I have to vent!

[Teresa Heilevang]

Do you guys care if I rant about something? I am soooo pissed off... and I am sooo sick of all the cons and scams.
So, since Marshal already knows this.. and has gone in to watch TV..( most likely to get away form my fuming) I am going to get it off my chest and then maybe I'll be able to relax a little.


Ok...


In March of last year, we were returning home from vacation. We connected in Phoenix. In Phoenix the US Airways Gate Agent announced that the flight was over weighted and he was looking for volunteers to give up their seats. This was the last flight out that night, so it would mean staying overnight, and not leaving on another flight until 1:00  the next afternoon. No one wanted to leave as it was late at night and everyone seemed to be grumpy and ready to get home. Me included..
We had been gone 10 days and I was more than ready to be home..but being on a plane that was too heavy wasn't anything I was too overjoyed about riding on. So Marshal and I volunteered.

The reward was a round-trip airline ticket anywhere US Airways flies within the 48 contiguous states.
When the "Take Flight Certificates" were issued, it read:
$200 discount off round-trip flight OR free restricted economy class ticket within the 48 contiguous states." These were good for one year. So they would be invalid on March 28, 2008 of this year. ( Just in a few days)

We have been saving them for when we both needed to fly out together. We are needing to book a flight to Louisville KY in May. for the NRA convention.  So today I called to redeem the flight certificates. Tickets are $408.00 each to fly out of Wichita with a change over in Chicago and then on to Louisville. So I called and told them that I had these free vouchers and I wanted to use them on these flights.

I was told that there were no seats available for the free tickets. Now I was on line on the internet at the time and I could SEE  that there were available seats. I told her so too..
She advised us that these flight certificates are limited to Dividend Miles frequent flyer seats (at the lower mileage rate, of course).
And that there were none of THOSE seats available.  And that since it is 2 months in advance that no way could there be any  of these seats available on these flights , BUT we could pay full price and use the $200 discount...and get a seat.
SAY WHAT?!

 The tickets are presently $409 each. Delta has the same flight for $219.00.

I said, " so you are telling me that you HAVE Coach seats but not for my vouchers, but you DO have them if I pay half??"
She said yes.. and proceeded to tell me how the $200 voucher worked. 

I was furious and told her I understood the math. That I could easily pencil and paper it..and it came out to the same thing... We were being ripped off. !"  ..I didn't understand why the airlines were not honoring the "free" voucher that they had issued to us.

 I was informed that  the "Take Flight Certificate" is only free if X-class coach seats are available, and she couldn't override this restriction.
I ask when any seats  would be available...if ever.  She said she didn't know. That I would have to call back periodically to check.
But in the meantime, my vouchers are void after March 28th..and I doubt that there would ever be any free seats, no matter when I called.

Marshal did some extensive online searching for fraud and rip off information and sure enough .. There is loads and loads of complaints...sounding just like mine.

US Airways gives out thousands of these "free" ticket vouchers every month. ( even sells them on e-bay) I'm sure they have heard every possible complaint about them. Every time anyone has called for a particular destination, there were no seats available.
And these were well in advance of the intended trips.

So rather than lose what I have, I suppose I will  book the flights and received the $200 off. But get this!

I will be charged $25 per ticket for booking through a rep instead of on line!!
 My online confirmation numbers can't be keyed in online ( since they are vouchers) so I have to go through a rep and do the reservations by phone.There goes  $50 more off my discounts! And if you have more than one suitcase, you are charged now $25.00 per suitcase, no matter even if it is a little one. 

What a stinkin' rip off!

NO wonder US Air is the lowest rated carrier in the United States!

Okay, I'm done.. for now..

[Pathfinder]

M'ette, I can't help, but I do know I worked with United Airlines as a client some years back, and they manage the price and class of every seat on every leg of every flight in real time. That means that the "special" seats come and go, sometimes in the same day and it is just a matter of pure luck to catch one. I have over 100k FF miles on United, and damn if I can ever use them.

The entire airline industry is one huge scam, other than the fact that they usually do get you to your destination. But with huge gummint bailouts after 9/11 to prevent the airlines from failing, literally care-less agents in many cases, flights canceled for no apparent reason, planes sitting on the tarmac for hours waiting to take off or find a gate, etc.

Best part is watching the mooslims in airports like Minneapolis running around the tarmac as it there was nothing wrong with them having complete unmonitored access to our planes.

OK, /rant off.

[tombogan03884]

I love airplanes, but I HATE to fly commercial, In fact, I won't. I guess you folks now understand why. Fortunatly I don't Have to travel. They have folks like you, who do HAVE TO travel over a barrel.

[DDMac]

I have been tempted to take them up on the free round trip voucher deal on overebooked flights. That takes care of it for me. NO THANKS, except to you, Marshal'ette.
Mac.

[Bidah]

As someone who flies 200K plus miles per year, I hear you.  Sadly, this problem is not just limited to US Air.  Try to use your miles and  such on Delta sometime.  They will "open up" some seats for you if you use double the miles.  I agree that they do not really let you know what that voucher is good for.  Heck, flying now you have to pay for peanuts or pretzels.

-Bidah

[Sponsor]

[Bill Stryker]

Teresa.
Sorry you have to fly to the NRA Convention.
Hope to see you, Marshall and MB there.
I will be driving.
I don't mind the flying part, but I cannot stand the airport / TSA part. So, unless I am going overseas, I drive.

[Hazcat]

Marsahl'ette,

I assume you saved money and booked with Delta?

[CurrieS103]

I'll take web seats in a C-130 any day compared to the crap we have to endure with the airlines.  Deregulation was good to a point but provided too much power to the airlines.  No oversight = a system run amuck.

[Teresa Heilevang]

Marsahl'ette,

I assume you saved money and booked with Delta?

 I plead the 5th... on account if I don't, I will look stupid! 

[Hazcat]

I plead the 5th... on account if I don't, I will look stupid! 

Had a blond moment, did we?