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A Christmas Nightmare

US Airways • Consumer Complaints • Christmas Complaints • An Insider's View --- News • Bankruptcy Exit Plan Ready • No More Pretzels In Coach • US Airways, America West Merger On Course • US Airways' Loss Worse Than Reported • US Airways Misses Another Bankruptcy Filing • US Airways, America West Talking Merger • US Airways Gets a Little More Time From Creditors • Report Slams US Airways Christmas Performance • US Airways Wins Concessions from Machinists • US Airways Turns In Jets, Cancels Flights • Florida: Treatment of Quadriplegic Passenger "Callous" • Loan Extension Provides More Turnaround Time • Attendants Accept Cuts, Machinists Still Hold-Outs • Machinists May Walk • January Crucial for US Airways • A Christmas Nightmare • Breathing Room • Turnaround Plans • US Air Deathwatch

US Airways employees called in sick over the 2004 Christmas holidays, turning airports into refugee centers and creating baggage back-ups of previously unseen proportions. Travelers were outraged and airline executives rushed to apologize. But some workers remain adamant. Robert of West Babylon, NY, explains why.

Stanley of Waltham MA (12/31/04):
I was on US AIR Flight 2828 on 12/23/04 from Boston to Memphis to be with my wife and her family. The connecting flight was delayed. When I finally arrived in Memphis, we waited an hour for our luggage to appear on the belt. When only a portion of my flight's luggage appeared, my wife went upstairs to the US AIR ticket counter to inquire about the delay. She was met with rude, unprofessional personnel who told her she had no right as a consumer to a) know what was going on b) to know US AIR employee names/badge numbers and c) that the supervisor was at the gate and could not see her to explain the situation.

When she kept demanding that it was her consumer's right to know either where the bag was OR get the employees' names/badge numbers, they called airport police on her. Luckily, there was no incident. Finally, a US Air employee by the name of Jorge Laguna (ID 24201) appeared and was MORE than gracious in his customer service and professional behavior. Thanks to him we got our bag, but not until 5 AM Christmas Day morning, almost 2 days after I arrived in Memphis.

On my return flight on 12/27, my bag was not at my Boston destination, and the baggage claim line was over 2 hours long. US Air does not allow its customers to file claims online/via phone; only in person at the airport. I went home utterly frustrated and then drove BACK to the airport late that evening, only to find my bag strewn in the mix with other US AIR bags from other flights.

Myself, my wife, in-laws and their entire family was emotionally impacted. I had my Christmas gifts in my checked luggage and had no idea as to whether I would have them in time to distribute on Christmas day. I had to go and purchase new under/outer wear, toiletries, etc; since I didn't have my bag my Christmas Eve day, I assumed I was going the duration of my trip without these items. We also had to make additional trips to both airports because of the "strike" US Air employees felt they had to take over the Christmas holidays.

My bag was damaged in transit; I also noticed that many bags that did make it to the Memphis belt were opened and rummaged through. I am a seasoned traveler and have NEVER experienced such pathetic service...from start to finish, no less.

Rhonda of Waldorf MD (12/28/04):
I purchased tickets for my teenage children as Christmas gifts. Like many others, they were left stranded. Originally my children were to fly on 12/24, but I received an electronic call indicating the flight had been cancelled. After contacting the US Airways reservation line, the children were confirmed on a flight for Christmas Day. It appeared they were going to visit their Grandmother for Christmas after all. However, after landing in Pittsburgh, they were informed their connecting flight was cancelled. Due to their ages, they could not be placed in a hotel, so the alternative was to "hang out" at the airport. Much later, they were placed on a plane heading to another state and eventually landed in a neighboring state.

My mother had to drive 2 hours to get them instead of the normal 1 hour trip to the airport. To date, I still have not been able to speak to someone. I get their electronic recordings. And yes, their luggage is still in the system - with no response as to when, or if, we will receive it. So, in addition to added stress and frustration, my family had to buy them clothing for their vacation. I have e-mailed the customer service department, but receive an automatic message about being out until 1/4/2005 by one system and another automatic response apologizing for the delay and increased volume of contacts.

I want to speak to an actual person, not listen to, or read, the bogus apologies for this company's mishaps. They created a terrible situation for many patrons. The employees to management should be held accountable for this fiasco. I have attempted to contact them regarding my children's return passage, but can't get anyone on the phone. Electronics have replaced human contact, so what more can we expect from the airlines than what we experienced this Christmas holiday!!

Amanda of Summit NJ (12/27/04):
Originally, my husband, my 10-month-old son and I were to fly out of Charlotte, NC at 9:55 a.m. on United Airlines flight #7132 to Dulles, and then catch a connecting Continental flight to arrive at Newark around 2 p.m. When we arrived at the check-in counter for United Airlines, the line was almost out the door. We waiting for about an hour, and were told that our original United Airlines flight had been delayed, and we would have to have our connecting flight rescheduled. It was determined that there was no connecting flight to get us to our destination on that day, so we were switched to US Airways on a non-stop flight for 6 p.m. that evening.

The line for US Airways was at that time about 3 hours long, so my husband opted to speak to Continental personally and find out if they could give us a later connecting flight in Dulles, since United Airlines seemed unable to do so. Eventually, it worked out that we were going to take our original (but delayed) United Airlines flight #7132 to Dulles, and take a later Continental flight (#2017) to Newark. We would be getting in around 6 p.m., and might still have time to reach our Christmas destination. After being flagged for further inspection at the security area, and after they unnecessarily searched my 10-month-old baby, we all waited at United Airlines terminal A2 for hours. Every hour it seemed our flight was being delayed more and more. Eventually it came to the point that if our flight had been delayed one more time, we would surely miss our already changed connecting flight at Dulles.

At this point, my husband spoke with the United attendant at gate A2 in Charlotte. She informed him that we could catch a 2:25 US Airlines non-stop flight #104 to Newark, NJ, and that someone would be sent to switch our baggage over. (Our baggage items consisted of one carseat, all of my son's winter wardrobe, and two other bags.) We were ecstatic, because we would be arriving in Newark one hour earlier than previously expected. The US Airlines flight was smooth, and we landed in Newark early. But when we went to the baggage claim area to collect our bags, they were not there. We did not have our carseat to take our son home in. We were stranded at the airport. By this time, I was running out of formula for my son. I had expected to be home by late afternoon and able to feed him at home, but this had not been the case, and I was running out of formula for him, and I did not have any jar food to give him, either.

My husband spoke to Richard at the US Airlines baggage desk in Newark. He informed Richard of our situation, that we did not have our carseat, and Richard told him to file a baggage claim form, but that if we wanted to see our bags that night, we should see United instead. My husband went to the United Airlines baggage desk, where they were unwilling to help us. They said it was not their responsibility, but it was instead US Airways responsibility. The woman suggested that we go see Continental Airlines to see if they possibly had our baggage. It became clear we were not going to be able to find our carseat, so we arranged for a family member to drive to the airport from two hours away to bring us a spare one. We could only wait.

My husband then took the monorail to the Continental Airlines baggage center, because it was located in another terminal. The line was over one hour long, but he waited in it, and they finally told him they did not have our bags, and could not help us, either. By this point, my son was hungry and tired, and very fussy, and I was completely fed up. While waiting on my husband to return from the Continental terminal, I visited Richard at the US Airways baggage desk again. I told him that we could not locate our bags still, and everyone had informed us it was US Airway's responsibility, and that I did not have my son's car seat, or his clothes. When I mentioned the carseat, Richard went into the back room and brought out a carseat. (Keep in mind that we had been waiting for an hour and a half at this point at the airport because we were stranded without a carseat.) My husband had told Richard at the very beginning about our need for a carseat, and he had failed to mention he could provide us with one. If he had told us this, we could have been home and had our son fed much earlier.

Our family member was already almost to the airport, so we had no use for Richard's carseat at that time. Now, two days later, we have heard no word on our baggage. We have called many times, and filed our claim, but have not been able to speak to anyone on the phone. I have written US Airlines multiple e-mails regarding our situation, and they have not responded. I am at my wits end, and I need help.

Damage Resulting: I have no winter clothes for my son, and I do not have a carseat that fits him. It snowed last night, and all of my son's wearable jackets are lost in our baggage. I cannot afford to replace any of the items that are lost.

Chuck of Dillsburg PA (12/26/04):
Flight 5 was cancelled due to lack of crew. Pilots were there, flight attendants were not. Our Christmas Day and our planned vacation are ruined but all that would be bearable if not for the appalling lack of consideration and outright rudeness of the US Air employees at Philadelphia. Upon the announcement of the cancellation , the big race began, who could run the fastest back to ticketing. If you were old or slow, too bad for you and Merry Christmas.

We soon made the decision to cancel everything by working with Expedia.com over our cell phone. Now the hard part -- how to get our luggage back. We figured out on our own to get in line at baggage services along with many others from our flight. After an hour wait in line the extremely rude customer service person told us that she in no way could help us and that we should go back to ticketing and stand in line.

Lucky for us we noticed that the skycaps had started an enterprising operation of finding luggage for those on flight 5. Sky Cap Tim asked me "How bad I wanted my bags?" So for a $40 bribe we got our luggage back in 5 minutes. $20 bucks a bag for the Sky Caps on Xmas ... nothing like taking advantage of frustrated travelers. I have been traveling for 20 years and have had many horror stories and frustrating experiences but never have I seen anything approaching the complete lack of concern and rudeness and lack of basic human ethics exhibited by US Airways employees.

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