Submitted by Bloggeek
Gone are the days where the flight was an enjoyable part of the vacation; I used to liken it to the appetizer and dessert of a great vacation. For whatever reason, I refuse to recall the horrible experience flying in today’s air-Commerce with each new trip, just to have a progressively worse experience. Delta, yeah I said it, Delta, gave horrible trips around the world a run for their money this weekend! I heard “Future Fliiiights…” echo-ing from the chilly northern hilltops of Hell-Naw-Not-Ever-Again.
It began innocently enough with my usual lateness to the airport, then rush to get there and relax. I waited and waited and waited to board, then was herded on to the plane in no deliberate manner, just kind of aimlessly followed the person in front of me. It’s not really registering, at this point, that we are falling behind schedule. I turned off my cellphone and got myself comfortable. We sat there for what seemed like forever! We left exactly 40 mins passed schedule; amazingly the exact amount of time of my layover… When we landed, I was oh so nervous as it was clear that I had no more than 5 minutes to deplane, make it to my next gate, and board before take-off, NOT boarding time!
So, when I got off the plane, I found myself running through this massively LOOONG airport (eh hem, Detroit) to get to my next gate. My elbows were flying, my home-training completely out the window. I could only be politely rude when folks didn’t hear my feet pounding closer up behind them and took their time moving out the way. It was a flurry of “s’cuze me’s” and “Ooo, sorry’s”! At one point, I stopped at a gate and asked the person to contact my gate to let them know I’m coming. I would like to add, this is within the same airline. The woman asked me for my gate number and when I told her, get this, she said, “Oh, dear. You are gonna have to run.” Okay, now, it took every last shred of common decency NOT to tell her, “No $hit!”
So once I was satisfied that she was at least trying to contact my gate, I began my 400m-hurdle again. When I got to my gate, a flood of relief poured over my now-moistened brow because my plane was still there! I didn’t give myself time to perform a mental happy-dance. I rushed to the gate and said I was the one they were waiting for and was fishing out my boarding pass. What came next stopped me cold and I felt the beginning of a hard-boil that started in the pit of my stomach. Without so much as a glimmer of empathy, not even eye contact, she said, “I’m sorry, Ma’am. It’s too late.” I looked at her, blinked a few times and thought, surely, she’s mistaken; I’m LOOKING at the plane!! I asked her, “Are you sure, the plane is right there, can’t I board?” She replied, that it was too late, the doors were closed, there is nothing she can do. Might I add that I still received no eye contact, no warmth, no, “Aww, poor baby”, nothing! So at this point, I am heated because not only am I missing a flight due to no fault of my own, not only am I missing the conference at my final destination; the reason for scheduling this flight in the first place, but now, I’m getting HORRIBLE customer service that is just adding fuel to my you-are-about-to-get-cussed-the-bleep-out-if-you-don’t-help-me fire!
Okay, so, close to tears and using a very strained voice, I ask her what my alternatives are. She then proceeds to tell me in a very robotic manner, that there is a later flight (4 hours later) that she’ll book for me, upgrade me to first class and here’s a $10 meal voucher. She wraps up that bit of solace with a hearty, “There, that should make up for it!” She REALLY thought she did something!! Who says that?!?
My problem, obviously, was not the solution, it was the cold, inconvenient way in which it was handled. I did enjoy my $12 sandwhich, had an ice cream, and wandered through the airport…for FOUR hours. The rest of the flight proceeded without incident.
That is, until the ride home… To be continued, Row 42, Seat D – Airline from Hell (Part 2 of 2)
[...] Row 42, Seat D – Airline from Hell (Part 1 of 2) » All Travel [...]
Thanks much for this good blog post.
I have to tell you that I am not shocked at all that Delta was the culprit here. After all, this is the same airline that my son and I were to take to go to his college orientation, flying from Philadelphia to Atlanta. The flight was supposed to leave at 2:00, and it didn’t take off until 9:00. You’ll never guess the reason: A bad tire on a 767. Instead of borrowing a tire from another airline, they flew one in from Atlanta. Philadelphia is a hub for US Air … yes they fly 767′s . I guess when it comes to the airlines, Common Sense isn’t all that common.
I would sooner strap myself to an MX missle then ever fly Delta again.
– Dan
Very interesting and amusing subject. I read with great pleasure.