If anybody else told me this story I wouldn’t believe it. Not all of it, anyway.

In March of this year we booked two (2) full-fare coach tickets on South African Airlines (United Airlines codeshare) from Las Vegas to Dar-es-Salaam via Washington Dulles and Johannesburg. Our scheduled departure from Las Vegas was to be 8:10 am on Friday, July 20. Due to the recent uncertainties over Tanzania, on Tuesday July 17 we changed the JNB-DAR leg of the travel to JNB-HRE. The LAS-IAD-JNB legs of the travel were not changed.

1. On Friday, July 20 we were at the United counter in Las Vegas promptly at 6:00 am to allow adequate time for our 8:10 departure. At that time we first learned that the departure was going to be delayed 4 hours due to “weatherâ€.

2. I had received an e-confirmation from United at about midnight last night confirming an 8:27 am departure.

3. The weather in Las Vegas today is 110 degrees and damn sunny. It hasn’t rained since sometime in 2006. Seriously.

4. A 4-hour delay in reaching IAD meant that we would arrive there about 2 hours after our flight to JNB was scheduled to depart.

5. According to the United folks, within the 3-4 hour window we needed to depart LAS to catch our JNB flight, there was not a single flight on any of the 20 or so airlines flying out of LAS (the 9th busiest airport in the world) going to IAD on a Friday morning.

6. United was willing to rebook us LAS –LAX-London-HRE, actually arriving in Harare earlier than we were scheduled originally. This included an upgrade to Business class from LAX to London to HRE on British Airways (this point will become important later). Unfortunately, there may or may not be an embargo on guns going into Zimbabwe directly from the UK. Our guns may or may not have been subject to confiscation or impoundment, and we may or may not have been jailed in England and/or Zimbabwe for violating this possible embargo. Wendell Reich and Shawn at Gacy Travel, both of whom specialize in flying hunters around the world, say there is but they could not immediately cite a specific reference and the United folks in LAS didn’t believe it.

7. Alternatively, United was willing to fly us LAS-LAX-Munich-JNB-HRE, a total of about 50 hours in airplanes that put us in Harare sometime around Tuesday. Nobody involved had any idea of the ramifications of trying to fly guns through Germany.

8. At about this time we suggested just
putting us on the next day’s flight LAS-IAD-JNB. There’s even a later flight from JNB to HRE that only runs on Sundays (which we needed it on!), so leaving LAS a full 24 hours later only made us about 5 hours later into HRE. There were 2 open seats on this flight. They were in Business Class; coach was full. The very helpful ticket agent we have now been monopolizing for over 3 hours booked us on this change, and everybody was happy. Then she could not get “supervisor approval†to bump us to business class.

9. Her supervisor, Bernette could not override the “supervisor approval†needed.

10. The United station manager in Las Vegas, a cranky blonde bitch named Stacy French, could not/would not authorize the bump. She stated that she did not have the authority and neither did her boss, whom she had already spoken with, wherever he was located. I swear, no foul language had been used at all prior to this point.

11. Apparently, United was unwilling or unable to upgrade us on a SAA flight since it would apparently involve paying for it themselves. United (Stacy) said that it wasn’t her fault or United’s fault the plane was delayed due to weather, or whatever it was, and we’d have to get SAA to authorize it.

12. Also according to Stacy, SAA didn’t want to upgrade us because it wasn’t their fault we missed our original flight (Tell me again what being a codeshare partner means? Remember, we already had a re-book onto British Airways in business class).

13. We were offered a switch to the next IAD-JNB flight with available coach seats. That would be the following Tuesday, July 24, putting us into HRE 4 days late.

14. We were offered the option of upgrading our IAD-JNB tickets to full-fare business class and flying the next day. For a mere $ 6,800 each.

15. At about this point our travel agent got involved and started calling her contacts at United. She had no luck with United’s problem resolution center. She did however find on her screen that the original delay was clearly labeled “crew availability†in United’s system. (Bless her heart, she even printed it out)

16. She also confirmed that, since our tickets were booked as SAA tickets, and it wasn’t SAA’s fault we couldn’t fly out of LAS, that just saying to hell with it and staying home at that point would cost us a 25% cancellation penalty.

17. She then called someone higher up the food chain at United in Chicago to discuss our issues. When she gave then our info and they pulled it up on the screen she was told “They’re confirmed/protected on tomorrow’s flight; what’s the issue? They are also confirmed on a flight through Munich; which one do they want?â€

18. Our travel agent asked the person in Chicago the reason for the original delay and was told “I can’t tell you because I’ll get in trouble. But if you have something on your screen you should print it.â€

So at this point we have our confirmation numbers and the plan is to show up at the counter tomorrow morning and ask them to print our tickets, and get on the plane. We’ll see how that goes. If there’s nothing posted here in the next 24 hours you’ll know it worked. If it doesn’t work, don’t worry about missing the news.

What I am 99% convinced happened is, that lying skank Stacy authorized the bump after we left, wasn’t going to tell us, and then later when we would inevitably raise a stink she could claim that we were taken care of but didn’t show up for the flight.

If anybody wants to try to convince me otherwise, take a month off work and go at it.

Part Deaux:

19. We show up more than two hours early again on Day 2, with confirmation numbers in hand and yes, we are confirmed LAS to IAD, but only one of us is confirmed IAD-JNB (and not on JNB-HRE). The other one is confirmed on JNB-HRE, but not IAD-JNB. This is a relatively easy fix, and only required one level of supervisor eslalation. Plus they remembered us from the day before.

20. At the counter in IAD they have to "re-boot the computer" to "re-open the flight" to issue us boarding passes.

21. Once we board, we are not in Business class as our "protected" reservations seemed to indicate; we were in economy. On separate sides of the plane. With an open seat next to me. And 20 or so other empty seats on the plane (remember in 8 & 13 above Stacy had told us there were NO open economy seats on that flight?)

22. When we boarded the plane in JNB to fly to HRE I asked the flight attendant to please verify that our firearms had been placed on board (Didn't I read somewhere that there is a rule that they have to do that if requested?). She stated positively that "all the luggage that is supposed to be on board is on board".

23. At this point, should anyone be surprised that two-thirds of our checked baggage did not arrive on the same plane we were on? We were forced to overnight in HRE when we were already paid at the lodge, and to hang around waiting for our guns on a $ 1400 daily rate day. And I had no clothes. My duffel bag with clothes etc. came in on an Air Botswana flight around 9 am the next day. The guns arrived around 1 pm on the next SAA flight, meaning we didn't get down to the Save until after dark, losing an entire day.

In fairness I must report that the return trip was entirely uneventful. I guess they just operate at a higher level of competence in Africa than in Las Vegas, Chicago, and Washington.

Oh, and United was nice enough to e-mail me a customer satisfaction survey when I got back

To quote Little Richard, "We're havin' us some fun tonight!".


Les

I leave in about 9 days for Africa ... It would sure be easier to be Superman. Good luck, Amigo !!!

Damn, you sure know how to make someone nervous. My party is flying United tomorrow to Dulles to catch the SAA flight to Joberg. I guess if we all make it I will see you there.

I booked with Air Canada for my trip to Whitehorse.. When I read my flights United via Air Canada booking was the carrier for the US legs of the trip..Since then I've read nothing but Horror stories in the press about United.. The worst part is I'm going thur Chicago the "Bump City of North America" twice on this trip.. I'm going to get "Packed" that's a given.. I just hope it's on the way home with Horns..
AK

That sucks!! We're on United out of Phoenix tomorrow to Dulles then on to Jo'burg with SAA.

Damn, what a FUBAR mess. I am going to think positive though and take the position that your problems are behind you and its smooth sailing from this point forward. Have a scotch or two and get ready to enjoy the hunt of a lifetime.

David Culpepper & LHook-

Then we're on the same flight, assuming our confimation numbers actually mean something.

We'll be the 2 big pissed-off guys up in business class, trying to waste as much of everything as they'll give us. And passing gas copiously.

Glen Tilton United's CEO made over $40,000,000 last in wages and bonuses.

You just got to love corporate America.

Hey stop complaining. This is FREE ENTERPRISE at it's best. Customer service becomes non existent when all airlines are flying at over 90% capacity.
Seriously, I don't want to be flip, but unfortunately this is what you get without some kind of regulation, but don't hold your breath about getting it. The airlines have some serious clout in congress.
Peter.
Peter.

Weather can mean that weather prevented a flight crew from landing in ORD, which then put them over crew rest rules the next day for your flight (meaning they leave 4 hours late to comply with the crew rest rules).

These days, you are better allowing a day before your hunt starts. If weather delays your flight, you can be stranded for days. It also helps however, to book on airlines in which you have elite status; NW, for example, will bump to the front of any standby list. Continental, however, will not.

I would recommend allowing a huge layover in any connecting city. If you are not a member of the airline's private lounge or flying B class, then buy a day pass to make the long layover more pleasant.

Just the opinion of a guy who has flown every week this year except the 4th of July week.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Weather can mean that weather prevented a flight crew from landing in ORD, which then put them over crew rest rules the next day for your flight (meaning they leave 4 hours late to comply with the crew rest rules).

These days, you are better allowing a day before your hunt starts. If weather delays your flight, you can be stranded for days. It also helps however, to book on airlines in which you have elite status; NW, for example, will bump to the front of any standby list. Continental, however, will not.

I would recommend allowing a huge layover in any connecting city. If you are not a member of the airline's private lounge or flying B class, then buy a day pass to make the long layover more pleasant.

Just the opinion of a guy who has flown every week this year except the 4th of July week.

This is really sound advise!

And yes it is true your weather delay may well have been caused by thunderstorms in Chicago or Miami.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
Hey stop complaining. This is FREE ENTERPRISE at it's best. Customer service becomes non existent when all airlines are flying at over 90% capacity.

Peter.

Also true the flying public has gotten exactly what they are willing to pay for.

Add me to the list of United haters, and it's clearly airline policy to jam customers. I read this thread the day before leaving and somehow had some dejavu. Hey, I was just trying to get to San Diego for a training conference!

I know there are a few commercial pilots on these forums, I'd sure like to hear their HONEST take on the state of US travel.

My trip started very early in Burlington and was delayed by 4.5 hours to a loose wire. Knowing that everyone is pretty much 100% booked on the weekend and having to fly on a Sunday to my destination, I knew it was going to be bad.

The first leg of the trip was to go to O'Hare (Chicago) then catch another flight to SD. Not to happen thanks to over booking!

My partner and I eventually made it to Chi-town from Burls but were promptly lied to that United booked us on an American flight to get us to SD. Two miles of walking to American's terminal resulted in laughter from the counter agent and a two mile walking trip back to United.

I suppose big airports are a type of safari. The crowds of humans were staggering eeverywhere.

Our bags were now lost with tags for another airline put on them. United did put us up in Chicago and graciously gave us a $7.00 dinner coupon (yes, seven bucks) but no personal luggage which at this point was 'somewhere'. Furtunately for us the GIFT SHOP carried minature versions of tooth paste and deoderant at huge prices.

We eventually made San Diego by mid day Cal time on Monday only to have missed the first half of that day's very expensive conference.

Even worse, we had to attend our afternoon training class in clothes that had been worn now for nearly two whole days. Phewww!

The return trip was almost as bad, very late arrival into Burlington, over an hour past due time. This time delayed to wait for MIA crew and after that, for late passengers. Plus, our previously arranged seats were not available when boarding, I booked the flight in mid April. We got the consolation prize for sure and the CRJ 700 jets are crappy and uncomfortable.

It is quite clear that the airlines plan to have a LARGE number of cancellations due to the availability of over night hotels they slip to you. After finishing dinner in the place they sent us in Chicago the desk line was very long with another group of duped travelers, all bleary eyed and distressed. I commented loudly that they were the latest batch of scammed travelers.

Our trip back on June the 12th was almost delayed due to a United plane down for a mechanical. If we hadnt shown up to the airport 3 hours early and grabbed another flight on Delta who knows when we would have finally made it over.

Well lets see......

Up to 70% pay cuts mine has stabilized at mere 45%.

Pensions GONE and I am not talking about current guys, they are gone for everybody including already retired guys who were living on the pensions that they earned over a 20-30 year period, putting some older retirees into abject poverty.

Recently retired pilots are looking for work if they can find it.

Work rules gutted.

Fatigue is rampant people are simply worn out by the grinding schedules, short rest periods, delays and limited days off.

Morale is at an all time low. People are simply burned out.

Airlines are under staffed, they literally don't have enough pilots to cover the schedules.

Vacations are being canceled without notice, pilots are being called and asked to fly on their already limited days off.

Airlines have been replacing larger airplanes with more expensive crew costs with 50 to 75 seat Regional Jets with low paid crews and increasing the traffic volume drastically without increasing the available seats.

Mechanics are in the same boat with pay and benefits. Airlines have cut the inventory of spare parts available at out stations so that the simplest of problems takes hours to fix while they wait for a part to be flown in. Company mechanics have been replaced with contract mechanics in many places. Many of whom have minimal experience.

Load factors are artificially high due to schedule reductions in certain markets.

Add the tiniest glitch like weather, traffic or maintenance problems and the whole system backs up all over the country. Pilots and flight attendants run out of duty and flight time. Flights get canceled.

Meanwhile top airline executives sit back and take obscene bonuses and pay raises while thumbing their collective noses at the people who are in the trenches.

I think that pretty well sums it up.

Thanks Surestrike, I was certain there were line worker issues but fat cat execs still raping and plundering.

There is also a very noticeable attitude difference between crews working larger aircraft as compared to the smaller crappy jets. Big plane= happy crew, little plane = hostile crew.

I know everyone from counter staff to pilot is stressed but corporate policies to over book and fly fewer planes cannot be saving a lot of money. It looks like they literally put several hundred people up for the night just at O'Hare.

It took a mechanic over four hours to repair a broken door sensor wire.

Surestrike:

Forgive me, but if you don't like it, why don't you quit? Do you think things are going to get better? They haven't in the last decade, and they probably won't in the next one. Wait, I have actually heard the answer on this site, "I could never make this much money working these few hours."

That pretty much sums up why your pay is going down over time. Until you and peers quit forever, your pay will continue to decline.

I am self employed, so my "grueling" schedule is self imposed, but I have to laugh whenever a pilot complains about grueling schedules. How many nights a year are you gone?

Today's pilots sound like yesteryear's steel workers, and we all know what happened to them. I have had three major career changes in my life, and everyone made my life better. You can do the same.

But I do agree the fat cats in the front office deserve to be fired. Richard Branson, who is more successful than any other airline CEO, used to push the beverage cart (yes, he played the role of flight attendant) so he could appreciate what the flight attendants had to go through. I am quite sure the CEO of United or NWA would NEVER think about acting as a flight attendant.

I used to own a house in MN but sold it because I got sick of the bullshit strikes from NWA pilots. NWA gets a lot less of my business today, and the pilot strike of 98 is clearly to blame. Now I live in PHX, where competition keeps airfares low.

As for safety, gee, let's see...the last fatal crash of a large airliner was the AA Airbus 300 that lost its tail on Nov 12, 2001 (I flew out of Newark the next and security was out of this world). That is going on six years; accidents are probably at an all-time low.

This is the USA...if you don't like what you are doing, if you don't like how much you are getting paid, quit.

Updated with 5 more things the next day...........

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Surestrike:

Forgive me, but if you don't like it, why don't you quit? Do you think things are going to get better? They haven't in the last decade, and they probably won't in the next one. Wait, I have actually heard the answer on this site, "I could never make this much money working these few hours."

That pretty much sums up why your pay is going down over time. Until you and peers quit forever, your pay will continue to decline.

I am self employed, so my "grueling" schedule is self imposed, but I have to laugh whenever a pilot complains about grueling schedules. How many nights a year are you gone?

Today's pilots sound like yesteryear's steel workers, and we all know what happened to them. I have had three major career changes in my life, and everyone made my life better. You can do the same.

But I do agree the fat cats in the front office deserve to be fired. Richard Branson, who is more successful than any other airline CEO, used to push the beverage cart (yes, he played the role of flight attendant) so he could appreciate what the flight attendants had to go through. I am quite sure the CEO of United or NWA would NEVER think about acting as a flight attendant.

I used to own a house in MN but sold it because I got sick of the bullshit strikes from NWA pilots. NWA gets a lot less of my business today, and the pilot strike of 98 is clearly to blame. Now I live in PHX, where competition keeps airfares low.

As for safety, gee, let's see...the last fatal crash of a large airliner was the AA Airbus 300 that lost its tail on Nov 12, 2001 (I flew out of Newark the next and security was out of this world). That is going on six years; accidents are probably at an all-time low.

This is the USA...if you don't like what you are doing, if you don't like how much you are getting paid, quit.

Much of what you say is true enough and airline execs that are assholes I guess just sleep fine. Their additude filters down to the unfortunate employees who must lie to and bullshit their customers.

Maybe doing the right thing is not in the US corporate lexicon. But next time you go to Zim or some other dictatorship, spare me the symapathy card about the poor starving folks there. Taking the US corporate exec view, if they don't have bread let them eat cake.

And some complain about unions. Ha!

And there is always the favorites, like coups and revolutions!

Will:

I actually have no problems with anyone wanting to join a union. And from a philosophical bent, I don't have any issues with anyone wanting to strike. But I also don't have a problem with replacing stiking workers. My brother is a union plumber. He thinks I take away jobs because I hire developers from South America. He doesn't think for a minute that if I was a union plumber I would not have created any jobs in the US (which is what I have done).

At the end of the day, IMO, almost all corp execs are grossly overpaid. Most, if forced to start a business from scratch, would fail miserably. However, MOST people in the US think working 80 hours a month and getting paid 100 to 200K per year is a gravy train, so the facts are, pilots aren't going to get much sympathy from the average person. On the other hand, a millwright working in a paper mill trying to negotiate a 3% pay increase via his union does have my sympathy. The flight attendant, who actually will save my life (I don't think a flight attendant has ever killed anyone due to error) in a plane crash has my sympathy.

Let's put it this way...what if I complained that I spent over 200 nights away from home per year (that is no exageration) in the last two years running my business. We will keep my compensation out of it, but suffice to say it is better than average. Who out there would feel sorry for me? I did it to myself. No one forced me to quit my last job and start my own business. I have no one to blame for my circumstances except me. So why does one who works for a big company feel so entitled?

Thank airline deregulation for cheaper fares and the decline on quality and service. Most of the majors are in, just out of or heading into BK.

Really too bad all around...

Airlines motto- We would like to have alot of unhappy customers, rather than a few happy customers....,.

Could we end this thread? Although I agree with just about 99.985% of the above frustration and have experienced most of it, I leave on United (usual connections to SAA) for mother Africa in a week and a half, with my wife. I'd like a little calm before the storm. I'll let you guess from whence the storm might come. (Hint: Begins with "w" ends with "e", with a "if" in the middle.)

I think not.

Here's what I got from United yesterday:


Thank you for contacting us. We're sorry to have given you such a poor impression of our operation. I apologize for the problems you and your companion experienced with the delay of your flight. We recognize how important it is to you that we maintain schedule integrity and we certainly don't want you to be inconvenienced by flight delays or cancellations. Our goal is to achieve the highest level of on-time performance whenever possible with safety as our primary concern. It's unfortunate that in our business there are so many factors that can impact our schedule such as necessary equipment repairs as well as situations beyond our control, for example, weather and air traffic control. Your frustration nonetheless is understood. Also, I regret to learn about the disappointment you describe with our customer service agents and regarding seating issues. Further, I understand that your baggage was mishandled on Flight. You and your belongings should be on the same flight. Our baggage services team who physically handle bags each day continually works to enhance baggage service, and particularly to better manage operational problems that occur. I'm sorry for the inconvenience you were caused. Your feedback will help us better serve you on your next trip.

Meanwhile, regarding your interim expenses I have forwarded your inquiry to our Central Baggage department, they can best respond to your inquiry. A representative will be in touch with you as soon as possible. If you have further questions or feedback, you may reach them by calling 1-800-221-6903 or by emailing them from our Home Page by clicking "Customer Service", then under "Post Travel Services" click on "Baggage Services/Lost and Found". Meanwhile, thank you for your patience. While we cannot make up for the inconvenience caused to you and your companion. However, in an effort to express our apology in a more tangible manner I have attached an electronic travel certificates. Your business matters to us. Please give us another opportunity to serve you better.

Regards,
Melody Luthra
United Airlines Customer Relations

And they attached two e-certificates for $ 100 each.

She's quite the word smith, isn't she? I love the "enhance baggage service" part. Yeah, I've seen 'em "enhancing baggage service" through the window a time or two.
What WILL you do, now that you're flush with all that cash?

I got the same letter and also $100 certificates.

So they tortured you to the point of insanity on your first flight and then try to induce you to endure it yet again with a C note?

Damn, what a bargain.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
Hey stop complaining. This is FREE ENTERPRISE at it's best. Customer service becomes non existent

This is not only with Airlines, but almost any company.

And here's what today's mail brought:


Thank you for contacting us again. Your email regarding your recent
experience was brought to my attention. Please know that the service you have received so far does not represent our usual high standard of service.


Mr. H*****, I can understand your frustration, as you have not yet received a response from our baggage department. Please know that we strive hard to deliver exceptional service, this also includes responding back to our customers ontime, every time. However, your message suggests that, we failed to meet your expectations on this occasion. Your disappointment nonetheless is understood.

Given your situation, I am once again forwarding your email along with your initial contact to our baggage department with a request to expedite this matter as soon as possible. However if you wish to follow up with them, they can be reached at 1-800-221-6903.

We appreciate this opportunity to respond and look forward to serving you again.

Regards,

Melody Luthra
United Airlines Customer Relations

Well! Finally some action!!

In the for what it is worth column -- I previously flew United on a weekly basis --and they "were" my favored airline of choice. I now use them only if I have absolutely have to -- and on occasion fly into a neighboring airport and drive as opposed to flying the totally "unfriendly skies".

I commuted around the planet on at least two dozen carriers over a 35+ year period. I flew the things for 39 years.

All that surestrike says is true.

Flight schools are hurting for new attendees. Nobody in his right mind would spend a hundred grand to obtain the pilot ratings necessary to get an airline job, just to suffer all those pay cuts and all that abuse from management.

The airlines have cut service to the bone to survive, but it amazes me how the foreign carriers such as TACA, KLM, Singapore, JAL, BA and Korean can offer such good service when the American carriers have deteriorated so badly.

Who would want to be a pilot now? Flying air carriers is more stressful than being an air traffic controller. It takes a particular type of personality to operate fast, heavy aircraft. It takes years of experience to get promoted to captain. It is not an easy job. Most guys do it for the love of flying. The money used to be good, but when you have 350 unsuspecting souls behind that cockpit bulkhead depending on you to get them to their destination alive and in good shape, you take it personally.

Would you rather miss a flight and live, or have an exhausetd captain operating your aircraft who has had four hours of sleep in the last twenty four, and who had to commute in from Japan, jumping twelve time zones and the dateline, just to take your flight?

Don't start demeaning pilots for getting well paid. They have spent lifetimes undergoing biannual tests, examination after examination, putting their professional licenses on the line, just to keep that seat. And when Murphy takes over and things start going horribly wrong, I never met a pilot who said he was paid enough money to take that 747 around, dump a couple of hundred thousand pounds of fuel and land the bitch after the number one engine chose that moment to fall off the wing. Never forget: pilots are the first to arrive at the scene of the crash.

How many lawyers and doctors get tested twice a year, betting their professional careers that they will pass the test? An airline pilot does just that. Blow that six month check and you get one retest. Blow that, and you very well may be on the street, your career in shambles.

It's not the hours per month a pilot puts in as much as the effects he suffers from totally disrupted sleep schedules, lousy food, uncaring flight operations and crew scheduling departments and last, but certainly not least, greedy fat-cat CEO's and senior VP's who could care less about you, the passenger, or him, the pilot, as long as there is meat in the seat front and back and they get their bonuses.

This country decided decades ago that airline service is the mass transportation system of choice. We have no train service worth the name, unlike Europe and Japan. So the only way to go is to suffer the slings and arrows of management's lastest cost-cutting manouever, which usually means over-working already exhausted flight crews, outsourcing maintenance and baggage handling, and offering you nothing but lousy, uncaring service from cabin attendants who, I'd bet, wish they'd finished college and obtained a teaching degree or opened a deli back on the block.

Weather downrange 3000 miles away will affect your flight schedules. Always. Get used to it.

My advice after a lifetime lived commuting and working all over the world is to give yourself plenty of extra time and don't count on anything the airline tells you. Nothing, but nothing, is written in stone.

I'f you're going to TZ, take a couple of extra days in Dar case your luggage doesn't make it. Leave plenty of time, twelve hours at least, between critical connections. As someone already said, you can usually get day rates at the layover airport hotel and grab forty winks. Take your time. An extra couple of days is a small investment when compared to what you will have invested in a 21 day license. Or a 7 day, for that matter.

US airline service is lousy, and because of an antiquated air traffic control system, mechanical breakdowns, crew exhaustion, weather and lousy management, it won't get any better any time soon. You'll just have to stoically accept it, because nothing is going to change.

I absolutely HATE flying!

Frankly I don't know how any air crew lives with the rotating shifts and jet lag . It just kills me to just ride in a plane and cross 8 time zones

My letter to Delta and then their response.
Hi Sandra,

(may I call you Sandra?)

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it.

I also thank you for your goodwill gesture of the $200 credit.

However, (there is always a however) ,



The day of my hunt that I missed cost me $400, not to mention the total frustration with being lied to by Delta personnel. I am not used to being moved from gate to gate like a little kid. Then told that the plane will be ready to go in 15 minutes, then 30, then an hour, then 3 hours, then cancelled. Finally, one of the agents 'fessed up and said the part that was needed for the plane was being flown in from Atlanta and had not even arrived yet !

You can see the daily rates for the hunt at www.nbsafaris.co.za



When I finally arrived in Atlanta—at 3AM, I had no luggage, no toiletries, no clean clothes. I had to buy all that due to the fact that Delta sent my luggage to Paris via Air France. Then I got to throw all the toiletries away due to TSA restrictions. (It should be noted that my flights were from LAX to Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa. I was never associated with Air France or Paris for any reason that I know of)



Whatever happened to the premise of my luggage not being loaded or separated from me on an international flight?



It seems odd that you said "Unfortunately, we are unable to contact you."

Why not? I know the answer will be that you are too busy to call all the people that were put out and have complaints. I stay in business because I am not too busy to contact my customers



You say you are striving to get better. I will work with you. I, too, am of the opinion that safety is #1. I sure don’t want to ride on a plane that is not 100% airworthy. I have heard people complain that they were delayed while the ground crews checked something out. I say “Go get ‘em boysâ€--- make sure my rear end is safe !!!!



In this case, it was a matter of being mislead and lied to. I will not stand for that and go away whimpering with a $200 voucher in my pocket, after sitting at the gate for 13 hours and missing the first day of my lifelong dream hunt !!!



Because you were kind enough to make an offer, I will make a counter offer:



I would feel like Delta really did care if I was reimbursed the $400 in cash I had to pay for the hunt day missed, plus a first class round trip ticket to any domestic destination. The ticket would have to be good for 2 years, instead of the one year offered.



Please consider this restitution solution as a terminus for this gruesome ordeal.

Thank you kindly.

Randy

cc: Congressman Kevin McCarthy, 22nd District, California

Dear Mr. Raymond,

Thank you for your e-mail describing the inconvenience you experienced due to flight irregularities. We apologize for the difficulties you encountered.

Your time is valuable, and operating on schedule is equally important to us. However, when a mechanical problem is found, we must restore the aircraft to company and federal airworthiness standards. Safety is the number one consideration in the operation of our flights. Until we can determine the cause of the problem and estimate the amount of time necessary for repair, specific details about a flight's operation may not be immediately available. Nevertheless, we expect our people to furnish as much information as they can and to do everything possible to minimize overall inconvenience.

We are very concerned about the unfortunate situation you described.
Flying with Delta should be enjoyable, and I am sorry for any role we may have played which caused your travel experience to be otherwise. The inconvenience you experienced does not support our goal of providing a high level of service and value to our customers. Customer service is very important to us, and we are working hard to transform our company.


We realize the importance of receiving your luggage promptly as when it was checked into our care. Constant emphasis is placed on this aspect of our service, and we are making every effort to bring about improvements.
Our people should be responsive when something like this happens, and I regret that we did not do a very good job in this case.

As a goodwill gesture, we have authorized the issuance of our electronic Transportation Credit of $200.00 which may be used toward future Delta travel. eTCVs are valid for one year from the date of issue. They may be redeemed at delta.com, Delta Reservations or at any Delta city or airport ticket office. Redemptions at delta.com will not incur a transaction fee. Fees will apply if voucher is redeemed through any other Delta location. You will be receiving a receipt for this e-credit in a separate e-mail. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the e-credit for additional information.

Unfortunately, we are unable to contact you. It would be highly appreciated if you could call our Customer Care at 800-335-8241, Select prompt 6 (Corporate Customer Care)7:00 am ? 7:00 pm Eastern Time Monday ? Friday and let us know regarding your grievances.

Your feedback is important to us and we incorporate customers' views and opinions as we make decisions.

Please accept our apology for the unfavorable impression you received in this instance.
We value the relationship you have with Delta Air Lines and would be delighted to have another chance to restore your trust and confidence in our service.

Sincerely,

Sandra M. Charles
Manager
Customer Care

I sent everything to my Congressman. He contacted DOT. DOT said tough luck. I really believe our government is afraid of the airlines.

Randy

Well, when I fired off my three-weeks-since-I've-heard-from-you reminder letter here's what I got back:


Dear Mr. H*****,

Thank you for contacting us again. I'm sorry you did not receive any response from our baggage department.

Mr. H*****, I understand your level of frustration at this point of time. However since United has a dedicated department for each field of operations. Customer’s Relations sends in the comments to respective department. I apologize this inconvenience has caused you but we appreciate your understanding. I'm once again asking our Baggage Service staff to contact you. A representative will get in touch with you as soon as possible. If you wish to contact them directly regarding this matter, please write to:

United Airlines
Central Baggage Service
O'Hare International Airport
P. O. Box 66140
Chicago, IL 60666

Or, you may call them at 1-800-221-6903. Please mention that Customer Relations has previously forwarded your or e-mail to them.

We thank you for your patience and look forward to serving your travel needs.

Regards,

Mary Nameirakpam
United Airlines Customer Relations


So here's what I sent her:

Mary-



After thinking it over, I believe it is your job to generate whastever action is needed to resolve these issues. My job was to pay for an airplane ticket. I did so; this one was over $ 3,000.



United's job was to fly me to my destination on time, and to have my (less than the maximun allowed) baggage arrive with me. You utterly failed at both of these tasks.



The effort to at least make it at least partially right rests with you, not with me. I have fulfilled my part of our contract more than six months ago. United needs to begin to show some responsibility to address your failures.