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As I flew home from Christmas, I was excited to see that my flight (US Airways) to White Plains, NY from Indianapolis, with a connection in Philadelphia, was running completely on time. I was not one of the unfortunate people who had my flight canceled due to weather, resulting in days of sitting around an airport. My flight arrived at PHL about 5 minutes late, but there was still enough, if I hustled, to make it to my connecting flight. I RAN down terminal A in order to get to the shuttle to take me to terminal E or F, I can't remember, on the other side of the airport for those unfamiliar with PHL. The shuttle wasn't there, but the US Airways attendant assured me that she had called the gate of the connecting flight to let them know there were passengers waiting for a shuttle, and that the flight was in fact waiting for us to get there. Amazing. The shuttle arrived and the driver was less than quick. In fact, I think we were all a hindrance in his ability to flirt with the female US Airways staff member on the shuttle. He was driving slowly and chatting away with this female staff member while those of us on the shuttle were trying to connect to a flight. But, I wasn't worried, I still had 25 minutes before take off. I got to the gate approximately 20 - 22 minutes before the flight was supposed to take off. This was a connecting flight, so I was already checked in. Meaning I SHOULD have until 15 prior to take off before the gate closes. (Side note, I have an email from US Airways that states: "The closing of our flights at the gate begins 10 minutes prior to departure with the door to close on the aircraft at 5 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.") Yet as I ran up to the gate (I was the first person from my flight to make it to the gate), the US Airways attendant was walking out of the door and to the plane. I watched him close the plane's door from the window of the airport. I tried speaking to several US Airways uniformed employees who all looked at me as though I had an extra eye in the middle of my forehead. No one would stop the man. No one would even attempt to open the door to tell him there were other passengers there to board. Mind you, still prior to the 15 minute cut off. When the man finally came back inside, I was considerably upset. His response, "We close the gate at 15 prior to departure time." I looked at my cell phone. It was just at that moment 15 minutes prior to departure. I had been standing there for at least 5 minutes. I was on time. After 10 more minutes of arguing and other passengers showing up, the US Airways agent told me he would no longer speak to me. He stated, "I am not a manager. I don't have to deal with this." I told him he should probably find a manager fast. 10 more minutes later a manager, young man in a pink sweater, strolled up to the gate. He was met by the same questions we had asked the first rep. "We were told the flight was waiting." "Why did you close the gate early?" "Why wasn't I let on the flight? I was here on time."
Now, it is my assumption that they had customers on standby and assumed that our flight wasn't going to make it to PHL in time to connect. They then gave our seats to standby customers, instead of waiting an adequate amount of time for us to board. When I asked the manager about this, he said that this was absolutely not the case. Flights MUST close their doors 15 prior to departure. It is not a negotiable issue. And that US Airways would "never, " and I quote, "NEVER" allow standby passengers to board if there is still a chance that ticketed passengers will be arriving on time. Also, the manager informed me that it is not regulation to hold a flight for passengers. Remember these quotes.
The manager finally re-booked those of us waiting on different flights. Two of us excepted flights to a nearby airport 2 hours later. Not a huge time difference. I was still furious I was not allowed on my original flight, but 2 hours wouldn't kill me. I asked where my luggage was. The manager said he assumed it was on the plane going to White Plains, my original destination. I asked him kindly if he could check into that. He came back 5 minutes later and said my bag had never made it onto the plane. It would be re-ticketed and placed on my next flight. He also explained to us that we were holding standby tickets. He said, "You will be on this next flight. As I look over the flight information for connecting passengers, I can see that there are 7 passengers that are on flights that will NOT make it to PHL in time to make this connecting flight." Really? He was promising standby people seats on a flight under the assumption that ticketed passengers would not make it in time?? Isn't this what he JUST promised me didn't happen to my seat on the original flight?
So we waited for the next flight. When it comes time to board, it is mass chaos. Come to find out, the manager and US Airways had given out roughly 20 standby tickets for this flight. The gate agent was allowing standby people on the plane before ticketed passengers. There were ticketed passengers showing up that had no seat because the agent was stressed to the max and basically allowing people to board that weren't supposed to be boarding yet. Ticketed passengers were not allowed to board this flight and no one seemed concerned. I quickly knew that I would NOT be boarding this flight that I was promised I would be on. And when I looked at my phone again, the time was 10 minutes prior to take off. The gate was not closed. There was chaos as to who should board. The manager was called over again. Those 7 passenger that would "Never make it in time, " well they were there at this point. Furious as well. We were asking the manager why the gate hadn't been closed? It should have been closed 15 minutes prior to boarding and there should not have been standby people on that flight if they were going to continue with the same procedures that had kept some of us off of our original flight.
The manager started freaking out. He had a group of 20 or so people around him, all angry, and I know that his job is not easy. Unfortunately, he had lied to us about the status of the flights passengers, and that we would make this flight. They handed out too many standby tickets. They were unorganized. He then sent 7 of us to another flight that was leaving in 15 minutes. He said they were "holding the flight" for us. (Remember, earlier he said that US Airways couldn't hold flights for customers.) We ran to the next flight, boarded, sat down and finally, I felt like we were on our way. Except we weren't.
The flight attendant stated that the last 3 people on the plane, my name included, had to exit the plane due to weight restrictions. You have to be kidding me. At this point I went crazy. I could not wrap my mind around everything that had happened that morning. I walked off the plane into the tunnel and asked to talk to a manager. A manager was there and said there was nothing he could do. I informed him that he needed to take someone else off that flight. There were people on that flight that had just landed in PHL and I had been there for hours. I had the right to leave first. I was practically in tears at this point just wondering when I would be going home. Luckily for me, one of the people they had asked to leave the plane was flying with his girlfriend who didn't want to leave without him. So she left the flight as well and I was then allowed to re-board. I was the only one allowed to re-board. Finally, I was leaving PHL.
I arrived at the next airport, an hour out of the way for my ride, and there were two US Airways employees working out on the runway. That is two people helping with arrivals, helping with departures, helping with luggage. Two people. We sat on the plane for quite a while on the runway. And low and behold, it took another 30 minutes of waiting inside for the luggage. And of course, my luggage was not there. Go figure. I filed a claim and it was supposed to go to my original destination and then it would be delivered to me. Except 45 minutes later when I called US Airways to check on the status (the young man at the gate did not seem confident in knowing where my bag actually was), I was informed that my bag had just landed. At the airport I had just left. Again. Furious. Had I been told the correct destination of my luggage I would have stayed at the airport to pick it up. Instead I had to wait 7 more hours to get my bag.
Now the airline has heard this story. And of course, they are completely unwilling to do any form of compensation. They say that my experience is unusual for their airline and that it was all "weather related." Nonsense. Complete and insulting nonsense. US Airways has the worst customer service of any airline that I have ever flown. No one on the customer service lines with help, in fact at one point I was informed that they no longer communicate with customers via telephone. You have to email your complaints. I did finally speak to someone live this morning who called me after I requested so in my 2nd or 3rd email, who did listen, and then told me that there was nothing they could do. A line from one of the emails states, "The travel incident you describe is regrettable, and we apologize for the difficulties you encountered. Our intention is to offer the best travel experience possible. The details you have provided indicate that we have failed to meet our intentions." They are aware that they did not meet their expectations, and yet I am still denied even a small amount of compensation for the baggage that they lost/delayed/didn't know where it was/sent to the wrong airport, or for being treated like dirt and yelled at by US Airways employees at the airport. When Delta sent my bag to the wrong airport only a week before, they compensated me $75 immediately. US Airways is a joke as far as customer service. Everyone should do themselves a favor and never fly with US Airways.

I will do everything in my power to avoid flying with USAIR. They continue to disappoint me with horrible customer service. The attitude I received on 12/30/10 at the Philly Airport automated check-in was a disgrace. Other customers behind me could not believe the attitude and treatment that I was receiving and made a comment to me. This made me feel better because I thought I was a bit anxious. I would have never received this service with SouthWest Airlines. USAir needs to make a serious investment in customer relations. I understand flights are delayed and everyone becomes agitated, but this situation was absolutely unwarranted as everything was flyng on time.

LETTER TO US AIRWAYS REGARDING CRUEL TREATMENT TO AUTISTIC CHILD AND MOTHER
My husband booked a flight through travelocity.com, on December 15th, 2011, for my 9-year-old son and myself to NC, flying US Airways. My husband was to pick me up to spend Christmas at our second home, in Lenoir, NC. I had to reschedule my original flight due to illness and re-booked the same itinerary my husband had originally booked. At the time of the reservation, I mentioned to the ticket agent that I preferred to deplane in Charlotte, since it is an hour drive, either from Charlotte or Greensboro, it didn't make sense to fly another hour. He told me to let them know at the gate. I assumed it was either for security reasons, or so that another passenger would be able to board. We arrived, went through security, of course one bag had to be searched due to my carrying my son's Wii console and my nebulizer inhaler, for my asthma, completely understandable. At boarding time I informed the man at gate E-8, of my deplaning in Charlotte. He angrily responded that what I was doing was illegal. He then went on a tirade, saying, "Oh, I know why you did it, it's cheaper to fly to Greensboro, you're stealing!". This in front of everyone boarding a full flight, but more insultingly, in front of my little boy. I assured him that was not the case, if so, why would I have said anything? I maintained my composure, I have taught my son the difference between right and wrong, and stealing, of course, is completely unacceptable. I thanked him, mostly to diffuse the situation, said goodbye. My son, innocently, wished him a Merry Christmas, and we proceeded to board, or so I thought. Halfway down the aisle, he hollered from the entrance, "The lady going to Charlotte with the boy, come back!”. He did this a few times as I was approaching him. I worked my way back through the crowd, all eyes on us, of course, and he proceeded to tell me that I could not deplane in Charlotte and leave my son to fly alone to Greensboro. In a loud voice, repeating that is was illegal for me to leave a minor on the plane, alone. Firstly, I would never abandon my son, on a plane or anywhere, it was a ludicrous assumption. It was another opportunity for him to call attention and further embarrass us. It seems my son understood the gamut of what was happening, although he is Autistic. Imagine hearing someone say your mother is going to leave you alone on a plane. I chose to ignore his complete and utter rudeness and add fuel to his fire. We were headed for a much needed family vacation, during a lovely time of year. Giving into an obviously inept, unhappy human being is a choice I made to maintain my son's happiness, as well as my own. I fly often, nationally and internationally and have never been treated with such cruelty and nastiness as I had on the morning of December 19, 2010. Rest assured, I will be informing many of my treatment. Shame on the man at the gate. He berated my son and myself, if you could have only seen my little boy’s eyes. Loud voices and yelling rattle him, that poor excuse for a human being wanted to upset someone, he did, a child. The short flight seemed like an eternity. My son was unresponsive, repeating gibberish and teary eyed. I didn't attempt to get the mans name; I could only imagine what further humiliation he would have unleashed. Although you can easily get his name. It was flight 1645, from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Greensboro, NC, stopping in Charlotte, December 19, 2010, departing at 8:25 am. There were two at the counter, a younger man and the older black man, who is the one in question. I only mention his race for description purposes, no other reason.
I expect to have some response from US Airways and will hold off, temporarily until you respond, forwarding this letter to the many travel sites as well as the National Autism Society and the many other Children with Disabilities sites.

I will definitely search for flights on any other airline before even remotely considering yours.

Sincerely,

Ana Baidet
Key Largo, Florida
305-522-1821

Our flight returning from Aruba on 11/29/2010 was cancelled due to a mechanical problem requiring a part to be delivered the next day. All passengers were bussed to the Holiday Inn for the night and issued food vouchers. We were transported to the airport a 1 pm the following day, 11/30 for a scheduled 5 pm flight. Bear in mind that we had to check in at the ticket counter, go through passport control, security, customs, and security for a 2nd time. This process can take up to 2 hours. There was no explanation of why the part was not sent on an earlier flight of another airline, nor was any information on the plan to get the part in and get us out the next day, 12/1. We were all frustrated with the incompetence of the union employees of US Airways and the lack of communication. We were transported to a hotel, given food vouchers and told that we would be informed of the plan for the next day. The next morning my wife called the front desk several times but was told that there was no information from US Airways. We went down for breakfast around 9:30 and were surprised to find that the bus for our transport to the airport was being loaded. We scrambled and made the bus to the airport, went through check in, passport control, security, customs, and a second security check. Our flight departed before noon and the flight crew was doing double time in damage control. The captain even went through the cabin and offered apologies and tried to smooth our dissatisfaction. Since both my wife and I had lost 2 days of work and suffered some inconvenience, I sent a complaint to customer service and hoped that the airline would be fair in offering some form of compensation. To their credit they did offer a travel voucher for each my wife and I. After all of the inconvenience and lost time, we were given $200 each in travel vouchers. Given that we lost the second day due to the incompetence of the airline union employees, I protested and asked for reconsideration from customer service, even suggesting an upgrade to envoy or business class on a future flight. I was told that the $200 each was the limit and that was given as a goodwill gesture as they are under no obligation to give us anything. However, they did apologize. I think it stinks.

I called to cancel my US Airways Mastercard administered by Card Services in Philadelphia because I did not want to pay the annual fee anymore (US Airways pulled out of our airport). I called as soon as the charges appeared on my credit card bill. It took almost 30 minutes of arguing to cancel my card. They had offered to waive the annual fee if I kept the card active. I kept refusing and wanted my card cancelled. When they finally conceded they told me I would be charged for the annual fee for the coming year and would not budge. I am screwed because if I don't pay the fee my credit report will be affected. They would not allow me to speak to a superior. What a bunch of thieves.