557
u/SenatorRobPortman 2d ago
Back in October my partner and I thought her mother was dying. We booked a last minute flight that then got delayed for 8 hours. We begged the American Airlines employees to help us get home to my partners dying mother. My partner was crying, I was being as sweet as candy. They didn’t do anything. They didn’t check other airlines. They didn’t try to see if they could get us on another flight and then connect to the airport we needed. They just told us there was nothing they could do.
I have never had a good flying experience. I have only had “bearable” and “terrible” flying experiences.
We desperately need an alternative travel option for people going great distances in the United States.
308
u/whaddupdood 2d ago
Thank you! People act like you don't pay hundreds of dollars to have a miserable several hours long experience EVERY time you fly IF all goes as expected. With one to 3 hours tacked on to every trip for security, boarding, and waiting for takeoff. Airlines and TSA basically created a horrible environment for customers. It's no wonder people flip out.
27
u/Runaway_5 1d ago
Try 2 to 5 hours with delays almost expected. I have to drive 40m to the airport, find parking or take the shuttle parking because it is far cheaper (an hour so far), get thru security (30 to 45m) it's always busy at my giant airport and only getting worse, then wait an hour to take off because you gotta get there early or your carryon could get checked because for some reason planes aren't designed with enough room? Then you gotta wait 20m to taxi to the bridge and then get to transport or your car another 20m. Hooray! Half the day is gone and every moment was stressful or uncomfortable!
I'm 6'3" so planes always always always are uncomfortable for me too. Unless I pay triple the price... Lol
→ More replies16
u/Particular_Ad_9531 1d ago
Short people will never understand the hellish experience flying is for tall people. Everyone thinks it’s their god given right to annihilate your kneecaps so they can recline by like 3 degrees. Sorry bro my knees were there first, try sitting in front of a short person next time.
→ More replies124
u/SenatorRobPortman 2d ago
It is obviously not the fault of the low-level employees or anything like that, but flying sucks so much. Like it is a miserable experience.
If I live within 8 hours of something, then I’m just driving.
50
u/vanilla_milquetoast 1d ago
Also, in my experience at least, the TSA agents and airline employees are mean and nasty just as often as customers are. Airports are a miserable fucking place.
9
u/its-a-crisis 1d ago
Flew recently and was told at security to leave my work computer in my bag. The return flight, the TSA agent was yelling at me to get it out of the bag quickly, “what is this your first time flying?”
Worse than the customers.
2
u/invention64 1d ago
JFK had people take off their shoes and put your bags on the conveyer, but not in the bins. And they were freaking out about them being in the bins. Sadly the people in front of us didn't speak English and just kept getting yelled at.
7
u/69TossAside420 1d ago
Airline Employees are just Retail Employees with captive customers they don't have to kiss the ass of. Customers are nasty so they're nasty so customers are nasty, etc. It's a cycle of misery where, though you can definitely point to individuals that are awful pieces of shit, neither group as a whole can really be blamed because the experience of flying is so fucking miserable.
TSA agents suck, though. Ego inflated fuckers that do literally nothing except harass brown people and miss 95 percent of weapons. Fuck the TSA.
→ More replies80
u/GhostlyRuse 2d ago
Don't yell at low level service people, it won't help anything.
That said, it's sometimes those low level service people making a shit situation worse. Sometimes. Not always. But sometimes you see them go on a power trip, be disrespectful, or downright mean to stressed out people. If you fly enough you'll see them. Particularly security
30
u/chewableplate 1d ago
I've personally known many low level service people who will stonewall you out of laziness if you're too nice and don't seem likely to complain up the chain.
It may help sometimes.
9
u/LuxNocte 1d ago
Absolutely.* As a customer service drone: polite but firm is the best way to go. Ratchet up to respectfully insistent if you need to. The people who get the best service are the ones who are professional/friendly, making reasonable requests, and will go to my boss if they don't get what they want.
*As a minor caveat, I would change "laziness" to "I'm doing the work of three people so my boss can afford a sports car".
→ More replies3
u/The_One_True_Ewok 1d ago
Yup... Am the too nice person with a partner willing to drop the hammer. The number of times an "unsolvable" issue has miraculously been taken care of the second they start pushing is disheartening
4
u/Gigglyi 1d ago
Stressed out people tend to take it out on the employees. Because they’re right they’re and wearing uniforms. In reality most agents are only trained to check in and other basic stuff. That is at least the case for international airlines. People are traveling and sometimes it doesn’t go as planned for many of the passengers. But that doesn’t mean those unhappy pax should come demand the 19 year old who’s working part time without any flight benefits should somehow solve this.
3
u/JickleBadickle 1d ago
TSA agents are either careless and chill or they’re the biggest chode on the planet. No inbetween.
28
u/redd1tadminsaredbags 1d ago
It is obviously not the fault of the low-level employees or anything like that
It's their fault when they go "sooooooorry licherally nothing we can do".
Yes, actually you can. You don't want to. There is a big difference and I loathe the ignorance. And I'll let you know.
6
u/supadoggie 1d ago
Trains need to make a comeback.
I was in Japan and the trains there are amazing and they take you across the country very fast. If we had bullet trains here, we wouldn't need to fly to other parts of the country.
The trains here are just not up to par. Amtrak is good, but they need faster trains and a better train network to compete against flying.
7
u/gallarian-meowth 1d ago
The low level employees aren’t helping you. They aren’t offering to help you with cabs or a hotel. They might help you book another flight, but the bookings are often ridiculous, like flying from Memphis to Colorado to fly back to Orlando to get to jacksonville. Unsure why all the airline staff get free passes when their role as customer service agents seems to only extend to checking you in and charging you for bag fees
→ More replies5
u/BatBoss 1d ago
Last week we ended up missing our connection because of flight delays - American Airlines employees did nothing to help. No paying for hotels, no transportation, no food covered. Best they could do is rebook us for a flight 2 days later, and give us a 15% discount voucher on approved hotels. We didn’t yell at the low level employees, but I definitely wanted to.
I ended up just renting a car and driving 10 hours through the night from Phoenix to SLC.
I sincerely hope that company goes bankrupt.
United is no better. Frontier is worse. Delta is slightly better, but not good. Fuck air travel.
→ More replies4
u/SenatorRobPortman 1d ago
We were living in Albuquerque at the time trying to get to the Cleveland Clinic. It’s a 24 hour drive time. We were reaching a point where I was like “let’s just hop in the car”. I would have driven all night and the next day to get her there.
And for reference, we would have been happy flying into Pittsburgh or Akron. Absolutely bonkerballs.
11
u/Particular_Ad_9531 1d ago
Yeah if a massive corporation takes hundreds of dollars of your money, fails to provide the service, strands you at an airport somewhere, then tells you to eat shit when you try to get them to do anything it’s reasonable to be annoyed.
10
u/JohnNelson2022 1d ago edited 1d ago
TSA basically created a horrible environment
It's hard to know, because we don't have a way to examine different timelines and see the outcomes of different policies -- but I strongly suspect that TSA is a gigantic boondoggle, a complete waste of public funds and a complete waste of 100s of millions of hours of airline customers' time.
DOES AIRPORT SECURITY MAKE US SAFER?
The United States has spent more than $1.1 trillion on homeland security since 9/11, and many people wonder whether these measures have made us safer.
The TSA is now the exclusive security force at more than 450 airports.
There are nearly 47,000 agents, referred to as screeners. The TSA agents do not carry weapons and are not authorized to make arrests.
Since 9/11, there have been several airline incidents that have prompted many to question the effectiveness of airport security. According to experts at the Cato Institute, there were more than 25,000 recorded breaches in the decade since the agency was formed. In one incident, a passenger was able to board a plane with a batch of C4 explosive devices. Critics charge that the TSA only discovered the bomb on the suspect’s return flight. Since its formation in 2001, the TSA has not captured a single terrorist attempting to board an aircraft.
People opposed to the invasive measures by the TSA charge that the amount of force is out of proportion with the risks they are preventing. Statistically speaking, the chances of a domestic or international terror attack are low. A repeat of a 9/11-type incident is infinitesimally low. Despite these low risks, millions of travelers are subjected to draconian rules, embarrassing pat-downs, and even x-ray-like scanning. The question of whether all of this makes air travel safer is a legitimate one.
Something I find maddening is how, long long ago, an idiot put soles made of explosives on his shoes and tried to ignite them during a flight -- so since then 100s of millions of people have had to take their shoes off, going through security. It's triply maddening because TSA scanners do not detect explosives.
Edit: I searched /r/theydidthemath to see if anyone had figured out how many millions of hours of delay TSA has caused, and found this 7-year-old post:
According to the TSA, they screened "708,316,339 million" people in 2015. Let's assume that the person writing this doesn't understand that putting the word "million" after a number multiplies it by 106. Let's also assume (due to lack of data) that the average amount of time someone spends being screened and waiting to be screened and repacking their luggage and putting their shoes and belts back on is ten minutes (I think it's safe to say I'm not overestimating here). Multiplying the number of people screened by ten minutes, dividing that by the 365 days in a year, the 24 hours in a day, and the 60 minutes in an hour, we estimate that people spent 13,476 YEARS in security checkpoints in 2015. That's 171 average American lifespans PER YEAR. According to a study conducted by the University of Maryland and the TSA, just 80 Americans were killed in terrorist attacks from 2004 to 2013 (excluding combat-related deaths of soldiers).
The post's comments add more depressing observations. :(
2
u/baguettesy 1d ago
Wait hold up. Guy puts explosives in his shoes, and the response isn’t to develop and use ways to detect hidden explosives (which I’m sure we already have. Aren’t bomb-sniffing dogs a thing?), but to just have everyone spend more time removing and putting on shoes???
I figured the whole shoe business would at least be able to detect bombs in shoes, but… no. We’re basically taking off our shoes for shits and giggles.
4
u/tjmanofhistory 1d ago
I tell everyone this nut definitely invest in TSA precheck. It's 70-85 bucks for 5 years and there are have been instances the last 3-4 years where the time from when I enter the airport to when I sit down at my gate is about 15 minutes
→ More replies→ More replies3
u/morpheousmarty 1d ago
And let's be real, causing enough of a stink can make things happen.
I used to work at a call center. It's evil how the company basically makes you insult the customer with trying to accept how they are screwed, and don't give you the tools to really fix it. I don't think back and blame the customers for anything, the company was at fault.
So being an asshole is a horrible thing to do but sometimes it's the lesser of two evils.
37
u/TipsyAI 1d ago
I had one attendant tell me they’re not in the business of losing luggage when they suggested I check my luggage, and they then lost my luggage.
21
u/Sloth_Monk 1d ago
And Lufthansa had the gall to briefly ban AirTags cause they were tired of customers being right, still can’t believe they tried that!
7
u/NuttyManeMan 1d ago
"we're not in that business, we do it for free as a hobby because we're just passionate about it"
→ More replies3
u/SenatorRobPortman 1d ago
A few months after this debacle with my partner and her mother the same thing happened to me. They made me check a carry-on because the plane has run out of room, when I arrived at the airport I had to wait 2 more hours for my luggage.
I DESPISE flying.
→ More replies9
u/JohnNelson2022 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was being as sweet as candy. They didn’t do anything.
I had a good experience, that I suspect was due to how nice I was to the people on the phone.
My 80-something parents were snowbirds commuting between Michigan and Florida. I was the designated escort each year, getting them to and from the airports, handling the luggage, making sure they got to the right gate, etc.
One year we missed the connecting flight, I don't remember why. We were waiting for something to open up so my parents could get home. They were exhausted and stressed out.
Every 20 minutes, I called the airline department that handles such things. At the end of each call, I would ask the person:
What is your first name, please?
[Name]
Thanks very much for any help you can give us, [Name].
I only asked for the first name because I didn't want anyone to be concerned that I was going to complain about them.
After a couple anxious hours, I received a phone call! They had a seat for me on a soon-departing flight to Michigan, and seats for my parents in first class! It might have been the first and only time my parents flew first class.
I imagine that there were dozens of people who were asking them for help getting flights, who would have loved to get on that plane -- but the airline called me. That might be because of my parents' dire straits, or because I treated the staff like human beings.
I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience, OP.
The airline people staffing those phones deal with angry frustrated people, all day every day. What a difficult job. I feel sorry for them. They deserve courtesy. I'm sure they appreciate it when they get it.
For me, it was a memorable flight because one of my classic lame jokes actually got a laugh!
My Dad was a big classical music fan. He had struck up a conversation with the person across the aisle, who was flying to Detroit to be one of the four featured singers in a performance of Handel's Messiah. Dad introduced me when I went up to first class mid-flight to check on them. That was the set up for my lame joke:
Me: Does the performance include the perverted part of Messiah?
Singer: What? PERVERTED?! What part are you talking about?
Me: When they sing "All we like sheep!" (singing it)
The singer and my parents laughed. The singer actually said "That's a good one! I'm going to tell it to my friends!"
I'll never forget that time, and the other time, that someone laughed at one of my jokes.
Edit: The full lyric is "All we like sheep are gone astray" which logically would be written "All we, like sheep, are gone astray" -- but the libretto goes "All we like sheep [pause] all we like sheep [pause] are gone a-stra-a-a-a-a-y [repeat] -- so "All we like sheep" is kind of presented as a complete sentence, hence the joke. Listen here.
57
u/thyme_cardamom 1d ago
We desperately need an alternative travel option for people going great distances in the United States.
The us used to be the great train country, but we've lost that. We depend on planes for ridiculously short trips because driving is too slow.
We make this big stink about how hard it is to build trains, and it's embarrassing. Just fucking build them.
→ More replies31
u/SuperSimpleSam 1d ago
There's no way OP was getting cross country on a train faster than a plane even with the 8 hour delay.
8
u/pixelatedtrash 1d ago
I thought about taking Amtrak home for the holidays. Figured it would be a little more interesting than driving across the country, because that drive sucks. I have dogs so flying isn’t really an option, and at the time, I wasn’t aware of the weight restriction.
CO -> NY. It’s a 46hr trip including the ~7 hour layover each way. Driving takes ~26 hours and I can usually do it in 2ish days.
Oh yeah and it’s also more than the price of a round trip flight… each way. So at that point, I might as well suck it up and just kennel my dogs and fly anyways.
21
u/WhatSh0uldMyNameBe 1d ago
That’s why I like the idea of overnight high speed trains, they’ll never be as fast as a plane but I think going to bed in NYC and waking up in San Francisco could be even more convenient than a 6 hour plane ride. Obviously this would take a massive amount of new infrastructure with decades to build it and with the massive car lobby and lack of care for trains and Amtrak the government would probably never fund it, but it would be really cool if it did happen!
12
u/yourlocalFSDO 1d ago
Even with pretty direct rail this would still likely end up being a 14hr+ trip. I think high speed rail interconnections between large coastal cities is a no brainier but it just isn't a practical form of transportation for cross-country travel in the US
→ More replies7
u/thyme_cardamom 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not sure about the distance in the above comment, but most plane trips are around 500 miles. That's usually about a 1.5 hour flight. High speed trains go about 180 mph, so that's about 2 hours 45 minutes.
1 hour 15 minutes is way less than the extra amount of time needed to arrive early, go through security, board the plane, and taxiing. So bullet trains should be quite a bit faster and WAY cheaper than planes for most trips.
For longer distances, the plane starts to make more sense, but again only if you can afford it
13
u/Dornith 1d ago
This .
No one is seriously talking about replacing planes. Not only are they faster, but there's a lot of places trains simply can't go.
But realistically there should be 4 different modes of transportation:
- Walking/biking/public transit for daily needs
- Car for short range and rural travel
- Train for intermediate distances
- Planes for long distance
Yet for some reason we decided to make the first one completely impractical and removed all the infrastructure for the third.
→ More replies3
u/AtreusFamilyRecipe 1d ago
Car for short range and rural travel
God, I know it's not feasible. I know it's ingrained in society, I know companies will fight tooth and nail against it, but man, I wish we could eliminate cars. They are god awful for the environment, expensive, and there would be so many less accidental deaths and room for walking/biking/public transit if they were gone.
3
u/NuttyManeMan 1d ago
I'll take a longer trip where I can take in scenic, up-close views of swaths of the country at a relaxing pace over stressful looks at clouds and far-below ant-cities any day, unless I'm in an emergency rush for some reason
1
u/LocalAlcoholicIGuess 1d ago
he didnt say it had to be faster
14
u/yourlocalFSDO 1d ago
We begged the American Airlines employees to help us get home to my partners dying mother.
→ More replies15
u/xXmindless 1d ago
There is alternative travel! Just get a private jet! It's that easy.
→ More replies5
3
3
7
u/BigOlPirate 1d ago
My mom, sister, and myself have traveled every year for the past 9 years to vacation around Christmas. We gave up presents as kids to vacation with each other. We have flown mostly Spirit out of Cleveland Hopkins, and have only positive experiences. This includes both foreign and domestic with connecting flights. We’ve also had to fly delta a time or two. If you exclude the occasional crying baby, or passenger deciding they are the main character, we’ve had good experiences.
It really tragic to hear when people have life changing moments and what’s supposed to be a higher end airline fucks them like this.
→ More replies4
u/icouldntdecide 1d ago
I'm not gonna pretend like the other domestics are gold standard but I'll tell you American is on my no fly list for very good reason. I'll pick anyone else first, and still not pick them last
→ More replies2
u/Old-Advertising-8638 1d ago
Trains, you need fast rail
Like every functioning society that’s not an ex-colony
2
u/Cyber-Cafe 1d ago
I agree with you, simply for the fact that I get severely sick on any and all airplanes.
I am very sorry you had that experience. That sucks so much.
2
u/shea241 1d ago edited 1d ago
I used to consistently have pretty decent experiences flying pre-9/11, and even some afterwards too. But the industry seems to have reached that point of putting the financial death squeeze on everything until it's totally miserable. The explosion of low-cost airlines coincided with that. Then again, it's easy to forget how much we used to pay for a plane ticket back then. It's a race to the bottom now either way.
I was young and made stupid mistakes several times, such as forgetting which airline I was even flying, asking every ticket counter if I'm a passenger (pre-smartphone). The plane had already left by the time I figured it out, so they booked me the next flight out on a different airline (no charge) and I was barely even late.
Flying now is basically submitting yourself as livestock stuck in a flying tube for a few hours after dealing with people who failed to get jobs in corrections and now yell at you for putting your phone in your bag after they just said "put your electronic devices in your bags" because electronic devices means laptops and tablets not phones DUH. Guess I need to make $900k/year so I can fly my family first class like real humans.
2
u/FattyPepperonicci69 1d ago
LPT; pick shitty hours if you can, and only pack carry-on. I've never had an issue then. Air Canada.
2
u/wizards_of_the_cost 1d ago
I was being as sweet as candy.
The fact that you brag about this makes me pretty sure that you weren't being the rainbow of placid joy you think you were.
2
u/Apptubrutae 1d ago
Nothing guarantees good results. You can be sweet and accommodating and get walked on by employees.
But being nice increases your odds. Not to 100%, but it increases them.
Yes you might still come across the jaded and unflinching employee who can’t be bothered. But more typically you’ll get as much help as you can in a moment like that because you’ll be more pleasant to engage with.
There are some “squeaky wheel gets the oil” cases in aviation for sure, but less than some other industries, I find.
3
u/xFiction 1d ago
Just a note that should be known: American is the worst domestic carrier for on-time rates consistently. Usually 65-70% running average. Which means that 30-35% of their flights are delayed.
If you’re flying US domestic Delta, and United in that order are the best options for reliability and service. You get what you pay for in this case
→ More replies2
u/Particular_Plan8983 2d ago
Probably because they can't do anything. Your only real shot in those situations is to call the airlines customer service.
26
u/yet_another_newbie 1d ago
Gate agents can rebook you on a different flight, if there are alternatives. If there are other airports nearby, they may even be able to comp you transportation (like taxis) there.
4
u/Particular_Plan8983 1d ago edited 1d ago
Those are enabled by the airline, probably because of cancellation or overbooking. They can't do it without permission or order from the airline.
The one advantage they do have is better line of communication to some of the airlines.
The gate agents want to help you and they don't want unhappy customers staying at the airport. That is just lose/lose. But the airlines make all the calls.
15
u/redd1tadminsaredbags 1d ago
They can't do it without permission or order from the airline.
So, they can do it. Thanks.
→ More replies6
u/dawnoftherages 1d ago
If they still have an option to call, that is. My partner and I got stranded in Denver last Christmas and our only communication option with Frontier was a broken chatbot
→ More replies15
u/cromulentfrankgrimes 1d ago
Don't listen to this clown, gate agents will literally lie to you. There are actual federal regulations, which they don't follow. You can complain to the federal govt, which more people should do. But definitely don't shrug it off as "oh well, nothing they can do" that's exactly what the airlines want and how they skirt the rules.
→ More replies2
u/HoustonTactical 1d ago
This is why you owe nothing to those employees who do not go above and beyond. You paid for a service.
2
u/BearsDoNOTExist 1d ago
Going through a situation right now where the airline (we got United, my mistake) changed one of our flights under the pretense of "saving time on our transfer". The only problem is that they changed it to a flight that landed an hour after our transfer took off. No amount of niceties over weeks of conversations and proofs got this corrected, finally had to threaten reporting it to some government agencies and then suddenly a manager who could solve the problem appeared. Broken system.
→ More replies-2
u/thebooty22 1d ago
TBF if you kept bothering me accompanied by a wailing woman I would blow you off too
→ More replies
396
u/Lethargie 2d ago
airlines love keeping unused airplanes in reserve and not use them
181
u/misterpickles69 2d ago
All fully fueled up and idling on the runway just to be ready.
99
u/ExtensionNoise9000 2d ago
Yea, the backup pilots just sitting in the cockpit playing sudoku.
47
u/bentzer 2d ago
Yep! Airlines famously have a great margin of profit which is why they are able to do this
→ More replies→ More replies5
17
u/JaySayMayday 1d ago
Don't forget those planes already have pre flight checks finished, ready to roll just for people that start a bitch fit to reach their destinations
17
u/FlyAirLari 1d ago
Fully staffed. Everyone getting paid, just waiting for potential passengers.
So just pity those people in the reserve planes and be extra rude and demanding to airport personnel.
7
u/Duamerthrax 1d ago
Ironically, they'd rather fly empty planes then risking losing flight path reservations.
11
3
u/tyleritis 1d ago
I didn’t say anything. I just left and rented a car for the rest of the way.
The airline canceled my return flight because I didn’t get on a plane that never came.
2
→ More replies2
u/TittiesInMyM0uth 1d ago
I worked for an airline once. There was one backup at the main hub and that’s it. Airplanes and hangar space are crazy expensive
36
u/GraKthaK 1d ago
Doesnt apply to TSA. At PHX I just had my flight cancelled after 8 hours of delays and while we were waiting on the runway. When everyone went to reclaim their bags they said over loudspeaker to come back to the gate and that they rebooked us a flight to another airport so we could catch a connecting flight home. Well most people apparently throw their tickets away on the way onto the plane. They said for anyone on our flight all you need is your ID to get through security back to the gates.
TSA mocked everyone that didnt have their ticket anymore saying shit like "does anyone want to fly today?" started making comments about people's appearances, and being incredibly unprofessional. Nobody gave the airline workers attitude but holy shit was everyone livid at TSA. Fortunately I was with somebody that works for the airline we were flying and went to reprint our tickets right away but they treated the people that didnt know what was going on like shit.
15
u/MikeHock_is_GONE 1d ago
Looks like their strategy worked.. everyone was pissed at them and forgot to be mad at the airline workers
6
u/GraKthaK 1d ago
The airline workers were there just as long as us with each delay and they had some poor nervous kid give everyone the bad news each time things got delayed/cancelled. Nobody was giving them any issues. Whoever was calling the shots for Southwest sucked though. They flew in pilots from another city that timed out while we were taxiing on the runway. Like zero forethought at all on that one.
→ More replies10
u/McBurger 1d ago
Dude, the TSA is so rude. There are certain policies that vary by airport, but they’ll still shout at you like an asshole if you do something that’s standard at your home airport but not this one.
Example, I flew out of Boston and naturally I took my watch off and put it in the bin at security. TSA comes over to me and declares “watches can stay on!” Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t know, in Rochester they want them off and in the bin.
“Sir, put your watch back on!” …but it’s already off and in the bin? Can’t I just push it through? No, okay, fine so I put my watch back on.
“Now hold your hands above your head while walking through and cover your watch with your wrist.”
Okay, naturally the thing beeps when I walk through, as instructed. They wave me on through after acknowledging it was just my watch. Cool. Glad that accomplished something.
They treat you like the dumbest imbecile for not knowing something so stupid, that works differently everywhere else, it’s demeaning.
5
u/GraKthaK 1d ago
Yeah they do it with "coats" too. Had a friend argue that her quarter zip was a shirt and not a coat and they would not be getting her to strip to her bra.
Another time one was berating this poor old lady for doing the same thing you said, she took her jewelry off or something and this TSA dickhead was screaming at her. Tired of these jack asses.
28
u/_The_Great_Autismo_ 1d ago
Why punch down on people who get their flights canceled? Punch up on the shitty airlines that overbook on purpose to make sure every seat is sold.
→ More replies
101
u/Redwolfdc 1d ago
It maybe used to sometimes work being an asshole and demanding to speak to management. But airlines now have zero fucks to give about customers (and presumably not their employees either). They are practically monopolies and don’t care about service, at least not in the US. Some exceptionally shitty have even gotten rid of customer support almost entirely
49
u/Runaway_5 1d ago
That Frontier airlines! Literally no phone number to call. Just deal with shitty tech support emails. They will cancel your flight and fight you for months to get you reimbursed. Dealing with that now, but magically United was able to refund us immediately. Shocker.
Never, ever fly Frontier
→ More replies17
u/Bloxicorn 1d ago
I booked a flight online with them once and the fuckers sent me an email letting me know they changed the flight from a miserable 8 hour flight with a 6 hour layover to a deathly 20 hour flight with a 17 hour layover. At the same price. I went to their website to see how much they would charge me to cancel, and stupid me thought they would have more than one button confirming button or a page about it than saying "click me to cancel" on the bottom of the flight info. I desperately tried to find their tech support to undo my cancelation but then found out they don't have any. Luckily I charged it to a store credit card that refunded me zero questions asked but they're not worth the slight discount on a trip. Just spend the 50 dollars more and get on Southwest or American who include more bags in the price for less cost.
→ More replies5
→ More replies11
u/BigBlueDane 1d ago
I feel like one of the worst things about large corps like this is they insulate their shitty business practices by making management impossible to get to. At best you can talk to the lowest level employee or their direct manager who has zero influence over operations. At this point I just refuse to fly because at least I can choose to not directly give them my money. Flying sucks.
3
u/mrfloatingpoint 1d ago edited 1d ago
But on the other end of the spectrum, what do you seriously and realistically expect to happen right then and right there? Like okay, let's pretend you're in OP's scenario, and you can magically get someone on the phone or in person who does have influence over operations. Then what? What do you genuinely think could happen?
I get what you're saying, about how it sucks that giant corporations are faceless entities and can have shitty business practices with no recourse for you as the consumer. I'm just not sure how having a person to talk to could remedy that at all, unless you think the problem is that the wrong people aren't being yelled at by irate flyers. Does being mean to the high-level employee somehow get you a seat on the secret backup planes?
EDIT: lol why did you block me
6
u/BellBell99 1d ago
They could help you? The airlines are in the hospitality industry after all. It’s crazy that we’ve just accepted that airlines don’t need to do the bare minimum to accommodate you for a cancelled flight, especially since prices always come at a premium. The bigger picture is that in a fair world, airlines would be more than generous when it comes to helping you out if your flight gets cancelled, your luggage gets lost, etc, especially since they have record profit margins every year. I know you’re just being pedantic about OP calling the CEO of Frontier to complain, that’s obviously not what they meant.
8
u/BigBlueDane 1d ago
Talking to someone with authority to financially compensate you would be a nice start. An airline playing games and wasting days of your vacation, making you miss connections, and telling you “sorry you can sleep on the floor” is beyond unacceptable.
36
u/patronizingperv 2d ago
This reminds me of the time I was riding a shuttle to the terminal at Reagan National. The only other people on the bus were the driver and a couple who seemed to be from rural Virginia and on their way to a holiday in Cancun or some other tropical locale. They were fervently discussing something when they boarded that sounded like normal last-minute preparations for their flight. I paid little attention until the wife more loudly exclaimed to the husband, "I don't care if we don't have our passports, they're letting us on that plane!"
I looked up toward the driver and I could see his eyes immediately go to the rear view mirror to get a look at these morons. Unfortunately, I was on a different airline, so I didn't get a chance to see the fireworks.
123
u/shnu 2d ago
Those low level employees love to hear about your frequent flyer status, how important your destination is, who you are, the other plans you’ve made.
But seriously tho one day in CDG our flight to JFK got cancelled with the next one out in about eight hours and this one douche demanded to be put on the Concorde. Buddy, you were seated between the midships galley and a bathroom, and your miles status is somehow negative - you ain’t going supersonic.
47
u/fardough 2d ago
I was that guy, I got to fly on the Concorde. Just had to berate the living crap out of an employee and their whole family, but in the end it was worth it.
/joking
→ More replies8
u/NoConfusion9490 2d ago
You have to ask them if they know who you are, because then they'll assume you're someone important.
23
u/10art1 2d ago
Those low level employees love to hear about your frequent flyer status
it's almost never the frequent flyers that go crazy
10
u/shnu 2d ago
True to a certain extent.
If they are low-level frequent, like Star Alliance Silver, then it’s their first taste of privilege and they might go crazy lording it over the rest of cattle class.
Once you get to higher levels of status, you’re into frequent business travelers and the very wealthy who are going to be catered to anyway and have more flexibility in their plans because they can pay for changes.
Delays and cancellations are much easier to handle when you’re in a quiet lounge with free food and drinks and comfortable seating as opposed to the holding pens near the gates. The overhead bin to seat ratio is a lot higher, so you can board pretty late, and your stress level is just low in general.
4
u/10art1 2d ago
honestly I usually fly discount (jetblue) but they're still really nice about it. Last time I flew them, it was a $60 flight that was delayed 4 hours, which did cause me a bunch of stress because I arrived at 3am and nothing was running at the time, but I asked for compensation and they credited me back $50 worth of points and gave me a $15 food voucher, so at least they made me whole.
4
u/shnu 2d ago
Yeah it absolutely has to do with both your attitude and having the self awareness to ask for compensation. This is Reddit, where people take pictures of socially uncomfortable situations instead of addressing them by opening their mouths. Where people complain about flight delays instead of asking the airline to compensate them — because compensation should be automatic, and expected.
The one time I’ve gotten pissed at an airline is this. Flying American into DFW in the evening, the flight was delayed and almost half the passengers had connections to make, including me (work trip, meetings the next morning). Rather than allow connecting passengers to deplane first and haul ass, they just deplaned everyone, and of course I got stuck behind six elderly ladies who took their sweet time getting their things together, despite my gently asking if I could grab my bag and run.
Missed the connection by 10 minutes. Maybe I would’ve made it, maybe not. But the smooth brains running the operation could have increased my chances. And now they have to pay to put me up in a hotel.
3
u/10art1 1d ago
Where people complain about flight delays instead of asking the airline to compensate them — because compensation should be automatic, and expected.
That's fair. Apparently JetBlue does do it automatically- the amount of compensation is based on your ticket price and how bad the delay was, but they do it on their own and the law doesn't say they actually owe you anything unless the flight is actually cancelled or overbooked
3
u/Spite-Funny 1d ago
This is so true. I don't fly often, only a few times a year, but usually try to fly business class. It's not exactly great, but it's so much better than economy that I find it worth it. Also my airline of choice now lets loyalty status members into the lounge which is nice.
Flying sucks but the train (where I take it) is so slow. A trip that takes an hour by plane is 24hrs by train. Though the trip is beautiful.
4
u/the_real_JFK_killer 2d ago
Im a frequent flyer, and believe me, I've seen and been through it all in airports. I'm so used to it I just don't even care when a flight is delayed or canceled, or whatever shit can happen at an airport. I'm numb to it all.
→ More replies3
→ More replies6
u/Ok-Cucumbers 1d ago
There’s this one weird trick that the airlines hate, but if you say “I’m never flying ____ airlines again!” They have to put you on the next flight in first class because it would absolutely tank their stock price if anyone found out that you might not use this airline the next time it comes up as the cheapest option for your route 2 years from now.
53
u/malcavious 1d ago
The fact that every airline employee I have ever had to deal with when it comes to luggage, canceled flights, delays no matter how nice you are to them will just deadeye you and not even suggest another option gives me no sympathy for them.
23
u/Redqueenhypo 1d ago
Honestly, they’re like actively useless. The sort of people who want their job to be “stare at phone all day” and are furious at you for asking them to do something. Imagine that, having to do something for money! What’s next?!
-1
u/last_drop_of_pee 1d ago
What are you expecting them to do though? Like what is the action they will take that will satisfy you in that situation? I feel like you might be the person this tweet was directed at.
These people don't have the magical ability to just find you seats on some random other flight that happens to meet your criteria. When flights get delayed or cancelled, it has a domino effect that impacts a number of schedules down the line. The airlines have to juggle assets and personnel as best they can to accommodate.
I remember one lady who had her flight canceled due weather of all things, screaming at the attendant demanding to be put on the next flight free of charge. Sure lady, they will certainly accommodate you, along with the other 200 passengers in your situation, and make sure you all get on the already fully booked next flight that probably won't be leaving either because the fucking blizzard is still ongoing, you ignorant fucking donkey. Don't be this person.
7
u/APx_35 1d ago
The thing is, they actually do.
That's what airline alliances are for.
I had a flight cancelled by Thai Airways (Horrible Airline after their bankruptcy btw.) and they were able to rebook us on an Singapore Airlines flight. Another time United put us on an earlier flight when our flight got cancelled to NY.
Their job is literally to transport you from A to B and that's what people pay for. If this happens in Europe, you are getting up to 600$ for a 3 hour delay and they have to find you another flight and pay for food, drinks and accomodation.
7
u/bigjoeandphantom3O9 1d ago
What are you expecting them to do though?
Anything. Order a cab, arrange accommodation, provide meal vouchers, provide regular information, explain the situation, talk me through how I can apply for compensation, direct me to a resource outlining my statutory rights, say when the plane might be ready to depart so we can plan around it.
Most people are fine when they are treated hospitably, there is a reason people so consistently give shit to airline staff and that's because they are notoriously unhelpful and employed by companies with terrible policies.
→ More replies3
u/ThatWaterAmerican 1d ago
Complete opposite experience. Every time I've been nice to an airline employee, they help me out.
Twice I've gotten bumped off a flight and by talking to the person at the desk I was able to get upgraded to first class on a flight the following day.
→ More replies→ More replies5
u/jib661 1d ago
crazy how when customers treat employees like garbage, employees treat customers like garbage. dunno why that is
→ More replies7
8
u/rathemighty 1d ago
Don't be mean to the employees at the gate. Be mean to the TSA.
→ More replies6
u/Diarygirl 1d ago
I felt like I was assaulted by a TSA employee the last time I flew, and people told me I should file a complaint. I told them I might want to fly again and I don't want to wind up on a list.
→ More replies
195
u/Bowens1993 2d ago
Please don't mistreat the employees.
108
2d ago edited 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
42
u/Class1 2d ago
It's like hospitals. Anytime your care is delayed its not because there isn't enough equipment or beds. It's because there is not enough staff to get it done.
46
u/BonerPorn 2d ago
It should be noted the phrase "Beds" in medical terms means the staff, equipment, and space to take care of a patient. Not just the actual bed itself. So staffing is already kinda wrapped up in the term.
15
u/Class1 2d ago
You'd be surprised at how many idiots didn't understand that during the pandemic though... " but the hospital has empty beds!".. yeah because there is nobody to staff them.
→ More replies15
9
u/YouandWhoseArmy 1d ago
Just in time concepts have expanded quite a bit and result in worse more stressful service with less or no room for error.
7
u/RetailBuck 1d ago
"Weather" Is the same way. For some reason a flight I would take occasionally would have like 8 direct flights a day. The one I was on got canceled for weather and I got bumped without compensation to the one like 45 minutes later. It was super obvious that they just had two half full planes and combined them into one.
8
u/Mikey_MiG 1d ago
No offense, but I highly doubt the airline cancelled your flight due to weather just willy nilly to save some gas. There are a lot of factors that pilots and dispatchers are looking at when it comes to weather, some of which are not immediately obvious to those not involved with the decision.
Beyond the actual forecast itself, there are pilot and aircraft restrictions that come into effect. Maybe the captain is new to their position, so the airline’s policy requires higher visibility minimums at the destination than usual. Maybe the aircraft has a deferred anti-ice system and can’t fly into icing conditions along the route. Any of this would be broadly classified as a “weather” cancellation even if the weather appears fine or another aircraft can make the trip an hour later.
3
u/The_Hope_89 1d ago
Also, any delays associated with air traffic control or weather get lumped into the same category and delays are coded a wx or atc delay is nonrefundable. A mtx delay is refundable. A medical deversion is refundable. It depends entirely upon the reason the flight was delayed. A flight cancellation for "weather" might actually be because they had two half full flights. The US atc uses ground stops, delay programs, and airspace flow programs that can cause a cancellation. Flights will recieve EDTC times when there us a flow program or ground delay program they were caught up in. When you cancel a flight you can then move all the other flights up to take that flights slot, along with improving the times for all flights behind it. So, in his case its very likely that their flight was cancelled to save time on a bunch of other flights. So, when an ATC program like that causes the delay it allows the airline to code to to ATC, and the government has that listed as a no refund, which means the airline doesnt have to give you shit. Long story short there is a list of reasons for delay that are either eligible or non eligible for reimbursement or help. It also doesnt help that airlines give horrible service ontop of all that other bullshit because it saves money... but every square inch of an airline is regulated by the government, including how much the airline has to help you and to what level. For example if you take the red eye out of LAX headed to JFK and you divert to PIT for a mx reason they have to pay for accommodations and all that, but if it were a weather issue at JFK for instance high cross winds or thunderstorms caused the airline to hold then divert they dont have to do anything other than try to accomodate you on the next flight out of PIT that gets to to JFK that has room.
Not defending anything airlines do but there are so many reasons for something happening.
2
2
u/RetailBuck 1d ago
I mean you're not wrong but it's highly suspicious. Being able to bump an entire plane to one an hour later without an overbooking situation definitely raises some flags. It was also southwest who are the kings of efficiency and the weather at the origin was perfect and at the destination was marginal at worst. Just enough to blame the weather. Idk. Sus but we'll never know.
3
u/The_Hope_89 1d ago
Flights can get caught in ATC intiatives in the anticipation of traffic issues meaning they probably did cancel your flight for weather but thats the also lumped in with ATC to move the later flight into your flights slot for arrival. However, its not as sus or red flaggy as you are making it out to believe. Trust me, no airline wants to cancel or delay a flight if they can help it.
→ More replies14
u/winterspike 1d ago
Wtf? This comment has absolutely no relationship with reality. Mechanical issues are mechanical issues. Every single one of these is logged and categorized, eg, here.
https://aspm.faa.gov/aspmhelp/index/OPSNET_Delays__Detail_Data_Download.html
It’s peak Reddit fantasy to imagine that 96% of airline delays are actually conspiracy lies and coverups for “big corporations screwing labor”, in one of the most heavily unionized industries in the world
5
u/Darkcool123X 1d ago
Whoa please calm down sir, we only do misinformation and personal anecdotes here
→ More replies3
u/Monochronos 1d ago
How would it even make sense for it to be that high when planes are highly complex mechanical things. 96 percent is insane.
5
→ More replies5
u/Mikey_MiG 1d ago
As a pilot, it’s quite a bit more complicated than that. There are a lot of things that make staffing issues more pronounced in this industry than others due to the nature of airline travel. Even a company with a well-staffed complement of reserve pilots is going to face its fair share of delays and cancellations.
If a pilot gets sick or times out away from their company’s base, you have to think of the logistics of getting someone there to fill in. And once a delay like this occurs, it can cascade very quickly as that plane and/or crew is now late for their next scheduled flights.
Believe me, management is also to blame for a lot of the fuckery that happens with delays/cancellations. But saying that this is a case of them not paying people enough to be there or something is simply wrong.
5
u/EricBeTrappin 1d ago
idk when i worked in customer service you kind of remove yourself mentally from the situation, at least i did. I remember my boss called me after a shift once and said i did nothing wrong and blah blah because a rude customer complained about me and i just though “i know lol i didn’t think about it at all” nice thought from the boss though in case i was stressed. She was great
13
u/Ryan8Ross 1d ago
Not saying I ever would, but I also understand the pure rage it can cause
After easyjet cancelled the 2nd flight I was supposed to get in the same day, the employees told us to come to a room so they could explain what was happening
They opened a fire exit and locked the door behind us without saying a thing. I swear to god. And then they refused to give wny extra compensation because they claimed there were alternative flights (which there weren’t) and many people including myself missed weddings due to back to back cancellations
→ More replies11
2
→ More replies3
u/UnknownAdmiralBlu 2d ago
Ha, you only want the seats for yourself, nice try but that doesn't work on me
31
u/NostraThomas1 Brutha from Anutha Mutha 2d ago
My gosh, I used to be a gate agent for Frontier airlines. This hits home. Had to inform a crowd their flight was cancelled and a guy came up and literally told me “you got a stupid fuckin haircut” like… he had to hit me where it hurts.
19
14
u/breckenridgeback 1d ago
To be fair, Frontier is the "stupid fuckin haircut" of airlines.
4
u/akatherder 1d ago
They're the "thank God for Mississippi" of airlines. At least in the US. I think Ryan Air might take the cake.
Spirit is flying high in comparison.
→ More replies2
u/Halzjones 1d ago
At least you used to be. Now every frontier agent is a steaming pile of shit.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/frontier-airlines-bag-fee-tiktok-b2346216.html
11
u/Shire_Hobbit 2d ago
Actually because the airlines are subsidized by the government, they are required to give a certain level of accommodation/compensation.
Look it up there is a lawyer that has produced some videos explaining it. Obviously the airlines don’t want that information shared. I would also imagine that they don’t have that as the go to option for the lowest level employees.
You don’t have to be rude, but you also don’t have to accept the circumstances either.
20
u/arstin 1d ago
Hey, it's a me - giant corporation! I just wrecked your shit to make a few extra bucks and absolutely don't give a fuck how you feel about it. Now queue up to talk to this useless human who's only skill is failing to hide that they also don't give a fuck behind their fake smile. Here's the fun part - if you show any signs of frustration over finding yourself trapped in a Kafka novel, you're the bad guy in all of this.
4
u/nathanscottdaniels 1d ago
Spoken like someone whose verbally assaulted a number of airlines employees in their time
→ More replies
4
u/Vatrumyr 1d ago
The airport canceled the flight because less than 10 people booked it..... this isn't entirely inaccurate.
4
u/soulflaregm 1d ago
At the same time. The airline selling more tickets than there are seats and then making me change flights is absolute bull shit
15
u/dangerdaveball 2d ago
They also have private jets exclusively reserved for people who defend airlines shifty practices
5
3
u/workieworkwork 1d ago
I feel like the whole flying experience is designed specifically to cause people to flip out at low level employees.
Lets take 100s of sleep deprived people, lock them in a place with bad food for hours after making them show up hours early for security. Make sure they have a connection that they aren't going to make in a strange place they have never been to before. stick them in tiny seats with more bad food for hours and then when ever anything goes wrong blame them.
Now add in some power tripping TSA guys.
3
u/DigbyChickenZone 1d ago
This reminds me, on my most recent flight was between California [SFO] and Seattle, the plane was mostly empty. I boarded last and noticed as I was walking down the aisle to my seat that a lot of people had uniforms pilot stripes at the front.
I sat near the back of the plane, and only one other person was within my sight (also a pilot). I remember asking him a stupid question about the difference between 3 stripes and 4 stripes on one's jacket - he kindly explained, and asked if I worked as a flight attendant. I was confused and said that I do not.
Turns out I was on a plane mostly reserved for Delta[?] employees to go back to their main airport/base. It was really chill and the flight attendants for that flight were just leaning on seats chatting with the pilots.
I didn't know under-booked flights [in the middle of the day, between two major airports] were a thing that was possible in 2023.
6
u/QualityVote 2d ago
Here at /r/NonPoliticalTwitter, we care about community input and don't want this subreddit's purpose to be forgotten.
If this post is not political and doesn't violate any rules, UPVOTE this comment!!
If this post is political or breaks any other rules, DOWNVOTE this comment and report the post!
Unlike the moderators of some other subreddits, we care about the community and want to keep it true to not being political. Our hope is that by the community voting on these posts, we won't have to worry about political posts coming in. Thanks for your time.
10
u/ultradianfreq 1d ago
Who’s this clown defending airlines? They regularly get bailed out with our tax money, they regularly treat us like animals, they regularly fuck up flights (even overbook on purpose), they play voucher games instead of simply offering a full refund up front, they give no compensation for fucked up plans like they don’t even care. Shit I could go on but my point is fuck that guy whoever he is.
10
u/Galle_ 1d ago
He's not defending airlines, he's defending the person at the ticket counter, who didn't do anything wrong and has no power over the airplanes.
6
u/Ruthrfurd-the-stoned 1d ago
Eh I’ve only ever been nice to those people and I can count on 1 hand the ones that I didn’t want to tell to go fuck themselves during our interactions. Not an excuse to be a dick but they definitely can be
→ More replies2
u/MyAccountAboutMisc 1d ago
I think it's in defense of front line airline employees. Not the same thing at all.
2
2
u/-mostlyharmless1 1d ago
Whenever you have a substantial delay that’s not weather related, use your time to email the airline and complain.
Don’t be an asshole but threaten to never fly them again. Chances are you’ll get a voucher of some sort.
2
2
u/ResponsibleBank1387 1d ago
those good planes with only good seats are in the back right next to the grocery store's good fruit and veggies! just got to be nasty and force them to look in the back!
→ More replies
2
u/JoinMyFramily0118999 1d ago
JetBlue kept me on a plane for three hours. Took us off to refuel, then we sat another two hours, then we took off. They sent $50 in credits. I contacted them over chat and said "it's supposed to be $100 since it was onboard." Chat lady kept pointing to "weather" and the "Departure Delays" section. When she wouldn't budge, I just said "hey, I think you're mistaken. I'll email the office of the CEO." Emailed them, and after two emails with that link, I got $250 in an email. Never even thought to be rude to either.
2
u/StrongArgument 1d ago
Speaking of being nice to people. I bought an expensive cat toy yesterday. Noticed in the car that the package was damaged, opened it up and it looked used. Went back in and asked nicely if they could either discount it or swap for a new one. Got 50% off and just had to wash the thing.
3
u/MyDucksAreCute 1d ago
I remember getting bumped out of our seats, and the poor hassled woman at the computer was having such a time. My husband and I were fine, it wasn't a problem for us. I told her she looked like she was having a really hard day, and I asked if there was anything I could do. She said there wasn't, but she thanked us, and suddenly two seats opened up on the plane in first class and we were able to board. I never forgot that being kind opened some doors for us.
3
u/Low-Caterpillar-9913 2d ago
I heard they'll also let you in if you're a TikToker and you say "Actually I read your terms..."
4
u/combustioncat 2d ago
The secret is you have to start a fight with the staff, that always gets them on your side.
→ More replies
2
u/El_Chairman_Dennis 1d ago
Instead of a no-fly list, we just need to have flights for all the assholes to fly together. The tickets will be cheaper, because you have to fly with a bunch of assholes. It's like the thunderdome, but in plane form
→ More replies
2
u/Ms74k_ten_c 1d ago
A genuine thanks to redditors! After reading all of the comments, i realized i have been missing out the past few years. Curses on my politeness!! But no more; i am a transformed person and deserve my visit to the cockpit.
2
u/SealDraws 1d ago
I actually asked to fly in the cockpit as a kid, great experience, the pilot was also kind enough to answer questions and explain flight signals and things.
→ More replies
2
u/Astramancer_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was flying a few months ago and connected through DFW because I was flying American Airlines and that's one of their major hubs. DFW had a huge windstorm, like gusts past 90, which delayed a TON of flights because, well, that's one of their major hubs.
Instead of landing at 10pm and landing at my ultimate destination a little after midnight I landed at DFW at 1am and my connecting flight (which got rescheduled 4 times before I even landed at DFW) left at 8am.
I apparently got to DFW early because by the time morning came the entire airport was packed with people trying to catch as much sleep as they could but when I landed it was pretty empty.
At one point in the night, like 3 or 4 AM, I was woken up by a loud argument a woman was having with a supervisor about, well, the whole mess. I'm like "lady, look around. You're not special. There's literally thousands of people trying to get some shuteye here in the airport because the flights all over the country were completely fucked."
But then the supervisor became my hero. After she repeated the exact same phrase for the 5th time since I woke up (and the argument had obviously been going on for a while before then) the guy was like "Look, I can see that you just want to argue and don't actually want any help, so you can stay here and I'm going to go help people who want to be helped" and then walked off.
She was completely dumbfounded and just kinda stood there staring at nothing for a few minutes before pulling out her phone to bug someone else. It was probably the best thing to come out of the crazy delays.
1.0k
u/SpicyLizards 2d ago
It’s true—if you start throwing shit you get the best seats too