Clyde Frog
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Do pigs fly better than AirTran?
August 4, 10:15 PM · Patricia Leslie - DC Cultural Events Examiner
(What does this have to do with culture in Washington, D.C.? You have to get here to be here. Besides, I am the writer.)
On Friday night the AirTran plane was 3 hours and 45 minutes late leaving Dulles. The Atlanta weather was the cause. Of course. Of course.
By the time we landed in Atlanta at 2:20 a.m. (my memory is fuzzy), I had missed the last shuttle to LaGrange, Georgia, my destination, since it left Atlanta at 1:15 a.m. I will skip details about spending the dreary night at the Atlanta airport , the dearth of rental cars and sleeping accommodations, the 50% tax rate charged on the rental cars (Thrifty), the airport toilets which have power thrusts of Mt. Vesuvius and spew urine and water all over a person, and return instead to adventures at the airport on Sunday night.
AirTran's Web site said my returning plane on Sunday was delayed by one hour. I got to the airport three hours early and approached an unfriendly counter agent hesitatingly for I correctly anticipated the answer but had to ask anyway for if you don't ask, the answer will always be negative, right?
Was there room for me to board the already two-hour late flight to Dulles which was in line ahead of my flight? Oh, ha, ha, ha. Actually, he kept his steely demeanor and said no.
I asked Mr. Grumpy for the departure time, please, of my 10:10 p.m. flight, hoping a few minutes of its tardiness had miraculously been made up in Skyland somewhere.
Nope.
He told me my flight was canceled. Canceled?
Wouldn't it be nice if AirTran could occasionally communicate with passengers and let them know about canceled flights?
Nope.
Was there an announcement that my flight was canceled?
Nope.
He directed me to the "Customer Relations" hahahahaha booth where I joined thousands. Verily I saw unto you: When have you ever passed an AirTran "Customer Relations" hahahahaha counter which was not populated by six zillion unhappy passengers?
I stood in line for 30 minutes and finally reached Vincent who said my flight was canceled because of "insufficient crew."
Why does AirTran book flights when it has "insufficient crew"?
He said, cheerfully, AirTran had booked me to fly 17 hours later.
Wasn't that nice. How kind. The generosity! No deal, I growled. I had a job to get to on Monday morning. Did that matter? Hardly. After all we exist for them. Not vice-versa as most would expect in the retail world. You are locked up, captured, and helpless in Atlanta. Get along, little doggy!
After hassling (actually a word beginning with the letter D more adequately defines the exchange) with him another 30 minutes, he "got me on" a flight to Baltimore. Sweet. Baltimore is 100+ miles from Dulles where my car was. The Baltimore flight was late, too.
With 200 people I stood at the Baltimore counter, waited, and listened to the counter agent announce that the Baltimore flight was further delayed because the crew was in hiding (whoops, my words) had not shown up. In a little while, over the concourse's loud speakers came a plea from AirTran begging crew members to please stand up, be counted and show up! I had my suspicions about their whereabouts.
We stood; we waited. After 20 minutes, the crew began to slowly trickle in piece-meal like water dripping slowly from a faucet. The crowd cheered and clapped.
On board the weary, worn-out "crew" was about as accommodating as a porcupine ripped of its quills.
We landed in Baltimore with such a crash on the runway I thought the top was going to blow off the plane, seriously. It was so late all watch batteries had ceased working and no one knew the time. Two airport employees told me that on Saturday Air Tran had dumped passengers in Baltimore who were en route to Vermont.
My pal, Jason, got dumped in Atlanta, on his way to Savannah by, of course, of course, AirTran.
Why does the FAA permit a carrier like AirTran to operate on patients? (We were: Sliced, diced, and thrown out.) Why does anyone fly on AirTran? Can you book a seat on a flying pig? Actual arrival and departure times may be more realistic.
http://www.examiner.com/x-7654-DC-Cultural-Events-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Do-pigs-fly-faster-than-AirTran
August 4, 10:15 PM · Patricia Leslie - DC Cultural Events Examiner
(What does this have to do with culture in Washington, D.C.? You have to get here to be here. Besides, I am the writer.)
On Friday night the AirTran plane was 3 hours and 45 minutes late leaving Dulles. The Atlanta weather was the cause. Of course. Of course.
By the time we landed in Atlanta at 2:20 a.m. (my memory is fuzzy), I had missed the last shuttle to LaGrange, Georgia, my destination, since it left Atlanta at 1:15 a.m. I will skip details about spending the dreary night at the Atlanta airport , the dearth of rental cars and sleeping accommodations, the 50% tax rate charged on the rental cars (Thrifty), the airport toilets which have power thrusts of Mt. Vesuvius and spew urine and water all over a person, and return instead to adventures at the airport on Sunday night.
AirTran's Web site said my returning plane on Sunday was delayed by one hour. I got to the airport three hours early and approached an unfriendly counter agent hesitatingly for I correctly anticipated the answer but had to ask anyway for if you don't ask, the answer will always be negative, right?
Was there room for me to board the already two-hour late flight to Dulles which was in line ahead of my flight? Oh, ha, ha, ha. Actually, he kept his steely demeanor and said no.
I asked Mr. Grumpy for the departure time, please, of my 10:10 p.m. flight, hoping a few minutes of its tardiness had miraculously been made up in Skyland somewhere.
Nope.
He told me my flight was canceled. Canceled?
Wouldn't it be nice if AirTran could occasionally communicate with passengers and let them know about canceled flights?
Nope.
Was there an announcement that my flight was canceled?
Nope.
He directed me to the "Customer Relations" hahahahaha booth where I joined thousands. Verily I saw unto you: When have you ever passed an AirTran "Customer Relations" hahahahaha counter which was not populated by six zillion unhappy passengers?
I stood in line for 30 minutes and finally reached Vincent who said my flight was canceled because of "insufficient crew."
Why does AirTran book flights when it has "insufficient crew"?
He said, cheerfully, AirTran had booked me to fly 17 hours later.
Wasn't that nice. How kind. The generosity! No deal, I growled. I had a job to get to on Monday morning. Did that matter? Hardly. After all we exist for them. Not vice-versa as most would expect in the retail world. You are locked up, captured, and helpless in Atlanta. Get along, little doggy!
After hassling (actually a word beginning with the letter D more adequately defines the exchange) with him another 30 minutes, he "got me on" a flight to Baltimore. Sweet. Baltimore is 100+ miles from Dulles where my car was. The Baltimore flight was late, too.
With 200 people I stood at the Baltimore counter, waited, and listened to the counter agent announce that the Baltimore flight was further delayed because the crew was in hiding (whoops, my words) had not shown up. In a little while, over the concourse's loud speakers came a plea from AirTran begging crew members to please stand up, be counted and show up! I had my suspicions about their whereabouts.
We stood; we waited. After 20 minutes, the crew began to slowly trickle in piece-meal like water dripping slowly from a faucet. The crowd cheered and clapped.
On board the weary, worn-out "crew" was about as accommodating as a porcupine ripped of its quills.
We landed in Baltimore with such a crash on the runway I thought the top was going to blow off the plane, seriously. It was so late all watch batteries had ceased working and no one knew the time. Two airport employees told me that on Saturday Air Tran had dumped passengers in Baltimore who were en route to Vermont.
My pal, Jason, got dumped in Atlanta, on his way to Savannah by, of course, of course, AirTran.
Why does the FAA permit a carrier like AirTran to operate on patients? (We were: Sliced, diced, and thrown out.) Why does anyone fly on AirTran? Can you book a seat on a flying pig? Actual arrival and departure times may be more realistic.
http://www.examiner.com/x-7654-DC-Cultural-Events-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Do-pigs-fly-faster-than-AirTran
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