I so hate flying!!! Airports suck~~
 

Well I left Tallahassee , FL this morning at 9:04 headed to Atlanta, then connecting to Minneapolis, then onto sioux Falls , SD for a big customer of my day. Nothing like playing golf on company time!! Anyway, we go to start our decent into ATL on time at 9:35, when then all of a sudden we climb back out and veer out of the patter. Capt comes on and informs bad weather on ground, so you guessed it we're gonna circle for little while. Ok, but guess what my first connection is in 40 minutes, well we landed roughly 15 minutes after my flight left!!! So to the ticket agent I go to get my new schedule. New flight 2:45 direct, ok I can deal with that no connection!! Guess what happens at 2:15, flight cancelled!! Bumper to next direct flight at 6:45. Well here it is 7:20 and I'm still chillin in the Delta crown room, flight is getting bumped 30 minutes every time I turn around. Last time I looked not leaving till 9:55~~

No flights back to my home airport. If I don't get out of here soon, I'm grabbing a car and driving the 3.5 hours back home

Sounds like there has been some bad WX throwing some kinks in system. Sorry to hear you have been bumped so many times and are stuck in ATL. But hey...at least your in the Crown room and not sitting at the gate. Good luck.

:captain:

Read this today and thought you might be interested.


Bumped from your flight? You've got rights
By David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer
Associated Press
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DALLAS – Airlines are operating fewer flights this summer, meaning that planes are packed even with the slump in travel.

Often the airlines sell more tickets than there are seats on the plane. Last year, more than 63,000 passengers were bumped, according to government figures, and this year is shaping up as more of the same

.

So what should you do if you get bumped? What if your flight is delayed so long that you miss your niece's wedding?

Before bargaining with the gate agent over travel vouchers and upgrades, it pays to know your rights and the airline's responsibilities.

The federal government sets rules on bumping and occasionally fines airlines for breaking them. This month, the Transportation Department fined Delta Air Lines $375,000, although it may waive about half if Delta improves its procedures for handling oversold flights.

Airlines must ask for volunteers first, and pay passengers who are bumped against their will.

If you are bumped from a domestic flight, the airline must pay you the price of a one-way ticket up to $400 cash if you are rescheduled to reach your destination between one and two hours of the original arrival time. The maximum doubles to $800 if it takes longer.

Some passengers with time to kill don't mind getting bumped. They hope to get cash, travel vouchers or an upgrade to first-class in exchange for taking a slightly later flight.

Chris McGinnis, a travel consultant in San Francisco, says the best flights to haggle over are late-afternoon or evening ones popular with business travelers who can't afford to be stranded overnight. Airlines are likely to offer more for passengers who give up a seat on a New York-Chicago run than on a flight full of vacationers from Atlanta to Orlando, he says.

Gate agents may put out a sign or simply tell passengers that they're looking for volunteers to skip the flight. McGinnis says it's often best to ignore their first offer and wait until departure time nears.

"The bidding gets stronger," he says. "That's when it goes from $100 off your next flight to maybe $300 and a business-class seat on the next flight out."

Experts warn about accepting travel vouchers. They might be hard to redeem, especially at peak travel periods. Make sure you understand any limitations.

Travelers are often baffled why airlines can sell more tickets than they have seats. Airlines oversell flights because some passengers buy costly fully refundable tickets on more than one flight and then only use one. Other flights are overbooked because the airline had to substitute a smaller plane with fewer seats.

While there are federal rules on bumping, there is no sweeping requirement for airlines to provide hotel rooms and meals for passengers who are stranded overnight, even if it's the carrier's fault, according to the Transportation Department. But you can haggle.

"It's up to the discretion of the carrier and the (gate) agent," says George Hobica, who operates airfarewatchdog.com. "Some airlines will do their best if you ask nicely and you ask privately you'll do better than if you make a scene." He says when a long delay appears obvious, you should ask to be rebooked on another airline.

Charlotte, N.C., real estate broker Mathew Bessette says Delta put him up in a hotel after his flight home from New York was canceled and a second flight spent four hours on the tarmac. He says he gained bargaining power by knowing the cause of the problem with his first flight: No flight attendants were available for the flight.

"If their plane breaks down or their crew doesn't show up, that's their problem and it's their responsibility to accommodate you within reason," he says.

Veteran travelers say if a long delay will cause you to miss the reason for your trip a wedding or business meeting, for example ask for a refund. However, there is no law requiring the airline to give you a refund.

Airlines and passenger-rights groups are fighting over how the carriers handle long delays, and Congress may settle the issue. This month, a Senate committee passed a bill that would require airlines to let passengers off planes that are stuck on the tarmac for three hours.

The airlines say such a law would make things worse by forcing planes that might be near the front of the takeoff line to taxi back to the gate, then go to the back of the pack. More flights would be canceled, says David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a Washington trade group for the largest U.S. carriers. Consumer groups aren't buying it.

"No one believes that the airlines will fix the problem themselves," says Kate Hanni, a California real estate agent who created a passenger-rights group after being stranded on a grounded American Airlines jet for more than eight hours in December 2006. "They haven't yet."

Since airline travel is often stressful, and summer always brings many delays, experts advise you have a Plan B. Know what flights are available if yours is canceled. If your flight is pushed back or scrubbed, hop on your laptop or phone to see if you can rebook.

"Prepare for the worst," says Hobica, the travel expert. "Bring a good book."

The ole motto "time to spare go by air, more time yet go by jet" rings so true.

I would have headed back home in a car......:willy:

If you fly in the southeast, in the afternoon, you should NEVER schedule layovers less than 1 hour. If you do, you're are asking for a weather delay, or a missed connection.

Delta has an official policy of 'No hotels for domestic passengers that miss a connection'. In order to get anything from them, you need to be willing to push the issue. This happened to me in Dulles. The Delta terminal was closing after we were supposed to depart, so you can guess how motivated theywere to help us. Since they closed the gate 3 minutes early (we walked up 3 mins before the scheduled departure time), there were 6 of us that got screwed. I then had to drive 5.5 hours one night in order to make a mandatory 7am meeting the next morning.

This is EXACTLY why they are going to need another federal bailout...customer service in the US has gone to absolute ****.

I hope they take care of you somehow. It's not much better up here in Wa.

Well....not to be rude but if you walk up to the gate 3 min before the flight is supposed to push, that's what you get. The crew needs about 10 minutes to punch in all that last minute data and review the final paper work. So to leave on time (I know what you're thinking) the agent needs to close out the final paper work 10 minutes before push time. Nothing worse than things constantly changing when you're trying to get going and having delay after delay. As a pilot I have always wished passengers had a better idea of what it took to get the job done and all that can delay a flight. My biggest pet peeve is those passengers that are sitting in the bar and then rush to the gate at the last second. it's not like catching a bus.

I will agree with you on the customer service part. Seems that most agents these days are nasty and indifferent when it comes to doing their best to make a customer happy. While still in flight school I worked for DL doing just that and I am very critical of gate agents because of it. If you ran up to my gate 3 min before departure and I could get you on I would, but not without telling you how lucky you where. If you missed a connection due to a late arriving inbound flight I would do everything I could to assist you in reaching your destination, even if that meant putting you on another airline to get there. Now if you missed your connection because of your own actions....hey that's your fault, not the airlines.

Not trying to give you a hard time here. Just keep in mind that it's a big wheel and it takes a lot to turn it.

:cheers:

Well I'm back home!! I fly a bunch for work and this was by far worst ever. Finally left ATL at 11:00 pm!!! Arrived in Sioux Falls , 12 hours after I was suppossed to . And hell it never got any better. Get to airport 4 AM Sat morning for 6AM flight, gues what cancelled!!! Delta says we can't get you home till next day!! I get on the phone raise a little hell, finally get them to get me to Jacksonville, and I'll rent a car and drive the 4 hours home!! They did bump me to 1st class, but this trip was hell!

Glad you finally made it home my friend! :yes: