Travel Hassles -- Forget Domestic Airlines

I had a big travel hassle this morning, and it had nothing to do with the Thanksgiving holiday crush.  I had to go to LA for a meeting of the California Firearms Strategy Group.  My ride was leaving LA Airport for the meeting at 9:30 a.m.

Usually, I take a 2 hour bus ride from Santa Rosa to Oakland or San Francisco Airports to catch a flight.  It's not so bad going down, but coming home is a bother because the bus doesn't run frequently, and if you miss it, you have to wait a good while for the next bus, then travel two hours to get home.  So, I decided to be smart and take Horizon Airlines (part of Alaska Airlines) from Santa Rosa to LA and back.

That turned out to be a disaster.  When I got to the airport, boarding pass in hand, at 5:30 a.m. for my 6:00 a.m. flight, I discovered the flight -- for weather reasons -- had been cancelled.  Of course, the airline, which had my phone number, never called me (or several other passengers at the airport) to let me know of the cancellation.   No email either.  And there were no other connections through Oakland or San Francisco that would have gotten me to LA in time for my appointment.

I ran out to get my husband who had dropped me off at the airport and saw our car being driven away.  I yelled at Jim but he didn't hear me.  I came back into the airport and asked for a taxi which Horizon ordered.  I then learned I would have to pay for the taxi myself -- an additional 35 dollars.  Fortunately, Jim was willing to come back for me.

I then asked for my ticket refund and was told I had a nonrefundable ticket.  I was incredulous that an airline wouldn't refund a ticket -- even a nonrefundable ticket -- if THEY cancel the flight.  I was told I could use the ticket to go on other Alaska Airlines flights, for example, I could make a trip to Alaska.  I stared at the ticket agent incredulously.  Who, after Sarah Palin and Ted Stevens, would ever want to go to Alaska?

I threatened to write a letter to the local paper, to send out an email to all my Santa Rosa contacts, to blog, for God's sake, about the despicable behavior of Alaska Airlines.  At that point, the agent gave me a phone number for Customer Relations in Seattle.

I called the phone number and got a recording informing me that my nonrefundable ticket could be used on a different flight for up to a year, BUT there was a $75 charge for transferring to a different flight.  I was enraged but held on long enough to finally get a real person to hear my complaint.  

Jillian from Customer Relations was pleasant.  I asked her why no one had called me.  She told me the flight was cancelled at ten p.m. in the evening and people don't like to be called that late.  I was dumbfounded.  Wouldn't someone having to get up at 5 a.m. for a flight want to know at any hour that the flight had been cancelled?

Next, Jillian informed me that the airport agent was incorrect -- I could get a refund in the event a flight was cancelled for weather reasons.  She promised to call the airport and let them know they were giving out incorrect information.  Let's wait and see if I get my refund.

What is the moral of the story?  Domestic airlines will screw you any way they can.  If you scream loud enough -- even threaten to blog -- you might possibly get your problem resolved.

Should I also conclude it's time to give up on travel?  I just can't do that.  I LOVE to travel.  My solution, temporarily, will be to fly foreign airlines as much as possible.  I'm sure they have their problems, but they can't be anywhere as bad as U.S. domestic airlines.

Happy holiday travell!!!