Customer service at the inexpensive airlines like Frontier, Spirit and Jet Blue has suffered greatly. I travel extensively. Many airlines have been put in extreme distress due to the hysterical overreaction to COVID. One would think the airlines would try to step up their game to reclaim customer trust and desire to fly. Unfortunately many low cost airlines suffer from personnel shortages and noteworthy shortfalls in training and customer focus. Last week Spirit stranded me. It took over 50 hours on the automated text system and 5 phone calls totaling a concurrent several hours to have Spirit admit they canceled my flight “due to technical issues at the airport” and get another flight 4 days later. This turned my 2 night weekend into a week long multi-hundred dollar Odyssey. When I asked for accommodation associated with the hardships inflicted by Spirit’s failure to perform they changed their story and now claim weather caused their problems and absolved themselves of any responsibility.
These low-cost airlines are simply not trustworthy nor customer focused. This should be a focus point for them but I am not optimistic that they will bother and will instead deflect and dodge the issues of their failures and problems.
We had a similar experience with Delta many years ago. We were told by phone reservations to ask the flight staff to load the wheelchair in their onboard closet. On arrival, they declined to do so b/c “that was for their coats & personal items”! We had them tag the wheelchair & removable feet rests (they insisted on separate tags). On arrival, no wheelchair ever was offloaded. We remained onboard while waiting more than half an hour. Finally, the captain himself went down to the plane’s belly to find it. Eventually they came back with it. The frame was bent & feetrests missing. They directed us to customer service where we again waited. Eventually, we were advised to find someone to fix it & submit a repair claim! Upon taking it to the company, we were advised once the frame is bent, it no longer passes federal safety usage standards so they would not fix it & we were advised to buy a new one. Delta refused to pay. We paid $850+ out of pocket to replace it. We never flew Delta again & that is our home base airline.
After dealing with the airline directly and exhausting available protocols, file a lawsuit for damages, pain/suffering, punitive damages, and legal fees.
The Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 with the idea of providing remedy for this and similar situations. Find a good lawyer and file a Federal lawsuit.
I had the same experience. I was left in a closed terminal, for more than an hour in the middle of the night and had to actually call the 800 number to get someone to come help me.
I had a similar experience asking my chair be stored in the onboard cupboard and was refused – turns out someone had placed their boogie board in along with coats. I was informed “it wouldn’t fit” – my chair was a standard size and I had checked online. The tagged the chair and stored it in the belly of the plane…..the captain had to go retrieve it for me as well! I did not realize until we had left the gate (it was late at night) that the undercarriage of the electric chair was damaged…..the front wheel assembly was bent. You had to report the problem at the gate before leaving (no one was there and I didn’t know yet) so had no recourse.
As far as the ADA – I have had gate attendants completely ignore me while they load first class, which is a violation. I have had multiple experiences with no wheelchair attendant at the gate OR they refuse me, saying they are for another flyer – even when I was the only passenger loaded with a wheelchair! It’s not just JetBlue. The ONLY good experience I have ever had was on Cathay Pacific from Vancouver to JFK. Their service was OUTSTANDING. They wouldn’t even let me walk onto the plane (it was huge) they transported me to my seat and also off the plane (it was a red eye).
If you have a wheelchair, it is the wild west when flying.
To tell the truth, I am not really afraid of flying planes, but after such situations I can’t keep my cool, and they make me reconsider my attitude to many things. From my point of view, it is impossible to find a justification of JetBlue because this act is inhumane and they need to keep the bar, performing their duties in a high and decent level. For me, it is a huge disappointment and it indicates that the client operation of many airlines has significantly decreased and it is important to restore the previous level of service, despite all difficulties because, otherwise, they will lose a great deal of clients. Unfortunately, such cases have become more frequent after the pandemic and I have heard a lot of complaints from my acquaintances. I think that compensation for damages would be the most reasonable decision on the part of the airline, but apologies are a drop in the bucket.
Comments for Airline Passenger Panics After Being Left With Broken Wheelchair In the Rain
Victor Nazarian
Customer service at the inexpensive airlines like Frontier, Spirit and Jet Blue has suffered greatly. I travel extensively. Many airlines have been put in extreme distress due to the hysterical overreaction to COVID. One would think the airlines would try to step up their game to reclaim customer trust and desire to fly. Unfortunately many low cost airlines suffer from personnel shortages and noteworthy shortfalls in training and customer focus. Last week Spirit stranded me. It took over 50 hours on the automated text system and 5 phone calls totaling a concurrent several hours to have Spirit admit they canceled my flight “due to technical issues at the airport” and get another flight 4 days later. This turned my 2 night weekend into a week long multi-hundred dollar Odyssey. When I asked for accommodation associated with the hardships inflicted by Spirit’s failure to perform they changed their story and now claim weather caused their problems and absolved themselves of any responsibility.
These low-cost airlines are simply not trustworthy nor customer focused. This should be a focus point for them but I am not optimistic that they will bother and will instead deflect and dodge the issues of their failures and problems.
B Bartos
We had a similar experience with Delta many years ago. We were told by phone reservations to ask the flight staff to load the wheelchair in their onboard closet. On arrival, they declined to do so b/c “that was for their coats & personal items”! We had them tag the wheelchair & removable feet rests (they insisted on separate tags). On arrival, no wheelchair ever was offloaded. We remained onboard while waiting more than half an hour. Finally, the captain himself went down to the plane’s belly to find it. Eventually they came back with it. The frame was bent & feetrests missing. They directed us to customer service where we again waited. Eventually, we were advised to find someone to fix it & submit a repair claim! Upon taking it to the company, we were advised once the frame is bent, it no longer passes federal safety usage standards so they would not fix it & we were advised to buy a new one. Delta refused to pay. We paid $850+ out of pocket to replace it. We never flew Delta again & that is our home base airline.
Charles
After dealing with the airline directly and exhausting available protocols, file a lawsuit for damages, pain/suffering, punitive damages, and legal fees.
The Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 with the idea of providing remedy for this and similar situations. Find a good lawyer and file a Federal lawsuit.
P Dag
I had the same experience. I was left in a closed terminal, for more than an hour in the middle of the night and had to actually call the 800 number to get someone to come help me.
MH
I had a similar experience asking my chair be stored in the onboard cupboard and was refused – turns out someone had placed their boogie board in along with coats. I was informed “it wouldn’t fit” – my chair was a standard size and I had checked online. The tagged the chair and stored it in the belly of the plane…..the captain had to go retrieve it for me as well! I did not realize until we had left the gate (it was late at night) that the undercarriage of the electric chair was damaged…..the front wheel assembly was bent. You had to report the problem at the gate before leaving (no one was there and I didn’t know yet) so had no recourse.
As far as the ADA – I have had gate attendants completely ignore me while they load first class, which is a violation. I have had multiple experiences with no wheelchair attendant at the gate OR they refuse me, saying they are for another flyer – even when I was the only passenger loaded with a wheelchair! It’s not just JetBlue. The ONLY good experience I have ever had was on Cathay Pacific from Vancouver to JFK. Their service was OUTSTANDING. They wouldn’t even let me walk onto the plane (it was huge) they transported me to my seat and also off the plane (it was a red eye).
If you have a wheelchair, it is the wild west when flying.
Marina Teramond @ NMPL
To tell the truth, I am not really afraid of flying planes, but after such situations I can’t keep my cool, and they make me reconsider my attitude to many things. From my point of view, it is impossible to find a justification of JetBlue because this act is inhumane and they need to keep the bar, performing their duties in a high and decent level. For me, it is a huge disappointment and it indicates that the client operation of many airlines has significantly decreased and it is important to restore the previous level of service, despite all difficulties because, otherwise, they will lose a great deal of clients. Unfortunately, such cases have become more frequent after the pandemic and I have heard a lot of complaints from my acquaintances. I think that compensation for damages would be the most reasonable decision on the part of the airline, but apologies are a drop in the bucket.
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