[ccortes]

I was in SFO try to go to MCO and I had to wait 7-hours in line to check in and I was told that I had the following choices:

1. get a refund and find a different airline. This option was unacceptable because it could have cost me over $600 to get home, if I was able to find a flight at 6pm from SFO to MCO. impossible.

2. Go Stand by through MDW and the following day to MCO from MDW

3. Wait in SFO until Sunday and maybe I could find something.

Wel I decided to go through MDW, but when I got to gate, I was not able to make it... I was overbooked by 4 people.

Then, they sent me through PHX and on stand by the following day from NewMexico to MCO. So, I may have to spend a day in New Mexico, beside the night in PHX.

The following morning in PHX, I found out that I could have flown from SFO to Vegas and take a flight from vegas to MCO the following day. The counter employee just did not know how to book me. meaning he was incompetent.
Do not take me wrong... I do not mind weather issues... what I do not accept is how incompetent Southwest was in SFO and how poor they handled the overall situation in SFO. remember I waited 7-hrs standing in line just to check in!

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

SEVEN hours in line? Could you give us some more details. Are you saying you were, actually, standing in line, in front of the Southwest ticket counter, for seven hours straight? Was there bad weather in San Fran, like fog? How many agents were at the counter?

Sounds like you were travelling without a laptop, or mini, etc. A laptop, etc. is a "Never Leave Home Without It" item when travelling by air. The alternative, as you found out, is to be placed at the mercy of a counter agent---nasty attitude, poor training, or a combination thereof.

Finally, NEVER assume that cheepo fare you paid is ALL you will pay. In other words, never travel without a back-up plan, and funds (or available credit) to cover that back-up plan.

[mars6423]

butch....i wouldnt say you NEED a laptop when you fly, in some situations you look back and are like oh ok i should have brought my laptop....but the majority of the time you will not need it for the flight/airport (you may need it for business or work but not essentially for the airport or plane) and if everyone brought their laptop than everyone would be saying oh we need more than one carry on and a small personal item the laptops take too much space on the overhead etc

also, when i go on vacation, do i want to bring my laptop? NO! i want to relax and take everything in, i dont want to worry about anything, and bringing a laptop is extra weight and i dont want or need that, instead i can pack some more sandals or bring back gifts


and Butch i have a feeling that the OP meant that they may have waited at check in for a while but were also waiting around the airport due to the delay and other arrangements with flights

i am sorry that it took you so long to get to your destination and the inconvieniance that it caused, it does seem that the agent may not have known what he was doing, maybe he was inexperianced or just had no clue what he was doing, maybe it was the only available option, maybe that other flight was full? who knows, but there should have been a way to get you there in a shorter amount of time (flight hours and connections-as weather would have effected every flight such as fog)

[PHXFlyer]

One problem with traveling on Southwest is that they have no interline ticketing agreements with other airlines. Given the delay was weather related any other airline with the ability to rebook on another probably wouldn't have done so but if you ever encounter a mechanical delay/cancellation on Southwest your still stuck with choosing between waiting for the next available Southwest flight(s) or a refund.

Originally Posted by ccortes

The following morning in PHX, I found out that I could have flown from SFO to Vegas and take a flight from vegas to MCO the following day. The counter employee just did not know how to book me. meaning he was incompetent.
Do not take me wrong... I do not mind weather issues... what I do not accept is how incompetent Southwest was in SFO and how poor they handled the overall situation in SFO. remember I waited 7-hrs standing in line just to check in!

I wouldn't be so quick to accuse the SFO agent of incompetence. Quite some time passed between when the SFO agent checked your re-booking options and when the agent in PHX did the same. Things change. Perhaps some passengers that were supposed to fly into Las Vegas to connect to that MCO flight didn't make it. They would have shown as booked into those seats when the SFO agent checked the night before but they were available when the PHX agent checked because they were canceled in the interim.

[Gromit801]

Mark this one down in history, because I actually agree with Butch. If you'll note, he was suggesting a laptop, or any other internet access device. Smartphone, iPod Touch, etc. Now, I take my laptop on vacation in order to transfer photos from my camera to my photo software, and stay in touch with non-work related people in my life, but if something went south with my travel or vacation plans, I have a tool to help me fix it.

[mars6423]

grommit, laptop no, cell phone yes (dont even need a PDA/blacberry/or any fancy thing)

you can still talk to friends and family about your time, and you dont have to heft around a computer to do so

you check your flight info before you go to the airport, and the chances that something would happen is small and than the airlines are able to get you there within a given time (there are tiny chances that they mess up big, but chances are it wont happen) and than on the way back you check in online assuming your staying in a hotel, as they will have a computer you can use

a laptop is purely by choice to bring, think about it, we all lived back when laptops were too big, expensive and/or were non, its personal choice to bring it, i choose not to as its more a hastle than its worth

[jimworcs]

Mark this one down to history, I am also agreeing with Gromit. However, it says a lot about the state of the industry that customers now have to arm themselves with laptops to get the service they need because they either can't trust a word airline employees tell them, or they know more than the staff.

[Gromit801]

Mars, the main reason I bring my laptop, is to be able to edit photographs and store them separately from the memory card in the camera. I've had those go south from time to time. Can't do any of that to the level I do, with anything less than a laptop. Adobe CS4 is kind of big.

[Silent Bob]

Jim, it's called being proactive. I'd rather wait 20 minutes on the phone to talk to reservations than have to wait in line (7 HOURS!!!??? are you kidding me!!!!!?). It's easier, faster, and you'll probably get something more suitable to you.


ccortes, you must have the patience of a saint to handle 7 hours in a customer service line. I'm not saying its not possible as I watched the lines on CNN, when AA had to cancel all those flights. That's just crazy.

[justme]

Originally Posted by ccortes

The following morning in PHX, I found out that I could have flown from SFO to Vegas and take a flight from vegas to MCO the following day.

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer

I wouldn't be so quick to accuse the SFO agent of incompetence. Quite some time passed between when the SFO agent checked your re-booking options and when the agent in PHX did the same. Things change. Perhaps some passengers that were supposed to fly into Las Vegas to connect to that MCO flight didn't make it. They would have shown as booked into those seats when the SFO agent checked the night before but they were available when the PHX agent checked because they were canceled in the interim.

This is the exact reason that I never look back to see what "could have been" if I don't make it on a flight. All it does it make you mad for no reason, because like PHX said, things change constantly, especially overnight, and in adverse weather situations. Hindsight is always 20/20. As far as a laptop goes, you will never see me without one while on a trip. That is for two reasons, I cannot possibly be out of the country for more than 2 days without checking work emails, my inbox will be full in no time flat, and I will start missing emails. And two, it is soooooooo much faster to log on to the internet and check/change flights yourself if necessary.