Nightmare material...

[3LittleBirds]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36909092#36909092

 

Story of a lady that almost missed her cruise due to being "bumped" from her flight by the overbooked airline. She *just* made the cruise after 2 days of traveling. We usually arrive the day before our cruises but this type of story (although fairly rare) gives me nightmares. :eek:

[TracieABD]

You are so right! That is a nightmare...

I am so glad to see that she perservered and managed to get on her boat!

 

This is why we always print our boarding passes 24 hours in advance AND show up to the airport 2 hours early.

 

Southwest Airlines: Shame on you!:mad:

[wowsmom]

It sounds like she was planning on flying in 2 days early, right? Because she was bumped, then drove from Houston to Tallahassee, then flew into Miami? Thank goodness she made her cruise...

 

Makes me very happy we are driving to our next cruise!

[paul929207]

What a mess for the poor woman

[BLS]

Not a great way to start a vacation. Thank goodness she made the Ship!

Hope SW repays her for the car rental and flt.

[Cruzman]

Many thought I was nuts for driving from Alabama to San Francisco for my Alaska cruise last month. Yep, I spent 4 days driving to SF, and 4 days back home, but I was in control the entire trip. Oh yeah. all of my luggage arrived on time, lol.

[cynbar]

This almost happened to us. A couple years back, DH and DD and I went on a Celebrity cruise. We had to fly down the day of departure because of conflicts before, so we booked Celebrity air. We arrived at the airport in Boston in plenty of time, only to be told we were being bumped because the flight was oversold and no one offered to give up their seats. The stress was terrible. The airline finally put us on a connecting flight to LGA and then on to Ft Lauderdale, but we almost missed the connection and barely made it to the ship before sailing. It wasn't a good way to start our cruise. Apparently, the airline buys seats at the lowest fare, so their passengers are the first ones bumped if necessary. Never again will we try to fly in the day of sailing (lots of reasons for this!), nor will we buy cruise air.

[janina]

We try to never fly in the day of the cruise. The stress of wondering if we'll make it is not worth it. We would have missed two cruises due to airline problems if we didn't fly in a day ahead. The first for a lightbulb change, and we missed our connection to Honolulu, the other for a flooded kitchen and we were forced to overnight in Tokyo, missing a day in Bangkok. We've never got bumped but you just never know what can come up.

[wizard-of-roz]

I know that we may be limiting ourselves to the cruises we take. But, we are now driving to our cruise piers. And, I love the control.

We've already done Europe/Caribbean and Hawaii....the only other cruising that interests me, that may pose a problem for driving, would be Nova Scotia and the East Coast [if I have the time, I'll drive across country, maybe!]

Otherwise, we're driving. I love having my bags with me [including the DH] and, I ALWAYS give myself lots of time by arriving earlier than necessary.

[kenexx]

You are so right! That is a nightmare...

I am so glad to see that she perservered and managed to get on her boat!

 

This is why we always print our boarding passes 24 hours in advance AND show up to the airport 2 hours early.

 

Southwest Airlines: Shame on you!:mad:

 

Not shame on Southwest at all imho. Everyone wants the cheapest air fares right? Well this is just part of the deal. It's not possible to have it both ways.

[mtaylor04]

So glad she made the cruise, but what a bunch of crazy stress they put her through before her cruise. Shame on the airline!

[Pam in CA]

One thing that struck me is that there was no mention of what time she arrived to check-in for her flight. If you check in two hours before your flight, your chances of being bumped are greatly reduced. The story didn't include any statistics about which passengers were being involuntarily bumped but I've read other stories that included that information, i.e., those who think "plenty of time" isn't really enough time. LAX recommends two hours before a domestic flight, three hours before an international flight. The bottom line is that if you check in online or are among the first to check in for a flight, your chances of being involuntarily bumped go way down. When airlines overbook -- and they all do, and have done for years because there is always a percentage of passengers who don't show -- the first people get the seats. It's pretty simple.

 

I sympathize with the woman but I'd really like to know how much time she really thought was "plenty of time."

 

Several years ago, we were going on a Christmas cruise and had flights on Delta the day before from MHT to FLL. We got to the airport over two hours in advance only to find that Delta's feeder airline to MHT was on strike and all planes coming in from Pittsburgh for flights out were snowbound. This was a Saturday and the first flights available would have been Tuesday. We raced over to Southwest and booked a flight on standby to Tampa, figuring that the worst that happened, we'd rent a car and drive to FLL. When we got to Tampa, we were able to get on a flight to FLL and arrived only 30 minutes after our original flight was supposed to arrive.

 

"Stuff" happens but when it comes to making a flight that does take off, you have control over whether or not you have a seat.

[pjs9876]

Early in our cruise history we were scheduled to fly in on the same day of a cruise. Arrived at the airport early to find there had been a glitch and the plane we were supposed to be on had departed. We went running to different terminals trying to buy tickets, trying later flights, you name it. We made it to the gate on stanby only to be turned away at the last second. So last second that our bags flew to Miami. We later flew to Fort Lauderdale. We rented a car and drove to Miami airport, picked up the bags and returned to FLL. Turned in the car and took a shuttle. Our friends on board asked up how come we were so tired the first night?:rolleyes:

 

We don't repeat those mistakes and in addition drive whenever we can to the departure point. I can be taught!

[TracieABD]

Not shame on Southwest at all imho. Everyone wants the cheapest air fares right? Well this is just part of the deal. It's not possible to have it both ways.

How does overbooking create cheaper fares? If they booked the plane to capacity, and charged folks for the seats they buy (that it would cost to operate the plane plus a profit), then overbooking would not be necessary.

[BosoxI]

How does overbooking create cheaper fares? If they booked the plane to capacity, and charged folks for the seats they buy (that it would cost to operate the plane plus a profit), then overbooking would not be necessary.

 

Airlines and restaurants have similar problems. People book space and then on short notice or no notice. they don't appear. ergo empty seats. Airlines try to circumvent the problem by accepting overbookings and they do a pretty good job of estimating how many people won't show so they can still fill those seats. But they're not perfect and all it takes is a mechanical on an earlier flight to create disaster. Yes, I am very sympathetic to the airlines' plight. And as someone already said, Americans want every on the cheap but still demand excellent service. No wonder we're in such a fix

[Times Prince]

Another factor to this story - it was Spring Break and she was going to Florida. As travellors we need to be aware of peak travel times and plan accordingly with days to spare. The suggestion to print your boarding passes the night before is also a good one.

 

I do agree that the airline dropped the ball in this instance - her travel ticket was from Dallas to FLL, and accepting her on the first leg from Dallas to Houston was a committment on their part to honor the ticket she had purchased.

[cactusrose]

We fly Southwest all the time and they bend over backward to make their passengers happy. You can check in 24 hours before your flight on-line so I can only guess this woman didn't do that. We once stood in line for more than an hour to check our bags and when we got to the plane they had closed the doors. The woman at the gate phoned someone on the plane and they opened the doors and let us on. Now that's service. They also do not charge for your first two bags, don't charge you cancellation fees and allow you to use your non-refundable fare up to a year after you book. They also have one of the best on time records. I'll fly SWA over some of the bigger US airlines whenever I can.

[Iamcruzin]

We fly Southwest all the time and they bend over backward to make their passengers happy. You can check in 24 hours before your flight on-line so I can only guess this woman didn't do that. We once stood in line for more than an hour to check our bags and when we got to the plane they had closed the doors. The woman at the gate phoned someone on the plane and they opened the doors and let us on. Now that's service. They also do not charge for your first two bags, don't charge you cancellation fees and allow you to use your non-refundable fare up to a year after you book. They also have one of the best on time records. I'll fly SWA over some of the bigger US airlines whenever I can.

 

That's the problem if they charged cancellation fees people would think twice before booking just to book, only to cancel if a better offer comes up and the airline wouldn't have to overbook to compensate for this. My SIL worked for JetBlue and they had the same no charge to cancel policy. Passengers abused it so now they charge $100 cancelation fee.

[caribill]

That's the problem if they charged cancellation fees people would think twice before booking just to book, only to cancel if a better offer comes up and the airline wouldn't have to overbook to compensate for this. My SIL worked for JetBlue and they had the same no charge to cancel policy. Passengers abused it so now they charge $100 cancelation fee.

 

Sometimes people cancel at the last minute or do not show up. Sometimes their plans need to change far in advance of the flight. A penalty for someone who does not show up seems fair. A penalty for someone who had to change plans a month before the flight does not seem fair.

[Iamcruzin]

Sometimes people cancel at the last minute or do not show up. Sometimes their plans need to change far in advance of the flight. A penalty for someone who does not show up seems fair. A penalty for someone who had to change plans a month before the flight does not seem fair.

 

I agree because price of a flight is less expensive the further out you book so passengers will book early just to save money. We booked a flight to Florida for my son 6 months in advance thinking he would be visiting his grandparents like he does every year. 1 month after we booked we found out that Driver’s Ed was being offered over the summer at the same time he would be in Florida. We had to pay a $100 cancelation fee plus the cost of an increased fare to change the flight to a time that he would be able to go.

[cactusrose]

That's the problem if they charged cancellation fees people would think twice before booking just to book, only to cancel if a better offer comes up and the airline wouldn't have to overbook to compensate for this. My SIL worked for JetBlue and they had the same no charge to cancel policy. Passengers abused it so now they charge $100 cancelation fee.

 

So are you saying the airlines that do charge a cancellation fee don't overbook?:rolleyes:

[Iamcruzin]

So are you saying the airlines that do charge a cancellation fee don't overbook?:rolleyes:

 

No I am just saying that the ones that don't charge probably have a higher rate of cancellations and have to over compensate more than those that do charge. My experience is that any time I have been on an airline other than JetBlue there have been empty seats. Even flying on a buddy pass standby I have never been bumped on JetBlue. This may account for the fact that I live in NY where there are more airports and flights so supply may be greater than demand. I think that people are more likely to make a rushed decision based on a lower price if they know that there is not going to be a penalty for canceling. Look how many book cruises years in advanced knowing that there is no penalty to cancel and if the price drops the cruise line will adjust the price. I know I would be thinking twice about booking a cruise so far in advance if I was going to be penalized for canceling.

[RickEk]

Meh... she was sailing on Costa... so who cares... LOL... :p:D:) JK

[Loonbeam]

Besides flying out at least one day early (minimum!), there are some other things you can do to avoid being bumped, and deal with it if you do:

 

1> Concentrate your travel on a single airline to get elite status. Frequent flyers are rarely selected for involuntary denial of boarding.

 

2> Know what you are entitled to if it happens. In short, Money. Not a credit. Money. If you make it clear they are going to have to pay you they may target someone else who is not as knowledgeable. And if you can't dodge the bullet, make the claim,

 

3> Have a list of at least alternative options handy if possible. If you do get called up, being able to say "Can you get me on the <other airline>'s 2:15 flight instead will often work. The gate agents don't always have time to look up all other options (there are a number of phone apps that will do this for you).

 

4> If you used a TA, get them involved immediately. They have access to seats even the airline doesn't. My TA once found me a seat 15 minutes after my original departure, got in same time, and after the original airline paid me my claim I made about $70.

 

5> Be polite. Screaming and yelling at the gate agent will not help your cause. A smile and a 'what can you do' shrug often will.

 

Overbooking is a necessary evil given the current economics of the industry. It still is relatively rare, but its always good to have a plan B.

[Psychedout]

We almost did noy make the cruse last Feb. out of Detroit do to the east coast snow storms. We were flying down a day ahead to FLL but the airport was so backup that we never made our flight. Thank God for a Delta rep that got us on a flight later that day or it would have been a ride to the port.:eek: