive. An airplane is an enclosed space where one is place in close proximity to total strangers. Anxiety in an enclosed space, is the medical definition of claustrophobia. I don't have such bad anxiety that I can't control it by being able to look out the window. I have sat in the aisle seat, I can attest that I am more anxious not being able to see out the window. Once, I even had a "window" seat without a window, and that was difficult,too.

Now, to the medical definition of "confusion". It simply means disorientation to person, time or place. I find it disorienting not to be able to look out the window. Sorry. That the medical definition of the word. I find it disorienting to be a a building where I can't see out of the windows. Some people have a better built in homing system that they don't find being in a windowless enclosure confusing. I guess not all of us are born perfect.

 

[clanmcculloch]

You seem focussed on arriving at the airport 1.5 hours before your flight as being sufficient time. With today's security and possible hold-ups with people arguing over bag fees, every recommendation I read states to be at the airport 2 hours before your flight. This would have prevented your problems.

I agree that your bag was likely gate checked. You were supposed to pick it up at the gate when you de-planed. It finally showed up on the carrousel because somebody went to get it from where you were supposed to pick it up and brought it to where you were becuase you complained. This was GOOD customer service as they were not required to bring it to the carrousel for you; it should likely have just gone to lost and found. It's quite common for people who arrive late to their gate to have to gate check their overhead carryons, especially on airlines that charge for checked bags.

You should have talked to a flight attendant about your seats. FAs are generally very good about telling people to get back to their assigned seats when they're sitting themselves down in YOUR assigned seat. You just have ask a FA for help.

 

[pilotwife_02]

I'm trying to find a spot where Airtran was at fault, but honestly I'm having a really hard time.

On Dec 19, my son and I were booked on the 7am flight from Indianapolis to Orlando. To me, it seemed I had done all I could do to make things go smoothly. I printed my boarding passes on line, and prepaid my baggage fees. We arrived at the check in counter at 5:30 am. There was a long line, but, that's not unusual. But, this line didn't seem to be moving. There were 4 windows open, and two were taking care of those who didn't have bags to check, and two for those with bags. The problem was that one of the agents had a group that for whatever reason took 45 minutes to check in. We waited in line, and finally, we took about two minutes of the agents time to check in and print tags for our luggage.

I really don't see how this is Airtran's fault. The had no way of knowing that there would be such a large group of people checking in at one time. I always make sure I get to the airport with 2 hours to get to my gate, that's the recommended time these days.

We were told we would need to check our carry on bags. I really only had a change of clothes and my SLR camera and accessories in my carry on. My camera bag was in my checked luggage, because it is too big to fit in the small (20") bag I planned to carry on. So, I removed my valuable camera from my carry on. Fortunately, I had a mesh back pack that I was able to stow the camera and the telephoto lens I had.

If you show up 10 minutes before the flight is set to depart I'm guessing that all the overheads filled up, again not Airtran's fault, this happens on A LOT of flights mid-boarding.

If that wasn't bad enough, somebody else was sitting in our seats when we got on the plane. This person wanted us to sit in the middle and aisle seat even though we had prepaid for the window and aisle seat. I told her that I would get confused and claustrophobic if I didn't sit in the window seat, and she wouldn't want that to happen. We compromised, and my son took the middle seat.

You really should have asked a FA to take care of this for you. Unless Airtran did in fact give your seat away (which I guess we will never know since you didn't ask the passenger what their boarding pass said) the only person to blame for having your seat taken away is you since you didn't speak up about it. There is no way for Airtran to know someone is sitting in the wrong seat unless the passengers speak up.

If that weren't bad enough, when we got to Orlando, we waited and waited for our carry on to come out on the carousel. About an hour passed, and the same few bags were going around and around, and everyone else was long gone. So, I went to the Airtran baggage office to inquire about the whereabouts of our bags. The agent there made some phone calls, and then, another agent was able to hunt down our bags, which magically had appeared on the carousel. I suspect strongly that our carry ons had been put on the next flight to Orlando, which left at 8am.

We to MME to our hotel. In a similar manner, our bags took forever to get to our room. They arrived late in the evening, after my son and I had come back from Magic Kingdom, and I had called down to the valet at the hotel to hunt them down. Once again, I suspect that our checked bags also had been put on a different flight.

You're probably right, they probably did get put on another flight since they close the doors to the underside of the plane a certain amount of time before leaving the jet way. Their rule of being checked in a certain amount of time before a flight is to ensure that they have an on time departure. If they don't depart on time the pilot can be reprimanded. Why should they hold a flight for a passenger who didn't get their luggage checked in on time?

So, technically, Airtran got the plane to Orlando on time, but, I suffered extremely poor customer service. I complained to Airtran when we got back home, and never received any acknowledgement of any kind. In the future, I will avoid the 7 am flight.

Again, I will say I don't see how any of the above was poor customer service. Seems like a series of unfortunate events that happened to the same person. It was like a domino effect, once you were late due to the slower than expected check in, all the following things occurred. If you were able to check in on time, I honestly don't think any of the following things would happened.

 

[dudspizza]

Again, I will say I don't see how any of the above was poor customer service. Seems like a series of unfortunate events that happened to the same person. It was like a domino effect, once you were late due to the slower than expected check in, all the following things occurred. If you were able to check in on time, I honestly don't think any of the following things would happened.

I totally agree....

 

[delilah]

Here it is, pasted directly from my original eticket confirmation:
AirTran Airways recommends that passengers arrive at the airport 90 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Due to security requirements, passengers and their baggage will not be accepted at the ticket counter less than 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Please note the minimum check-in time may be greater than 30 minutes at some airports.

Actually, the flight departure had been revised to 7:10. According to my calculations, 5:30 is more than 90 minutes before 7:10, at least in my time-space continuum.
I feel I did nothing wrong. I did everything that I could have foreseen doing to be sure we got to the airport on time, other than to be blessed with clairvoyance

 

[dudspizza]

Here it is, pasted directly from my original eticket confirmation:
AirTran Airways recommends that passengers arrive at the airport 90 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Due to security requirements, passengers and their baggage will not be accepted at the ticket counter less than 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Please note the minimum check-in time may be greater than 30 minutes at some airports.

Actually, the flight departure had been revised to 7:10. According to my calculations, 5:30 is more than 90 minutes before 7:10, at least in my time-space continuum.
I feel I did nothing wrong. I did everything that I could have foreseen doing to be sure we got to the airport on time, other than to be blessed with clairvoyance

Oh I believe that you followed directions.....

I am still confused as to where the poor customer service came in. Was an agent rude to you, did they treat you poorly, or what? They seemed to get things done on a tight timeline that you barely made, according to your above post..... you thought you were giving yourself enough time, maybe this was one of those "happens 1% of the time things."...

Again, I am just curious where the poor customer service comes in.... this just sounds like a series of unfortunate events.......

 

[delilah]

I'm trying to find a spot where Airtran was at fault, but honestly I'm having a really hard time.
Didn't have sufficient agents working to check in those with baggage in a timely manner. Only one person was working for the time that I was in line. If all of the people had taken only two minutes of the agents time, as I did for my party of two, she potentially could have checked in over 100 passengers in the time I was standing waiting.



I really don't see how this is Airtran's fault. The had no way of knowing that there would be such a large group of people checking in at one time. I always make sure I get to the airport with 2 hours to get to my gate, that's the recommended time these days.

This is logistics. As I noted above, I am a family physician. I expect that my scheduling clerk to know that a pap exam takes longer than seeing a 6yo for a sore throat. That's logistics. No, my scheduling clerk isn't responsible if my patient who comes in saying they have the flu, and in fact, they are having an MI, and it takes me 40 minutes to see them instead of 10. But, good customer service dictates telling waiting patients that there is a delay, and giving them an option to reschedule for a different time. Airtran has certain flights scheduled out of Indianapolis. They should know how many people are booked on a particular flight. Since I checked in on line 24 hours or so in advance, they even knew I had two pieces of checked luggage.





If you show up 10 minutes before the flight is set to depart I'm guessing that all the overheads filled up, again not Airtran's fault, this happens on A LOT of flights mid-boarding.

I got there 95 minutes before the flight, not 10. Based having lived in Indianapolis for 20 years now, and having flown out of the airport here probably over 100 times, I feel that given how small Indianapolis airport is, and how few flights depart from Airtran before 7am, that 90 minutes would be adequate time. In the past, when I have arrived 90 minutes ahead of schedule, I have been checked in and through security before my flight is even posted at the gate.



You really should have asked a FA to take care of this for you. Unless Airtran did in fact give your seat away (which I guess we will never know since you didn't ask the passenger what their boarding pass said) the only person to blame for having your seat taken away is you since you didn't speak up about it. There is no way for Airtran to know someone is sitting in the wrong seat unless the passengers speak up.

Nobody took our seat away. The woman moved to the aisle seat. My son would prefer to sit between me and a stranger. He was given that choice. When I booked the flight, it was a smaller plane, and there were only two seats on that side of the plane. The airline changed the type of plane and the departure time after I purchased my tickets and paid for my seat assignments.




You're probably right, they probably did get put on another flight since they close the doors to the underside of the plane a certain amount of time before leaving the jet way. Their rule of being checked in a certain amount of time before a flight is to ensure that they have an on time departure. If they don't depart on time the pilot can be reprimanded. Why should they hold a flight for a passenger who didn't get their luggage checked in on time?




Again, I will say I don't see how any of the above was poor customer service.

Good. Keep this attitude the next time you have to wait at the doctors office.
Seems like a series of unfortunate events that happened to the same person. It was like a domino effect, once you were late due to the slower than expected check in, all the following things occurred. (But, I wasn't late). If you were able to check in on time, I honestly don't think any of the following things would happened.

 

[pilotwife_02]

Good. Keep this attitude the next time you have to wait at the doctors office.

This happens to me all the time at my OB's office (I go 2-3 times a month being a high risk pregnancy). I expect to wait and make sure I make my appointments with enough cushion on both sides. I make sure I show up early and make sure that I don't have to be somewhere within 2 hours of my appointment time.

The difference is that the airlines tell you that you will need 1 1/2 - 2 hours to get from check-in to the gate, doctor's offices don't seem to be as honest about their crummy wait times.

 

[Lewisc]

Some airlines (foreign) give a couple the choice of window/middle or aisle/middle.

Not an issue if you're planning on sleeping or using your computer the entire flight. It's not really fair to sit window/aisle if you plan on talking to each other or passing stuff back and forth.

I agree with PP. Airtran didn't do anything wrong. OP didn't do anything wrong requesting window/aisle seats. It's permitted.

 

[kaytieeldr]

This is logistics. As I noted above, I am a family physician. I expect that my scheduling clerk to know that a pap exam takes longer than seeing a 6yo for a sore throat. That's logistics. No, my scheduling clerk isn't responsible if my patient who comes in saying they have the flu, and in fact, they are having an MI, and it takes me 40 minutes to see them instead of 10. But, good customer service dictates telling waiting patients that there is a delay, and giving them an option to reschedule for a different time. Airtran has certain flights scheduled out of Indianapolis. They should know how many people are booked on a particular flight. Since I checked in on line 24 hours or so in advance, they even knew I had two pieces of checked luggage.

All that is understood. What they couldn't know is - even if that large party checked in online, which it's entirely possible they didn't - that ANY single group of passengers was going to take up more than 45 minutes of one counter rep's time.
AirTran also couldn't reschedule other passengers in the line waiting to check luggage to other flights because (a) there were already other passengers scheduled for those flights and (b) since there aren't individual lines at the front counter for each individual flight, there's no way to determine who in line is waiting for which flight.

Now, any passenger in the 'checking luggage' line could have proactively approached a 'no luggage' rep and pointed out the problem; perhaps a supervisor could have stepped in, or redistributed the manpower.

If you show up 10 minutes before the flight is set to depart I'm guessing that all the overheads filled up, again not Airtran's fault, this happens on A LOT of flights mid-boarding.

I got there 95 minutes before the flight, not 10. Based having lived in Indianapolis for 20 years now, and having flown out of the airport here probably over 100 times, I feel that given how small Indianapolis airport is, and how few flights depart from Airtran before 7am, that 90 minutes would be adequate time. In the past, when I have arrived 90 minutes ahead of schedule, I have been checked in and through security before my flight is even posted at the gate.

Yes, you got to the airport in advance of the advised arrival time. You got to the gate just ten minutes before the flight departed. By the time you boarded the plane, there was no overhead storage space left. It happens. It's interesting that you've had about 100 flights with no problem, and never lauded those, yet - typical of most people - the instant something goes against expectations, choose to complain about customer service.

You really should have asked a FA to take care of this for you. Unless Airtran did in fact give your seat away (which I guess we will never know since you didn't ask the passenger what their boarding pass said) the only person to blame for having your seat taken away is you since you didn't speak up about it. There is no way for Airtran to know someone is sitting in the wrong seat unless the passengers speak up.

Nobody took our seat away. The woman moved to the aisle seat. My son would prefer to sit between me and a stranger. He was given that choice. When I booked the flight, it was a smaller plane, and there were only two seats on that side of the plane. The airline changed the type of plane and the departure time after I purchased my tickets and paid for my seat assignments.

AirTran does that, with some regularity. It's why their seat diagrams have, not two seats on one side and three on the other, but three seats on each side with the middle seat grayed-out on one side of the plane. Any flight could be 2x3 or it could be 3x3. AirTran passengers should be aware of that and choose their seats accordingly; and be willing, or at least prepared, to change seats with a middle passenger in the case of an equipment change, to keep parties together.

Again, I will say I don't see how any of the above was poor customer service.

Good. Keep this attitude the next time you have to wait at the doctors office.

Frankly, everybody's been really nice up to this point explaining why what happened truly wasn't customer service issues, but rather bad timing (and perhaps a bit of inattention, at worst, on AirTran's part at the front counter). But I'll tell you what - I'm GLAD I don't ever expect to need a doctor in Indianapolis. I wouldn't want to risk encountering one with your attitude.

 

[Lewisc]

The OP had to wait in line for an hour to check bags. That's bad customer service.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm not getting why the OP, who states that long lines at their home airport are usual, would show up the bare minimum ahead of time recommended. Forget what Air Tran tells you on their web-site. Seems if you know there is typically a long line you would add in some cushion time for yourself.

As for the rest of it, it is a giant domino effect from not putting any oops time into your travel time. It happens. Air Tran did nothing wrong.

By the way, as far as Magical Express goes, they tell you it takes up to 3 hours after you check in to your resort to get your bags. Many people mistakenly start the count down once the disembark the airplane. And being that your bags were most likely on a later flight, I think there is not way to figure out exactly when they "should have" shown up.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree that your bag was likely gate checked. You were supposed to pick it up at the gate when you de-planed.

No, if your bag is gate checked because the overheads are full, then you pick up your bag at the luggage carousel. The only time you would pick up your bag plane side after landing is when you fly a small (usually regional) jet, where all carry on bags are gate checked.

The OP had to wait in line for an hour to check bags. That's bad customer service.

Not necessarily. There may have been an unanticipated amount of pax arriving at once. The OP already mentioned a large group holding up the line. Also, the OP said he/she waited 45 minutes, not an hour.

As I noted above, I am a family physician. I expect that my scheduling clerk to know that a pap exam takes longer than seeing a 6yo for a sore throat.

Great, but what does this have to do with airline check-in times? Nothing.