stocktsi

My family and I have a trip scheduled in a couple of weeks to go on vacation. We selected non-stop flights for our part of the trip because we're traveling with two 2 year olds (changing planes with car seats over your shoulder isn't a recommended activity for stress-free traveling).

The airline, in it's infinite wisdom, canceled our return non-stop flight. They have offered to put us on:

- a 9:40 AM non-stop (not convienient with a 3 hour drive to the airport)

- Connecting flights that leave around the same time (running with car seats over shoulder)

- To move us back a day (not a great option as we'll need another night at the hotel and everyone else goes home the previous day).

Once I figure out which is the least worst options, should the airline be offering/can I get any kind of compensation from then for the inconvenience?

Thanks.

rkkwan

No, they won't offer you anything. Your other choice is to get a full refund and book elsewhere.

gail

Welcome to flying 2006 - I am guessing since this is a vacation you scheduled the flights some time ago. I schedule school vacation flights at least 6 months in advance and in the last 2 years flights on 3 separate airlines have been changed every time.

My advice would be to take 9:40 NS - pack car the night before, kids sleep in their clothes (I am not kidding about that one), and off you go. Little about flying these days is "convenient"

ccolor

Would it be possible for you to stay at a hotel close to the airport the night before your trip? Lots of them have Stay, Park and Fly features where you can leave your car for the duration of your vacation.

MikeT

How short is the connection? IOW, will you really be "running" or would you have enough time to get to your new plane? I know it's not convenient, but definitley not deserving of compensation especially since they gave you so many options.

stocktsi

Thanks for the info. It doesn't sounds like anyone thinks I have a chance at any compensation.

If we go for the 9:40 AM flight, that basically cuts a day off of our vacation. Instead of spending the morning in the mountains and leaving for the airport around noon, we'd need to leave at 3 AM, which means cutting the previous night pretty short. And since we're sharing a van with my parents for the drive, they would need to leave at the same time that we do.

The connection on the flights is less than an hour. If we want to allow more time than that, the layover becomes more like 3 hours before the next flight.

Was thinking about moving it back a day, and asking them to provide a hotel near the airport for the extra night. We could then take the 9:40 flight on the following day.

Whoever said flying isn't convenient is right - the whole reason that we even picked this as a vacation area was that we could get non-stop flights.

MikeT

Don't expect them to pick up the price of the hotel, unless they've already offered. Maybe you will need to just eat the price of the hotel.

Gretchen

You will get no compensation. Take the hotel room and add a day to your vacation.

GoTravel

No, the airline will not compensate you for your hotel.

rkkwan

Tell us what flight, what airline from where to where around what dates. Maybe we have other and better ideas.

sunbum1944

Its worth writing a letter of complaint when you get back and you may get at least a token compensation.

This happened to a friend of mine, she complained and I think they sent her a
$100 voucher - so worth a try

tcreath

I just wanted to say that I feel your pain. My last two flights were changed, and quite significantly, by AA. The first one we would have missed our connecting flight to Croatia from London, so we now have to spend the night there the day before. On the second one, they cancelled a flight from Boston to Shannon (Ireland) that I was scheduled for. Now we are arriving four hours later on an already short 4 night trip. The airline has worked with me, but if I wanted to change dates I would have had to pay extra for it.

Tracy

stocktsi

Here are my flights. I'm open to any ideas. All flights on USAir.

Outbound (flights were changed, but are still OK)
8/25
San Diego -> Charlotte, NC
10:45 PM -> 6:12 AM non-stop

Return (issues)
9/3
Charlotte, NC -> San Diego
Original flight at 5:45 PM non-stop
They're put me on a 3:45 PM flight with connection for now.

rkkwan

Well, first, there will only be one non-stop CLT-SAN then, which is the morning flight on USAirways. Switching to a different airline will not help.

Second, when things like this happen, the airline can basically give you any flight you want, not just the 3:45 one (with connection at PIT). There are lots of USAirways flights or UA codeshare they can put you on througout the afternoon - via PIT, PHL, ORD, PHX, etc.

Having said that, looking at the choices, the 3:45pm PIT connection is really not that bad. PIT is a smaller airport than PHL or ORD, and is pretty easy to connect. 50 minutes is adequate, without having to run from gate to gate. Also, both flights are on a mainline jet, no regional jets.

If I were you, I'd go with the 3:45 flight to PIT. And maybe you can try talk to USAirways after the flight as sunburn suggested. They may compensate you for a little.

CHOCOLATE_WATER_ICE

I have no help to offer, only sympathy.

I too, book way ahead and pay extra for non stop flights and seats that make it possible for me to get on the plane at all (claustrophobic).

I know some things happen that the airline has no control over.

I also feel that they often do expect that they will probably drop one of their flights at a less booked time of year.

When they do drop flights, the non-stop I paid extra for (more than a different airline or different flight that was available at the time of booking cost) becomes a connection flight that I don't want and didn't want even if it was cheap.

And the seats are a whole other matter.
Getting to pick from the seats that are left at some late date or the dreaded "airport check-in" is also a big pain in the neck.

Sorry the airline is replanning your trip.

I don't care how picky other people feel those of us who have specific preferences are or how extremely flexible they are or might be for a few or a lot of dollars. I want to be able to get what I think I have paid for.

I am annoyed on your behalf.

I think they will not compensate you. However, asking specifically for the hotel room cost (while explaining how you will be inconvenienced with the shared van and your kids while losing a day of the trip) might be worth a try.

Best wishes for tolerating your flights.

tracys2cents

The airlines have succeeded in making us all believe we're just a bunch of cattle that they can corral any damn way that they choose. Better luck next time!

P.S.. You're request for compensation will probably be met with some kind of condescending chuckle and the news flash that you can fly another airline next time if you don't like US Airways!

AAFrequentFlyer

Schedule changes are not totally and specifically the airline(s) fault. Some of the blame has to be put on FCC and the local airports. Just recently ORD was told by FAA to "relax" some takeoffs and departure times because it was getting too congested. ORD told UA and AA that they needed to drop some flights to help with the problem. They picked the 2 airlines because both had numerous departures, as in every hour, to their other hubs. So don't just blame the airlines every time there is a schedule "adjustment". You never know what's behind the changes.

That said, it's not the airlines that "succeeded in making us think we're just cattle"....

Low airfare is partly to blame, and guess where the blame should be placed in that instance?

but also, just like any public transportation company in the past, the stagecoach, the train, the bus, and now the plane, the companies have to adjust, tweak, revise, etc.. their schedules as needed.

When one buys a cheap airfare few months ahead of the trip, one has to be prepared for possible changes. If you don't want to deal with changes, buy a full fare ticket a week or 2 before the flight and you won't need to deal with the changes, but please spare me the B & M'ing when you purchased a $200 R/T fare that gets you from east coast to the west coast and back. If there are changes, deal with it.

Gretchen

I take it you are going to the beach or the mountains. Doesn't seem to me that the 3:45 PM flight is so bad. Ask them to meet you at the jetway with a cart to get you to your next flight.

stocktsi

AAFrequentFlyer,

I agree with your statement that I have no way to know what caused the change (other than a suspician that it wasn't full enough for the airline given the many open seats available.)

However, while these tickets were bought several months ago, they were hardly $200 round trip coast to coast flights. It was over $400 per person for the trip even with the advance notice. When you're playing $1,600+ as the airfare part of the vacation to meet specific needs (ie - non-stop flights), it's rather disheartening to have things pulled out from under you. And you'll notice that my issue isn't the change in flight times - it's the change from non-stop to a stop. So buying a full fare ticket wouldn't have changed anything.

I'm general a very flexible traveller when it comes to things like this. The last time we travelled with the kids we had our flight canceled while we were at the airport because of weather across the country. I spent over an hour on the phone with the airline (AA, actually) to find an available flight on another airline because of all the cancellations. They were very helpful and I appreciate the work that they did to get us to our destination with only a 4-5 hour delay (which seemed like forever when you've got to cart 2 kids with all the luggage from 1 terminal to another at the airport). But we dealt with that fine.

This one just really came at a bad time because we're also meeting 6 other people and have to fit into their schedules as well.

Randyforgt

You're not due ANY compensation on a schedule change.I really wish the traveling public would take the time to look over the terms and condition of contract that applies when you buy a ticket.