Airtran HORRIBLE service

[xobxdoc]

For whatever reason, Airtran inconvenienced a lot of people and all they offered was $100 voucher. Those affected should have been offered a free trip on their next flight. That is just lousy customer service. I've had Air Tran nightmares before and I came to conclusion that they really don't care.

[Chadd]

Originally Posted by xobxdoc

For whatever reason, Airtran inconvenienced a lot of people and all they offered was $100 voucher. Those affected should have been offered a free trip on their next flight. That is just lousy customer service. I've had Air Tran nightmares before and I came to conclusion that they really don't care.

From what I read, it was food vouchers, hotel rooms and $100 credit. Considering what they charge, that would have been a significant portion of the fare paid by anyone on that flight.

[arubaerin]

I am sorry but I don't think Airtran came near what they should in compensation for our extreme inconvenience. The hotel vouchers were given so that we could catch a quick nap before our connection flights which we were originally told would be earlier in the day were delayed until later in the afternoon. I just do not do well sleeping on the floor of an airport for a couple hours then in a plane for a couple then in a hotel for a couple I can't imagine the little kids and the elderly passengers. The food vouchers were a given Airtran had to give them to us we were essentially locked in an airport when we in Aruba. I am just saying this was a major AVOIDABLE inconvenience and someone from Airtran dropped the ball. Airtran should have let everyone go to a hotel in Aruba overnight and start again in the morning. There would have been a lot of less angry customers. All I can say is never again!!

[gaby]

one of the reasons i like to fly continental, actually i only fly continental is because i know they are not perfect but they do have a slew of airplanes. i remember once in vegas they had mechanical problems and had to get another plane out of the hangar (or wherever) and our delay was an hour while they prepped. the people in the next gate had a similar delay and they were told at least 4 hour delay. i said and this is why I fly continental, they have more than one plane, lol. i know i'm taking license with that but you get my point. and also they have the most direct flights from the major hubs. we fly out of newark so we never have a problem with direct flights, which i guess we're really lucky. and they do have some of the most helpful employees (obviously not everyone) but for the most part they are pretty accommodating people. of course now that i said that, lol................knock on wood.

[xobxdoc]

Originally Posted by Chadd

From what I read, it was food vouchers, hotel rooms and $100 credit. Considering what they charge, that would have been a significant portion of the fare paid by anyone on that flight.

What they charge has nothing to do with providing decent service. Try looking at this from a consumer point of view, not an airline employee point of view. BTW, I found a much better fare on United this year.
These people were stranded by Air Tran. I find it hard to believe that food vouchers , a place to nap and a hundred bucks is fair compensation for what these people went through. Most of those people won't use that $100 voucher anyway.
I respect your opinion but I'm with the OP here.

[gaby]

I agree since I am not an employee of an airline, which sometimes I wish I was. we had that problem years ago with an airline called Kiwi, which is obvious why they went out of business. but we got nothing, no vouchers, no reimbursement, just basically too bad. and we had two small children at the time to deal with. ended up paying double the fare to get out of florida on continental. and no one gave us anything. my point is after that debacle, i decided even if it costs a little more, i'm flying the larger airlines because sometimes those problems are fixed quicker. I'd rather get out of there then get any compensation. but the bottomline is airlines don't really have to care, you have no choice. you're stuck and at their mercy. but I was reading in the travel section about all these new regulations coming in but they won't be in effect until sept, i think it was, of this year. the article basically said if you're flying this summer, you're out of luck if these things happen. i believe they even put regulations in their for foreign airlines, too, which in the past they had no control over. the article told about the reimbursement policy based on hours delayed, etc. i'm going to have to try to find it, its in the recycle bin. but they raised all the limits and made them mandatory.

but just to be clear, I am not an employee of continental. i'm a retired state worker, who was entitled to nothing, lol....I know no one at continental. i was just stating that i fly them to minimize these things. it doesn't mean they don't happen with them, i just try to hedge my bets because they are a large airline.

[xobxdoc]

Originally Posted by gaby

I agree since I am not an employee of an airline, which sometimes I wish I was. we had that problem years ago with an airline called Kiwi, which is obvious why they went out of business. but we got nothing, no vouchers, no reimbursement, just basically too bad. and we had two small children at the time to deal with. ended up paying double the fare to get out of florida on continental. and no one gave us anything. my point is after that debacle, i decided even if it costs a little more, i'm flying the larger airlines because sometimes those problems are fixed quicker. I'd rather get out of there then get any compensation. but the bottomline is airlines don't really have to care, you have no choice. you're stuck and at their mercy. but I was reading in the travel section about all these new regulations coming in but they won't be in effect until sept, i think it was, of this year. the article basically said if you're flying this summer, you're out of luck if these things happen. i believe they even put regulations in their for foreign airlines, too, which in the past they had no control over. the article told about the reimbursement policy based on hours delayed, etc. i'm going to have to try to find it, its in the recycle bin. but they raised all the limits and made them mandatory.

but just to be clear, I am not an employee of continental. i'm a retired state worker, who was entitled to nothing, lol....I know no one at continental. i was just stating that i fly them to minimize these things. it doesn't mean they don't happen with them, i just try to hedge my bets because they are a large airline.

My comment was for Chadd.

[gaby]

sorry, i didn't know he worked for an airline.

[Chadd]

Originally Posted by xobxdoc

What they charge has nothing to do with providing decent service. Try looking at this from a consumer point of view, not an airline employee point of view. BTW, I found a much better fare on United this year.
These people were stranded by Air Tran. I find it hard to believe that food vouchers , a place to nap and a hundred bucks is fair compensation for what these people went through. Most of those people won't use that $100 voucher anyway.
I respect your opinion but I'm with the OP here.

There's only so much they can do. Any solution would have been inadequate for some percentage of the passengers. The company did what they thought was appropriate in the situation given operational limitations. I'm not defending them, just trying to make sure people see the whole picture.

I have always strongly encouraged people to pick airlines based on service and support more than price, even if that means an airline other than mine. People basing their purchases on those criteria will require all airlines to compete on service and that benefits everyone.

To be honest, the blame lies with the passenger that caused all of these problems. It was selfish and unreasonable for him/her to travel in their condition.