Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene Marchese
Flight was delayed for 7 hours. It was due to leave MSY at 6:50 AM and arrive in PHL at 10:35 AM. Flight did not leave until it had been pushed back 4 times, then shut down by the Captain, then re set and finally left around 3 PM. A dented panel held the flight while the mechanic had to be called, arrive then stand around while the manufacture in Brazil was contacted. This problem had been identified by US Airways personnel the night before when the plane arrived, however the night crew did nothing about it and left it for the morning crew to resolve. My wife and I missed out son’s college graduation at 2 PM and his graduation dinner at 6:30 pm. We arrived in PHL at 6 PM and not to the graduation celebration until it were all over at 8 PM. Due to US Airways personal negligence of not fixing the plan the night before, this is not just an unavoidable mechanical failure. The night crew damaged the plan and then did nothing to start repairs on it. US Airways offered a whopping $125 credit on future flight. They stated the plane was owned by Republic Airways and the crew worked for Republic Airways and they had no authority to offer more. Further more they could not elevate the complaint or give me any contact or address info for Republic Airways. Since UA Airways is just a ticket agency, dispute with our credit card company has been filed for full refund.
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1st off I have seen this situation playout before. You do not know what was happening and what was going on from the time the aircraft arrived the night before. While it is fun for some to play pass the buck, untimately, safety is the 1st and foremost important for all airlines alike. This may have been an issue were US Airways mechanics could not just simply place that dent on an MEL, and issue a QC number for it. I applaud US Airways mechanics for taking their time to address the dent significantly and consulting with other mechanics. The aircraft sounds like it is a member of the E-jet series (i.e: E170, E175, E190, E195) which are built in Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil. Yes, a conference call with Embraer enginering needed to take place. Yes sadly you missed you sons graduation and celebratory dinner. Guess what, you are alive for him to tell you about it. Next time leave a day or 2 ahead of time so you know that you are going to make an event like this. You got the most compensation that US Airways was willing to offer. At least they offered something.