Okay
I arrive here this morning 7AM for the 9AM flight
this time with the BP in my hand.
I get to the gate no problem.
feeling fresh and good.
Then the flight gets delayed,
some problem with the door.
It's delayed to 10AM.
and now to 1PM.
I go up to ask if they can do anything about my connecting flight in Honolulu.
But no,
I should've booked it in one ticket.
Nothing they can do except give me information on alternative flights.
But that I can find out by myself.
this sucks.
I just can't understand how I'm not allowed to board when I'm there one hour early but they can get away with delaying 4 hours with their own fault.
This trip has been just too difficult for me.
and thinking I could've just got on yesterday,
and be in Hawaii right now makes it worse.
Acutally some people said I should've told them I'd already checked in yesterday.
I have!!!
I went up to the re-booking agent and told her the situation just to be sent back to the line because there were people that have been waiting in line.
I complained to another agent nearby and he was going to go and check with the gate for me, and then was told by the first agent that he cannot let me jump in line because people are complaining.
I understand the principle
but if he had just printed out the BP then and let me through at that point.
that was at least thirty minutes prior and I would have been in Hawaii now.
I've given up all my plans now,
and I just want to get to my destination before the end of the day.
What use is the arrival time if you can't plan accordingly.
might as well just say you'll be there some random time within that day .
Is it my fault again that I didn't book all flights in one ticket?
It's like you need to get a degree to learn all these "flying rules" beforehand.
Sorry for all the ranting
but this sucks.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by craz
Since when?!
I had to endure an extra 6 hrs till the next flight cause by the time I reached the Biz checkin line to check my 1 bag, (on the line over 1/2 hr) it was 38 mins till flight 2 mins over and was told Sorry you cant check the bag.
The reason it took so long as every CSR was small talking with every person checking in
Well, let's divide the issue into three categories: (a) typical treatment by the CO elite check in desk at LAX; (b) typical treatment by the AA elite check-in desks at LAX; and (c) what happened to you once at LAX!
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Okay
Is it my fault again that I didn't book all flights in one ticket?
It's like you need to get a degree to learn all these "flying rules" beforehand.
Sorry for all the ranting
but this sucks.
While this may sound a bit harsh, yes, it is (legally/financially) your fault that you didn't book all your flights in one ticket/reservation. It's in the contract of carriage that CO is responsible (financially) for getting you to the ticketed destination of your CO ticket after you meet your responsibility of getting to the airport and being checked in; if a mechanical, weather, ATC, or other delay prevents you from arriving at HNL on time, CO is required to take certain remedial actions depending on the situation. If you booked (I'm just guessing here) a separate HNL-OGG ticket on HA, it's once again your responsibility to get to HNL (whether you woke up that morning in Waikiki or Malibu) and be checked in by a certain time, and only then is it HA's responsibility to get you to OGG, again with the usual requirements in the event of some difficulty ... like, say, a blizzard at HNL.
Many airlines/travel agencies/web booking engines can put you on a LAX-HNL-OGG ticket (or LAX-OGG, or LAX-SFO-OGG, etc.) - you pay one price (which may be lower than, the same as, or higher than what you paid for two separate tickets) and enter into one contract, in which the airline is responsible for transporting you LAX-OGG at (in most situations) no further cost to you.
It does sound like the original problem was a confusion in terminology - customer told agent he wasn't checked in, when in fact he was and just needed to print a BP. Now the OP knows the difference, and probably won't make that mistake again.
As for the ex-LAX delay (that just sounds wrong!), airplanes are, like, cars, trains, computers, and other things, in that they do occasionally break. Nobody (least of all the airline) wants that to happen, but when it does, they can't very well fly until the problem is fixed. Again, see the contract of carriage to figure out what part of the responsibility is theirs.
To the OP: Flying is, indeed, full of rules and complicated exceptions thereto, and it can be intensely frustrating when things go wrong. There's no real one-stop shopping to becoming a savvy traveler, but FlyerTalk has taught me the bulk of what I know, with my own experiences filling in the gaps. Now, not only do I know how to reduce the likelihood of experiencing irregularities (i.e. don't book a 56-minute connection to the last flight of the day at EWR, don't book multi-itinerary days of travel, don't order dinner at Max and Erma's in CLE 45 minutes before a D17 departure), but what my options are (and are not) when the do occur. In fact, family and friends now call me when they get into trouble, and sometimes I'm able to help them resolve situations creatively.
To the OP: Flying is, indeed, full of rules and complicated exceptions thereto, and it can be intensely frustrating when things go wrong. There's no real one-stop shopping to becoming a savvy traveler, but FlyerTalk has taught me the bulk of what I know, with my own experiences filling in the gaps.
Well said. And that's why this website has become so popular and invaluable.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dlen111
what is this "two hour" non-sense? i never get to the airport more than one hour early. never. i never print my BP's at home or work. always reprint at kiosk. I have never had a problem and i almost always check a bag.
.
you ever fly out of LAS on a Sunday afternoon of a fight / convention weekend? You must be living some charmed life to "never get there more than one hour early" and not have missed many flights.
I can't understand why, when you take a chance at coming to the airport only an hour prior and then find long lines is the airline blamed. LAX is a major airport and it is always packed. If the airline said to only be there 90 minutes prior, I'd still be there 2 hours before and you only showed up 1 hour prior. This is to be a expected and a future lesson learned.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by COEWRFA
LAX is a major airport and it is always packed. If the airline said to only be there 90 minutes prior, I'd still be there 2 hours before and you only showed up 1 hour prior.
The check-in area is not always packed, but when it is packed, it can take an hour or more to check in if you don't have access to the elite line. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason, so you should always be mentally prepared for long lines.
Even if you are not checking bags and have your boarding pass in hand, the non-elite security line can take an hour or more. It is far more inconvenient to miss a flight by cutting it too close than it is to just show up very early with plenty of reading material (or a PC membership).
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Lots of inconsistancies here that I don't 100% understand. No doubt it can be frustrating (sometimes, extremely so), but some this first time poster managed to find flyertalk right after all this stuff happened. No problem being a first time poster, we were all that once. But who is this? Are they an experienced flyer that tends to cut things close (I often do) and got f-----d, or is this a first time flyer that doesn't know better? If you're checked in, which he/she states, the night before, there is no 45 minute cutoff. CO doesn't know or care about your whereabouts until you are either on, or not on, the plane 15 minutes before posted time. OP states that they were "too lazy" to go down to hotel desk to obtain boarding pass the night before, but then expects CO agents to put him/her ahead of other people on a crowded vacation weekend.
I'm sorry. I have no sympathy. If I cut it close and get screwed, there's no one to blame but me. If I play by the rules and someone screws me, well that's another story. ANd how did OP get to the gate without a BP?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by COEWRFA
I can't understand why, when you take a chance at coming to the airport only an hour prior and then find long lines is the airline blamed. LAX is a major airport and it is always packed. If the airline said to only be there 90 minutes prior, I'd still be there 2 hours before and you only showed up 1 hour prior. This is to be a expected and a future lesson learned.
I can't say that I disagree. Non-elite passengers at major airports should be prepared to face long check-in and security lines and should plan accordingly.
.....don't order dinner at Max and Erma's in CLE 45 minutes before a D17 departure
All great points in your post, but this one's my fav! I actually made that mistake a few weeks ago....the waitress was super nice and boxed everything up in a to-go container so I could make my flight and eat on the plane (lots of jealousy going around when they got their pretzels and pulled out real food).
I can't understand why, when you take a chance at coming to the airport only an hour prior and then find long lines is the airline blamed. LAX is a major airport and it is always packed. If the airline said to only be there 90 minutes prior, I'd still be there 2 hours before and you only showed up 1 hour prior. This is to be a expected and a future lesson learned.
Again, getting to the airport an hour early when you are already checked in and have no bags should not be "taking a chance." It is wholly reasonable. Requiring people to get to the airport two hours before a domestic flight is absurd.
Again, getting to the airport an hour early when you are already checked in and have no bags should not be "taking a chance." It is wholly reasonable. Requiring people to get to the airport two hours before a domestic flight is absurd.
In your mind it might be absurd but if you find yourself in the same place then please remember where to place the blame... Yourself. As I have said before if you have a problem with the lines you need to wait on to clear security then by all means contact the TSA.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by COEWRFA
In your mind it might be absurd but if you find yourself in the same place then please remember where to place the blame... Yourself. As I have said before if you have a problem with the lines you need to wait on to clear security then by all means contact the TSA.
Well said. Again we are back to personal responsibility. Finding that a lot of people are having problems accepting this lately. If you feel it is ok to arrive an hour before your flight, then that is great. Most of the time you will probably be fine. But do not blame the airline in those instances where the gamble did not pay off.
It is certainly no big secret that the TSA and most arilines suggest that you arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes prior to domesic flights.
All great points in your post, but this one's my fav! I actually made that mistake a few weeks ago....the waitress was super nice and boxed everything up in a to-go container so I could make my flight and eat on the plane (lots of jealousy going around when they got their pretzels and pulled out real food).
My case was a little different: I flew in from RIC and saw that my flight to PIT was running about 20-30 minutes late, so I went in and ordered a quick item from the menu. I decided to pull out my laptop and check e-mail and eventually, as my food was taking longer and longer, pda.continental.com. Not long after my food was delivered, the flight suddenly got to be "on time." I inhaled my dinner, flagged down a waitress and got my bill pronto, paid in cash, and ran down the escalator to get to D. At the bottom, a lady with a cart offered me a ride, which I accepted. I ran up the escalator and all the way down to D17.
When I got to the gate area, the inbound flight was just leaving ERI!!!!! pda.continental.com had screwed up, and I had plenty of time to relax my breathing at D17. In fact, the previous flight to PIT was mega-delayed and hadn't left yet when mine did ... boy, were there some ticked off people!
To be clear, I have no problem with Max and Erma's at all: They're obviously used to having to do quick service at that location, and they do it pretty well.
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It's unfortunate that the OP feels "because of what happened yesterday, today should have been a cakewalk." IRROPS happen and it sux when it happens to you. Unfortunate that the issues of yesterday have been compounded by delays today, but in the end it's a "live and learn" situation. Hopefully the OP doesn't write off CO as an option for future travel because, as Larry says on the safety videos, I believe the people @CO really are "the best in the business." I have traveled on every major US airline and CO really is number 1 in my opinion and I arrived at that opinion even before I became platinum. Come to think of it, I became platinum because of my positive experiences on CO.
