25th Anniversary trip to Hawaii...
 

My name is Rita and on July 14, 2009 I embarked with my family on our vacation to celebrate my husband and I's 25th Wedding Anniversary in Hawaii. Our reservation number was *****. Our trip was to begin on a flight #9572 from Killeen Texas to Houston Texas at 6:25am. Our flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems with the plane. There was no "back up" plane to replace the broken one and there were no mechanics on duty to repair our plane. We were going to miss our 9:35am flight # #1 to Honolulu if we did not get to Houston on time. The gate agent attempted to book us on other airlines to get us on our vacation. However my step father was on oxygen and only had a permit for Continental Airlines. She was able to book my mother, step father and my youngest son on a flight from Austin to Houston then an 11:35 flight from Houston to Honolulu. There were only 3 seats left on that flight. The rest of us were booked on American airlines from Austin to Dallas to San Francisco then to Honolulu. Continental shuttled us to the Austin aiport to catch our flights. My mother, step father, and my son got on their flight to Houston and then on to Hononlulu. The rest of us approached the American Airlines counter at 9am to catch our 9:45 to Dallas. However the American Airlines clerk said "I see your names, but I do not see a reservation". She typed and typed but found no reservation and sent us to the Continental counter. The clerk there was very kind. She got on the phone and was able to get our reservation in the system and sent us back to the American Airlines counter...it was 9:25am. The American Airlines clerk said "I see your reservation but it is too late to board the plane, the flight is closed". :eek: I was devastated :(. We had to go back to the Continental counter. This poor clerk was clearly frustrated as was I :mad:...I began to cry at the thought of losing my dream vacation on my 25th Wedding Anniversay. She worked diligently to get us to Hawaii. At 10am She was able to get us to Houston, then to Los Angeles then to Hononlulu. We had our anniversary dinner on an American Airlines 737, a half of a sandwich and some chips, that we had to pay for! We were supposed to arrive in Honolulu at 12:55pm in the afternoon and spend our anniversary having dinner with our children on the beach. Instead we arrived at 9:30 pm, exhausted, cranky and ready for bed. We lost an entire day of our vacation in Hawaii because Continental does not have a "back up" plane at the Killeen Texas airport.

I am normally highly critical of airlines, but to be honest, I think this posting should be headed "In praise of Continental". Airlines cannot possibly have a "back up" plane in every single airport they operate out of. Can you imagine the cost of the literally hundreds of idle airplanes that would be needed to achieve this. Killeen is not exactly a throbbing metropolis...

The Continental staff did everything in their power to get you to your destination after the mechanical problems developed. Many other carriers, Delta in particular, would almost certainly have treated you far worse. I think in the circumstances you were treated very well..

My experience should have never happened.

Also contact Colgan Air
 

Continental does NOT fly between Killeen and Houston. Rather, Continental has a "code share" agreement with an airline completely independent of Continental--COLGAN AIR--to do the flying for them.

Not that it matters much now. But, it would be interesting to see what kind of answer, if any, you get if you send Colgan a copy of your letter.

COLGAN AIR, INC.
10677 Aviation Lane
Manassas, Virginia 20110

Phone: 703-368-8880
Fax: 703-331-3116

I saw this complaint on another site and the reponses were much the same as Jim's. Continental worked hard for this group of folks and seemed to have left nothing in the bag, so to speak. Even going so far as to provide ground transportation to another airport and using an alternate airline. Kudos to CO.

As far as having a backup plane. I just don't get that comment. Seriously, imagine if for every flight out there, the airline was expected to have an alternate plane available. Totally unreasonable. You are not expected to have a back-up car, or a back-up house, etc. Airline costs would be even more ridiculous than they are now to pay for the extra planes.

True you might wish your experience with continental should never have happened, but if you take into account everything that was done to get you to Hawaii, I'd say they did a pretty good job. Exhausting? Oh yea! But in the end Continental did what most airlines are expected to do in such circumstances. Just imagine if you needed to be on a cruise? You'd be sunk. I hope in the end you made the most of your trip.

I just don't get it. I paid for transportation to Hawaii, darn straight they were gonna get me there. ITS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. No excuses. My request is not unreasonable My boss would not accept that excuse, my car is broken, for not being to work on time.

Thank you Butch. Funny, my ticket says Continental Airlines. What a bunch of bologna.

It was fabulous.

No doubt it says Continental but if you look closer, your flight number most likely is a four digit number beginning with a 9. Such as CO9572. It will then say somewhere on your itinerary or etkt info that this flight is operated by Colgan Air. Have a look and let us know.

It sure does! Geez. Now Colgan Air is on my list!

If your car broke down on the way to work, your boss would not accept that as an excuse for being late? Wow... what is it like working for Hitler?

I worked for a major telecommunications company (won't say which but it's got three letters in it's abbreviated name and a single letter stock symbol) for over ten years and if you were in a car wreck on the way to work they'd still expect you on time even if you had an IV in your arm!

Thank you PHXFlyer! I think you speak for most of us.

i have a feeling that txbeautyqueen will only agree with anything that is one her side even though many people have commented that continental did their best in the situation that anyone could have expected, and no a backup plane isnt possible since they dont have free planes just laying around for this situation....maybe if it was a hub for that airline they may have been able to provide another plane, but thats not the case here

and if thats the case that if you get into an accident and your boss expects you on time at work than thats just sick and outragious....here in singapore everyone is more understanding and laid back, people go out for lunch for an hour and a half and thats the norm and its accepted, and it is very productive, all of the work gets done, and it is extremely efficient and keeps moral high. I think that companies in the US need to take a page out of the book over here, and everything would run smoother and more things would get done, and the stress level wouldnt be nearly as high as it is

Well of course every airline should be mandated to keep an operational spare at every airport it serves. And at hubs several spares or at least one or two of each aircraft type the airline has in it's fleet. Of course that would also necessitate having spare crews strategically rotated around the system so that they would be ready to fly those spares at a moment's notice. And lets not forget extra maintenance crews, parts, etc. etc...

I looked up the walk-up fare from Killeen to Houston TODAY! It's $153 TOTAL. If what I proposed in the above paragraph were to come about that fare would easily be $500 or more.

Spare aircraft
 

With regard to operations NOT related to weather resulting in the shut-down of all flights for an extended period:

It's probably not reasonable, under these circumstances, to expect spare aircraft to be available at airports like Killeen, Tex., or even larger airports. My understanding is there are no actual penalties to the airline in the event of a delay or cancellation based on mechanical reasons. Even though Continental has "outsourced" the Killeen - Houston route Continental should be made to pay a CASH penalty (not travel vouchers) or a premium (similiar to what is paid in the event of an over-booking) to the customer. If Continental, or any airline involved in a code share arrangement, had to suffer monetary consequences for the shortcomings of its code share partners there might be more responsible behavior on the part of those airlines flying the code share routes.

With regard to operations RELATED to weather resulting in the shut-down of all flights for an extended period (major snow storms):

As I've indicated in previous posts, it IS reasonable to expect airlines to make additional aircraft available after the storm has passed, and the runways are clear. Allowing third-world conditions of people sleeping on the terminal floor--long after the storm has passed--is completely unacceptable. If an airline does not have enough aircraft of its own, it should be required to make arrangements with a larger airline--regardless of what type of ticket the customer is holding. In the alternative, an airline should be required to charter (hire) any additionally needed aircraft and crews. The reality of bad weather being a major expense must be recognized.

It's not uncommon for an airline to up-gauge a route when weather has disrupted regular operations for more than a day or two. I remember when a hurricane hit the Yucatan peninsula a few airlines sent wide body aircraft (767/777) once the airport re-opened to get the stranded passengers out. They really try to do their best most of the time. Sure there are parked aircraft due to capacity reductions but it's not possible to just send a crew to the desert, start up the plane and fly to the affected airport.

As far as making arrangements with other airlines yo must remember that the other airlines got hit as well. If one is packing the planes to get people moving again you can bet they all are doing the same.

As for charters I doubt there are many passenger charter services with the capacity needed that could be ready at a moment's notice. Charters are usually booked up months in advance by the military, sports teams, cruise lines, etc. I doubt they're going to leave a plane load of troops high and dry to go pick up a few plane loads of stranded passengers in Denver after a blizzard.

Crippling bad weather
 

Do you have a spare car just sitting around in case your main car breaks down?

Yes, it is a requirement of my job.

a bunch of people do have more than one car, and for work that is more understandable

but for airlines to have extra planes just hanging around not in use just for a backup is unjust and just stupid, boeing and airbus have backlogs where there are more orders than planes right now, and it takes time for the planes to be made, so having a plane to basically sit and wait is just not smart while it can be in use, planes cost alot of money

dont get me wrong, cars cost alot of money too, and they can be made alot faster than planes can

yes it is a hastle and very frustrating for the plane not to be there, but due to the weather it couldnt get in the night before (or whenever it was due) there was no plane there......which id rather it be that way than for the pilots to fly through dangerous weather where many lives could be at risk (and i know and believe that pilots are very talented and skilled at their profession, but weather is one of its own, it takes no prisoner)

GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Please read the post....it was not bad weather! I thought posting here was going to help me and give me advice...all I am getting is criticism, telling me what a whiner I am. It is not helping.

Thanks for nothing.

TX I don't know what kind of help you are looking for; it would seem Continental did everything it could (by your complaint) to get you to Hawaii. They didn't leave you stranded, they didn't deny you boarding, they didn't yell at you, they actually provided you ground transport, and booked you on another airline. You made it to Hawaii a day later and by your own words you had a great time. I don't know what else you would want anyone to say or advice your looking for.

Rita Queen of Texas ain't going to get it. She was due to arrive in Hawaii at 1pm in the afternoon. She actually arrived at 9.30pm. That is a whole 8 hours late. Continental pulled out all the stops to try and help get her to her dream vacation, but for the precious beauty queen that ain't enough. This type of complaint is what makes it difficult for people with legitimate complaints... nothing is going to convince her that in this instance the airline did their best. A plane going tech is the responsibility of the airline. In this case, the airline took responsibility and did the best it could to assist the passenger. Sadly, the passenger is ungrateful for the efforts and can't see the wood for the trees.

In addition to having two cars, I hope she also has a back up helicopter for when there is a pile up on the highway, lest she be a minute late for work. Interesting work contract that requires everyone to have two cars. No wonder the USA is so shockingly wasteful, when employers can demand people have two cars. Wouldn't it be more economical to make people buy two houses, one next to the employer?