CDIH

i went down to florida this passed weekend to visit my mother. i decided to fly because i thought it would be cheaper and quicker than driving. i haven't been on a plane in about 10 years. i don't get away much.

i bought my tickets from travelocity, the web site, in early september. i wanted to leave on friday but the tickets were much more expensive than they would be for thursday so i took the extra day off. i would have prefered to fly straight through but to get the cheapest flight i had to make a stop in atlanta and jump on another plane to get to fort lauderdale. the tickets i bought were 145 compared to 200 for the direct flight.

i get to macarthur, a long island airport about 15 minutes from my house, at 10:45. my flight was scheduled for 12:20pm. i picked up my boarding passes and breezed through security and had some breakfast a the diner there. i get to the gate about 12, when i find out that the flight is going to be delayed a half hour. no biggie, i should still have plenty of time to make my connection, which was at 3:55. i go outside smoke a couple of cigarettes and get back to the gate at about 12:40. i find out it's going to be delayed even longer but they don't know how much longer. we finally get on the small ass plane, couldn't have held more than 50 people, about 1:30 and we're in the air by a quarter to 2.

we land in atlanta at 4:15, i missed my connecting flight by 20 minutes. i'm a little upset. i go to the delta desk and explain what happened and they give me a standby ticket for the next flight 5:45 and i also get a confirmed ticket for the 7:00pm flight. i thought i was going to have to wait there for hours for the next flight, i was a bit happier knowing they had a few flights going to ft lauderdale. i get to the gate for the 5:45 flight and i wait while everyone boards. i'm third on the standby list, they show it on a screen near the gate, next thing i know i'm first, which makes me so happy. everyone boards then the delta employee calls me over and tells me, after they took a seat count, that there's one left for me. i get on the phone and tell my mother i'll be on this flight and i tell her to be there to pick me up. i'm actually on the plane, ready to walk down the aisle, when i'm told they don't have a seat for me. it appears that someone was in the bathroom when they were counting the seats. i was very upset.

i then walk down to the gate for my 7pm flight, right across from the smoking room :thumbs-up: . i am confirmed on this flight but i don't have an assigned seat yet. they start asking for volunteers to give up their seats for this flight and get them for a flight tomm. morning, they get a night in a nearby hotel, free breakfast and 1000 delta dollars for doing this. i think four people voluteered. i go up to the desk and i am told they will call me when they know my seat number. i watch everyone board and then i watch the plane pull away from the gate. i'm fucking pissed. i go up to the desk and i'm all like "what the fuck, the plane is leaving without me". i'm told they overbooked and they didn't have enough volunteers to give up their seats. i'm given the choice between leaving on a flight to miami at 8:40 or waiting for the next flight to ft lauderdale at 10:40. i call my mother and ask her if she knows where the miami airport is, she looks on the computer and she lives halfway between the two airports, not a problem flying into miami. they give me a tciket for the miami flight with a seat number on it and 400 delta dollars, i asked if they could give me 400 real dollars but i am told they couldn't. i finally get on the plane and arrive in miami at 10:30. finally.


i flew back today, same way i came down, with a stop in atlanta. my flight from atlanta was delayed an hour. i don't know how this airline stays in business.

i will only fly on direct flight from now on. there's no way i'm going through that shit again. 12 hours trying to get to florida.

should i send a a nasty letter and hope i can get more delta dollars or shopuld i get just forget the whole thing?

Mail them box full of dog shit for the crappy service you received. Just don't put your return address or some ass fuck from the feds will show up, kick down your door and give you a one way flight to Cuba.

fly jetblue. i flew delta for Toronto. I was surprised to get there in one piece. Jetblue flies out of JFK, much better, and pretty cheap.

Tips for flying...

1. Shit happens, flights aren't always on time. In fact, it's not unusual to have delays.
2. Check-in as early as you can for your flight. It'll save you not getting a seat.
3. Never count on stand-by seats, especially on a full flight (ask at the desk, they'll tell you if it's full.)
4. You'll usually get better options if you don't fly straight through. Especially if you're going to an oddball city or from an oddball city.
5. Don't check bags unless you absolutely have to. If you get stuck changing planes or get bumped from a flight, you're gonna get fucked.
6. Southwest and American rule.

yea, i know. the problem is that jfk is like an hours drive from me. if they ever get that airtrain running, i would definately consider it.

Hmmm, seems to me that hour drive would've been a lot better than the long delays you suffered through.

Best area airport by far: Newark, if you can believe it. I'm delayed?? Fuck it, I'm going shoppin.

You get delayed in MacArthur?? You are fucked talking to the airport's version of Captain Quint in the airport lounge.

Jet Blue is pretty good, except for the food. The prices are cheap and the service is pretty good as well. I went to Vegas in July, and then back from LA/Long Beach and not a problem. Lesson learned, dude. Sorry your flight sucked balls.

Quote:i am confirmed on this flight but i don't have an assigned seat yet. they start asking for volunteers to give up their seats for this flight and get them for a flight tomm. morning,

Little known fact: EVERY flight is over booked by 10%, to account for possible no shows and cancelations. People that are asked to give up their seat on a given flight to give to someone else (stand-bys) are offered a free round trip ticket on another flight of their choice (of some kind of comparable length flight i imagine).

i got fucked over going to aruba this summer. had to wait 5 hours in the airport. took a total of 12 hours from when i left home to arriving in aruba

Quote:Little known fact: EVERY flight is over booked by 10%, to account for possible no shows and cancelations. People that are asked to give up their seat on a given flight to give to someone else (stand-bys) are offered a free round trip ticket on another flight of their choice (of some kind of comparable length flight i imagine).

You are full of shit. I've been on plenty of flights that were less than 75% capacity. Also, I rarely see anyone get left behind, even stand-bys. Why would the airlines put themselves in the position to always have to give free/discounted fairs to people?

I've flown about 50K miles this year and I've only been bumped once and that was on a stand-by where I got bumped by another stand-by with a higher rank.

Jet Blue is great, DirecTV on every seat, big comfy leather chairs, wish they flew out of Newark as well, JFK is a hike.

I always fly Continental, never had a problem. They lost my luggage once, but I got it the next day and they gave me a free roundtrip ticket to cover my flight.

Quote:I always fly Continental

Continental is supposed to be good, but I hope you're not over 5'10". They have less leg room than a mazda miata.

song is a good airline as well

Kid Afrika Wrote:

Quote:Little known fact: EVERY flight is over booked by 10%, to account for possible no shows and cancelations. People that are asked to give up their seat on a given flight to give to someone else (stand-bys) are offered a free round trip ticket on another flight of their choice (of some kind of comparable length flight i imagine).

You are full of shit. I've been on plenty of flights that were less than 75% capacity. Also, I rarely see anyone get left behind, even stand-bys. Why would the airlines put themselves in the position to always have to give free/discounted fairs to people?

I've flown about 50K miles this year and I've only been bumped once and that was on a stand-by where I got bumped by another stand-by with a higher rank.

No I'm not. They will sell 10% above their capacity on EVERY flight. They may not reach that capacity or even 100% capacity. But as you said you rarely see when someone is left behind, so it's working out for them to do it. Overbooking: little known FACT. Might not seem reasonable to be tossing around free tickets but it happens and it must be working out for them. My boss was offered TWO free round trippers on a recent flight if he ceded his seat. Sometimes they won't let a plane leave the ground unless someone gives up their seat. I don't know the details or many of the hows and whys they do this but it happens. You may fly a lot but you do it on the compant check, you have rank and probably barely have to deal with all the haggling that goes on. But it does go on, trust me.

Singapore Airlines... the stewardesses are nice. :10:

*Er... if you're flying internationally.



Edited By Danked on 1066097483

fly first class :thumbs-up: it's worth the extra money



Edited By LZMF1 on 1066097674

it really is not at all

Quote:You may fly a lot but you do it on the compant check, you have rank and probably barely have to deal with all the haggling that goes on.

I do fly on the company check, but most flights are limited to under $350. My rank isn't all that great, except on American. And even then, there are so many frequent fliers on American that I never get to "pull rank".

I plan ahead, and always check in early. I usually book my flights 3 to 4 weeks in advanced and my seat choice is part of my Advantage profile.

i was told that they do overbook their flights. i was third on the standby list for the 5:00 flight and there were 7 people behind me, the first two got seats and the rest of us didn't. the airlines probably take into account that some people won't use their free tickets, so it doesn't cost them as much as it should.