AquaMan
03-18-2002, 01:13 PM
Just got back last night from our trip to the south and what a blast once there, but getting there and home was a mess. Today's air travel is the worst I have ever seen.
What is really irritating is that nothing the airlines or government are doing right now will protect travelers from terrorists. It only serves to screw up the honest traveler and it is a shame. Our family of 4 (Me, wife, 18 y/o son and 10 y/o daughter) was subjected to enormous stress and discomfort in the name of safety while others walked past in "First Class" without even a question or scan. Hmmmmm.....
They routed our luggage to a different city, they canceled several flights due to "mechanical" delays and we missed connections both ways due to the scanning process. We canceled our last leg (No refund since the delay was "Weather" related) and drove from Memphis to Biloxi at 9PM Saturday and arrived in Biloxi at 2AM. Getting our luggage out of Memphis was a fiasco and getting permission to return home was insulting. (Since we canceled a leg, we were placed under suspicion and it required a complete personal history for each of us and search of all bags including the checked bags) They thought we were disgruntle for the error. HA!
Mean while, the guy behind us, of mid- eastern decent, walked on with his laptop, cell phone and a another carry on bag. He paid cash for the flight because his other leg was also canceled and he did not want to wait for the airline to correct the problem. I was a little upset at this point, but my wife was going nuts! We missed our connection because the guy who does the search of the checked bags was on break. Our tickets were held until those bags cleared, then we had t go upstairs and have all our carry on searched. Like us, 28 other people missed that flight as a result. In the name of passenger safety.
Sorry to vent , but I just went to pick up the bags at lunch and one is all busted up. I was told I can file a claim, but since I was double parked, I have to return within the next 24 hours and file. They will pay 80% of the value. There are no refunds, discounts, or apologies since they claim all inconveniences were due to weather..."according to the screen". But at each terminal, mechanics were to blame for the cancellation from the ground crews. Heck, we could not even deboard the plan because the ground crew miss-directed the plane and it had to be re-aligned twice after sitting on it for 2 hours in MPLS.
Other then that, we had a great time. I was on a mission: Death by Shrimp. Came close in "Nawlens". Also had a Crawdad boil to end all at the Cousin's house. The big boys were nearly as good a lobster. Got to even participate in a St. Patty's Day Parade in Biloxi. Want some beads? :-)
AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just turning cash into water!
What is really irritating is that nothing the airlines or government are doing right now will protect travelers from terrorists. It only serves to screw up the honest traveler and it is a shame. Our family of 4 (Me, wife, 18 y/o son and 10 y/o daughter) was subjected to enormous stress and discomfort in the name of safety while others walked past in "First Class" without even a question or scan. Hmmmmm.....
They routed our luggage to a different city, they canceled several flights due to "mechanical" delays and we missed connections both ways due to the scanning process. We canceled our last leg (No refund since the delay was "Weather" related) and drove from Memphis to Biloxi at 9PM Saturday and arrived in Biloxi at 2AM. Getting our luggage out of Memphis was a fiasco and getting permission to return home was insulting. (Since we canceled a leg, we were placed under suspicion and it required a complete personal history for each of us and search of all bags including the checked bags) They thought we were disgruntle for the error. HA!
Mean while, the guy behind us, of mid- eastern decent, walked on with his laptop, cell phone and a another carry on bag. He paid cash for the flight because his other leg was also canceled and he did not want to wait for the airline to correct the problem. I was a little upset at this point, but my wife was going nuts! We missed our connection because the guy who does the search of the checked bags was on break. Our tickets were held until those bags cleared, then we had t go upstairs and have all our carry on searched. Like us, 28 other people missed that flight as a result. In the name of passenger safety.
Sorry to vent , but I just went to pick up the bags at lunch and one is all busted up. I was told I can file a claim, but since I was double parked, I have to return within the next 24 hours and file. They will pay 80% of the value. There are no refunds, discounts, or apologies since they claim all inconveniences were due to weather..."according to the screen". But at each terminal, mechanics were to blame for the cancellation from the ground crews. Heck, we could not even deboard the plan because the ground crew miss-directed the plane and it had to be re-aligned twice after sitting on it for 2 hours in MPLS.
Other then that, we had a great time. I was on a mission: Death by Shrimp. Came close in "Nawlens". Also had a Crawdad boil to end all at the Cousin's house. The big boys were nearly as good a lobster. Got to even participate in a St. Patty's Day Parade in Biloxi. Want some beads? :-)
AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just turning cash into water!