[geeandbee71]

Below are the details of our experience on AirTran/Southwest Airlines on our way to Orlando, FL on June 23, 2013.

Our first family trip and we were headed to Disneyworld! The kids, 6 and 7, had been looking forward to the trip and got up early to make our 7:00 a.m. flight that we booked in January 2013. We decided to book a direct flight (2 hours) from Baltimore, MD to Orlando, FL. on AirTran (Flight No. 830), leaving Baltimore, MD at 7:00 a.m. and arriving in Orlando, FL at 9:05 a.m. I had drafted an itinerary for the family trip months ago, making reservations for lunch and dinner, and planning what we would do and see starting our first day in Disneyworld. We also had plans to meet another family in Disneyworld. So, we booked an early, direct flight to get an early start to our trip.

We thought we had thought of everything EXCEPT that AirTran (now merging with Southwest) had overbooked our flight and every flight thereafter to Disneyworld by 4-6 people on each flight. As we arrived to get our boarding passes, we were told that we would not be making the flight together unless some other passengers gave up their seats, because I did not have a seat. Immediately, we knew that this was not going to happen since everyone else, for the most part, were on vacation too and were trying to get an early start to their vacations. These were not business travelers during the weekday who may need or could change plans, but were families traveling to Orlando for a summer vacation over the weekend.

The children started crying because they thought there were not going to Disneyworld. We immediately asked how this could be since we had booked the flight in January 2013 and were told by AirTran/Southwest employees that this was company policy to overbook flights. So, this had become our problem. Yes, our problem because AirTran/Southwest had overbooked the flight. The staff was very nonchalant about it all and asked me to calm down or they would call security on me while our two children stood there crying. They were ready to close the doors to the flight on us as they told us the only option we had was to try to catch another flight (although they told us they were all overbooked as well) or to fly another time. As we indicated to them, these were not feasible options and that we were getting on this plane. Based on the comments of AirTran/Southwest staff, we decided that we had no choice but to split up and three of us go ahead (me and the kids) and my husband stay behind and try to get to us as soon as possible. When we decided that I should go rather than my husband, the AirTran/Southwest staff indicated that this was not possible because my husband’s name was on the ticket. My husband immediately asked them to change the name on the ticket. There was no voluntary offer to change the name on the boarding pass by the AirTran/Southwest staff.

As we approached the plane entrance, my daughter did not want to get on because we left Daddy behind. The airline stewardess, seeing her not wanting to get on the plane, asked what was the problem. As I proceeded to tell her, she cut me off and indicated to me that it was not her problem and that she only works on the plane. So, I got on the plane with two crying children only to discover that we were all split up in various sections of the plane. I explained to the other airline stewardess that we needed to sit together. The other passengers seeing the distraught children offered to move around and allow us to sit together. It took the kids about 15-20 minutes to calm down and I got sick on the plane due to the distress before getting on the plane. We eventually arrived in Disneyworld, however, with no Daddy and no idea when he was going to join us on our family vacation.

Meanwhile, AirTran/Southwest staff removed my husband from the AirTran “system” and put him into the Southwest “system.” He was never told by AirTran/Southwest staff that he would be flying standby the rest of his flights! At no time did AirTran/Southwest staff (including management) extend quality customer service and guarantee my husband on another flight or work with any other airline to ensure that my husband make it to us as soon as possible. Rather, he was told to try and get on an earlier flight if possible. So, he went to the counter to see if he could get on the Flint, MI flight. He was then booked on Southwest Flight 2060 (10:05am) through Flint, MI. To his surprise, he was able to get on the flight then to Greenville, SC with continuing service to Orlando, FL. While he thought this was great and would get him to Orlando, FL sooner, it actually turned out that he arrived much later. He was pulled off of the plane in Greenville, SC, because as it was explained to him, it is not Southwest’s policy to bump confirmed passengers for standby passengers. The Southwest manager on staff in Greenville, SC explained to my husband that she did not understand why AirTran/Southwest staff had put him on the plane because the flights out of Greenville, SC were all oversold as well and he would have to wait and see if a seat opened up on the next available flight to Nashville, TN. So, my husband was stuck in Greenville, SC for approximately 4- 5 hours waiting on the flight to Nashville, TN. He was able to fly to Nashville, TN and but was not able to leave Nashville, TN for Orlando, FL until 5:35pm on Flight 1935 (which was actually delayed). My husband did not arrive in Orlando, FL until about 9:15pm. He then had to take a taxi to the resort and did not arrive at the resort (Beach Club) until approximately 9:45 p.m. – a delay in arrival to Orlando, FL of over 12 hours.

So, due to the uncertainty of the day, I had to cancel two reservations (lunch and dinner) in Epcot at Disneyworld as our plans kept changing because we were not sure when my husband was going to join us and I allowed the kids to decide what they would like to do to keep them happy and their mind off the fact that Daddy had not yet arrived. When my husband arrived at the room at approximately 9:45 p.m. exhausted from the day events, the kids were in bed and had just fallen asleep. This was the start to our magical vacation in Disneyworld.

For these reasons, never again will we fly AirTran/Southwest. At no time did any employee of Southwest (including a manager) recognize or apologize for the events of the day or make any attempt to rectify the situation to get my husband to us as quickly as possible by guaranteeing a seat on a plane or working with another airline to fly him to Orlando, FL. Instead, AirTran/Southwest approached the situation with a nonchalant attitude, lack of communication, and a lack of customer service. While they gave my husband a $400 check, this does not come close to compensating our family for the horrible start to our first family vacation, the distress caused to my family, my husband’s missed memories of the kids’ first day landing at Disneyworld, and the missed time together as a family. In our experience, AirTran/Southwest is not a quality airline and lacks the customer service that is required to meet such standards.