charlotteimmigration

Ok guys,
so my fears materialized!

I was flying on USAirways from CLT-SFO last night to connect SFO-SYD.
The flight CLT-SFO became delayed for mechanical reasons for 2 hours, at hour 1.5 the flight crew notified me that there is NO WAY I would make my connection in SFO to the united flight (ticket all booked through USAirways).
The ramp agent then came onto the plane and de-boarded us. (invol denied boarding?) - I have a printout that days "invol BO apply". Regardless, recieved NO compensation.
Was told that she could re-book us next day - which is really annoying as lost uncancellable hotel in SYD and domestic flight in Australia - not to mention a day of the trip! Regardless, better 1 day delay than not go at all.
Then the ramp agent tells me she has "no authority" to re-book tickets - basically "you are on your own" - she literally said "I cant do anything - go see SPECIAL SERVICES" (after telling me she could).
I plod over to special services, inform them of the situation. I, at first, recieve a warm greeting after telling them I was in confirmed First and International business class, but then when I asked to be re-booked for the next day the special services manager said "I cant do that - that is between you and United" .....ummmm I think not, it was due to a USAIRWAYS mechanical fault causing everything [faulty crew oxygen mask]. I didnt want to argue as I was exhausted, but told the manager that I BOUGHT my ticket from USAIRWAYS, it was issued by US and the US flight delay caused all of this! He then said "maybe you can go coach" to which I replied that I had BOUGHT business, which he ridiculously retorted "Well USAir aint gonna spend 8 grand to get you to Sydney - you just CANT GO now" and "if I were you Ide go to SFO and deal with united there, but USairways isnt gonna buy you a hotel".....what terrible advise, not only wrong, but a breach of contract and totally bad advise!
So I then left SPECIAL SERVICES to go to the USairways club in the hope they might help. Very sympathetic, but could not assist, same goes for the Divident miles GOLD line. Literally no one could/would assist me!
I split with my other half who went to try and get our bag (not gonna happen -its being sent to Sydney!)
and I finally out of desperation went to the intl. check in at Charlotte. Spoke to a lovely woman, very helpful; however two big issues booked us in COACH to SFO today- even though we had confirmed paid F the prior day (sold out and not willing to endorse to CO who had F available via IAH or UA via ORD) AND I was blatantly lied to. Told we would be in F class SFO-SYD as compensation for the missed day/lost money in SYD/ Y to SFO - ticket issued, told in F class - call UAL this morning and they said no...its Business Class, and you two CANT sit together as its full!
Called US, told on standby in F class, called UAL - not true. Called US again, told this time "no record of the promise of F class". Basically screwed over royally. I would estimate my losses at US$1000 for the 2 downgrades and the lost hotel in Sydney and the lost domestic flight.
I basically am on my own without any assistance from USAirways. As a Gold preferred member and a fellow human, I feel let down by an airline that has effectively "washed its hands of me". Employees who dont know how to book tickets, lie to customers, act indifferent, unhelpful and are not willing to assist. Only got my downgraded ticket as I took the initiative, told by staff you just cant go. What on earth happened? and what is my re-course?
HELP!

GNRMatt

I would recommend contact US Air by e-mail (not phone, as you want documentation) and explain the whole situation and also state what you feel you are entitled to as compensation. Make sure you only state the facts, and do not come off as sounding emotional. Also, be clear and concise.

Hopefully that should work to get you what you need. If they don't give you a positive response, contact your credit card company and inform them of the situation and ask them to reverse the payment. If you use American Express, you have a pretty good chance of winning this fight. If you use Visa/MC, it's maybe 50/50.

charlotteimmigration

Thanks Matt
I think what makes it sad is that its a really special trip for us (as we just got married) and to have it sullied by starting like this and a rough 6 hour flight to SFO and THEN begging the stranger next to one of us to swap, is not fun, relaxing or luxurious.

GNRMatt

<i>I think what makes it sad is that its a really special trip for us (as we just got married) and to have it sullied by starting like this and a rough 6 hour flight to SFO and THEN begging the stranger next to one of us to swap, is not fun, relaxing or luxurious.</i>

While I agree that what you went through was horrendous, it's important when writing up your complaint to US Airways that you don't make it just a laundry list of how much it made your trip suck. You want to stick with the facts of why you should be refunded a certain amount of money.

Hopefully you'll get a decent refund and can use it towards another trip elsewhere in the future.

Last year I had a bad experience on a flight from Madrid to NYC (different airline) and they didn't respond to my complaints about it. I contacted AMEX (who I bought the ticket with) and they took care of everything and got a full refund because the airline (Air Europa) was non-responsive.

SFO777

Wow, what an awful mess. So sorry to hear about the incredible lack of responsibility from the US staff. At least you have confirmed flights for today. Agree with GNRMatt, document everything (including the comments, and names if you can remember) and send to US.

I've had similar experiences but never received the "it ain't our problem" response. Although not always possible, the only way to fully protect yourself is to leave a ton of connection time prior to major legs... to the point of arriving the day before just in case.

DCAorBust

Yuck. It sounds like everyone failed you. It's disappointing enough when a mechanical or other cancellation happens. It's a kick in the gut when they utterly fail at service recovery and shove you out to fend for yourself. I'm sorry it happened to you, especially on a special trip.

Draft the complaint now, take good notes about who failed you and how. Then put it away, and enjoy your honeymoon! Don't let them ruin any more than the first day of it. I'm optimistic that you'll find someone to switch seats so you can be together on the UA flight.

Dust off the complaint after you get back, pare it down to the basics of what went wrong, make a reasonable demand and send it. Maybe you'll get to have another mini-honeymoon later this year, partially on US's dime with a voucher.


P.S. -- After you've finished sorting out the outbound mess, and have rebooked whatever you need to in Oz, take a few minutes to triple-check that nothing happened to cause your return reservation to get fouled up.

LAX

This sounds like a valid complaint to DOT as well & even BBB. OP bought a C ticket with US (the SFO-SYD is presumably a codeshare on UA metal) and a mechanical failure on US metal resulted in a missed connection. US should have endorsed OP's ticket on any carrier with available seat (in C, at the very least) to SYD. If the rerouted itinerary results in delay over certain number of hours, the OP should also be entitled to compensation as well (not sure if it's cash or vouchers).

I am amazed how all of US's personnel just kept on passing the buck. It was an US-issued ticket, it's definitely US's responsibility to fix, especially when it's US's mechanical delay that caused this mess.

Lastly, if this is how US treats its paid premium class pax, how are the cattle class pax being treated??

LAX

SFO777

Try no meal service on any flight less than three and a half hours. In the last two years, I've had the misfortune to have taken two US flights... a 11:15am departure, 3+ hours CLT-MBJ no meal, and a 6:05pm departure, 3+ hours MSP-PHX, no meal. And don't even get me started on the plastic glasses in First, although supposedly being replaced.

BlissWorld

A few things I don't get. If you were on a paid F ticket like you said, why would it be so difficult to rebook you and why would US Airways spend 8 grand when you had already paid for it? If you booked a US Airways codeshare in Z/C, US should have been able to book you on their codeshare easily on the next day. I don't get how they would have to spend $8000

Now, if your flight to SFO was full in F, I'm not sure how they could have put you in F to begin with, unless they IDB someone else. If you had a paid F ticket, why would they put you in coach?

LAX

Well, if no meal service is the worst US can do, then it's not a problem in my book since most US domestic carriers don't serve meals any more (even on transcon in Y). However, if a paid premium class pax got shoved to the curb like the OP did, can you imagine if he were in Y?

LAX

BlissWorld

I highly doubt it was "paid"

SFO777

I'm not talk about Y here. Paid F on both flights. Every other US airline would serve a meal in First on those flights.

zrs70

Why?

Thunderroad

My sympathies on this experience, especially given that it's your honeymoon. US seems to be living down to its reputation.

Lots of good advice here already. To add my two cents:

1. Once you finally arrive in Australia, don't worry about any of this. Just enjoy your honeymoon.
2. Though the UA business class to Sydney is likely full, it nevertheless can't hurt to call again and/or go online to see if there are available seats to switch to. If calling, explain that it's your honeymoon. And even if you can't yet find seats together, perhaps one or both of you can switch to a more desirable seat. E.g., if you're in the middle of the center section downstairs (assuming this is a 747), see if one of you can grab an aisle seat and the other a window seat (preferably upstairs). That will make it more attractive to the person whom you're asking to switch once you're on the plane.
3. If #2 doesn't work, see if at the airport upon check-in and then at the gate you can try to do the same. Again, mention the honeymoon without being demanding or pushy.
4. If #2 and #3 don't work, there is still a chance that someone will switch with one of you on the plane.
5. Call the domestic airline and hotel in Australia to explain the situation and see if they'll give you a break. If the domestic flight is part of your overall ticket, you can also try working this out through US (though I realize that hasn't worked to well for you so far, to put it mildly).
6. In terms of your email to US, lay out the situation as calmly as possible, including the compensation due you since you were downgraded.
7. Definitely file a complaint with the Dept. of Transportation. I don't know the link, but I'm sure you can track it down here on FT or by Googling.
8. Back to #1: Enjoy your honeymoon!

BlissWorld

Well, it's obvious to me that airlines don't refuse rebooking passengers in the same cabin in which they have been ticketed, especially when it comes to irregular operations. Unless, it's an award ticket. And, it sure seems to me like it's an award ticket.

The OP recent posted in the "Star Alliance Award Bookings Using US Airways Miles - FAQ and Help Thread [MERGED]" thread indicating that he had book an award from CLT-SFO then continuing onto an United flight that's "the only flight of the night" (which is the SYD flight) as quoted below:

Then in another thread in the United forum in which the OP stated that he was going to go from SFO-SYD. AND, although on a supposed honeymoon, he was already planning on being bumped:

So, that's why.