People's expectations when flying.....

[Brandane]

People's expectations when flying, are IMHO somewhat unreasonable at times.
Yesterday at Glasgow Airport, a flight to Toronto by budget airline Transat was cancelled because the two pilots had been over indulging on the Scottish hospitality. Fair enough, they've been stupid and been caught, and will face the inevitable consequences.
The bit that caught my eye in the story was this.....

Some of the passengers checking in at Glasgow Airport said they were angry at the way they had been treated by the airline and by the lack of information from staff.

One man told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "There is some compensation, money for flying, but I don't think that will be acceptable for anyone who's been inconvenienced for the whole day."

He added: "They didn't give us any information. They herded people off [the plane] like cattle into a bus...it's not good enough."

What did the passenger expect the Canada based airline to do; open another tin of pilots? "Herded off the plane like cattle into a bus"; oh you poor drama queen - I'm sure you just walked off the plane into a comfortable coach for the transfer to your hotel, paid for by the airline as the flight was re-scheduled for the following day (today).
"Inconvenienced for the whole day" - awwww the poor dear, wasn't there enough compensation money to keep you entertained for one whole night?. Count yourself lucky that in this day of massively convenient jet travel at bargain prices, that that is all you have to worry about.

Commuters in London on Southern trains being inconvenienced twice a day, every day, and paying a huge sum for the privilege I can sympathise with. But not this plank.

 

[jefmcg]

If they are American, they get 10 days holiday (oops, vacation) a year, so losing a day of it is a lot. Also in many states you can be fired for no reason, so being a day late back at work could be terrifying.

If I was in the situation I'd spend the day exploring Glasgow or Edinburgh, if I knew what was happening. I'd be very sad to have missed that adventure and spend the night in a depressing airport hotel because no one told me I wouldn't be flying today.

 

[Brandane]

It has been awful. I might even open a PayPal account for donations.

You're supposed to be a cyclist, and therefore not reliant on any other form of transport. So you're getting hee-haw donation from me.

 

[Brandane]

If they are American, they get 10 days holiday (oops, vacation) a year, so losing a day of it is a lot. Also in many states you can be fired for no reason, so being a day late back at work could be terrifying.

If they were American, I'd expect them to be flying back to America. If my schedule was that tight, I think I would be booking a flight which allowed for problems such as aircraft being taken out of service for whatever reason; weather delays, pissed pilots etc..

 

[Rooster1]

Thing is, if a flight is more than 3 hours late you can claim compensation. Not sure this applies to all airlines though, my flight yesterday was 1 hr and 20 minutes late so I expect a great deal of compensation!!!!!!!

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

[QUOTE 4372658, member: 259"]Those airline pilots can be such scamps.[/QUOTE]
No air hostesses involved this time tho'. Modern pilots - such lightweights

 

[Glow worm]

I've been on an Air Transat flight and trust me, those passengers on the cancelled service had a lucky escape !

 

[Brandane]

I was bumped off a flight to Chicago once, and offered £600 to get on the next one approx. 4 hours later....

... I thought all my Christmases had come at once.

Imagine my disappointment when they found me a last minute seat in business class

I had similar once, returning from San Francisco back in the 90's.. Overbooked flight on BA, would I mind flying down to LA and taking the BA flight to Heathrow from there? Oh and we'll give you US$400 for your trouble.
I was flying on to Glasgow from Heathrow, and still caught the same flight to Glasgow anyway!

 

[martint235]

Thing is, if a flight is more than 3 hours late you can claim compensation. Not sure this applies to all airlines though, my flight yesterday was 1 hr and 20 minutes late so I expect a great deal of compensation!!!!!!!

Well you can for now. This was one of those pesky laws those nasty, nasty people in Brussels forced on to us. Once you're flying on a non-EU airline from a non-EU airport you'll probably get nowt.

 

[Rasmus]

Thing is, if a flight is more than 3 hours late you can claim compensation. Not sure this applies to all airlines though, my flight yesterday was 1 hr and 20 minutes late so I expect a great deal of compensation!!!!!!!

It does. Passengers should be able to claim 600 euro - the 200 CAD offered by the airline is well below what is mandated by EU legislation.

I have had a few instances of irregular operations on my travels the last few months. I have observed that yelling at / complaining to front line staff does little to improve ones situation. Better to stay calm and look for appropriate options to get your situation resolved yourself. Also, fly a better airline, that has agreements / alliances allowing for faster re-routing.

 

[Rasmus]

Oh, and "herded off the plane like cattle in to a bus" - I'll be doing that on Monday at Schiphol

 

[Milkfloat]

I regularly fly and fairly regularly have issues. I have found that relying on the airport staff to fix anything is fruitless, you need to take things into your own hands quickly. I totally agree that shouting at the airline staff will get you nowhere. I pick my airlines carefully nowadays, but ultimately you are going to get let down sooner or later. I go with low expectations, that way I cannot get disappointed.

 

[toffee]

Oh, and "herded off the plane like cattle in to a bus" - I'll be doing that on Monday at Schiphol

I give you a wave as I cycle past.

Derek

 

[Drago]

This always makes me laugh...

"They didn't give us any information"

And would it have made things go any quicker if they had? No it bloody well wouldn't.

 

[Beebo]

This always makes me laugh...

"They didn't give us any information"

And would it have made things go any quicker if they had? No it bloody well wouldn't.

They just want some junior manager to speak to the crowd so they can all shout at him, to make themselves feel better.