frontier airlines

Interminable Wait for Luggage

August 28, 2011

in Luggage Stories

Flying recently into DEN to ATL on Frontier (which surprises me to be writing this story; Frontier is my go-to airline out of DEN). All is well and good leaving DEN, everyone is friendly and helpful. Great trip so far.

Our group of 5 people decided to catch an early flight to ATL so we could get there, relax, go to dinner and just have a great time before the big event the following day… we landed just after 3:45 ATL time.

Then we landed in ATL. As we made our way to the luggage carousel for Frontier – the only one – we noticed a lot of people standing around. OK no big deal, earlier flight still picking up. But then I looked at the faces. Everyone was angry, short-fused, looking at the watch and I thought, oh no…

Our flight gets listed on the monitor – around 4:15. OK bags must be coming soon. There are four flights listed on the monitor. The belt starts up and people gather around… 5 bags come out…. the loading belt stops… 5 people from the flight 1.5 hours before pick up their bags like they won the lottery with shouts of “THANK GOD” and “ITS ABOUT F’N TIME!”

– “oh no…”

And we wait. The belt starts up again… this time 7 bags come off, some from our most recent flight — at which point the murmured swear words ripple through the crowd.

– and we wait… Belt starts up and a flood of luggage comes in… 10 bags… all together… the belt stops.

–and we wait… and wait… and wait… Clock is telling us 5:00 — at least 2/3rds of our flight, and some of the previous flights are still waiting…

Belt starts up again… and another mad rush of luggage comes out… about 40 bags. Finally the previous flights are done, and gone… but there we are.

Mind you that it’s now approaching 5:45 and half of our flight is still waiting for their luggage.

We are waiting for one more bag… just one. Then the next flight passengers arrive… and what do they see, a WHOLE bunch of angry people who have been waiting for their luggage for over 2 hours to make their way 1000 feet from the plane.

Throughout all of this half of our group went to the Lost Luggage office… which was locked, lights shut off and yet they said very clearly that their office hours were to remain open throughout the time we were there.

We went to the ticket agents; they couldn’t tell us anything other than the fact that yes, we checked luggage in Denver. We file a $1500 claim on the luggage we were missing and they said that it might be on the next flight and they would deliver it yada, yada…

So we decide to cut our loss at 6:15pm and go get our rental cars. At the rental car desk just moments before we were to depart, we get a call telling us they found the luggage. It was in the Lost Luggage office.

Apparently there is a mystery worker who has elevator access to the rear of that office who put luggage in the room, never opened the office, and left… with the doors still locked and the lights never on.

So we have to tell the rest of our group to go forward… and we return with our bag at 7:30pm

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Tagged as: baggage, carousel, frontier airlines

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Knitter Drives Passenger Nuts

November 3, 2010

in Passenger Stories

OK.  We all have had told or heard of classic airplane/airport stories.  I know when I traveled as an auditor in the early 90s I had experienced many; specifically, when a guy next to me tried to stuff his bag under my feet because he “wanted to stretch his legs during the long two hour flight.”  I know, the best was the person who wrote the airline because they were next to the restroom in the back of the plane (and had to endure smell plus the large butts in the face deal as they waited in queue) – it later hit the internet.  Yes, once I accidentally put my pinky in a guy’s drink as I grabbed mine (in that small little first class pull-out drink holder).

My story, and believe me I hate to write but feel I have to, occurred last Friday night on Frontier Airlines out of Denver.  Great airline, TVs in the seats, etc.  After an exhausting work week in the Springs (OK, it did include a great steak with my great former boss Gary), I just wanted to relax on my three+ hour direct flight.

So, I board the plane and sit in my prized right aisle seat.  Two young college girls are near each other and talking over me, so they ask if I can move to the aisle seat to the left – no big deal.

We are given the green light to take off.  BRUSH… no big deal, the lady to my left (center seat) brushed my arm.  BRUSH; hmm… this was not a bump; it was a brush.

If you don’t know, I really hate to be touched… no offense; don’t hug me!  And no guy hugs, honestly.  Just shake my damn hand.

Wheels up.  I think I’ll stretch out.  BRUSH… her right arm hit me low and DRAGS up three inches of arm.  WHAT?  I look over slightly but lean towards the middle (the classic aisle seat move for more room).  BRRUUUUUUUSSSSSH.

Brush.  Brush.  Brush.

She is KNITTTTIIIINNNNNNG yarn?  What?  OMG – does anyone actually do that; I thought it died after Rosie Greer left the NFL in the what, 1970s?

Brush.  Brush.  Brush.  WTF?

So I lean to the right more.  Seems to help.  WAIT.  This lady has two 6 inch long steel, pointed, sharp knitting needles.  Holy Crap, these are points… steel; do knitting needles (wait, NEEDLES) look like this?  They are POINTED… this be a weapon – yes.  What if everyone on the plane had these?  How could this get through security?  In any case – BRRRRRUUUUUUSH!!!!

OK.  A half hour into the flight I decided to analyze this.  Every one and 1/2 seconds I got the over, touch and up brush.  I started to run the math… this was a big number I would have to endure.  BRUSH.  Please don’t touch me.  This lady was wearing a blouse with a lot of “armage;” if you don’t know, armage is when the triceps have never been worked and flap a little; OK, so I have some too.  Thank God she was wearing full protection – no skin hitting me.

An hour into my three+ hour hell, I realized she also had two more moves; the first was the “CLEAR” move.  For those that don’t know knitting (I feel like I am an expert now), the CLEAR is when you run out of direct yarn in your queue so you have to drag up some more slack from “somewhere.”  The clear involved a violent lift of the RIGHT ARM never minding the pointed steel needle about 2 feet or closer to my head.

The second move is the full “RELEASE” – a move that was even more dangerous.  This involved her moving her right arm fully to the right toward me; this was needed when she stopped a bit while she wrote something on her notes.  Wait, what do you write?  “Made awesome clear move; cadence is down to 1 and 1/4 seconds; irritating the shit out of guy next me on plane.”

The lady’s husband ain’t no dummy; he had the window seat to her LEFT relaxing… I honestly once thought I saw him lean a little, glance past his wife, and grin ever so slightly as he saw my plight.  I bet he made the “LEFT SIDE OF PLANE” reservations.  You see, I realized a right-handed knitter doesn’t move her left arm much at all.  He was safe.

BRUUUUSSHHHHHHH.  Bam.  Bam.  Bam.  Do I tell her to stop?  And, WTF, is anyone even doing this knitting… it was the most monotonous, and stupid, thing I have ever seen; over, up, around, twist… W-THE-Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaak.   Never, ever get me anything knitted for XMAS… I Don’t Want It.

OK.  So you think I am totally nuts to even write this…Well, I went from a somewhat sane person last Friday afternoon to a person who honestly could have been committed.  I almost lost it… I honestly mean it.  But, I just could not tell a 65 year old woman with those DAMN HALF GLASSES to stop this nonsense.  She was probably knitting this for her granddaughter.  What if this flight was to London?

BRUSH.  BRUSH.  BRUSH.  The cadence seems to be even faster.  Good for her, wait, sorry – no.  BRUSH.  Lean to the right more, Paul – LEAN.  OMG, wait, she seems to be searching for me; yes, she got me – BRUSH.  This reminds me of my sister Gail’s crossed leg search under the dinner table… swing the foot ever so slightly and SEARCH until you finally catch Paul’s leg (preferably wearing dress slacks of a light color so they have to go to the dry cleaners) and then tap, tap, tap, er kick, kick, kick.  DO NOT TOUCH ME.

Three F****ing hours.  BRUSH.  And yes, the college girls to my right laughed and talked the whole way; I am SO GLAD they enjoyed themselves catching up; I am so glad I changed seats for them.  BRUSH.

You may ask: “Did she EVER stop?”  So she finally did stop.  All is good.  15 minutes to go in the flight; I was watching Sponge Bob (yes, that is a $5 investment I can’t run through my expense report) and actually was laughing.  I did it; I made it.  I did it!!!   I remained calm for three horrible hours.  I DID IT.  I… DID… IT.

WAIT – I just realized something.  She was LEANING OVER (almost touching me) and watching my TV with me – yes, with the nose down, lean, look over those half glasses deal.

- Paul

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Tagged as: frontier airlines

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Working The System

February 2, 2010

in Airport Stories

In August of 2008, my daughter, wife and I flew from St. Louis to Jackson Hole, WY with Frontier Airlines. We connected through Denver. We planned somewhat poorly, with our last day in Yellowstone being our daughter’s last day of summer vacation. But we did have a great trip… at least until our attempt to return home.

Being conscientious fliers, we arrive for our return flight from Jackson Hole two hours early. We stood in a small line at the Frontier counter, where it was immediately clear our return home would be “eventful.” All of the other passengers at the counter appeared anxious, and we quickly learned our flight had been cancelled due to… no explanation. Weather was fine. No mention of mechanical problems. No air traffic clogs.

We were “checked in” to a United flight which would be leaving an hour or so after our scheduled flight, and we would still be able to make our Denver to St. Louis flight… the last one of the day. After being “checked in” to the United flight by the Frontier counter, we were told that we needed to go stand in line at the United counter.

My wife and I took our six-year-old to the United counter where we stood in line for one hour before being told by a surly older woman that she had no record of us, and we most certainly were not on any United flight to Denver no matter what we had been told by the Frontier people.

We walked back to the Frontier counter, where we waited again. I was irritated by this point, but I did not lose my temper. When we were finally helped, I explained the situation to a diminutive older man. I told him that I was upset, and I gently demanded that we be placed on a flight from Jackson Hole to Denver. I never raised my voice. I used no impolite words.

Whoa! That little guy did not have to take that from me! He yelled full throttle, to both my surprise and the surprise of the nearby likewise frustrated Frontier customers, “I do not have to put you on any damned flight! And I won’t if I don’t want to!”

The Little Napoleon with anger issues was right. He did not have to put us on any damned flight, and my family and I were entirely at his mercy. We could not get out of Jackson Hole without his help. Furthermore, it was peak Yellowstone season, and there were no lodging vacancies and no available rental cars. At any rate, the little charmer decided to get us on the United flight. He stormed over to their counter, stormed back to us and insisted we go back an wait at the United counter.

Unbelieving, we did so. Would we miss the United flight? No worries there, it had become delayed an hour for some inexplicable reason. After another hour in line wondering if our names would show up for the old bag at the United counter, we were relieved to learn that we were in fact on the delayed flight to Denver. Unfortunately, we would definitely miss our Frontier flight to St. Louis… last one of the day. My daughter was going to miss her first day of 1st Grade, and my wife and I were definitely feeling like bad parents at this point.

I called the 800 number for Frontier to see if we could obtain help in finding another route from Denver to St. Louis. No problem said the pleasant Indian gentleman on the other end. It would only cost me three same-day full fares. Would I like to pay with MasterCard or Visa? On principle, I refused to pay. First grade wasn’t worth that much.

Pissed off at Frontier and vowing to never fly them again… and I won’t, even if they are still in business… I made it through security with my family. I walked over to the gate agent counter at Frontier to let them know how much they sucked. Of course there was no one there. They had decided to cancel their flight, so why should anyone man their gate desk? Luckily for us, some industrious Frontier employee had created a list of helpful phone numbers. Among them was a customer service number for the gate agent to call if they needed help.

I copied the number and gave it to my wife to call… better her than me at this point. The fellow at the other end demanded to know how she had come by this special number. She sweetly lied and informed him that she had been given the number by the “non-existent” gate agent. He accepted this and immediately found us tickets for an alternative airline flying out of Denver to St. Louis.

We arrive home very late that night, and my daughter was pretty tired for her first day of 1st grade… but she was there. Thanks to a little forced customer service. ;-)

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Tagged as: airport, delay & cancellation, frontier airlines, gate agent, senior citizen, united airlines

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