I understand that problems with air travel are common these days. Delayed and canceled flights are to be expected. But sometimes, the problems you run into are so stupid that they rise above the level of ordinary air travel dilemmas.
Here’s one:
I was supposed to fly to Florida on Friday evening at 8:00 PM for a weekend of golf with friends. Throughout the day on Friday, I received alerts that the flight, on Frontier Airlines, was delayed, a little bit each time, until we were finally set to take off at 11:30 PM.
Not great, but nothing unusual.
Then, around 8:30 PM, I received an alert that the plane would now be taking off at 10:30 PM, a full hour earlier than expected. This struck me as fairly stupid. Three hours before a flight was scheduled to depart, the time was pushed up by an hour?
Thankfully, I only live 20 minutes from the airport, so my friends and I were able to leave immediately and still be on time.
By the time we arrived at the airport, that 10:30 PM departure time had been pushed back to 12:05 AM.
We weren’t happy, but as I said, delays are to be expected.
But here’s where things got weird. While waiting at the gate, we were told that our plane had been diverted to Bermuda for a medical emergency, meaning it would now be arriving in Hartford at 1:30 AM. With a quick turnaround, they could have us in the air by 2:30 AM.
This would put us in Florida at 5:30 AM, giving us just enough time to eat breakfast and make our scheduled tee time at 8:30 AM. We would be playing 18 holes of golf without any sleep, but it’s golf.
We would manage.
But there was a catch:
By the time the plane arrived, it was possible that the two pilots might have reached their maximum number of allowable flight hours per day and thus could no longer legally fly. But Frontier Airlines had no way of knowing if this possibility was a reality because they apparently have no information on the ground about a pilot’s flight time and had no way of contacting the plane to inquire with the pilots directly.
As I said to the gate agent:
“Your airline is both unable to access your own pilot’s flight schedule for the day, and you’re also unable to contact a plane to get some much-needed information for the hundreds of customers on the ground waiting for the plane?”
“Correct,” the gate agent said.
This strikes me as very stupid.
Representatives for Frontier were also unable to determine where the plane was along its flight path.
Had it arrived in Bermuda?
Was it still on the ground in Bermuda?
Was it already on its way to Hartford?
They had no idea.
“So the plane could be landing in Hartford in ten minutes or ten hours, and you wouldn’t know?” I asked.
“Not at this moment,” the gate agent said.
Oddly enough, a fellow passenger with the app Flight Tracker became a greater source of information for us than the representatives at Frontier Airlines, as she was able to tell us exactly where the plane was at all times.
Frontier Airlines employees apparently have no access to this technology.
Eventually, we decided to give up and rebook for the next day. By the time we retrieved our bags and returned home, it was 2:30 AM. When I awoke at 7:00 AM the next morning, I received another alert from Frontier:
My flight was now delayed until 3:00 PM the following afternoon, a full 17 hours after its original departure time.
Again, this would not be entirely unexpected. Delays are unfortunately commonplace. But not being able to contact a plane, determine its whereabouts, or access a pilot’s flight schedule all strike me as remarkably stupid and entirely avoidable.
Thankfully, we found a different flight on a different airline and touched down in Florida later that afternoon. We lost a day of golf and a lot of sleep, but I write these words from Kissimmee, Florida, where I will be playing golf in a few hours.
As a means of apologizing for our trouble, Frontier Airlines send me a food voucher.
It was $15.
I bought breakfast for myself and the kids at McDonald’s the next morning. The voucher didn’t cover the cost of the meal.
When a plane is delayed by 17 hours, and you leave passengers in information limbo until the wee hours of the morning, a $15 voucher is almost insulting.
A heartfelt apology would’ve been more appreciated.
I will not be flying Frontier Airlines again.
