Whaddya mean I CAN'T GET ON THE PLANE???
Written: Jun 26 '00 (Updated Jun 26 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: If you are on time for your flight and you get bumped, you may be compensated with free round trip tickets!
Cons: flights routinely overbooked
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| Starrrynit's Full Review: American Trans Air |
At first, my husband and I thought it would be a great idea to take off with the kids (ages 7 and 4) to Orlando for 5 days and see Mickey's Magic Kingdom.
We got 4 round trip tickets to Florida from our friendly travel agent. Our flight took off on a Friday morning at the ungodly hour of 5:30 AM. Yes, I said 5:30 AM...with two kids. Yes, I said AM.
"That's great!" my husband of 10 years chirped. "We'll get to Disney earlier in the day and start our vacation in the morning rather than in the late afternoon!"
Although I am not a morning person, I still went along with the program and got my two little darlings up at the crack of dawn.
With 4 carry on bags, 3 check in bags, and two kids in tow, my intrepid husband and I made our way to Chicago's quaint Midway airport. We checked in our check-ins, carried our carry-ons, and somehow dragged our kids to the gate to board the plane.
I sit back to relax...Ahh...I can't believe we made it more than 45 minutes early for our departure.
Tickets? CHECK
Umbrella stroller neatly folded ready to be checked at the gate? CHECK
Snacks and toys to keep kids occupied during flight? CHECK!!
My dear husband finds his way up to the desk to hand in our tickets. OK...what's the hold up? Why is he talking to the lady? Why is another lady arriving to the scene? Why are the people in back of dear husband yelling? Why is dear husband looking a bit peeved?
He looks back at me and signals for us to join him at the desk.
Oh no.
This can't be good.
It isn't.
"The woman says we can't board the plane.", calmly states dear husband.
Huh?
"The woman says the flight is over booked. She says this happens a lot." he goes on.
WHAT?
I panic. I start to yell and scream. This can't be happening!
There is a considerable amount of yelling and screaming from other would-be passengers. My kids take note of my bulging eyes and keep quiet. I always said my kids were smart.
"Whaddyamean we can't board this #@$@&* plane? We have to be in Orlando to check into our resort! I've got TWO tired and whiny kids here who can't wait long amounts of time!! What kind of $@%**%$ airline is this? We are ON TIME FOR THIS FLIGHT!!" I interjected!
So were the 15 people behind us. They were screaming right along with me. Not a pretty sight.
The girl behind the desk has obviously heard this before and said, "Sorry. No more seats for any of you. This happens all of the time. They overbook just in case someone doesn't show up. It just so happens everyone did show up and they showed up before all of you so they got seats and you didn't. Sorry. Complain to headquarters."
By this time I was screaming at my husband (who remained even keeled during this ordeal. Opposites attract, I guess). "I am going to *%$)(#( complain to the HQ at ATA and WE WILL BE COMPENSATED by ATA for making my vacation start out this way. I DEMAND MY MONEY BACK!!!".
My cryptically calm spouse turned to the woman and told her that we are displeased with the service ATA is providing with us at this time. Our children are hungry and whiny as well. We want our money back.
A manager was called to the scene and handed my husband an envelope with a form for him to fill out.
What's this? I was too aggravated to listen to anything by this point.
He hands the lady back the form and walks our family to the waiting area. "We are going on the 11am flight to Orlando instead of the 5:30am flight. Because we were on time, they gave me ticket vouchers for 4 round trip continental flights on ATA to be used within a year. Oh yeah, and here is a breakfast voucher for $40 so we can eat breakfast at Midway airport."
You gotta be kidding me? You didn't scream and swear at them! They actually compensated us that easily?
Yup. That easily. COOL!
The woman also said that if we were earlier than we were, we would have been given seats for that flight, but also the opportunity to give our seats up and get free roundtrip tickets for doing so.
Not a bad deal to take if you aren't in a hurry to get to your destination. We decided that the next time we will get there early and see if the flight is overbooked.
Needless to say, our family eventually made it to Orlando by 2pm. The kids were good the entire time. Their behavior at the airport was better than my own. I calmed myself down by trying to figure out where we can go with our free tickets. Hopefully, on another overbooked flight! :)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Starrrynit
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Location: Chicago, Illinois area
Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 24 members
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