Originally Posted by
Auston
OP Here ...
First, I really appreciate the feedback from everyone, as it gives me ideas on what I should have perhaps done differently, as well as what I might want to think about moving forward.
A few follow-up points for those offering perspectives …
- I attended my meeting via teleconference, so all turned out fine
- I’m self-employed, so any costs I bear personally
- I inquired about booking me on another airline, but the Redcoat said she could not help me, I would need to use the black phones in the terminal to make the request
- By the time all of this happened, it was 9:30 at night, so alternative routing options were limited, plus I was tired and knew if I traveled via an alternate carrier or to another NY airport getting my luggage in time for my meeting would be extremely challenging
The Redcoat called me to follow-up while I was driving home (which I appreciated). She explained this situation as this:
- The alternative flight she offered showed wide open before she came on the plane to ask for volunteers
- But, once we were off the plane, the system would not allow her to put anyone on the alternative flight as confirmed
- At that point, she couldn’t get us moved ahead of the standbys and the other folks who were delayed as a result of the issues throughout the day
- They also tried, but could not get a hold of anyone who had more power to prioritize us
- She indicated that this had never happened to her before
Hopefully, that gives a bit more clarity to the circumstances.
Thank you for the updates. I cannot believe this Red Coat tried to send you to black phones in the terminal for rebooking on OAL - that is her responsibility. Her lack of knowledge on that would have made me escalate.
A PL and definitely the Station Manager would easily have fixed this. PLs have told me to board a flight before and they would fix my ticket in the air ( I didn't have a boarding pass when I got on). The SM in BOS randomly ran into me, and when a service failure came up, he took my info and processed advance upgrades for me as a gesture. Very nice of him, and shows how much power they have at their own station, at a minimum.
Hopefully the Red Coat, at a minimum, learns to hold space prior to making such offers, when flights are otherwise full and weather is bad.