air service in Anchorage can stink

[Thoth]

If you haven't slept on the floor of an airport in Alaska at least once, you have not experienced Alaska. Period.

 

The airlines can only do so much when weather conditions are dangerous.

 

Alaska isn't DisneyWorld.

 

Oh I understand that. I just felt that United could have treated their customers as something more than a nuisance. I work for the post office and we treat our customers much better than United does.

[mytime53]

So is that the "real Alaska" that so many people say they want to see??? :D

 

Definitely part of it!

[tulsacubfan]

I understand that acts of nature prevents flights, so I understand being delayed. My main issue was with United's customer service attitude.

So I'll revise what I said....DO visit Alaska....by all means visit Alaska. Anchorage is a lovely city, but I still advise flying Alaskan Air.

So visit Anchorage, but do so on an Alaskan air ticket...or e-ticket I should say.

 

United's poor customer service is not just in Alaska -

it is everywhere.....

[tulsacubfan]

If you haven't slept on the floor of an airport in Alaska at least once, you have not experienced Alaska. Period.

 

The airlines can only do so much when weather conditions are dangerous.

 

Alaska isn't DisneyWorld.

 

They can at least act like they are sorry instead of acting like their customers are an inconvenience...and I find this both on the ground and in the air with United.

[frugaltravel]

They can at least act like they are sorry instead of acting like their customers are an inconvenience...and I find this both on the ground and in the air with United.

 

I find it with pretty much all US airlines.

[Thoth]

United's poor customer service is not just in Alaska -

it is everywhere.....

yeah...I know.

[Thoth]

They can at least act like they are sorry instead of acting like their customers are an inconvenience...and I find this both on the ground and in the air with United.

I had booked originally with Continental and the Continental was merged with United. United then rerouted my flights and muddled the whole thing up. My IAH to SEA flight arrived at 1630 and my connecting flight SEA to YVR left at 1600. It took quite a bit of trouble getting them to straighten out their own mistake. The phone support was terrible for awhile. I even had one United employee tell me that the customer service dropped considerably after United took over Continental's routes.

[Thoth]

I find it with pretty much all US airlines.

I've had bad luck with Delta in the past, espicially ATL where they didn't give a care.

Back in April American Airlines through Dallas treated us really well on our London trip.

[frugaltravel]

I even had one United employee tell me that the customer service dropped considerably after United took over Continental's routes.

 

Actually it was more like Continental Airlines taking over United's routes. :)

 

More than one frequent traveler has dubbed it, "Continental Airlines dba United Airlines" and that is not very far from the truth.

[PennyAgain]

More than once I've had a painful goodby from family in Alaska, gone to ANC and then have not been after to fly out. Last minute weather changes, volcano etc.

 

Rather than open up the whole emotional bit with family and do all that over again, I sleep at the airport or a nearby motel/hotel.

 

Most of the airlines that serve ANC have the same response to weather etc flight cancelations........"We'll keep the restaurants open later than usual".

 

I always have enough stuff in my carry on bag to survive an airport sleep over and never, ever put medications, money or valuables into my checked bag.

 

Be prepared.

[BubMunkeyBles]

My parents got stuck in Venice for an extra week. It happens with bad weather and smaller airports sometimes. Delta only paid for one of those nights in a hotel and only because he was a medallion member.

 

We're flying United out of here in December. I hope you filed a complaint with them. I've never had issues in the past truthfully. We're switching to Alaska Air though, but they were $300 more a ticket home and times 4 that's a lot of money.

[bearbait]

I've never experienced good service at the Post Office. 25 people in line, one clerk that only moved one speed, slow.

[Thoth]

Actually it was more like Continental Airlines taking over United's routes. :)

 

More than one frequent traveler has dubbed it, "Continental Airlines dba United Airlines" and that is not very far from the truth.

From what I was told Continental doesn't exist anymore...it is all United. The Globe is now the symbol of United.

[Thoth]

More than once I've had a painful goodby from family in Alaska, gone to ANC and then have not been after to fly out. Last minute weather changes, volcano etc.

 

Rather than open up the whole emotional bit with family and do all that over again, I sleep at the airport or a nearby motel/hotel.

 

Most of the airlines that serve ANC have the same response to weather etc flight cancelations........"We'll keep the restaurants open later than usual".

 

I always have enough stuff in my carry on bag to survive an airport sleep over and never, ever put medications, money or valuables into my checked bag.

 

Be prepared.

so true ! Keep a change of cloths in the carry on and don't check your toothbrush...just in case.

[Thoth]

My parents got stuck in Venice for an extra week. It happens with bad weather and smaller airports sometimes. Delta only paid for one of those nights in a hotel and only because he was a medallion member.

 

We're flying United out of here in December. I hope you filed a complaint with them. I've never had issues in the past truthfully. We're switching to Alaska Air though, but they were $300 more a ticket home and times 4 that's a lot of money.

 

I did file a complaint, but don't expect much. Hopefully the next guy will not have problems like I did.

[Thoth]

I've never experienced good service at the Post Office. 25 people in line, one clerk that only moved one speed, slow.

you get my point

[pdmlynek]

Hopefully my experiences are not typical....but here goes !

I was scheduled to fly out of ANC after a cruise ( Island Princess) and my flight was canceled by United Airlines due to high winds. This was Wednesday 19 Sept 2012 and I was stranded in Anchorage until 24 Sept Monday which was the earliest that I could be rescheduled. The airline offered me no hotel=nothing ! I had to find my own hotel room and pay for it from my own pocket. United's gate agents treated me as a nuisance, and not as a valued customer. Here is my advice .....

1) do the round trip cruises from Seattle or Vancouver where air service is much superior to Anchorage. The one way Northbound runs the risk of stranding one in Anchorage due to limited flights out, unless of course you wish to fly to Deadhorse at the North pole !

2) If one opts to use ANC airport, use Alaskan Air,... not United, Delta, American, or US Air.

Alaskan Air has several flights every day to Seattle and a helpful gate crew. The other airlines have maybe one per day and if you get bumped from that single flight, you will spend the night in Anchorage.

3) don't get the foolish idea that the big airlines like United value you as a customer

4) If you ever book an Alaskan cruise through Anchorage, tell your friends/family/boss..." I might be late getting home ".

 

Thoth, I am sorry to hear what happened to you. 5 days. Ouch.

But, you are an experienced traveler. You know that things happen. I never count on things going right when I travel. When there is a problem with the weather, or a plane, or a strike, or an unexpected closure, or whatever, then I go into plan B or C.

As far as flights to and out of ANC go, yeah, it makes sense to go with the airline that has a good number of planes flying in and out of that airport. That’s just like everywhere else in the world. It should be pretty obvious. Thank you for posting this tidbit for the newbies, to whom this is not obvious.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed those 5 extra days in Alaska. Did you go down to Kenai peninsula, or did you enjoy the nature around Anchorage?

[frugaltravel]

From what I was told Continental doesn't exist anymore...it is all United. The Globe is now the symbol of United.

 

 

Guees it went right over your head.

[greatam]

Guees it went right over your head.

 

There is a whole lot in this thread that just keeps sailing over the OP's head.

 

Coral and BudgetQueen, I believe, hit the nail on the head why there were so many problems and why it took so long to get out of Alaska.

 

I THINK this was a cruise air or EZ Air booking. Otherwise, Princess insurance would have NOTHING to do with the air or filing a claim.

 

And if it was, although an extra 5 days in Alaska is definitely not the worst thing in the world, the extra days could be a real blow to someone's budget or job.

 

IF it was a cruise air (EZ Air or true cruise air), the OP was at the bottom of the food chain for re-accommodation. All has to do with the FARE RULES for the majority of cruise line booked air. MOST cruise line booked/sold tickets CANNOT be used on another carrier. And anyone with a higher fare class ticket and less restrictive rules gets priority over bottom of the barrel cruise line air tickets.

 

There TRULY, TRULY IS a difference. VERY, VERY RARELY are you buying the same ticket with the SAME RULES from the cruise line as you could buy directly from the airline. And saving those few extra dollars on an airline ticket issued by the cruise line that you really have NO idea what you are buying could cost you A LOT in the long run.

[Thoth]

Thoth, I am sorry to hear what happened to you. 5 days. Ouch.

But, you are an experienced traveler. You know that things happen. I never count on things going right when I travel. When there is a problem with the weather, or a plane, or a strike, or an unexpected closure, or whatever, then I go into plan B or C.

As far as flights to and out of ANC go, yeah, it makes sense to go with the airline that has a good number of planes flying in and out of that airport. That’s just like everywhere else in the world. It should be pretty obvious. Thank you for posting this tidbit for the newbies, to whom this is not obvious.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed those 5 extra days in Alaska. Did you go down to Kenai peninsula, or did you enjoy the nature around Anchorage?

Yeah, I did enjoy my extra days in Anchorage. While I didn't make down to the Kenai or up to McKinley, I did get aquained with Anchorge bus #7 which went downtown, then the #9 which went to the Diamond Center. Anchorage is a lovely city for sure. The Quality Inn took good care of me.

[Thoth]

I don't respond to snippy posters...I add you to my ignore list.

[Thoth]

This is my review published on CC....

On 12-19 September I took my first Princess cruise after sailing almost exclusively with Carnival and Holland America. Carnival's sense of fun was the attribute I most admired about the "Fun Ships" and Holland America always seemed to possess a sense of class. Based on my Island Princess cruise I must say that Princess seems to combine the best of both worlds.

 

The entertainment was fast paced and plentiful, while at the same time always with a sense of good taste. For example, the comedians could be funny without using profanity. We had 3 high energy production show,... "Do you want to Dance", "On the Bayou", and "Motortown". There were trivia games every day and the disco rocked in the evening with the very fine band Sol Provider.

 

 

My dinner was at 1730 in the Provence Dining room where the service was excellent. The food too met or exceeded my expectations with salmon, pasta, lobster, surf & turf, and other cruise ship staples. Of course for desert what Alaska cruise would be complete without baked Alaska?

 

 

I had stateroom B537 and inside on the Baja deck. Besides always getting lost, I was most pleased with both the room and my cabin attendant. This room being mid-ship was remarkably stable at all times. No sea-sickness for me! Not that I get sea-sick, but I have felt the ocean on previous ships where I was in the bow or stern.

 

 

This was a Northbound Vancouver to Whittier voyage. Vancouver: This is an absolutely beautiful city so I highly recommend coming in early as to enjoy what the place has to offer. Princess's contract hotel ~Four Seasons~ is magnificently located in downtown just a few blocks from Canada Place ship terminal. Since I took the package, check-in for the ship was in the hotel. Since I already had my Princess roomcard and bags picked up, all I had to do for embarkation was walk onto the ship . The picturesque Gastown is an easy walk from both Four Seasons hotel and Canada Place, so by all means go see the steam clock ! Please don't use Vancouver simply as an embarkation...it is a destination in of itself. Ketchikan: Besides a walk over to Creek Street, I took the scenic boat to Misty Fjords National Monument. That is a beautiful place and well worth the cost of a shore excursion to get to. Juneau: They call the rainforest a "rain" forest for good reason, as I found out with the "guide's choice" hike around Mendenhall glacier. Yes, I got wet...but all part of the fun. Skagway: like most everyone else I took the White Pass train which is perhaps my favorite shore excursion out of 14 cruises. Fantastic!! My tour also included a motor coach trip to Carcross Yukon, of which I can enthusiastically endorse doing. Whittier: Not much there, but do spend some time in Anchorage which is a lovely city.

 

 

So....two thumbs up to Alaska, Vancouver, and to Princess !!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We were not very happy with our United flight to and from Alaska. We booked a flight from VA through chicago to Vancouver. We selected a 7:30am flight since we live more than an hour from the airport. It was about $40 more than the 5-6am flights.

 

A little over a month before the flight United cancelled that flight and put us on one at 5:55am. We could have booked that flight for less money at the time we booked. Now we had the less expensive flight for the higher fare we paid. i went through customer service to get them to give us the difference or even a free bag. (Do not laugh) But, this is really bait and switch. If I booked a premium hotel room and they changed me to a lesser room--I woud have gotten a refund. Well I eventually let that go.

 

Then the day we tried to check in online the whole system shut down. When we got to the airport they had reassigned my 6'3" husband an inside seat rather than the aisle that he booked. On the way back they changed his seat again.

 

We had a nasty surprise at the ticket counter when we left Alaska at ANC. We decided to arrive about 8:00 pm to return our rental car and find a restaurant to have a nice dinner (after dropping off checked bags) before our 11:50 flight. But the Ticket counter was closed. The counter closes from around 6-9:30pm. And, the only food before the security was Cinnabon. :mad:

 

This would have been fine if they had told us that. We would have found a restuarant in Anchorage. But, we turned in our rental car before we found out. One of our traveling companions was sick to her stomach before we were able to get dinner.

[bearbait]

I remember back in 1984 taking a flight from Wainright, Alaska to Barrow on Cape Smythe Air. The flight was full so I had to sit next to a corpse in a body bag. Oh, the joys of living in rural Alaska.

[Thoth]

We were not very happy with our United flight to and from Alaska. We booked a flight from VA through chicago to Vancouver. We selected a 7:30am flight since we live more than an hour from the airport. It was about $40 more than the 5-6am flights.

 

A little over a month before the flight United cancelled that flight and put us on one at 5:55am. We could have booked that flight for less money at the time we booked. Now we had the less expensive flight for the higher fare we paid. i went through customer service to get them to give us the difference or even a free bag. (Do not laugh) But, this is really bait and switch. If I booked a premium hotel room and they changed me to a lesser room--I woud have gotten a refund. Well I eventually let that go.

 

Then the day we tried to check in online the whole system shut down. When we got to the airport they had reassigned my 6'3" husband an inside seat rather than the aisle that he booked. On the way back they changed his seat again.

 

We had a nasty surprise at the ticket counter when we left Alaska at ANC. We decided to arrive about 8:00 pm to return our rental car and find a restaurant to have a nice dinner (after dropping off checked bags) before our 11:50 flight. But the Ticket counter was closed. The counter closes from around 6-9:30pm. And, the only food before the security was Cinnabon. :mad:

 

This would have been fine if they had told us that. We would have found a restuarant in Anchorage. But, we turned in our rental car before we found out. One of our traveling companions was sick to her stomach before we were able to get dinner.

sorry about your problems. Lunch one day for me was a Cinnabon. Starbucks had sandwiches, but no way to heat them. Plenty of places to eat inside security, once one was permitted beyond that point.