Summer 2022 Travel nightmare thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My recent flight from Dulles took off 4 hours late (with us sitting on the plane all that time). They kept having to repair the plane/ replace parts. This was before we flew across the ocean. It was very unsettling.

Wow. You guys were sitting at the gate for 4 hours!!! Was this an int'l flight or domestic?

International. At a certain point they said they had to offer us “egress” (the chance to get off the plane), but the pilot strongly advised us not to because he thought we were very close to the repair being finished (turned out to be wrong). And I forgot to mention that one person asked to get off because she was so sick (vomiting in the lavatory!). They let her but then the flight while delayed while they tracked down her checked bag (due to an FAA regulation that if someone deplanes their bag cannot stay in the aircraft). Yeah. It was pretty much a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting thread.

Traveling by air is certainly difficult right now. It's largely due to the fact that the airlines (primarily because of staffing shortages) have almost no redundancy in place to absorb typical shocks to the system like severe weather.

I don't think the current chaos is entirely the airlines' fault. While I do think they deserve some blame for overscheduling flights and/or announcing new routes without having adequate infrastructure (i.e. planes and people) in place, nobody could have predicted how quickly demand for travel would explode this Spring and how many millions of people decided the pandemic was over and it was time to travel again. I'm sure things will slowly improve over the coming months.

And to all of the entitled complainers out there who are stomping their feet over missing their meetings, vacations, and weddings, etc: Grow up. Read the fine print. Know what you're entitled to and what you're not entitled to when you book a flight. The FAA makes that quite easy to review.

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Delayed-and-Cancelled-Flights

Do you work for an airline? Given current prices of airfare, it's difficult to imagine calling someone "entitled" who pays $$$ and then misses a wedding due to airline mismanagement.

Prices are actually more reflective of actual value now. Airline prices have been exceedingly low for ages. Yes entitled is totally applicable. Spoiled would apply as well.

Ah, so yes, you do work for an airline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My recent flight from Dulles took off 4 hours late (with us sitting on the plane all that time). They kept having to repair the plane/ replace parts. This was before we flew across the ocean. It was very unsettling.

Wow. You guys were sitting at the gate for 4 hours!!! Was this an int'l flight or domestic?

International. At a certain point they said they had to offer us “egress” (the chance to get off the plane), but the pilot strongly advised us not to because he thought we were very close to the repair being finished (turned out to be wrong). And I forgot to mention that one person asked to get off because she was so sick (vomiting in the lavatory!). They let her but then the flight while delayed while they tracked down her checked bag (due to an FAA regulation that if someone deplanes their bag cannot stay in the aircraft). Yeah. It was pretty much a nightmare.

I always chuckle when people say this. One time our flight was delayed by hours so DH and I went to the bar (pre kids.) I guess the flight miraculously became undelayed and they started paying passengers. We didn’t hear them. When we eventually did and ran to the gate, it was closed and we were denied boarding even though the plan was still there. We asked about our bags and were told they were on the plane and we could not have them back. We said “isn’t that against the rules?” and the gate agent laughed in our face. Our bags flew on without us and we didn’t arrive until the next day.

[Anonymous]

*paging not paying

[Anonymous]

Travel nightmare would be flying to France with the OP of the other thread whose DD has a fever and cold symptoms.

[Anonymous]

DCA-PHX wired out and also to SAF on AA. I really thought flying AA would be a prob considering it has been on every trip the past few years. It’s interesting which flights are problematic. I’ve noticed flying through hub in DFW typically results in some kind of disappointment on AA. I’ve had less issues this yr flying on United as well but last year was mortifying.

[Anonymous]

Someone is about to bring their sick and miserable kid on a plane to France, so there’s that.

[Anonymous]

Next up in the line of misery, Delta Airlines.

https://thriftytraveler.com/news/airlines/delta-change-policy/

"Delta’s internal schedules show hundreds of flights this weekend and into next week still don’t have crews scheduled to fly them. The problems are most acute on its Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 fleets – a majority of Delta’s fleet and the backbone of its domestic operations."

Godspeed over the next week everyone.

[Anonymous]

I wish I had realized how bad things were before flying to Europe - I saw news of the heathrow baggage issue but it said it was specific to a few terminals so figured we were safe….. ended up taking 4 days to get our luggage, it was terrible. And buying replacement items in a foreign country is not always as easy as you think it may be! My poor child basically had a diaper duct taped to her because we couldn’t find the right size when we ran out! I pray our flights get us home safely next week without too much trouble!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are not going to seat young kids alone. Calm down.

Bless your heart.

[Anonymous]

Just flew home from Paris yesterday and Charles de
Gaulle was an absolute mess. It took 1.5 hours for us to get through customs/security and we got to the gate 1 minute before departure. Thankfully, they held the plane for us. I strongly advise getting to the airport 3 hours early.

Dulles customs was also a slog. They had a monitor that showed all of the international arrivals and it said 12 flights landed within a 30 minute period so all of those people were in the customs line too. A mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting thread.

Traveling by air is certainly difficult right now. It's largely due to the fact that the airlines (primarily because of staffing shortages) have almost no redundancy in place to absorb typical shocks to the system like severe weather.

I don't think the current chaos is entirely the airlines' fault. While I do think they deserve some blame for overscheduling flights and/or announcing new routes without having adequate infrastructure (i.e. planes and people) in place, nobody could have predicted how quickly demand for travel would explode this Spring and how many millions of people decided the pandemic was over and it was time to travel again. I'm sure things will slowly improve over the coming months.

And to all of the entitled complainers out there who are stomping their feet over missing their meetings, vacations, and weddings, etc: Grow up. Read the fine print. Know what you're entitled to and what you're not entitled to when you book a flight. The FAA makes that quite easy to review.

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Delayed-and-Cancelled-Flights

Do you work for an airline? Given current prices of airfare, it's difficult to imagine calling someone "entitled" who pays $$$ and then misses a wedding due to airline mismanagement.

Prices are actually more reflective of actual value now. Airline prices have been exceedingly low for ages. Yes entitled is totally applicable. Spoiled would apply as well.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting thread.

Traveling by air is certainly difficult right now. It's largely due to the fact that the airlines (primarily because of staffing shortages) have almost no redundancy in place to absorb typical shocks to the system like severe weather.

I don't think the current chaos is entirely the airlines' fault. While I do think they deserve some blame for overscheduling flights and/or announcing new routes without having adequate infrastructure (i.e. planes and people) in place, nobody could have predicted how quickly demand for travel would explode this Spring and how many millions of people decided the pandemic was over and it was time to travel again. I'm sure things will slowly improve over the coming months.

And to all of the entitled complainers out there who are stomping their feet over missing their meetings, vacations, and weddings, etc: Grow up. Read the fine print. Know what you're entitled to and what you're not entitled to when you book a flight. The FAA makes that quite easy to review.

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Delayed-and-Cancelled-Flights

Do you work for an airline? Given current prices of airfare, it's difficult to imagine calling someone "entitled" who pays $$$ and then misses a wedding due to airline mismanagement.

Prices are actually more reflective of actual value now. Airline prices have been exceedingly low for ages. Yes entitled is totally applicable. Spoiled would apply as well.

Ah, so yes, you do work for an airline.

Nope. I agreed with them and don't work for an airline and never have. The idea that 100 or 200-and-something dollar round trip domestic flights in a giant metal tube hurtling through the sky was normal or sustainable is idiotic. The costs now are more what they should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Happened to me but just a work trip. How can airlines not be held responsible for ruining so many peoples’ plans? How can the OP not be entitled to some compensation above a refund?

Because America loves capitalism and capitalism means big companies can do whatever they want.

This!

Although to be more exact - the reason companies get away with treating people like this comes down to one group of awful people - Republicans. They take away consumer protections every chance they get.

[Anonymous]

I'm definitely nervous for my flight to Portugal in less than 2 weeks. Going it is non-stop and we have ONLY carry-on's which was always the plan. Returning we have a layover in Montreal and I am nervous about that. I'm trying to prepare in the event that our return flight especially is delayed, prepping work for the possibility.

Covid is rising and monkeypox is spreading so that's not good either. I have good travel insurance so hopefully that will cover if there are any issues.