In my world of frequent airline travel, now ongoing for nearly decade, it becomes easy to forget that most do not travel and many of those who do make only one or two holiday trips per year. Nevertheless, my sympathies for travel horror stories are limited. We do not live in the golden age of aviation and in exchange for our dirt-cheap airfare in the USA, we have come to expect delays and hiccups that rarely make a trip 100% smooth.
But when faced with adversity—a delayed or cancelled flight for instance—we can respond in two ways. Either we stop moping and find the best available solution or we retreat in despair or a spew fit of rage, which just exacerbates the problem.
If you’re wondering why I’d write about this, you have to read this post on Flyertalk (entitled, “United Airlines Unfair Treatment Of My Daughter 12-30-12”), posted by a disgruntled mother about her daughter’s recent trip to Sacramento on United Airlines. It’s a ton of text, so I’ll just summarize it here with direct quotes—
“I put my daughter on Flight 6202 United Airlines in Oklahoma City, OK Sunday morning December 30, 2012. She arrived in Los Angeles late so she missed her connecting flight…
“…After waiting in line at the counter was told they could get her out on an American flight at around 11:30.
“…[AA] informed her United reserved the ticket but didn’t pay for it (which they says happens all the time) and there wasn’t enough time for her to get back to United to get this handled so she would miss the flight.
“She went back to United who told her they…will get you out at 6:30 pm.
“She called me sobbing.
“I called United and was left on hold for over an hour and a half.
“My sister used her computer and bought her another ticket with Southwest
[The complainant proceeds to spend hours on the phone with United trying to get a refund, only to learn that the ticket was issued on US Airways ticket stock, so she must go through them. She calls US Airways and US Airways claims United must release the ticket. United then releases the ticket, but US Airways claimed the ticket was not released. United gets US Airways on the phone and a partial refund is issued]
“I have spent over nine hours on the phone with United. Lied to multiple times and told they will email her a $100 travel voucher.
“This one day ruined a trip for a 23 year old little girl. She tried to be an adult and handle this on her own but everytime she gathered her courage there was a United employee there to shoot her down or be rude to her.”
So now you have an idea of what happened. Delayed flight, missed connection, the “23 year old little girl” freaks out, AA has trouble validating an endorsed ticket (in my experience, this is a frequent AA problem no matter what the airline—not a United problem), the girl just buys a Southwest ticket instead, the girl’s mom spends hours on the phone trying to get a refund and finally gets one. Now she wants more compensation and some sympathy.
I know we mature at different ages and I won’t bore you with my travel exploits when I was 23 years old (not too long ago!), but the biggest problem here lies with the woman (a 23 year old is hardly a girl). Attitude is huge and when things do not go right, what does it accomplish to call mom and sob? I cannot accept that even a first-time traveler must react in such a manner when something goes wrong, because things go wrong all the time in life.
United did all it could to remedy the situation and while I do believe the woman is due a partial refund for the unflown LAX-SMF leg and compensation for the headache caused by the flight delay (assuming it was non-weather related), she is not due anything else.
I like that this story demonstrates what most “kettle” travelers have to do to get in contact with an airline, which admittedly is not easy. I do feel sorry that the woman’s mother spent (allegedly) nine hours on the phone dealing with this. I also regret that she experienced the incompetent Manila call-center at United, who should have told her immediately that she would have to contact US Airways for a refund. But this phone marathon was not necessary.
Under almost all circumstances, it is much better to deal with a live person at an airport than a phone agent during a delay. Rules can be bent more easily and more solutions are available (for example, it is easier to book on another carrier). There are also customer courtesy phones provided by United at the airports they serve which are answered immediately—far better than waiting on hold by calling 1-800-United1.
The bottom line is that incidents like this are bound to happen once and awhile. They happen to me a lot. Take it in stride and you can learn to laugh about it. It will help you mature as a person, benefiting you in areas of life far beyond travel. And parents: please don’t coddle your children. How is a 23-year-old ever supposed to mature, to be self-reliant and independent if she is treated like a little child by her parents? It won’t happen. Hopefully this flight delay will be looked back on by both mother and daughter as a stepping stone to maturity…for both of them.
Agreed on all counts. Great post, Matthew!
Well said!
I am beyond disappointed that the thread is locked and we will never hear back from the mom…..
Having been through situations such as this, perhaps it would have been better to just take the 7PM flight and ask for compensation (some food vouchers) and grabbed a bite to eat and hit the beach for the day. The beach near the airport is pretty nice that time of year.
I was flying home for Christmas from Salt Lake City to Boston and was supposed to change planes in Chicago. When we landed there were NO flights going anywhere but we were told that perhaps there would be flights, in a limited capacity the following afternoon. I had no money, there were no vouchers for a hotel or for food. I don’t even know if they did that then. I finally found an available pay phone after waiting in line for over an hour and called my parents collect. They did not know what to do and apparently were unaware of the situation so they told me just to wait for my flight. I realize now that they were clueless about the situation and probably thought I was just calling complaining about a layover. Turns out I ended up spending the night in a plastic chair at a gate in O’Hare. I was a little uneasy but then again I was also young and figured I was doing what my parents said to do so it would be fine. I was sitting with a small group of people who were spread out, laying down in the chairs etc. After talking to a few people I found myself seated between a hardware salesman from Alaska and a Catholic priest. They said they would stay right there until I got a flight, and help me keep an eye on my stuff through the night. I never felt like I was in a bad situation and I felt that they were protecting me. When
I finally got a flight, about 23 hours later and arrived home my parents were quite apologetic about me having to, as my mom phrased it, “sleep in a chair with strange men all night.”
Funny story to pass on.
I’m pretty sure though that the Courtesy hotline wasn’t immediately obvious, and may not have been well publicized. I was charged for a bag at SFO (international terminal) last May (on an ANA codeshare where the ticket conditions stated that I was entitled to 2 bags, but the UA checkin personnel were unable to waive the charge). Spent 1.5 hours on the phone with them at the airport (to drain off my unused t-mobile prepaid minutes) but got nowhere except almost missing my flight.
Thankfully Mileageplus Singapore solved the problem in <5 minutes, but I’ll look out for the courtesy phone the next time.
I’m not exceptional, but at 23 I was married two years, finishing my graduate degree, and embarking on a professional career. This mother needs to let go and let her daughter grow up. But this story also reinforces my advice, never leave for a flight without knowing your backup plan. As soon as she got off the plane knowing she missed a connection she should be going to United and asking for specific re-routes, not subjecting herself to the whim of United. And PK is right, sometimes the best backup plan is to relax, let it go, and enjoy an unscheduled day at the beach.
As someone in his early twenties who flies once or twice a month, it’s people like this “23-year-old little girl” that ruin it for the rest of us. I don’t have nearly the extensive travel experience that the UPGRD.com bloggers do, but I know what I’m doing. Unfortunately, many agents see a young face and expect someone like this young woman, and immediately turn condescending, and smirk at even the most standard requests (“Are you looking for any volunteers this evening?”).
I’ve been flying solo across the country and around the world since I was 19, and that’s not anything special. This “little girl”‘s mother has coddled her to the point of debilitation, and it’s the rest of us who have to pay for her mistakes.
GREAT post. This mother is ridiculous and the daughter needs to grow up. It’s not that big of a deal.
Useful page to have:
http://www.latourist.com/index.php?page=LAX-to-Beaches
Apparently, the fastest bus route is not the one in front of the airport: Santa Monica. But pretty good for a layover. There’s a great small theater right off the main beach route that has film festivals. Right next to it is an Irish pub. If you sit on the boardwalk, you should see a few movie stars rollerblade by. Fond memories. Lovely way to kill a 7 hour layover.
Poor, scared thing didn’t think to ask the courtesy desk about the option.
In a way it’s a funny story 🙂