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Frequent Fliers: Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Anymore? John Hoover Mar 26, 2009 3:35 pm |
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After several Q&As back and forth, with the airline line getting weaker and weaker and dumber and dumber, the ticket agent finally just stared back at the passenger, who finally gave up and walked away saying, “I’ll never fly United again.” The agent just stared in silence. I could almost hear her inner voice sarcastically, “Oh, no. She’ll never fly United again. How will I be able to sleep ever again?”
As a former revenue management consultant with Delta, I knew (as did the agent) that the reason the system wouldn’t allow the passenger to select a seat was because the flight was overbooked and all the seats were gone. Even though the passenger had a paid reservation, the system isn't about to show a seating chart with every seat full. Indeed, a few minutes later, that same ticket agent was offering free travel vouchers for volunteers willing to give up their seats.
I understand why airlines overbook. Nobody can blame them for trying to minimize financial consequences of passengers not showing up or missing their connections and thereby leaving seats empty. But, somebody in the airline industry -- in fact in many industries (like financial services) -- needs to realize that customers aren't their enemies.
My own trip was marred by a missed connection due to a 2-hour late departure from Newark. I was stranded for the night - a one-hour flight from my final destination. The agent greeting the flight on the other end was ready with the old, “It was air-traffic control’s fault” explanation, thus exempting the airline from paying for a hotel room. I’m a private pilot. I fly air-traffic controllers around in my airplane. I talk to air-traffic control every time I fly - on the same frequency as Captain Frisbee in his Boeing 737 Heavy.
Air traffic control didn't put that flight in a 2-hour gate hold anywhere in the system that day unless mechanical or staffing problems caused the delay. Neither did air-traffic control have them circle an airport for 2 hours waiting to land. Weather wasn't causing delays anywhere in the system that day, I checked.
But who can argue with, “It’s not our fault. You sleep in the airport for the next 6 hours or buy your own hotel room." When I (calmly) explained the bogusness of the air-traffic control excuse, the agent didn’t even bother with a weak or dumb retort. She immediately commenced to stare me down in silence, defying me to speak.
I just walked away. What could I say? I will fly her airline again. What choice do I have at the end of the day?
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| tags: | FLIGHT, CONTINENTAL, NORTHWEST, PASSENGERS, RYAAY, RYNAIR |
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