| rev:text
| - I am writing in reference to the cancellation of flight 1733 from Orlando (MCO) to Phoenix (PHX) on Wednesday, July 23, and the horrible experience my family and I had with US Airways and its associated companies.
My confirmation code is FYT3ZL and my wife, three children and I were scheduled to travel on the previously mentioned flight.
The flight was originally scheduled to leave at 8:45 p.m., and we arrived at the gate at 6:30 p.m., well in advance of our boarding time.
Soon after our arrival at the gate, we were alerted the plane on which we would be traveling was delayed in Charlotte due to a mechanical issue. The flight was delayed several more times and, finally, at about 10:15 p.m. it was announced the flight was canceled.
During the delay, my wife and I struck up a conversation with an off-duty US Airways flight attendant who also was traveling to Phoenix. She was monitoring the flight status using her smartphone. What's appalling is she told us a full 30 to 45 minutes before the 10:15 p.m. gate announcement the flight was officially canceled. My question is, why didn't US Airways alert its customers immediately? Why did the official announcement come from the gate agent 45 minutes later when the decision to cancel the flight had already been made?
That was just the beginning of what turned out to be a horrible night.
The gate agent who announced the cancellation stated US Airways would be assisting people with other flight arrangements and providing hotel vouchers. He also provided a toll-free number to your reservation department to assist with the flight arrangements, which I used to schedule our flight home to Phoenix.
After the announcement, one line formed at the US Airways gate desk. That line included people who only needed hotel vouchers, others who chose to make their flight arrangements with the agent staffing the desk, and a few who needed help with flight arrangements and a voucher.
One line was an incredibly inefficient way to manage and address the needs of the passengers. One woman with a disabled child in a wheelchair was forced to leave because of the wait. Had there been a line exclusively for those who only needed hotel vouchers, the process would have moved along a lot smoother.
When it was our turn, the agent took a call from a colleague before helping us. It was a conversation about which hotel they were handing out vouchers for.
"We are only sending people to the Quality Inn, not the Renaissance," said the gate agent on our end. This bit of information is important because of what we experienced upon our arrival at the Quality Inn.
As it was, we left the gate with our Quality Inn hotel voucher in-hand at about 11:30 p.m., more than an hour after the cancellation was announced and vouchers were offered. By this time our children were incredibly tired, hungry and irritable. Needless to say, my wife and I were, too.
The hotel shuttle arrived to pick us up at about midnight. The ensuing ride was horrible and could have cost us our lives. The shuttle driver actually fell asleep at a stop sign. He was literally asleep at the wheel. When he was awake he was swerving terribly into oncoming traffic.
By the grace of God, we arrived at the hotel at about 12:15 a.m. We were greeted with a line of angry and tired US Airways customers that extended out the front door of the hotel. An hour and 15 minutes later, we were finally in our room, only to have to wake up five hours later to prepare our children and ourselves for our newly scheduled flight home.
As I tried to sleep that night in the Quality Inn, I remembered the comment the gate agent issuing the hotel voucher made to his colleague on the other end of the phone: "We are only sending people to the Quality Inn, not the Renaissance."
Is it any surprise one motel would be overwhelmed at midnight when a plane-full of customers arrives looking for a place to stay? Perhaps using the Renaissance wouldn't have been such a bad idea.
Lastly, to put a capper on this horrible experience, on the flight home as the flight attendants were making their way up the aisle to serve drinks, my wife was asked if she'd like anything. She declined at first, but on second thought decided to enjoy a glass of wine.
The flight attendant rolled his eyes at her request. A fitting response, I suppose, given the totality of the experience.
We were supposed to arrive home at 9:58 p.m. Wednesday, July 23. Instead, we arrived in Phoenix at about 2:15 p.m., Thursday, July 24. I was forced to miss a day of work. My wife was forced to miss a day of work. All three of our children had to cancel previous obligations.
We are incredibly disturbed by the way with which US Airways handled this situation - from beginning to end. It's an experience that was not simply inconvenient, but thanks to your association with the Quality Inn and its shuttle driver, one that could have caused injury or even death.
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