[msjackiez]

First I want to state that I have been a passenger on AirTran several times and NEVER had any problems. Your flight attendants are very personable and my flights were usually on time and very smooth. So much to my surprise and disappointment I recently had a very upsetting and costly experience due to Airtrans lack of communication and rude LaGuardia airport staff.

Let me explain to you what happened.

When we arrived to the airport TWO HOURS AHEAD of our originally scheduled departure time we proceeded directly thru security and to our gate. We were the last gate and it was very crowded...no seating left anywhere. We sat as close as we could to the AirTran section so we wouldn't miss any announcements.

Then about 15 mins after we got there we noticed that our flight had been delayed according to the airports flight status screens. I checked with our gate and indeed we had been delayed from 830p to 932p And the board behind our gate had been changed to note the delay. So we waited..no big deal. I kept checking on our plane because NO update announcements were being made by the staff and our gate was so crowded we had to sit two gates down.

We started getting worried when 9p rolled around and still no boarding announcements or updates. I asked the lady at the gate and she replied...sorry honey your plane has already left.

WOW. No announcement...nothing. My first time in NYC and I was stranded at the airport. It was terrifying. I wasn't alone though AirTran had stranded about 5 others along with me. They too heard no announcement and were stunned that no one walked down to make a "last call for boarding" knowing that they were missing passengers that had clearly checked in and had checked baggage.

So here we were...in NYC with NO room, no ride and little spending cash because we were on a VERY TIGHT budget and most of the cheaper hotels had sold out already due to other flight cancellations. Not to mention my luggage had left without me and was headed back to Akron, Ohio.

When we asked the AirTran employees at the gate they simply said we would have to catch a later flight the next day. That was very VERY bad news. I am a cancer patient and I had to undergo a chemo session the next day. It's absolutely critical that I stay on track with my treatments to treat the type of cancer I have. I had to MISS MY TREATMENT. Not to mention, my fiance had to miss work and got docked a days pay.

On top of all that, we had to get a room in a hotel that we hadn't budgeted on and did not WANT to spend money on ($152.00 to be exact). We had to spend $50 on cab rides to and from the airport. Again, this is all money we WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO SPEND if AirTran would have been better at communicating with their passengers.

So in all, our experience with AirTran was very bad. I would think that we should be entitled to some form of compensations for our troubles. Reimbursement for our hotel and cab or credit with Airtran in someway? Please make this situation right. My entire family flys AirTran and my brother is frequent business traveler with his company. I am very VERY good with social media marketing and I will make sure my experience will be shared with all your customers and the world.

I would not be complaining if it was indeed my fault for missing the flight. But clearly there was NO communication by the LaGuardia AirTran staff and even less enthusiasm in helping the stranded passengers find their way to the gate on time. There were 5 of us at least. Really? Five missing seats and clearly 5 passengers checked in.

I have documentation of everything. Please make us forget we were ever stranded in New York City and make this right.

[xjcaptain]

I wonder how all the other passengers (most likely around 100 minimum) managed to know when to get on the flight since NO announcements were made according to you. Must just have been telepathy. Or...perhaps it was because you were sitting by the gate for another flight, most likely another airlines flight, and didn't hear the announcements. The PA's made at the gate are local to that gate and not terminal wide. I'd chock this up to a learning experience that one needs to be close to their OWN gate, especially when the departure times are changing. They certainly don't have the staffing or time to go to every gate in the airport, and check with each person individually to make sure they are not going on their flight. As far as missing passengers...it happens nearly every flight. People check in from home and get stuck in traffic, flat tires, delayed in security, pass out at the bar...you name it. Millions of reasons why somebody is checked in but doesn't show at the gate. If airlines waited for every one of these, I can assure you it would be rare for a flight to leave the airport...then you'd be complaining it was late. I'm sure it was a very bad experience considering the financial and medical issues, but I have a hard time believing that the airline shoulders the blame on this one...