SDF_Traveler

I haven't flown I-Air yet, nor have I had an opportunity to, as most of my travel is international.

Checked baggage: this happens from time to time regardless of what carrier I take. FWIW, I had a checked bag left in BUD (Budapest) which was never loaded onto my Malev flight. I then made it to AMS and continued onto BOS with NW. By the time Malev got my bag to AMS there was no way to get it to the states. BOS was only a stop en-route to see some family. The next day I flew back to SDF (Louisville). NW authorized $200 for clothing purchases, but I didn't have the time to shop and survived with what I had.

My baggage finally made it to BOS, had to overnight there and then NW had to get it to SDF. It took close to a week for me to get my luggage back. I did get a $50 Travel Voucher after kindly speaking to the luggage agents in BOS. (FWIW: My SDF-BOS-BUD ticket was about $1000~ ).

Unfortunately, it's one of those things that happen. I now carry-on 90% of the time unless I am flying between the US & Australia where it is necessary for me to check a couple of bags.

As FlyI operates RJ's, find a decent sized roll-a-board (I know it's hard on a college budget; I'm still paying my student loans; thankfully I made my last Indiana University Loan payment! Now I just have to pay the federal stafford loans). With a roll-a-board, perhaps combined with a backpack, you can gate-check the roll-a-board (this way you know it gets on the plane and you get it back at IAD to gate check it for the next flight) and the backpack can go on the floor in the seat in front of you, providing it's not too big.

I now use a max size roll-a-board and a backpack when traveling. If on an RJ, roll-a-board gets gate checked, backpack goes in overhead or under seat. This is the best way to protect yourself from luggage going walkabout. I can get 5 days of clothing into my roll-a-board. The same roll-a-board fits perfectly into overhead bins on mainline aircraft, including the smaller DC-9's (must go over the 3 side though). Only problem is some of the older 757s which have a lip on the overhead - but it still fits with adjustment. Otherwise, perfect for DC-9/DC-10/MD-11/MD-88 and the 737/747/757/767/777 and Airbus A300/A319/A320/A330 (I haven't flown the 717, A310 or A340, but I'm sure it would fit. 727 is now obsolete).

Second Issue - lack of availability of Flyer Pass: If you do not get anywhere with I-Air, file a written complaint with the State of Indiana Attorney General's office (I assume Indiana is your current state of residence for college purposes). It seems deceptive to me if they sell these passes but offer no seats for weeks at a time. Secondly, contact the DOT. Look around the web, you should be able to find their address. The Indiana Attorney General's office should easily be found on the web - it may take a bit more digging to find the correct address for DOT complaints.

Best of luck,

SDF_Traveler