Complaint Review: Airtran Airways - Chicago Illinois
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- Author Confirmed
- Airtran Airways 1800 Phoenix Boulevard Ste 104 Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.
- Phone: 800-AIRTRAN
- Web:
- Category: Air Travel
Airtran Airways ripoff Wrong gate number printed on Boarding Pass, waited all day Chicago Illinois
*Consumer Comment: What exactly are
*Consumer Comment: What exactly are
*Consumer Comment: What exactly are
*Consumer Comment: What exactly are
*Consumer Suggestion: You need to take a step back and look at this agian.
*Consumer Comment: I am glad that you are not going to flying again.
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Having hoarded a large number of Airtran's flight coupons from Wendy's, my girlfriend wanted to take the two of us to New Orleans for our birthdays this past weekend. The point being, the tickets were 'free', and we got just what we paid for.
This being my first flight, I was a little nervous, but I thought we would make our transfer in Atlanta so that we'd be in New Orleans by 11 AM. No one on our flight made their transfer, owing to the extra hour spent de-icing the plane at Midway. In fact, she (my girl) overheard one of the flight attendants being told to "shut up" the numerous passengers already voicing their concern.
We were fated to spend the entire afternoon at the Atlanta airport, where we quickly went through the $7 food voucher we were handed as a consolation. Because Airtran had already given us our boarding passes, we decided to stick to the gate and wait for our 4:55 flight, the last to New Orleans that day.
Time passed slowly as we watched other passengers arriving and leaving late, not to mention the tendency of the employees to rush passengers on board once the flight crew had arrived. It seems as though they will hold a flight for their crews, but not for passengers whose day is passing them by as they wait for a transfer flight.
Finally, we inquired about our flight fifteen minutes before it was scheduled to leave - and we were told it was in the next concourse over! Fearing to lose our last flight, we walked as fast as socially acceptable, ran down the escalator, hopped on the train to the next concourse, ran up the next escalator and to the (correct) gate.
We panted and heaved as the next five minutes passed without one employee batting an eye. Then, at long last, we were told the boarding was complete for our flight, even though the plane was just outside the window.
After all that, we were completely deflated when offered a hotel room for the night and a flight back to Midway in the morning. But since I had an interview on Monday(today) we didn't want to risk any more delayed flights.
The last flight to Midway was leaving only five minutes or so later, necessitating another short jog to the gate. By this time my girlfriend was in tears, her perfectly planned Saturday crumbling around her; my own short temper was finding new limits.
The salt in the wound came when the pilot (who apparently didn't know why we two ruffians had business-class seats) thought I had maligned one of his flight attendants by curtly refusing a drink. He said he wanted to "lay down the law" right away and that he didn't want "any trouble" or he'd throw us off the plane.
After a lot of bad noise and feigned respect for authority, he left us alone to resume his jovial camraderie with the crew. I think I enjoyed the part about him wanting to get to Midway "in record time" the best.
Not only will I never fly on Airtran ever again, I may never fly on ANY airline for the rest of my bitter days.
Christopher
Steger, Illinois
U.S.A.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 01/23/2006 06:11 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/airtran-airways/chicago-illinois/airtran-airways-ripoff-wrong-gate-number-printed-on-boarding-pass-waited-all-day-chicag-172960. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#6 Consumer Comment
What exactly are
AUTHOR: John - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Airtran flight coupons?
#5 Consumer Comment
What exactly are
AUTHOR: John - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Airtran flight coupons?
#4 Consumer Comment
What exactly are
AUTHOR: John - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Airtran flight coupons?
#3 Consumer Comment
What exactly are
AUTHOR: John - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Airtran flight coupons?
#2 Consumer Suggestion
You need to take a step back and look at this agian.
AUTHOR: Michael - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Monday, January 01, 2007
Chritsopher,
First of all, you said the root cause of this was waiting to de-ice in Chicago. What you need to understand is that this is NOT the fualt of the airline. Once a plane has been deiced it MUST be in the air within 20 minutes or be deiced again. So you have to stop and think about how much air traffic is there at the time. Chicago is almost always crowded, and Midway being such a small airport (litteraly one sqare mile in size) you will have planes from all airlines waiting to deice and go.
Also gate changes will happen on EVDERY airline in the world at one time or another.
I know for a FACT that in Atlanta on AirTran as soon as you step off of your arriving aircraft there is an agent standing there with connecting gate info, yelling out "Connection info" or something simmilar. They also make gate chagne announcments.
Lastly you have to stop and think how did all those other passengers that made the fligh figure out to go the right gate?
Also, while you did say that all of the passengers on your flight to ATL missed their conneciton to New Orleans, you did not mention that a single one of them was in the wrong gate with you. How did THEY figure out what gate to go to?
Also, you comment about holding for connecting crews has no logic. How do you propose that the aircraft fly without a pilot?
Lastly if the Captain got involved in "laying down the law" you did more than just "curtly" refuse a drink. Between that and your own statment about having a short temper leads me to beleive there was a lot more on your part then you are telling her.
#1 Consumer Comment
I am glad that you are not going to flying again.
AUTHOR: Leticia - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, January 24, 2006
First I for one would want the decicing valve or whatever other deicing they needed to do fixed before taking off. Which they did. Do you realize what cold you fly it at 35000 ft?
Second they gave you guys a food voucher, for $7 they really didn't have to do that and probably only did to those who missed their connection, (also never fly when it's a weather delay, you will get nothing.)
and Third, you went to the gate mentioned on your original boarding pass, to go to New Orleans. Since you missed that flight, did it escape your knowledge that maybe flights to the area might originate in other places as well? Or did you just ignore all of the signs that say which flight is at which gate? (Don't ever use British Airways then, your gate may appear on the transfer boarding pass, but will change since they do not make the gate known until 45 minutes before the flight. that's funny reading the signs in the airport I made it to my gate with 2 kids)
OH, sorry I forgot about the statement that they would wait for a flight crew and not for a passenger. Have you ever thought that maybe that crew member was vital to the flight? (How would you know?)
And then you went off on the pilot and put him in his place huh?
Why because he allowed you to fly home? He could have kicked you off with no explanation at all! He just didn't want the other passangers to deal with the delay that he would've caused if he had called the cops on you.
Get an effing life!
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