Good for United Airlines.....
- Thread starter EERs 3:16
- Start date
That's ridiculous. Delta incentivises volunteers through vouchers. I've volunteered numerous times. Last one was a couple of months ago and got a $900 voucher.
Delta just loses your luggage then doesn't you speak to a live individual about when you can expect your luggage to show up. Instead relying on automated messages of "in route".
My step daughter is still, 3 days later, waiting on luggage, and has no one to talk to about it.
Like all fliers, I've had my share of experiences on airlines where I've rolled out the "I'll absolutely never fly _______ again as long as I live" proclamation over the years. And of course, that lasted up to the next time where _______ had the right schedule.....or non-stop flights.......or the lowest fare.......or worst, all three......which blew my threat to smithereens.
I honestly don't focus this toward you personally, bama.....as I said, at one time or another, everyone who flies commercially has blown a gasket at an airline who treated us seemingly like garbage. We also know a major part of the problem are required connections through too-easily-bruised hubs like ORD, ATL, or CLT (and others).
I was following Delta's extended saga in the Southeast last week while attempting to depart Tampa on Friday morning. In fact, a scheduled attendee at our meeting got marooned in ATL on Wednesday night trying to return home to Tampa, and was at 33 hours and counting trying to get out when our meeting finally adjourned on Thursday afternoon..
Probably 95% of the time, I'm connecting thru ATL in the South on Delta (or CLT on American). But this was one trip I was thankfully able to book a reasonably priced non-stop (more and more uncommon from CVG these days) round-trip last week, which meant the worst I dealt with was a 1 hour departure delay.
So why do you say 'good for United Airlines"? This is abysmal customer relations.
The second time we ended up in a hotel overnight, we realized that this was a trend for this flight and it would be stupid to repeat it. So when I go to kayak to book a flight, the first thing I do is uncheck United from the airline list.
Weird, I can track my bags on my Delta App. I see where they are, when they are loaded/unloaded on the plane etc. I've had a couple of instances of my bags not making it due to short connections, but I always carry on an outfit for that purpose. When they haven't made it, they shuttle my bag to where I'm staying, hotel, house, etc. that night or first thing in the morning.
How is this good for them? They look like the gestapo dragging someone off a plane.
I love this tweet:
DELTA: *cancels thousands of flights and blames week-old storm* haha we're literally the worst airline
UNITED: hold my beer
— dan mentos (@DanMentos) April 10, 2017
DELTA: *cancels thousands of flights and blames week-old storm* haha we're literally the worst airline
UNITED: hold my beer
— dan mentos (@DanMentos) April 10, 2017
I'm still astounded by this practice of overbooking and then ripping the seat out from under a paying customer. I can't imagine if it happened to someone desperately in need of the flight, like my brother who used to fly his son for cancer treatment.
You know, bornan, I've spent a fair amount of time at ATL myself; and with just a couple exceptions, have generally found it to be a surprisingly efficient operation considering the size and sheer number of flights it accommodates. Not saying I wouldn't prefer to avoid it, but I'll certainly choose ATL over CLT in the southeast (and over the consistently miserable ORD).
The only thing about ATL I don't like is the fiasco required to get over to the car rental area.
I live here so usually it's my destination point unless I'm going somewhere else. I have to reluctantly agree with you. Moving from one terminal to the next on that tram is the worst. It is a hopelessly inefficient design and layout.
I agree with this in terms of the sheer volume of flights and passengers that pass through here. But it is a very inefficient design considering its size IMO.
Ironically, I've always thought a "hub and spoke" design for the Airport itself would work better considering it is a hub and/or connecting point for so many other carriers.
But I'm not an airport planner.
After United's demand for volunteers turned bloody, one woman cashed in on delayed and cancelled flights, big time.
Whether or not to give up your seat on an overbooked flight is one of travel’s great toss ups: You can do a good deed, take the cash, and put your fate in the airline’s hands (hoping to successfully be placed on a plane the next day); or you can go along your merry way as planned. But over the course of what turned out to be a disastrous weekend for Delta—the airline cancelled about 3,500 flights because of widespread thunderstorms—Forbes contributor Laura Begley Bloom, a New York-based content strategist, benefitted from the former option to the tune of more than $10,000.
In a piece for the site, she details how strategically giving up three seats on three different flights (her original flight on Friday, two re-booked flights on Saturday and Sunday, and a refund for the original flight fares) over the course of a few days led to a big payout: $11,000.
All cash was offered in the form of gift cards, including those to Target, Macy’s, and Best Buy, Begley Bloom tells Condé Nast Traveler, adding: “We took the compensation in American Express gift cards because they can be used wherever Amex is taken. The cards expire in six months.”
Today, Delta flights are returning to normal. But while she got away with $11K, Begley Bloom is still dealing with the fallout of the airline’s other issue, stranded luggage. Hers made it to Ft. Lauderdale without her.
Whether or not to give up your seat on an overbooked flight is one of travel’s great toss ups: You can do a good deed, take the cash, and put your fate in the airline’s hands (hoping to successfully be placed on a plane the next day); or you can go along your merry way as planned. But over the course of what turned out to be a disastrous weekend for Delta—the airline cancelled about 3,500 flights because of widespread thunderstorms—Forbes contributor Laura Begley Bloom, a New York-based content strategist, benefitted from the former option to the tune of more than $10,000.
In a piece for the site, she details how strategically giving up three seats on three different flights (her original flight on Friday, two re-booked flights on Saturday and Sunday, and a refund for the original flight fares) over the course of a few days led to a big payout: $11,000.
All cash was offered in the form of gift cards, including those to Target, Macy’s, and Best Buy, Begley Bloom tells Condé Nast Traveler, adding: “We took the compensation in American Express gift cards because they can be used wherever Amex is taken. The cards expire in six months.”
Today, Delta flights are returning to normal. But while she got away with $11K, Begley Bloom is still dealing with the fallout of the airline’s other issue, stranded luggage. Hers made it to Ft. Lauderdale without her.
The Dr. more so at least as judged by what has been released and shown. He was asked to leave his seat because of over booking and he, apparently, refused to do so. He made his stand and the authorities took action. It is generally accepted that under such circumstances the displaced passenger receives one or more free tickets and is booked on a similar flight to destination with minimal delay. The Dr., seems to have shown his a$$ and the authorities would have none of it. He must have considered himself too good and important to suffer through such a minor inconvenience. If I have the facts correct and there are no other over reaching details, I can only applaud the airline authorities for doing what was necessary. Not a popular conclusion, I am sure, but nonetheless the proper decision, as I see it.
It's not a good look for UA, heard it was the #1 viral video (not well received) in China where they are trying to grow their market. It won't help their business anywhere else either. The CEO continues to blame the passenger not their procedures/policy. Surely they can better incentivize passengers in order for the needed number to leave the flight willingly.
The old man clearly escalated the situation with his belligerence
and hysterical screaming. Still, UA (and the police) created a problem which almost assuredly could (and SHOULD) have been addressed before passengers ever boarded the flight.
Aside the airlines' overbooking routine......which justifiably pisses off anyone who buys a ticket......the thing which makes me personally angriest in this situation is the priority given to the UA crew members riding jump over paying passengers.
and hysterical screaming. Still, UA (and the police) created a problem which almost assuredly could (and SHOULD) have been addressed before passengers ever boarded the flight.
Aside the airlines' overbooking routine......which justifiably pisses off anyone who buys a ticket......the thing which makes me personally angriest in this situation is the priority given to the UA crew members riding jump over paying passengers.
Overbooking? That's the bs in this story. The airline industry allowed to sell seats they don't have in order protect against "no shows"??
Let's see them try that at a Patriots game.
I don't even understand the legitimacy of the process.
Let's see them try that at a Patriots game.
I don't even understand the legitimacy of the process.
How about UA renting a private plane to fly their employees to their next destination.
I would assume these 4 workers were being put on the flight so they could work a connecting flight elsewhere. If that's the case, fly them privately if need be.
Airlines bring this bad PR on themselves. Flying has become more of a pain in the *** than it's worth sometimes.
I would assume these 4 workers were being put on the flight so they could work a connecting flight elsewhere. If that's the case, fly them privately if need be.
Airlines bring this bad PR on themselves. Flying has become more of a pain in the *** than it's worth sometimes.
A doctor who has a schedule to see patients that afternoon. Hmmm, let's see, he was offered $400 in ticket vouchers?????
He would have lost that much money by missing seeing the first two patients.
I don't want to live in a world where law abiding citizens (let alone a 69 year old man) are physically abused....by law enforcement officers. Maybe you want that, obviously by your post. I call that stupidity.
The way the process is supposed to work (I don't have a problem with it) is they wait until everyone boards to see if there are "no shows". If there are "no shows", the overbooked passengers can fly. In this case, it was actually UA employees. If there are no "no shows" or insufficient "no shows", the airline offers incentives to get people to give up their seat, such as discounts on future flights, air miles, etc.
Obviously a doctor who has a schedule to see patients isn't going to give up his seat because he will lose more money than the airline will offer. Someone with a free schedule that doesn't mind being delayed a few hours would accept the offer. It's usually not a problem to find four or five passengers on a flight with somewhere around 200 people, to give up their seat. That is a part of this story that I have a problem with.
But every time I've ever hear my flight being overbooked, it was prior to boarding. And if the process worked the way you described, how are problems like this created?
They do announce prior to boarding, but, they wait until boarding to see whether or not everyone will show up.
That is the part of the story I have a real problem with. They obviously didn't ask enough people to give up their seat in exchange for incentives. It is not good business practice to forcibly remove someone that doesn't want to give up their seat. Move on to the next person. The stewardesses have asked repeatedly for someone to give up their seat on every overbooked flight I have ever been on. In fact, I remember the last one, they asked for at least ten minutes and they were able to get enough people to voluntarily (in exchange for financial incentive) give up their seats.
It's simple. In scenarios where they are legit overbooked, they just give vouchers. More times than not, it's never an issue.
I think this is what makes me scratch my balding noggin the hardest. They couldn't find some other carrier to put those crew members on and get them to where they needed to be?
Or at least offer to fly their overbooked passengers for free on another carrier to where they needed to go? You telling me all the planes departing at that time were full? They couldn't re-route a couple of passengers and connect them to alternate flights going to their connecting destination even if it was on a different carrier or even three others if needed?
At the very least, just find another way to get that stranded United crew to their destination & avoid hauling that guy off the plane like that!
Where's the common sense in this?