Ticket Troubles

August 4, 2009

in Odds & Ends Stories

My brother recently went on a class trip to Costa Rica during spring break. After they visited Costa Rica, they tried to drive to Texas to take a flight to St. Louis. They knew they weren’t going to make it on time though, so my brother’s teacher called into the airline, and the whole class got completely new tickets for a later flight. However, when they did get to Texas, and got their tickets for the flight to St. Louis, they realized an error had been made, and while their tickets said their flight was that day, it was really the next day. There were two other flights to St. Louis that day, but instead of them getting to go on the first one, people who hadn’t got new tickets the day before, but had simply waited till the airport could get them on a flight, got on! So buying the new tickets didn’t do anything!

The next flight scheduled to go to St. Louis didn’t go because of weather issues. So they had to stay the night in a hotel and the airport didn’t pay for it, or for their meals, because they said weather issues were not their fault or problem. Not only that, but the next day, St. Louis still had weather issues, so they got on a flight to Oklahoma City. That wouldn’t have been that bad, but the parents, who had been waiting in St. Louis for them (a 2 and half hour drive from where the school is) had to drive another 5 hours to Oklahoma City!!! And at the same time, my mom and I were on a flight with a crying, screaming baby.

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

david August 5, 2009 at 1:18 am

well it is true that airlines are not responsible for the weather issues, since they are uncontrolable, and if airlines payed for hotels and food due to these types of delays than there would be no airline or the ticket prices would be much higher.

and from what it sounds like, you chose to go to oklahoma city instead so you gotta take the blaim for that one, and your "contract" was originally for st louis which is where the airline would have taken you to if you decided to get the plane instead.

also your fault for not taking the chance of going to the airport, you never know if you could make a flight or not

and this isnt a flight from hell….this is a situation that you created makin it hell for the parents to drive since you couldnt stick to the plan of going to st louis

you cant blaim the airline for weather, happens to everyone

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SAW August 5, 2009 at 3:35 am

Here's my read on this… I'm certain the traveler had a VERY unpleasant end to the trip. Definitely an unfortunate situation and I think, qualifies for the "hell" category.

All that notwithstanding, entirely the passenger's fault. The airlines behaved exactly as one would expect them to.

Next time – some better planning might be in order – we learn from our mistakes. The "class trip" comment implies travelers that are unfamiliar with industry practices. So more was learned on that trip than just what they picked up in Costa Rica.

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Hugh August 6, 2009 at 12:30 am

Are you serious??? I'm sure this was a lousy, miserable trip, but also not even a little bit the fault of the airline. What would make you think that the airline would put you up in a hotel and feed you due to weather problems? This fiasco was entirely the fault of the travelers.

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Plaineir March 4, 2011 at 12:39 pm

Why didn't they try to make the flight, anyway? They might still have gotten there on time! Who knows, the plane might have been delayed. (:

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