[Carol]

We flew from RDU to SLC July 27 Leaving RDU at 5:25 PM and arrived ON TIME in PHX at 7:02 PM. I was in a wheelchair. Our next flight was #1479 scheduled to depart at 8:00 PM to SLC. As soon as we got to the gate I told the person that I could probably get to the plane with help and they could have the wheelchair back. (They always want the wheel chair back) Then we saw the sign behind the agents that read "your flight is delayed until 12:10 PM. I could not believe it. I asked the agent if they would give us a voucher for food. She said, "not until you sit here for 1 1/2 hrs. Then they will probably bring you a snack and a drink. Also, we were told not to leave the area so that we could hear any further announcements. We inquired as to why the plane was to be so late. She said " they are having crew problems in DC so your plane has not even left DC yet. I could not believe it. That meant we had to sit there the entire time of the DC flight to PHX. Then the flight time was changed to depart at 12:50PM. About 10:00PM we were told to hurry and go to the Compensation counter to get vouchers for the restaurants. They said you must hurry because the restaurants are all about to close. About 10:30PM we were told that the pilot just called in from the DC flight and said, "cancel the flight from PHX to SLC tonight. I will be too fatigued to keep flying when we arrive in PHX."


Next the real fun begins. We were told to go back to the Compensation Counter. They were to set us up for a hotel for the night. We were assigned to Quality Inn. We were still to catch the flight in the morning. Now we were to be at the airport at 5:30AM. We struggled to get our luggage and get out the door and haul luggage across the street and call Quality Inn to pick us up. Also the van they picked us up in was only 7 passenger. We were fortunate enough to get on the first trip to the hotel. I have had 11 knee replacements, 3 on the left and 8 on the right. (,one leg is shorter than the other.) My legs do not bend well. My husband has had 7 back surgeries. This helps you understand why this was so difficult for us. We got to the hotel after 11:30PM. By the time we got our room and into bed it was midnight. We had to get up a 4:00AM in order to catch the van and be shuttled back to the airport. Why were we made to do all this when they could have cancelled the flight right away and put us on other planes or put us up for the night so we could have gotten help and a little sleep? Is it possible to have an answer for your CEO? I would greatly appreciate a letter in response to mine.


Sincerely


Carol