Involuntary Denied Boarding
"denial is not just a river in Egypt."
I just got back from a weekend in Atlanta. As you may notice, my weekend ended today (Tuesday) thanks to what happened last night -- we got "The Bump."
We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, and sauntered to the gate just in time to be denied. Northwest had overloaded the plane with mail, and started pulling people off the plane.
Although I have volunteered on many occasions to get bumped, this was the first time I have gotten bumped, when I didn't want to.
Our bag ended up making the flight but we didn't. We were stranded in Atlanta without a clothes or toiletries. By the time we walked back to the baggage office, they had handed out all of the stranded passenger toiletry kits. Thankfully, the hotel gave us a toothbrush and shaver. Still, we ended up spending $65 at the airport gift shop so we would have clean underwear and T-shirts to wear in the morning.
We had to wake up at 4:30 am, to catch the shuttle to the airport to make the 6:15 am flight. My wife barely made it to work on time; I was late by several hours.
I have sworn to never fly Northwest ever again, if I can avoid it.
Getting Less and Paying More
Last year well over 64,000 passengers were involuntarily "bumped," on top of 4.4 million pieces of mishandled luggage, and a 73.4% on-time performance.
Additionally, fares have risen. Business class fares have jumped 12.4 % during the first half of February, while rental cars rates have jumped 20% each week this month (when compared to a year ago). Hotel rooms rates jumped 5.9% in 2007 (source: msnbc).
It seems that the airlines are on a race to the bottom. Just check out these "enhancements" which have taken place within the scope of the last 12 months:
- Last year, American and United announced that they are expunging accounts that hadn't had activity during the previous 18 months.
- Beginning May 5, customers who fly United will be faced with a $25 fee for checking a second bag, to provide "...choice, flexibility and low fares."
- US Airways will no longer offer a 500 mile minimum on short trips.
- US Airways has announced it will charge $25 for a second bag, following United.
It makes me wonder what is in store for the future.
Labels: business travel
