Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

Part Eleven: There’s No Place Like Home…

Author: thenicknick

Okay, when last we left the saga of our return trip home…S and I had missed our flight with American Airlines as it apparently managed to depart from the gate at least fifteen minutes early from Miami International Airport, which I saw today was ranked third worst in the US.  (I always like to support my opinions with fact.)  And, we had found the customer service desk empty.  Grrr.

Well, S started wandering around, hoping to find someone to help us.  I stood my ground in line.  I was first, but shortly after I found another couple joined me in line.  The woman at the desk was as rude as the last person.  She, too, wanted to give me a hard time for not getting to the gate sooner.  Yeah, because I was clearly putzing around during this ordeal.  Then she said that she could put us on standby for the next flight.

S: So that means that someone has to miss their flight?

me: Yup.

S: What are the chances that will happen?

I glanced at the couple behind us who had missed the same flight we did.

me: I’d say pretty good.  And look, now we get to travel with our luggage.

S: What happens if we don’t make that flight?

Hostile Condescending American Airlines Employee: Then the next flight isn’t until tomorrow morning.

We wandered off with the other couple to vent our frustrations.  They went one way, S and I another.  We decided we had a couple of options.  We could try and complain, see if we could figure some definite way to get home, or we could go to the nearest bar for happy hour and hors d’oeuvres.

And you think you know me so well!  Ha!  We went outside and made some phone calls.  Finally I spoke to one employee at the toll-free number who worked for American Airlines and was HELPFUL!  I’m not sure if he was new or his pleasant demeanor was an oversight during his hiring process, but he directed us to contact US Air.  He said they had seats open on the next flight that was leaving in two hours and if we hurried, we could get on it.

Hmmm.  Two hours, guaranteed flight.  Four hours, maybe flight.  We have a winner!  So, S and I raced to the other end of the airport and managed to get seats on the next flight.  Yay!  This only happened because we booked the flights through Expedia, by the way.  It gave us the ability to change airlines at no cost.  And the man who arranged our tickets suggested we head back to American Airlines to get our luggage back and therby avoid a lengthy wait in Charlotte for our luggage to arrive.

Well, we weren’t eager to go back there, but we did.  And the jerk agent we spoke to there told us we wouldn’t be able to get our luggage back.  He made a huge theatrical deal of it.  It practically included a song and dance.  So, rather than fight and miss our flight, we headed back to the warm comforting, welcoming atmosphere we found at US Air.  Ahhh.

We made our flight.  We sat together.  S had a window seat again.  It was night by now and he was able to enjoy the lights of Miami.  We were across the aisle from a US Air pilot and every time we hit turbulence, S would glance over at him to make sure all was well.  (I had assured him that if there was a problem, he would be our best barometer of it.)

We arrived in Charlotte, freezing our butts off, since it was less than fifty degrees and our coats were in the luggage we couldn’t claim for hours.  We had the garage monkey pick us up with his unsavory girlfriend.  And while we waited, after tense phone calls with J and others, we pondered whether we could catch a flight out before our ride arrived.  Alas, we stuck it out.

An interesting side note: we returned hours later, close to midnight to get our luggage…and the flight was late.  Hmmm.

And…this is the real reason I will never fly American Airlines…I wrote them a lengthy letter of my grievances.  (The rude employees, the mishandling of the luggage, the broken items in S’s bag, etc.)  I expected an apology, an offer of a discount, something…I got nothing.  They didn’t try to make ammends in any way shape or form.  I didn’t even get an apology.  That’s no way to start a relationship.  I had never flown with them before.  Now, I never will.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 6:46 am and is filed under Travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.