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On the verge of tears....

TSCOTT

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TSCOTT

TSCOTT

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Posted

I am so upset right now and on the verge of tears. My mother and I were supposed to be leaving for San Juan today on the same flight. The first leg of her flight was from Fresno, CA at 7:00 this morning, and she had a layover in Dallas, which is where I live. How perfect was this…A layover in Dallas that allowed us to travel to San Juan together? Well, she called earlier this morning to let me know that her flight from Fresno has been delayed until 7:15 p.m. We are booked on a 4:25 p.m. flight to San Juan, which means that she won’t make it. I just spoke to an American Reservation Agent who said the only thing they can do is get my mother on a red eye flight that will get her into San Juan at 9:00 tomorrow morning. To add insult to injury, the reservation agent was very reluctant when I asked if she would give me mother a voucher for a meal at the airport. Considering the fact that my 70-year old mother will be stuck at the airport by herself for the next 7 hours, I didn’t think that was asking for too much. Not the best way to start our cruise vacation. Now I wish we had made plans to arrive 2-days early.

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ziggypup

ziggypup

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Posted
I am so upset right now and on the verge of tears. My mother and I were supposed to be leaving for San Juan today on the same flight. The first leg of her flight was from Fresno, CA at 7:00 this morning, and she had a layover in Dallas, which is where I live. How perfect was this…A layover in Dallas that allowed us to travel to San Juan together? Well, she called earlier this morning to let me know that her flight from Fresno has been delayed until 7:15 p.m. We are booked on a 4:25 p.m. flight to San Juan, which means that she won’t make it. I just spoke to an American Reservation Agent who said the only thing they can do is get my mother on a red eye flight that will get her into San Juan at 9:00 tomorrow morning. To add insult to injury, the reservation agent was very reluctant when I asked if she would give me mother a voucher for a meal at the airport. Considering the fact that my 70-year old mother will be stuck at the airport by herself for the next 7 hours, I didn’t think that was asking for too much. Not the best way to start our cruise vacation. Now I wish we had made plans to arrive 2-days early.

 

What was the cause of the delay? Can't she go home for a few hours and come back to the airport later?

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janabm81

janabm81

Posted
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Just relax & breath. Remember this is exactly why every one says to go a day early, and you did, so don't worry. I know you're worried about your mother but it sounds like she raised you to be great, so she must be a pretty smart and independent woman.:)

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crusinmama06

crusinmama06

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Yep, those airline reps don't know that the word CUSTOMER is in customer service. :( Just try to relax. Take a deep breath. You are blessed that you were flying in a day early. This won't effect your cruise departure. Thank goodness.

 

I know it's tough when the travel plans don't work out the way they were suppose to and the airlines have NO sympathy...been there, done that, should have wrote a book. ;)

 

So calm down. Your mom will be fine. She will be out soon enough. And I hope the rest of your vacation goes off without a hitch.

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kaylorcc

kaylorcc

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As others have said-- you did a good job by planning to get there early, and sometimes even planning to arrive early isn't enough (my parents ended up missing a cruise due to flight delays even though they were flying down 2 full days early) so it's good news that you aren't going to miss the cruise.

 

To be honest, with the way the airlines have gone since 9/11, flying and expecting to arrive at your destination on time has gotten to be a gigantic crapshoot. Just try and stay calm, expect that there will be delays, and be prepared with a contingency plan in the event that your airline delays you to the point where you won't make it to the port on time. Sounds like you've done all you can.

 

And once you step onboard your ship, hopefully you'll forget all about what you went through to get there. :) Enjoy your cruise.

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sas80

sas80

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Posted
The good thing is that you will make your cruise. Nothing else matters. Have a great time and don't sweat the small stuff :)

 

Ditto!

 

Think of how great it will be when you finally do meet up! Not to mention that this will all be a distant memory by Sunday night!

 

Cheer up! You're about to go on a CRUISE! :)

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Janice M

Janice M

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Posted
I am so upset right now and on the verge of tears. My mother and I were supposed to be leaving for San Juan today on the same flight. The first leg of her flight was from Fresno, CA at 7:00 this morning, and she had a layover in Dallas, which is where I live. How perfect was this…A layover in Dallas that allowed us to travel to San Juan together? Well, she called earlier this morning to let me know that her flight from Fresno has been delayed until 7:15 p.m. We are booked on a 4:25 p.m. flight to San Juan, which means that she won’t make it. I just spoke to an American Reservation Agent who said the only thing they can do is get my mother on a red eye flight that will get her into San Juan at 9:00 tomorrow morning. To add insult to injury, the reservation agent was very reluctant when I asked if she would give me mother a voucher for a meal at the airport. Considering the fact that my 70-year old mother will be stuck at the airport by herself for the next 7 hours, I didn’t think that was asking for too much. Not the best way to start our cruise vacation. Now I wish we had made plans to arrive 2-days early.

 

I am your Mom's age. We just got back from a wonderful cruise. It did not start out to great. We were to leave Milw. at 3:00 and connect at Atlanta for a flight to Santiago Chile. Our flight was delayed at least 3 hours. The clerk made arrangements for us to go on another airline. Meanwhile our luggage was checked in with the first airline. We all made it to Santiago, our luggage included. We did arrive a day early too. Most of the time things work out great. Enjoy your cruise. You will have a great time.

 

Jan

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KKeeganS

KKeeganS

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I hope all the rest of your trip goes smoothly and that you can laugh about this in the future.

 

Glad you planned ahead and left yourself with that extra day so you will make the ship! I hope you and your mom have a great time once you actually make it San Juan and get onboard your ship!

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megr1125

megr1125

Posted
Posted

if you can call your mom you may want to have her find an AA supervisor and ask if they can put her on another carrier to dallas (DFW NOT Love Field though!)

 

Otherwise, have her ask a CS Supervisor at the airport for a voucher......she can say she's a "seasoned citizen..." and please can they get her some food......

 

if you bought cruise air she is SOL but if you bought right from the airline they should be able to endorse over her ticket!

 

just a thought! good luck!

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Evilblah

Evilblah

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Dont worry too much atleast you and your mother will still be able to cruise together, even if the journey to the ship isn't so great. Nothing helps stressful travel like a cruise! ;) Im sure you both will have a great time. Have fun!

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Rancher Dave

Rancher Dave

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Posted

Sorry you are having a bad start to the trip. I agree 100% with you that AA should have done more to assist your mom, including offering the meal voucher without being forced.

 

I've been treated well and badly by airlines, depending on who was at the desk...I know how upset it makes the traveler.

 

As others said at least y'all should have a nice cruise. Enjoy that!

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alexkrn46

alexkrn46

Posted
Posted
Thanks for all of the kind and reassuring words. The flight was delayed because of a "broken part". I'm signing off now.....Getting ready to head off to the airport.

 

Have a great cruise, for your information, since it was there error you could have asked her to put on a partner airline.

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CanTex

CanTex

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Most airlines have become so pathetic with their customer service.

 

For a lengthy delay of that nature (mechanical problems), they should have offered your mother one of their "perk packs" that will often include (besides an airport meal voucher) coupons for things like a free drink on your flight, a calling card to call home, discount voucher on a future flight, etc. Sometimes you have ask if it isn't offered. And then insist if they balk.

 

Better still, they will sometimes upgrade you on the re-booked flight... just ask.

 

I don't think a reservations agent on the phone can be of any help in this situation. It's the airline staff on the ground at the airport who need to be handling this.

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Rancher Dave

Rancher Dave

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Posted
Most airlines have become so pathetic with their customer service.

 

For a lengthy delay of that nature (mechanical problems), they should have offered your mother one of their "perk packs" that will often include (besides an airport meal voucher) coupons for things like a free drink on your flight, a calling card to call home, discount voucher on a future flight, etc. Sometimes you have ask if it isn't offered. And then insist if they balk.

 

Better still, they will sometimes upgrade you on the re-booked flight... just ask.

 

I don't think a reservations agent on the phone can be of any help in this situation. It's the airline staff on the ground at the airport who need to be handling this.

 

 

So true. I expect though that in most cases nothing is just offered these days...it takes asking to get anything...its a cost thing for the airlines...if the customer is happy just waiting the agent goes on to the next peson.

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