rrz518
Oct 6, 01, 9:13 pm
I booked an "odd" connection on the TWA site, from DFW to STL. It connected in Tulsa. The first leg was AA Eagle, the second leg TWA.
The first flight was delayed an hour. "Broken plane" said the pilot. Arrived in Tulsa, expecting to find a tiny airport, easy connection. No luck, Tulsa is WAY bigger than I thought, (albeit empty), and the TWA gate was quite a walk. Had to exit through security, and then reenter. Security in DFW was no problem, but the good people in Tulsa felt the need for me to do the spread eagle treatment. I was 5 minutes late for the connecting flight, the plane had already left.
(Isn't it a matter of course to hold planes for a reasonable time to accomodate delayed inbound passengers? Particularly now that AA and TWA are one company?
Made my way to the AA counter. No one was there. I rapped on the door to the back office. The two women who came out stated that they were off the clock. (Having said that, they did assist me in getting on a Southwest flight an hour later).
I asked the question about holding the connection, and was subjected to some griping about the lack of quality of TWA's services. I pushed the issue: it was a BROKEN PLANE that caused the hour's delay. The response: "Sir, cars break down all of the time". My response: Well, MY car doesn't break down all the time, and YOUR plane broke, and YOUR company owns TWA.
Then, she went on to say that my connection was "illegal", etc. I explained that I reserved it on the TWA website. Also, I BOUGHT it at the AA counter in DFW, so how "illegal" can it be?
As I said, there was one last flight out to STL on Southwest, on which I was accomodated. And, I did thank the two ladies for staying a bit late to help me out, but I also pointed out I've been flying on biz for over 20 years; I know that mechanical delays are treated as "avoidable" and therefore, the airlines usually own up to the problem without scolding the passengers and pointing fingers, etc. Guess they were cranky, what with everything that's going on. BUT, all common sense with this industry is quickly declining. Any thoughts?
The first flight was delayed an hour. "Broken plane" said the pilot. Arrived in Tulsa, expecting to find a tiny airport, easy connection. No luck, Tulsa is WAY bigger than I thought, (albeit empty), and the TWA gate was quite a walk. Had to exit through security, and then reenter. Security in DFW was no problem, but the good people in Tulsa felt the need for me to do the spread eagle treatment. I was 5 minutes late for the connecting flight, the plane had already left.
(Isn't it a matter of course to hold planes for a reasonable time to accomodate delayed inbound passengers? Particularly now that AA and TWA are one company?
Made my way to the AA counter. No one was there. I rapped on the door to the back office. The two women who came out stated that they were off the clock. (Having said that, they did assist me in getting on a Southwest flight an hour later).
I asked the question about holding the connection, and was subjected to some griping about the lack of quality of TWA's services. I pushed the issue: it was a BROKEN PLANE that caused the hour's delay. The response: "Sir, cars break down all of the time". My response: Well, MY car doesn't break down all the time, and YOUR plane broke, and YOUR company owns TWA.
Then, she went on to say that my connection was "illegal", etc. I explained that I reserved it on the TWA website. Also, I BOUGHT it at the AA counter in DFW, so how "illegal" can it be?
As I said, there was one last flight out to STL on Southwest, on which I was accomodated. And, I did thank the two ladies for staying a bit late to help me out, but I also pointed out I've been flying on biz for over 20 years; I know that mechanical delays are treated as "avoidable" and therefore, the airlines usually own up to the problem without scolding the passengers and pointing fingers, etc. Guess they were cranky, what with everything that's going on. BUT, all common sense with this industry is quickly declining. Any thoughts?