So I called American up and told them about my situation. And I told them that I wasn't getting up at the crack of dawn this morning just so that I could fly to Longview and get my stuff. And they told me that was fine, but I would have to pick it up at the airport in Longview.
Why can't we just get the airlines to man up when they make a mistake and have them fix it? Look, I understand that the airline industry is in the middle of a financial crisis and that they are liable to take a lot of heat for stuff that is completely outside of their control. That said, there are some things that are the fault of airlines:
For instance, there is no reason that there should be overbooking of flights. This is a multi-million dollar industry, yet you are using antiquated and outdated computer systems, rather than modern databases and softwaree. With the amount of information at your fingertips, you should be able to determine exactly what passenger is where, what flight they're on, and what flights they can and can't make. There is no reason that I should have sat on a tarmac for 10 minutes last night while these imbeciles tried to find an open gate... they should know where their planes are and where their terminals are.
And on the topic of customer service: if my flight is late, and it's your fault, you should be willing to help me out on this. Granted, nobody can account for mother nature 100%, but maintenance issues and delays due to gate-scheduling snafus are definately the fault of the airline. And leaving a person stranded in an airport overnight is not an acceptable solution, you idiots.
Now while we're at the issue of customer service, I shouldn't be able to determine that there will be a delay before you tell me. At least have the courtesy of keeping your passengers informed. Yes, they'll be a bit pissed... but at least they can get about the process of making plans a bit earlier.
Oh yeah... and about boarding planes. Let's make this really easy. Start with the very back row and work forward... not the other way around. That way, the whole line doesn't get held up by the stupid lady in the 5th row who brought a carry-on that has no prayer of following the laws of physics and being crammed in that overhead bin. And pre-board the families and the people in wheelchairs more than 2 minutes before everyone else. Yes, I know it's inconvenient... but they're slow, and they make everything else slower. Not that I resent them for that, I was once the one of those stupid little kids that kept getting in the way... but you need to make accomodations for that. Oh yeah, and the flight attendants need to start carrying muzzles and tranquilizer darts...
Don't even get me started on the people employed by the flight industry and the TSA people... this is enough of a rant for one day.
Posted by Vengeful Cynic at January 7, 2004 10:42 AM | TrackBack