Well, maybe it wasn't as bad as all that.
For a quick run down to Ormond Beach, Florida, from New York City, for a family event, my husband and I booked on JetBlue for a round trip from LaGuardia to Orlando and back again. We booked the tickets on June 16, for travel on July 24 and July 26.
The trip down from LaGuardia on Friday July 24 was uneventful, Flight 393 taking off and landing approximately at the scheduled times. The flight crew was friendly and efficient, the check-in smooth, and we could have no complaints.
The situation two days later was dramatically different. National weather patterns were a complicating factor, of course. The nation was wracked with thunderstorms on Sunday, July 26. Orlando had its downpours, and so did the NYC metro area, as did other parts of the country. Clearly, a situation for concern. And the way the airlines run, this is usually a recipe for passenger inconvenience, which we encountered.
When we arrived at the Orlando airport for our scheduled 5:33 pm departure to LaGuardia on Flight 394, the signboards were indicating only a slight delay on departure. We checked in, and as the delay lengthened, had time for a dinner on the ground. The delay ended up being more like 2-1/2 hours, attributable to the delay in the airplane which was coming from Washington DC. Once that plane landed, there was a quick turnaround and they boarded the aircraft, even though they knew that we would not be able to take off for some considerable period of time due to weather conditions in the NYC metro area. Why did they board us if they knew we would not be able to take off? They needed the gate for subsequent arriving and departing flights. So we sat in the airplane on the tarmac for four hours in order for them to have the use of the gate. Of course, they don't serve meals on these flights, just beverages were offered.... They said they would wave the extra charge to view the movie after we got airborne, but we never got that far...
So, the 5:33 flight boarded at about 8 pm, then we sat out in the airplane until about midnight. At that point, they told us that there was a possibility we could soon take off for NY, however a passenger was insisting that she be allowed to get off the plane, and they also wanted to take on additional fuel (was that a make-weight? the pilot had previously announced that they had "plenty of fuel"), so we taxied back to the gate, let off the insistent passenger, only to be told that in the time it had taken for us to go back to an open gate and let her off, we had missed the window of opportunity to fly up to LaGuardia, which has a 'curfew' for landings during the wee hours. So, sometime after midnight, we were told the flight had been cancelled, and we should line up at the podium at the gate to rebook our flights. This process was barely underway when we were then told that the rebooking would take place out at the ticket stations, so we all rushed out past security to the ticket windows, where a small staff was waiting for us with the news, of course, that most flights up to the NYC area the next day were heavily booked. After we were all lined up in one queue, they opened another line, and lots of people rushed there, producing a bit of disorder. Since an entire plane-load of passengers descended on them at once, there was quite a wait.
So, by about 1 am, we were rebooked on the earliest flight that could get us up to NYC on Monday - Flight 46 to JFK, leaving Orlando at 10:53 am. Rather than sack out on benches in the airport or go exploring for a hotel in the middle of the night, we took advantage of the Hilton that was there. The airline announced right off the bat that because this was not a cancellation due to mechanical difficulties, they were not responsible to pay for meals or hotels. So we were out $169 for a room at the Hilton, and we managed to get checked in and get to sleep towards 1:30 am. (We were also required to reclaim checked baggage, so it took a little time after we were rebooked before we could go to the hotel.)
Then, the next morning when we went to check in - a rude surprise. The ticket agent had not mentioned to us that we would be charged for an "upgrade" for the seats to JFK. In fact, she said nothing about what seats we would get, saying they would be assigned at check-in. When we went to the kiosk to check in, it would not print out a boarding pass showing a seat assignment unless we paid an extra $50 for an upgrade to seats with "extra legroom." (Yes, JetBlue charges you extra if you are seated in a row that features a few more inches of space between your seat and the seat in front of you than is normal. And those of course are the available seats because most people shop on price and so the ones with the surcharge are more likely to be what is available for last minutes customers.) Which meant we would have to stand on another long line for seat selection in hopes of getting other seats on that flight - quite unlikely, given the number of customers seeking to get to NYC as a result of the cancellation, so we paid the extra $50.
So - one passenger's insistance on getting off the plane meant that we were out $169 for a hotel, $50 for an upgrade, and the loss of a Monday workday, since arriving at 1:20 at JFK, reclaiming baggage, and then taking public transit into Manhattan, didn't get me home until about 3 pm. (Yes, this flight took off a little late but they made up the time and we landed as scheduled at 1:22....)
Maybe not exactly the trip from hell. After all, we arrived safely. And we can't blame JetBlue for the weather. But some of the airline practices involved here are just objectionable from a consumer point of view. If they cancel a flight, we shouldn't have to pay for an upgrade for tickets we didn't specifically request. And if they know they are not going to be able to fly out for hours, they shouldn't board a plane and sentence people to sitting for hours in a sealed aircraft on a runway. (I felt the beginnings of post-air-travel cold coming on last night - but so far it hasn't blossomed forth - I'm keeping my fingers crossed.) Some genius in the airline industry has to figure out an alternative, more user-friendly method for dealing with weather delays.
Had to get this air traveller's rant off my chest before getting on with my work today....
