tommy777

I'm sitting here after a phone call with a supervisor at CO HQ (don't know what that means) and I can't believe what I just heard.

Long story short:

1. Not denied boarding compensation because the flight wasn't full
2. I was off loaded 18 minutes before departure according to her info and my F seat given away at that time
3. Even if I was checked in and was there 17 minutes before departure, they can still close the flight early and off load passengers

No compensation due, but as a courtesy, 5000 miles was transfered to my account.

So beware! The 15 minute rule is a guideline only, they can close the gate whenever they want.

I'm stunned!

IAHtraveler

Is it finally time for the DOT complaint?

tommy777

Hehe... After this wonderful weekend and with sympathy for the ALPA nausea posted elsewhere on the forum, I will give Scott the opportunity to straighten this our before a DOT complaint.

That's good ROI for this weekend, eh Scott??

Bonehead

This is not good news. I think that Scott needs to let us know once and for all what the exact policy is. If the GAs have that much discretion, then we need to know what the real cutoff is for being at the gate/boarding.

On last night's IAH-DEN flight they continued to board stragglers inside of 5 minutes of departure time. We need solid guidelines and not some mercurial "cutoff time".

tommy777

FYI, I refused the 5000 miles that posted today and told the lady to take them out of my account

tommy777

It's posted v e r y clearly on the CO website:

Customers checking in for flights must present themselves at the gate, ready to board their flight, no later than 15 minutes prior to departure, even if they have checked in previously. Customers not in the boarding area 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure are subject to seat cancellation and non-transport of their checked baggage.


http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...6AAE6CFAA1D0E8

yad

Seems to me you have to complain to the DOT unless CO Insider can fix this asap. CO has admitted the facts. Their so-called "policy" is totally irrelevant -- denied boarding compensation is a legally mandated entitlement, and if CO tells you they are going to knowingly deny you what they're required to give you, they need to be reported to the relevant authority.

channa

You have to complain to the DOT if you want this reported as an IDB. If you want recourse, I'm sure the court system would work as well (or maybe it would coerce CO to work with you).

I'm a bit disappointed that CO Insider is now getting involved -- we know he'll handle this thing fairly with the OP, and the case will be closed. I was hoping we'd get to see what a layperson has to deal with, all while getting an exciting play-by-play involving a DOT complaint and possibly a small claim filing with possible settlement negotiations with CO legal.

ConciergeMike

I'm thrilled to see that you would celebrate the problems of a person without access to FT resources. Do you engage in such schadenfreude in all aspects of life?

Renard

Most definitely

KNRG

I'm sorry, but even your most inept peon should be trained to spot and decipher blatant policy non-adherence. Further, they should be empowered to actually make such a reasoned decision in favor of the customer.

Pinch your pennies so tightly and soon all you'll have are those closely guarded pennies.

channa

It's not schadenfreude, rather the OP originally said he wanted to try to see what a regular person had to deal with. I'm assuming he was trying to make a point.

Had he gone through with it, he would have shined more light on the fact that CO's customer care system is broken, and our only real mechanism to get proper resolution to issues is via Scott.

The bottom line is that it seems like more examples are needed for CO to fix their broken CS.

IAHtraveler

I know it's OT, but this whole thing totally reminds me of my experience trying to get gate passes on Sunday at E using my Pres Club card. The agent told me I needed 24-hr notice to get gate passes and that I wasn't on "the list". I explained I didn't need advance notice with the PC card and it was under GG checkpoint line 53. She looked it up and said, "Well, I see it their, but I don't believe that's the policy." I WAS P!55ED that she read it but told me it wasn't true. She called the PC and they told her that I couldn't get a pass either. Further, she wouldn't call a supervisor. Instead, we talked TSA into letting us through the E terminal with a USAir pass. One more instance where we need to be able to swipe our PC card and get a gate pass and where CO needs to train their employees (or at least trust the computer they're using).

SAT Lawyer

You should have gone to Scott much sooner if you wanted an expeditious and fair resolution to this matter.

If you really want to hold CO's feet to the fire, you need to take this up with the DOT (although your being right is no guarantee of a final outcome that is satisfactory to you).

KNRG

Anyone who wont call supervision needs a foot broken in their umm.. butt. It's against every company policy i've ever encountered and you should seek to have that person reprimanded by the sup and hopefully fired asap.

As for how to respond to someone who can't/wont call a sup: "Liar. Call them. Now."