[familycruiser3]

We went to the airport 3 hours ahead to check in, (Miami airport to Newark returning) when we tried to check in, there was no reservation for me. When I asked Francie why, she told me that my reservation was seperate, and that it had been canceled. I asked why again, she told me that they had no record of me flying down there, so they had canceled my reservation to return. I checked in with my husband and daughter at Newark at the same time, and we checked 3 bags. The agent told me I would need a copy of my boarding pass or a copy of my luggage bag check tags, I told her I had thrown out the bag check receipts because we had already flown and retrieved our bags, so why would we keep them any further. But she did acknowledge that we had checked 3 bags in Newark. After searching thru my purse I found the boarding pass I had printed up from the internet, but I was then told that I could have printed that and never used it, that it was not proof, and as to getting down there, I could have flown on a different airlines she said. I was also told that this had occured at the gate at Newark, they said I was not on the flight, although my husband and daughter were on it. And we sat right next to each other.

I asked to speak to speak to a manager/supervisor but was told there was not one available. But 10 minutes later a woman in a red coat came out, after much computer research, I was issued a standby boarding pass, which I was told would only be honored if someone didnt show up for the flight. Our bags were again checked in to Continental, then we all went to the gate to wait. When we got through security they made an announcement by our gate that the flight was overbooked and they would be giving $300 voucher and would make arrangements to put anyone who vollunteered their seat on another flight and put them up for the night in a hotel nearby. My husband and daughter offered to give up their seats, they were the first ones and told that they would be given a $300 voucher and a different flight. After much deliberation by the desk agents at the gate, they were told they would be booked for the next day, even though the flight they were going to put them on was overbooked already. We all walked away and were called back 10 minutes later and told that the only flight available was a flight from Ft. Lauderdale airport, (we were informed that the gate agents did not have authority to overbook the flight, so that was undone)so my husband said they would take that. He then asked if I was booked on it, they said no, they had already booked me on a 10:40am flight from Miami, tomorrow, because they knew that I would not be able to get on this flight. So that was undone and I was also booked on the flight from Ft. Lauderdale for the next day at 2:09 pm. Now we all had reservations for the same flight again, but we could not sit together, she put us in the emergency exit row, but my daughter could not sit there because she is only 13, so we were put in row 12 and she was put in row 26 by herself. We were told that we could bargain with the people that sat next to her in row 26 so that we could change seats with them. This whole thing was ridiculous.

What happens next is crazy, its like a soap opera.
About 5 minutes before they close the gate, they told us to wait so they could print up boarding passes and get vouchers for a hotel overnight, so we waited, and then they told my husband and daughter that they would not be getting the $300 vouchers because two people had failed to check in, and even though they had given there seats to someone else on standby, now there were two seats available in different parts of the aircraft and there was once again room for them, but not for me, and they said since they did not know if I had flown down there, they would not issue me anything, like a voucher for an overnight hotel stay. My husband said we wanted to fly together and we would keep the reservations for the 2:09 flight tomorrow. We were told to wait there, and 45 minutes after the flight left,we were issued a voucher for an overnight stay at the airport hotel, which was not the nicest, and each a dinner voucher for $12 each and each vouchers for $6 for breakfast and a ticket for the Super Shuttle to Ft. Lauderdale for the next day. It was 8:45 pm. We started the whole ordeal at 5 pm. Our luggage had preceded us to Newark, so when we stayed overnite we had nothing but the clothing on our backs.

The ironic part is that another woman said they had done the same to her, she had flown down with her husband, 2 year old and a small dog in a carry on, she went to check in and they told her they had no record of her, the child or dog flying down and had canceled her reservation also, but they took her on a standby basis and let her go on with her husband a few minutes before the flight took off.

The good part is that after only a little more than an hour delay the next day, we finally took off for Newark and home from Ft. Lauderdale. (the flight from Ft. Lauderdale was also overbooked) I was relieved to be finally going home.

This was the unhappy ending to an otherwise terrific vacation.
The reason I posted as a security issue is that we are scanned and xrayed and made to submit anything we carry on to the plane with scrutiny, and then they said they had no record of me flying down there when I sat right next to my husband and daughter on the flight to Florida is a big security issue. And it happened to me and another woman on the same return flight, but we did not take the same flight to Florida.