fees

This took place in October of 2011, as always with United and purchased through Expedia.

I had a flight from Montreal to Costa Rica. I had checked prices and they were around $900 round trip. The day I come to make my purchase, the price has jumped to $1300. Fearing that it will only go higher, I purchase the ticket using some $900 in credit which means I also have to pay a change fee. The worst part is that the return flight available has a 6 hour layover in Newark.

About a week later, the price is back down to $900 or even less, and there is a return flight available with a one hour layover. So I pay another change fee, and purchase this ticket to save myself some time.

I go on my vacation as scheduled, and when it’s time to come back home, I go to checking online, only to realize that my flight has switched back to the one with the 6 hour layover. I spend the night on the phone with United and Expedia, but no one can tell me why I got bumped to another flight. The only thing I get is that the flight must have been cancelled. This was a very frustrating experience, since I had to use Skype to call and it would cut off just as I had finished explaining my story. I must have talked to at least 4 or 5 different agents at Expedia and United.

Due to lack of choice, I take my flight, get to Newark, and find that the flight I was supposed to take is still there, on time, with seating available. Great, I don’t have any bags checked in; I am at the gate as they start boarding.

After talking to the agent, she says that she cannot switch me over since there is not enough time and she cannot delay the plane. When I ask why I was switched from the flight, I get no response. To be fair, I don’t know if it was the airline or Expedia, but I have an email from Expedia showing that my flight was supposed to be the earlier connection.

So over $300 in change fees and taxes and I still get screwed. How are the airlines getting away with this?

FacebookShare

{ 0 comments }

This isn’t so much one specific flight from hell, but more of EVERY flight that I’m on ever since airlines found a way to gouge even more money out of fliers by charging for checked baggage. I’m a frequent flier and also have one of those airline-partnered credit cards, so I don’t pay for checked bags to begin with. But I’m so tired of being the last “zone” to board because I am seated near the front of the coach cabin, only to find that the overhead bins above my seats are full of carry-on luggage by first class passengers! I’ve already checked my bags to cut down on the demand, but I often have a laptop which must go in the overhead bin because I’m seated against the bulkhead where there is no other option than the overheads.

Then when everyone is scrambling to retrieve their bags upon landing, it infuriates me when a passenger that has stored their bag nowhere near their seat insists that everyone pass their bags forward (all the while bumping people’s heads, etc.) so that they can deplane!

If you’re in first class, you should either store your bags in the first class cabin or check them like everyone else. Do not take the overhead space in economy and expect everyone to help you collect your bags upon landing. You can just sit in your comfy first class seat and wait on the rest of us to deplane and then retrieve your bags!

Remember when the cost of jet fuel (and oil in general) skyrocketed in 2008 and airlines just HAD to do something to cover the higher cost of fuel, so they started charging for checked bags? Well now that oil/fuel prices have come back down to the pre-sky high days, the airlines will NEVER stop this revenue source. But they now need to solve the problem that THEY created and monitor the use of overhead bins.

P.S. The same goes for people who are seated at the rear of the plane that fill up the space at the front of the coach cabin as they’re boarding because they’re “not sure if there will be space when they get back to their seat!”

FacebookShare

{ 18 comments }

I’ll say it right away: This one’s my fault.

First, some background: I’m an American studying on exchange for a year at a Dutch university. I’d managed to arrange my classes such that I could leave the beginning of December and return in March. I’m a Floridian, see, and I decided that this time I was going to be the one who comes down to Florida from up north to spend the winter. Amusingly, it snowed the day after and the day before I arrived, but I have never seen snow in the Netherlands. And that was the goal.

About a month before classes would start, I started looking for a ticket online. I should have done it sooner, but I didn’t. I saw an ad for airfare.com, and a lot of their flights seemed really cheap. I saw that my connection would be in DC and I jumped on what seemed to be a great offer.

Afterwards, they sent me info stating that I’d have to change airports as I would be flying to Reagan National from home, and then from Dulles to Amsterdam. They also sent me an email asking for copies of my credit card and passport. Hell no, I thought. I jumped on Google, like I should have before buying tickets, and saw loads of people complaining about the quality of service – not to mention the more important matter, which is the likelihood of actually getting on a plane and flying somewhere.

I contacted the airlines (one leg was US Airways and one was AA, I think) and talked to both about my tickets, they both confirmed I was in their computer systems. I booked seats no problem. They insisted that because I’d bought the ticket all at once I would not have to pay for my baggage when I went from Reagan to check in again at Dulles. I don’t really know why I believed them.

As weeks went by I periodically worried about my tickets and whether I’d have a seat, so I’d call the airlines here and there to confirm everything was okay. I called airfare.com’s office and they said I was okay. I didn’t mention the creepy form about the credit card specifically, but I did ask whether they had all the information they needed. Guy on the phone said yes.

As the day of the flight approached I felt pretty comfortable. I figured I’d done everything I could about a bad situation.

I was annoyed when I woke up the day of the flight with a terrible sinus headache, my throat on fire, and my nose dripping. I took some DayQuil, blew my nose and got ready for what would be a long day.

The flight was no problem, I got my tickets and everything. Flew into Reagan, got my bag quick – first one out! – and left. I took a cab from Reagan to Dulles, where I was surprised to be told I would have to pay to check my bags in. I tried arguing, a supervisor came over. He told me there was nothing he could do and told me that it was best to take it up with the airline about a refund. Fair enough, so I paid my fifty bucks and checked my bags.

I sat for my 5-hour layover. Eventually I got on the plane. I’d planned to drink a little whiskey and relax, but when I got on I just felt miserable. So I blew my nose and sat quietly, watching the in-flight movies. Eventually I landed, about 24 hours after I’d gotten to my original airport. I went to my apartment and fell asleep first thing.

The flight itself was pretty miserable, and the worry leading up to the flight wasn’t so great either, but as a poor college student I was just doing what I could with my limited financial resources. In spite of the $100 between the taxi and checking my bags in again, I still spent a good bit less than the next cheapest flight I had been able to find online. And really, I’d gotten to where I wanted to go.

FacebookShare

{ 4 comments }

I have always flown on Southwest Airlines for my travel needs. So when I found out I had to fly on Delta for a business conference, I was not exactly thrilled. Aside from having to pay for my luggage (yes, even carry-ons), I never really cared for their hospitality.

I was flying from Tampa, FL to Atlanta, GA, and from Atlanta to Huntsville, AL. The first one hour-and-something flight was fine, save for a slight delay. However, the second hourlong flight was TERRIBLE.

First, Delta has assigned seating. I always choose window seats; it’s not everyday one gets to see his world in miniature. So, naturally, I was a little bit upset that my seat was already occupied. I was about to ask for him to move, but decided not to when I saw that the man looked… shady, to say the least. Not wanting to mess up the seating assignments any further, I took the seat next to him/mine. No sooner did I sit down was I presented with an awful, almost illegal smell. The man smelled and looked like he just smoked a pack of cigarettes, at least a few blunts, and then topped it off with a few swigs of whiskey.

I was not sitting for more than a few minutes and I was completely overwhelmed with his stench. I was afraid I would show up at my meeting with bloodshot eyes and reeking of smoke.

After leaving the gate, the flight attendant removed two small children from the front two seats, leaving them empty. Seeing no one else sit there, I decided to make my move to the front. I settled in, and thought that I would have a smoke-free flight. However, the attendant jumped up, telling me I had to immediately return to my seat, and that the other children were moved for weight reasons. Horrified, I returned to my seat next to the shady man, and he stared at me like he knew why I left.

However, the attendant saw that I was only a few seats back, and told me I could return to the front, thinking I had come from the back of the plane. At last, I could enjoy the trip in peace!

The rest of the flight was enjoyable, more or less. It was the longest hour and 3 minute flight of my life, though with the time change THE ENTIRE ORDEAL LASTED NOT LONGER THAN THREE MINUTES…

=====================================================

So now I am returning from the aforementioned business trip on Delta Airlines. Thankfully, the return trips were less eventful. I got an extra hour and a half delay added to my three hour layover in Atlanta, and they moved my gate down about 10 numbers.

I did not think twice about the gate change until I finally got home to Tampa. My bag was not waiting for me there. Groggily I went to the Lost Baggage department, who told me that my bag decided to see the World’s Fair IN SEATTLE for a few extra days without me. He said this happened because of the gate change.

Two very long days later, my bag showed up at my doorstep, in worse condition than I left it in. It was searched and all of my items, cloths, books, souvenirs, etc were thrown about, some damaged, and spilled about the bag. Needless to say, I had to buy new luggage.

And to think, Delta charged me (and everyone else) $15 for any type of bag.

I can’t wait to go to my conference again next year.

FacebookShare

{ 12 comments }

Flight Delays And Luggage In Limbo

April 23, 2010 Luggage Stories

I recently took a trip from Long Island, NY to Cincinnati, OH on US Airways Express (Air Wisconsin). I haven’t flown US Airways in a long, long time, but they were the cheapest available. I arrived at the airport, checked in fine only to discover that they are now charging $25.00 to check bags… that’s [...]

Read the full article →

Berated Over Overweight Bags

April 20, 2010 Luggage Stories

My family flew to Vienna with Austrian Airlines. Two of our luggages were 1 kg overweight. The flight attendant, Susan, who was checking us in, decided to start screaming at us about how we obviously can’t read because the maximum amount of kilograms permitted is 23. My mom proceeded to start emptying her hand bag [...]

Read the full article →

Done With Delta

March 22, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

On 01/2009 my family and I were returning home to Houston on an overnight flight from Guayaquil with a connection in Atlanta after enjoying a wonderful trip to the Galapagos islands. Unfortunately, we were not ready for the surprises that were to come. The first shock hit us in Guayaquil when a Delta checking official [...]

Read the full article →

Furious About Fees

March 16, 2010 Luggage Stories

Recently I flew with my daughter from San Jose to Dallas. It was my 2 week vacation to my brother’s place. Not knowing that American Airlines was charging me for luggage, I ended up paying $30 for my 2 bags. I was furious but could not do anything at the last moment. I just could not [...]

Read the full article →

Bummed Out Over Paying For Blanket

January 31, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

I was travelling from San Francisco to Vancouver, BC to visit family and I was 6 months pregnant. I was flying alone, and although I was having a good pregnancy I would easily get cold, hungry, etc. I would carry granola bars, etc. in case I got hungry, but I got cold on the flight [...]

Read the full article →

Cell Phone Conflict

October 19, 2009 Attendant & Pilot Stories

I was flying US Air, going home to Seattle from Atlanta for Thanksgiving. First of all I’m already mad that I have to pay $15 to check my bag. Now I am playing video games on my Cell Phone which has the option to shut the phone and wireless off and just use the computer portion [...]

Read the full article →

Page 1 of 212