My travel to and from Orlando...not a pretty picture!!

[goofy4tink]

Okay....I was really looking forward to flying out of Worcester on Jetblue last week...actually a week ago today! The flight was scheduled to depart Worcester at 7:45am. I got a phone call at 12:35am that morning to tell me the flight had been cancelled and a new flight had been arranged, but leaving at 8am. Okay, no biggie. Good thing I didn't turn off my 4:30 wake up alarm! I woke up, and checked my email....at 1am, JB sent me an email telling me the flight was being moved to Boston....we now had two choices. Go to Worcester and be there by 6 and get bused to Boston, or go directly to Boston. Well, dh had to be somewhere so I had him drop me at Worcester and I would take the bus. But the buses didn't get there until 7:30! We finally boarded the buses and got to Boston's Logan at 10:15! THe poor people that drove to Boston had been sitting on the plane since 8:30!!! It was mass confusion as to where to go to check our bags. I finally got on the plane, which had maybe 40 people on it. Then, only a few people boarded..then the boarding stopped. Okay. Then? 3 Mass state troopers boarded! Seems that a man, who boarded at 8:30, was peeved beyond belief about the delay. He had been yelling at the FAs about missing their first day of being in the parks, what was JB going to do to make it up to him. He went up and yelled at the pilot! Then back to his seat where he, evidently, continued cursing and yelling. I got this from the passenger behind me...he said it was really scary listening to that guy ranting. Well the troopers spoke to him, at length, then they got off. About 3 mins later, the man and his very unhappy family were removed from the plane!!! We finally fiinished boarding and departed by 11:15. JB did give us all a $100 credit, but it was a huge pain in the neck.

Then...lots of bus issues at WDW, but that's another issue, for another day.

Okay..was scheduled to fly home yesterday, again, into Worcester. Yes, it was kind of crappy weather in NE, but we boarded the plane and nothing was said. All was well until we flew over Long Island. We were then told that the plane was being diverted to Boston!!! Then, the plane made a huge right turn and off we go. We landed about 20 mins later. Once on the ground, I sent a text to dh to let him know I was on the ground, in Boston...figuring he would say he was almost there. Ah, no. He asked what the heck was I talking about? The JB people at Worcester had just told them that we were on our way in! Into Worcester! Okay... I tell him we had been sent to Boston due to visibility issues at Worcester. He told me he had once again asked if we were landing in Worcester (this was after my text to him) and he was again told 'yes, the flight would be landing in about 10 mins)..I told him no, we were in in Boston. Still the people in Worcester insisted that the flight was coming in there!! Then, he got a text, at 3:40, that our flight had arrived in Worcester! Even though we had landed in Boston, 10 mins prior to that!!!
Okay.....they send us down to get our bags..again, mass confusion. One person told us to go get our bags and return to the gate we had arrived at! Seriously? How did she expect us to get through security? So, down to baggage went. The bags were really quick in arriving. But, at about 4:00, we were told that they were bringing in buses to get us back to Worcester...but they buses wouldn't be there until 5:15-5:30! There weren't any buses available immediately! Then, it would take up to 90 mins to make the drive back due to commuter traffic. So, I wouldn't get to Worcester until 7ish, then have to drive back, towards Boston, about 25 mins to get home!
Dh said he was on his way into Boston! I called him and told him I would try to get on the Logan Express to Framingham...about half way for both of us. Having never done that before, I was pretty clueless as to where to find it, the cost, etc. Found where to go, and waited. Bus came at 4:30. Believe it or not, the man who sat next to me was a TSA agent at Logan as well as a part-time JB baggage handler!!! He told me that JB wants to add more flights out of Worcester but can't until the radar system gets the much needed upgrade, which MassPort is supposed to do!
I got to Framingham about 3 mins after dh did and was home by 6! Crazy day to say the least.

Here's my issue....did the JB people at Worcester flat out lie to the people waiting for passengers to arrive there? Or are they so clueless there that they had no idea where the plane was? I'm not sure which one is worse!! Nothing has been heard from JB as far as any compensation. While I can understand having to be diverted, especially due to weather, I thought it all was handled badly, at each airport!!
I've sent JB off an email..stating my issues. At this point, dh doesn't want to fly JB out of Worcester in January to FtLauderdale! But I don't want to pay any change fees. We'll see what JB says.

Just wanted to share for the benefit of those flying out of Worcester!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Okay....I was really looking forward to flying out of Worcester on Jetblue last week...actually a week ago today! The flight was scheduled to depart Worcester at 7:45am. I got a phone call at 12:35am that morning to tell me the flight had been cancelled and a new flight had been arranged, but leaving at 8am. Okay, no biggie. Good thing I didn't turn off my 4:30 wake up alarm! I woke up, and checked my email....at 1am, JB sent me an email telling me the flight was being moved to Boston....we now had two choices. Go to Worcester and be there by 6 and get bused to Boston, or go directly to Boston. Well, dh had to be somewhere so I had him drop me at Worcester and I would take the bus. But the buses didn't get there until 7:30! We finally boarded the buses and got to Boston's Logan at 10:15! THe poor people that drove to Boston had been sitting on the plane since 8:30!!! It was mass confusion as to where to go to check our bags. I finally got on the plane, which had maybe 40 people on it. Then, only a few people boarded..then the boarding stopped. Okay. Then? 3 Mass state troopers boarded! Seems that a man, who boarded at 8:30, was peeved beyond belief about the delay. He had been yelling at the FAs about missing their first day of being in the parks, what was JB going to do to make it up to him. He went up and yelled at the pilot! Then back to his seat where he, evidently, continued cursing and yelling. I got this from the passenger behind me...he said it was really scary listening to that guy ranting. Well the troopers spoke to him, at length, then they got off. About 3 mins later, the man and his very unhappy family were removed from the plane!!! We finally fiinished boarding and departed by 11:15. JB did give us all a $100 credit, but it was a huge pain in the neck.

Then...lots of bus issues at WDW, but that's another issue, for another day.

Okay..was scheduled to fly home yesterday, again, into Worcester. Yes, it was kind of crappy weather in NE, but we boarded the plane and nothing was said. All was well until we flew over Long Island. We were then told that the plane was being diverted to Boston!!! Then, the plane made a huge right turn and off we go. We landed about 20 mins later. Once on the ground, I sent a text to dh to let him know I was on the ground, in Boston...figuring he would say he was almost there. Ah, no. He asked what the heck was I talking about? The JB people at Worcester had just told them that we were on our way in! Into Worcester! Okay... I tell him we had been sent to Boston due to visibility issues at Worcester. He told me he had once again asked if we were landing in Worcester (this was after my text to him) and he was again told 'yes, the flight would be landing in about 10 mins)..I told him no, we were in in Boston. Still the people in Worcester insisted that the flight was coming in there!! Then, he got a text, at 3:40, that our flight had arrived in Worcester! Even though we had landed in Boston, 10 mins prior to that!!!
Okay.....they send us down to get our bags..again, mass confusion. One person told us to go get our bags and return to the gate we had arrived at! Seriously? How did she expect us to get through security? So, down to baggage went. The bags were really quick in arriving. But, at about 4:00, we were told that they were bringing in buses to get us back to Worcester...but they buses wouldn't be there until 5:15-5:30! There weren't any buses available immediately! Then, it would take up to 90 mins to make the drive back due to commuter traffic. So, I wouldn't get to Worcester until 7ish, then have to drive back, towards Boston, about 25 mins to get home!
Dh said he was on his way into Boston! I called him and told him I would try to get on the Logan Express to Framingham...about half way for both of us. Having never done that before, I was pretty clueless as to where to find it, the cost, etc. Found where to go, and waited. Bus came at 4:30. Believe it or not, the man who sat next to me was a TSA agent at Logan as well as a part-time JB baggage handler!!! He told me that JB wants to add more flights out of Worcester but can't until the radar system gets the much needed upgrade, which MassPort is supposed to do!
I got to Framingham about 3 mins after dh did and was home by 6! Crazy day to say the least.

Here's my issue....did the JB people at Worcester flat out lie to the people waiting for passengers to arrive there? Or are they so clueless there that they had no idea where the plane was? I'm not sure which one is worse!! Nothing has been heard from JB as far as any compensation. While I can understand having to be diverted, especially due to weather, I thought it all was handled badly, at each airport!!
I've sent JB off an email..stating my issues. At this point, dh doesn't want to fly JB out of Worcester in January to FtLauderdale! But I don't want to pay any change fees. We'll see what JB says.

Just wanted to share for the benefit of those flying out of Worcester!

So sorry you went through all that.......my vote on the JB people in Worcester
is Clueless....

we had the same situation with JB on a flight from Ft Myers to LGA in July while picking my son & his fiancé up......JB website showed the flight departing on time and scheduled for a on time arrival.....at LGA....all JB boards showed the plane arriving on time.....

..my husband looked on the TSA website and it showed the plane had been circling over the Carolina's for over an hour and was now diverted to Atlantic city to refuel.....when I asked at the JB counter they told me it had landed at LGA...I had to show them the TSA website...they made phone calls.....took them 15 minutes to say yes it's delayed......

.I wrote an email to JB..stressing I was not complaining about the delay due to weather but was concerned about the lack of communIcation etc...and got the standard response they are not responsible for weather delays....so I think a lot of people at JB are clueless

 

[pigletto]

UGH!!! What a mess. It seriously sounds to me like one hand doesn't know what the other is doing and they need to seriously work on their communication and alerts to staff.
I am a nervous flyer to begin with. All of the extra stress you encountered would have required more of the "Have a Happy Flight" pills than I have in my prescription.
Sorry you had to deal with all of that.

 

[jmasgat]

That's dreadful. Delays are annoying, but are exponentially compounded when the airline's response is sub-par.

For what it's worth, Jet Blue has an "automatic" compensation policy and should issue you a credit. Although for what happened, I hope you get more than specified.

http://www.jetblue.com/flying-on-jetblue/customer-protection/

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm not at all sure we qualify for any compensation! We were compensated for our flight down, but that's because we were hugely delayed in our departure time.
But we landed pretty much on-time, just in a different airport. They did provide 'free' transportation to the original airport, so we probably won't see anything.
I was really basically peeved at the lack of communication. Other choices would have been made if those sitting there, waiting for us in Worcester, had been told about the change when we were told! Evidently, there was some discussion about sending us to Bangor Maine!!! Man..that would have not been a fun bus ride home!!!

 

[ironz]

FWIW, under the flight info on flightstats, the status of the flight wasn't changed on their log to "diverted" until 3:40 p.m. (there are a couple of "redirects" before that). Which is sort of weird, since you were on the ground by 3:32. But might explain why the folks at Worchester/JB were not aware if they were looking on a computer where your flight was.

Sorry for your frustration.
....and pointing out (like I tried to on the winter coat thread) that you sometimes don't end up where you intended, so some extra care is needed with what you have with you, esp in winter travel.

 

[bumbershoot]

oh that is two travel days that just sound awful! so sorry.

Sorry for your frustration.
....and pointing out (like I tried to on the winter coat thread) that you sometimes don't end up where you intended, so some extra care is needed with what you have with you, esp in winter travel.

Good point!

 

[OKW Lover]

Wow Diane, just wow. Sure weather had something to do with the problems, especially considering that the Worcester airport typically gets the worst of the storms, but JB seems to have some communication issues. Glad you finally made it home yesterday. Wish I had more time to chat with you at the party Friday night.

Note to self: be sure not to travel with Diane.

 

[debster812]

Oh dear. Sounds like you had a debster experience. I'm sorry it was such a hassle. I bet, given you've already emailed them your concerns, when you get your follow up email or phone call, they'll change your flights to FLL and waive the fee.

We were in the air yesterday as well with Jetblue, however, we were always coming into Boston. Delayed leaving Tampa, made up the time in flight thanks to an 80kt tailwind, but gave it all back as we had to do some S turns over Providence, as Logan was down to 1 runway.

When we finally got the OK to land, I swear the pilots dove out of the sky. We came in VERY quickly, and had quite the bounce on landing.

Sounds like JetBlue has some wrinkles to iron out in Worcester

 

[jtowntoflorida]

G4T...that is a crazy story! You handled it with dignity and good humor. I'm not so sure I wouldn't be a raving lunatic after all that!

 

[goofy4tink]

I do understand the whole weather issue. It happens, especially when using an airport like Worcester. But I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that Worcester had no idea we were on the ground, in Boston. My dh knew before they did! That's a bit concerning, at least to me. They knew we were going to Boston a good 25 mins before we landed....plenty of time to let Worcester know. And to get transportation back to Worcester arranged. The gate people said what they were told to say....but never truly answered anyone's questions. In fact, they gave different instructions than the other people were giving us! Like I said, it was chaos.
The TSA/JB baggage handler I rode home with told me JB wants to bring in Airbuses into Worcester, but they can't do it until the radar is upgraded. We shall see how it all works out. I still want to use Worcester, but will expect the worst.

Missed chatting with you too Jeff, but John Hayes and his family kept me on TSM over and over! It was a good party.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I have found that gate agents are the last to know anything. They will tell us one thing but the website tells another story which is usually the right info. We had a delayed flight out of Tampa and the gate could not tell when we would be leaving so I hopped online and got the update.

In most cases the person AKA gate agent, who really needs to have the updated info doesn't get it.

 

[robinb]

What a mess! My vote would be for "clueless". I'm glad that you were able to get home earlier than if you waited for the bus.

 

[lylone]

We had a small issue getting out of MCO on 12/7 on Airtran. It seems that our flight was delayed showing on the board when we got to the gate, but there was no agent or anything to tell us when and why. Airtran's site was updated, but flightaware and etc said nothing. Our plane was delayed leaving Milwaukee, and we were told about it while we were at the gate and that our flight would be about an hour late. Of course some people had to be changed because they would miss their connecting flights and all were handled accordingly. There was one woman who was having fits about it all. Said she would never fly Airtran again and how Southwest would never have this problem. Funny.... I wondered if she saw the gate agents shirt that said Southwest on it. She griped an moaned all the way on and off the flight. Really? is it all that BAD!
I can understand Goofy4Tink's problems being crazy, and having a connecting flight issue...but really is one hour such a huge deal?

We were down there 12/2 - 12/7 and had issues with the busses too. The parks seemed to be busier than years past that week. I wonder if Disney wasn't prepared...

 

[Pooh2]

Oh, my! What a headache!
We recently debated trying Worcestor, glad we went with Boston.
Would love to see Jetblue come into Manchester but sounds like they need to smooth things out down your way first!

 

[seashoreCM]

When we finally got the OK to land, I swear the pilots dove out of the sky. We came in VERY quickly, and had quite the bounce on landing.

Sounds like JetBlue has some wrinkles to iron out in Worcester

OT: Hard put downs happen because of widely changeable wind conditions. If the pilot tried extra hard to avoid a hard put down and the wind shifted, he might not get down fast enough and might run out of runway. Shifting the takeoffs and landings to "the alternate set of runways" (thus requiring some extra S turns) is also an indication of unfavorable wind.

 

[goofy4tink]

Oh, my! What a headache!
We recently debated trying Worcestor, glad we went with Boston.
Would love to see Jetblue come into Manchester but sounds like they need to smooth things out down your way first!

When I was on the Logan Express bus, headed to Framingham, the TSA agent/JB part-time baggage handler seated next to me told me that JB had looked at Manchester but decided against it due to SW having such a big base there.

I had sent off an email to JB letting them know of my concerns....not so much the multiple diversions, but of the lack of communication. The person that responded today actually made me feel better, and that I had really been listened to! They got what I was concerned with. I was given a fairly good explanation. They did apologize for the lack of info given to the Worcester based people and said that things happened so quickly that word never got to them.

I was given a $50 credit, which was nice. They didn't have to do that since my issue was really weather related and we did arrive on time.....and we were given transport back to our airport. I wasn't looking for a credit, but merely to make sure that JB understood some of the concerns many of us had on Monday. And they did. So, I'm happy with the outcome.

 

[MonorailRed]

Wow Diane! You're like a modern-day version of Charlie on the MTA.

 

[kofslinky]

Evidently, there was some discussion about sending us to Bangor Maine!!! Man..that would have not been a fun bus ride home!!!

I would've been happy to come visit you at the airport Diane! Bangor is actually closer for me than the DIS meet was! Your story almost reminds me of a certain hobbit I know of- you made it there and back again! Glad you had a good time!

 

[goofy4tink]

Wow Diane! You're like a modern-day version of Charlie on the MTA.

Believe me...that song was running through my head several times!!!

I would've been happy to come visit you at the airport Diane! Bangor is actually closer for me than the DIS meet was! Your story almost reminds me of a certain hobbit I know of- you made it there and back again! Glad you had a good time!

Now, that would have been fun..our own private meet!!