I'm flying US again the week for only the second time in 18 months. All kinds of trouble booking the flight on the web, but we all know that the web sucks so I will not go there. However the trip is not off to a good start.
I needed to get to EWR earlier than scheduled today. So I checked last night on the web and several tools to see if there were plenty of seats available on the first flight up this morning. All tools were showing plenty of seats. I get to CLT at 7:30 AM this morning for the 9:40 flight and I’m told the plane is over sold by 25 (unknown to me, CO had canceled a flight). I had planned paying the $25 and doing the SDC confirmed, but with no seats there was no joy.
So I ask the agent to book me on the 2:10 flight and I will pay to confirm. She tells me that there is one seat left but she can’t confirm me in it. I then explain to her if there is a seat left and I pay the $25, it’s mine. She then proceeds to argue with me and tell me she has never heard that before and then says “besides the flight is oversoldâ€. (You get what you pay for). I insist on speaking with the supervisor. Supervisor explains to her if there is a seat left, I do in fact get it. She then checks me into a middle seat saying it is the last seat available.
I now have 8 hours to kill so I pull a seat map. Low and behold it shows plenty of seats in coach including 5 in the exit row. I walk over the special services desk and ask for a seat change. With out looking at my ticket or the monitor, I’m told the flight is over sold and I can not change my seats. When I explained that the seats were showing on line and available if I tried to book it, I was told that happens all the time on Sundays going to LGA and ERW and I can not go by the web. (Well at least he got that part right). So I come back and sit down and look again. It still lets me book the exit row and all of my programs I look at show seats open as well.
So I call my PLT number. Agent looks it up on her system and says yes 5 seats are open in the exit row, but since I’ve checked in she will have to uncheck me in and then reassign the seats. I told her that I would instead try a different gate agent here first.
Show I go to another one of the GA’s and asked them to check. She does and says the seats are reserved. I explained to here that everything showed they were open and res shows them open. She says they are blocked. (I should have caught the word “blockedâ€) At this point I’m getting pissed.
So another call to res. I get someone who started yesterday but at least she spoke English. I asked her to change my seat. She proceeds to tell me that is not possible. I then have to explain to her how to do it and she still insists that it is not possible. At this point I demand to speak with a supervisor. I’m on hold for about 5 minutes and she comes back on and tells me that she can switch me, but I will lose my place in line for an upgrade. I tell her fine as an exit row is better than a middle seat any day. Hold for another 5 minutes and she comes back to tell me that the change can not be made because the flight is now under airport control. Under airport control 5-6 hours in advance? Maybe so, but sounds like BS* to me. Nobody knows what is going on and no one seems to be willing to take the time to really try and help. This is truly sad and frustrating.
(*Stubborn would be one way to describe me. I waited until after the EWR flight departed and went up to the GA agent and asked him if he had time to explain to me what was going on. In addition to unblocking the exit seat, he took the time to explain why the seats were being blocked. Seems the web is allowing people to book the exit rows that should not be there which is creating issues at the gate. So he explained that all flights are controlled by the gate on DAY of departure. He also explained that as a PLT that some one should have over ridden the system since I was clearly eligible for the seat. We then had a long conversation about the changes taking place and the good ole days. He was PSA and just as we finished talking the PSA heritage plane taxied out.)
I hear stories like this all the time. My son who has just started flying for work has been on US for three weeks straight out of DC. He has had enough and says he will never fly US again if he can keep from it. He has had three flights canceled for mechanical, and a multiple flights late by more than two hours. Seems to me of the folks in the castle need to try and make US fly a little better……..
To be continued……
I needed to get to EWR earlier than scheduled today. So I checked last night on the web and several tools to see if there were plenty of seats available on the first flight up this morning. All tools were showing plenty of seats. I get to CLT at 7:30 AM this morning for the 9:40 flight and I’m told the plane is over sold by 25 (unknown to me, CO had canceled a flight). I had planned paying the $25 and doing the SDC confirmed, but with no seats there was no joy.
So I ask the agent to book me on the 2:10 flight and I will pay to confirm. She tells me that there is one seat left but she can’t confirm me in it. I then explain to her if there is a seat left and I pay the $25, it’s mine. She then proceeds to argue with me and tell me she has never heard that before and then says “besides the flight is oversoldâ€. (You get what you pay for). I insist on speaking with the supervisor. Supervisor explains to her if there is a seat left, I do in fact get it. She then checks me into a middle seat saying it is the last seat available.
I now have 8 hours to kill so I pull a seat map. Low and behold it shows plenty of seats in coach including 5 in the exit row. I walk over the special services desk and ask for a seat change. With out looking at my ticket or the monitor, I’m told the flight is over sold and I can not change my seats. When I explained that the seats were showing on line and available if I tried to book it, I was told that happens all the time on Sundays going to LGA and ERW and I can not go by the web. (Well at least he got that part right). So I come back and sit down and look again. It still lets me book the exit row and all of my programs I look at show seats open as well.
So I call my PLT number. Agent looks it up on her system and says yes 5 seats are open in the exit row, but since I’ve checked in she will have to uncheck me in and then reassign the seats. I told her that I would instead try a different gate agent here first.
Show I go to another one of the GA’s and asked them to check. She does and says the seats are reserved. I explained to here that everything showed they were open and res shows them open. She says they are blocked. (I should have caught the word “blockedâ€) At this point I’m getting pissed.
So another call to res. I get someone who started yesterday but at least she spoke English. I asked her to change my seat. She proceeds to tell me that is not possible. I then have to explain to her how to do it and she still insists that it is not possible. At this point I demand to speak with a supervisor. I’m on hold for about 5 minutes and she comes back on and tells me that she can switch me, but I will lose my place in line for an upgrade. I tell her fine as an exit row is better than a middle seat any day. Hold for another 5 minutes and she comes back to tell me that the change can not be made because the flight is now under airport control. Under airport control 5-6 hours in advance? Maybe so, but sounds like BS* to me. Nobody knows what is going on and no one seems to be willing to take the time to really try and help. This is truly sad and frustrating.
(*Stubborn would be one way to describe me. I waited until after the EWR flight departed and went up to the GA agent and asked him if he had time to explain to me what was going on. In addition to unblocking the exit seat, he took the time to explain why the seats were being blocked. Seems the web is allowing people to book the exit rows that should not be there which is creating issues at the gate. So he explained that all flights are controlled by the gate on DAY of departure. He also explained that as a PLT that some one should have over ridden the system since I was clearly eligible for the seat. We then had a long conversation about the changes taking place and the good ole days. He was PSA and just as we finished talking the PSA heritage plane taxied out.)
I hear stories like this all the time. My son who has just started flying for work has been on US for three weeks straight out of DC. He has had enough and says he will never fly US again if he can keep from it. He has had three flights canceled for mechanical, and a multiple flights late by more than two hours. Seems to me of the folks in the castle need to try and make US fly a little better……..
To be continued……
