jasamuel

As you can see, I'm new to these boards. I must admit, I don't understand most of the content in these threads (fiscal matters, abbreviations, etc.) and am perhaps a bit out of my league. However, after my recent expereiences with Independence Air I'm left feeling very displeased, and would appreciate your feedback. I might be channeling the activist roots of my hippy parents a bit here, but please bear with me.

I bought a Glide pass. Why wouldn't I have? It's a phenemonal deal for someone with a flexible schedule and dreams of jet setting. I managed to book a ridiculous flight from IND-ORD by was of IAD on May 7th. I wanted to go home for mothers day, and didn't feel like making the drive. With my Glide pass, I figured I could just sit back and enjoy my hot towel and ipod. I was made to check my bag when I arrived at IND over an hour and a half prior to my departure. My IND-IAD flight was delayed due to weather, and the ground staff was nice enough to hold my connecting flight for me. I was on the ground at IAD for 3 minutes max, and realized the chances of my bag making the flight were quite slim. I was told by the flight attendant that in the event it didn't make the connection, I would be kindly rewarded under the Happy Bags promotion. No surprise, when I arrived at ORD my bag was no where to be found. A helpful gate agent helped me complete a lost bag form, but told me that my bag never even made my first flight and was still on the ground in Indianapolis! I was also informed that as a Glide pass flyer, I was ineligible for the Happy Bags promotion. I could have excused my bag not making the connection, as that was a weather delay. But I have a hard time justifying my bag not making it onto the original flight when I checked in 90+ minutes early. After reviewing the online Happy Bags rules, the only wording I could find limiting participation referred to employees and other "non-revenue customers". I take great offense in being called a non-revenue customer as Independence gladly accepted my $249. I certainly paid for my flight, and was as inconvenienced as anyone else would have been by having their bags lost and not delivered until nearly 8 pm on Mother's Day. I feel I'm owed some sort of compensation for my troubles as the Happy Bags promotion promises. Three separate calls to the Dulles Call Center resulted in no help or even an apology. Two emails to the complaints address were returned 8 days later with a rudely worded rejection of my request. I am most concerned that Independence feels they are able to treat college students as second class travelers, as I can't imagine them feeding an adult traveler the type of disrespect and miserable customer service that I was served up.

My most pressing concern is the availability of Glide flights. In early May, these flights were plentiful and easy to book. This is no longer the case. I check the Glide fares every single morning, and for the past two weeks I have not been able to book a single trip. There's one $0 fare flight per week, and rarely a returning flight. This was my greatest fear for the Glide program, and I gave Independence the benefit of the doubt when I jumped into this. I convinced my family and friends to buy these passes because they were such a fantastic deal, and now feel absolutely awful that they've proven to be nothing more than a useless $249 iClub account. I've sent several emails to the complaints address about this as well, none of which have been responded to.

I think Independence Air is a great airline. I'd rather have a crumby flight with them than a good flight on just about any other airline. I've stood up for them through several fumbles on their part, and encouraged others to give them a shot. In return, I am left feelings like Independence Air has absolutely taken advantage of me as a college student. They have taken money I don't have, and treated me poorly throughout. Regretfully, I will not be sticking up for this airline again until I see a major shift in the way they handle customer service.