Oma
Ogunquit,#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, June 18, 2003
Obviously the airline involved did many things wrong. Period. A message to all parents from a flight attendant who is a grandmother: please do not allow your younger children to travel alone as unaccompanied minors. Airlines do not provide adequate staffing to allow reasonable attention to your children onboard. Some aircraft have two flight attendants working a plane with 99 passengers, 15 of which are unaccompanied minors around the busy seasons (holidays, school vacations, etc.). The FAs will be cordial, but they are not equipped to deal with the emotional trauma most children feel about traveling alone.(I've seen many kids break down in tears or misbehave in ways their parents refuse to believe or accept. Also, there have been issues with adult passengers who may not have your child's best interests in mind.) The present status of understaffing means that the FAs cannot keep an eye on your kids while they are performing their usual required duties. Most airlines demand a substantial fee for permitting the transport of your unaccompanied children, but this does not mean that an extra FA will be staffed to help supervise your kids. Please shop around for the best fares and fly with your kids to their destinations. They will be happy you did.
Dan
Lenexa,#3Consumer Comment
Sun, December 15, 2002
This rebutal is obviously not factual. If the person posting it is all they claim to be I am very concerned about our safety while flying. They are at the best illiterate. Read the entire post it has anger, misused, and misspelled words. This in conjuction with the thought process that the customer is ALWAYS looking for something for nothing is one of the reasons the airlines are in such financial difficulty. Yes I think Frontier was wrong in this case, no I do not really believe you can get the the president of any company one the telephone, nor will a letter written to him or her. They are derailed by the underlings reporting to them. They are always to busy to deal with the trivia. Reality is that any airline who asumes responsibility for a unaccompanied minor needs to be in FULL communication with the people who are dropping off and picking up that minor! There should be no doubt in that communication as to the destination of that minor! This was obviously not a priority with Frontier. They belong on this list due to their poor handling of this transaction.
#40
Sat, June 30, 2001
This email is a rebuttal to RipOff #5584.
It was sent by Airline Employee at [email protected].
Frontier Airlines ..parents be warned, don't trust the airlines (#5584)
They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:
Their email: [email protected]
Their name: Airline Employee
Their relationship to the company: Advocate
Rebuttal:
I have worked in PAX SERVICE as a Gate Agent in the Past. I
am now a LICENSED FLIGHT DISPATCHER and appreciate the whole picture. It seems that People today come to the Airport LOOKING for problems and with a Attitude. Not saying there aren't BAD AGENTS, I have helped fire more than one. But still people need to reliaze that We are tring to do everything possible for them, but they are just 1 among several Hundred thousand people
that Fly each & every day.
Having worked in the Airline Industry for many years, I would like to comment on this. I agree that one of the employee's she spoke with should have caught the DCA code being Washington Reagan National instead of IAD - Washington Dulles. But it still appears as the Airline did a EXCELLENT job for you. They did transport them from Phoenix to Washington. They did keep them under the watchful eye of AIRLINE PERSONELL until the person
you listed showed up to take them. I have been involved with many people that just send their kids without UMNR - Unaccompanied Minor service.
They think that the Airline should babysit them and make sure they get to their destination OK and are meet by the person they want. You were very right to take advantage of this service. Think how much worse it could have been if the Airline personell hadnt been looking out for them, and making Phone calls to you and others to determine where everyone was and should have been. YOU made the decision to fly on a different airline at the last minute.
Frontier would have been glad to transport your children back to Phoenix in a SAFE TIMELY Manner the same as UNITED, AMERICAN, DELTA or any other Major US Airline. Frontier nor any other airline owe you any additional compensation.
You stated they REFUNDED you the UMNR Fee as a courtesy because of the problems. They also REBOOKED you on a Different Carrier without any CHANGE FEES or FARE DIFFERENCE. You also stated "I was questioning the agent unmercifully." The agent probably did not understand fully what you were asking. They have to deal with HUNDREDS of passengers a day. Many of them VERY UPSET for a variety of problems they have no control over. Please realize
that many people today are SO QUICK to jump at theAirlines for DELAYS & PROBLEMS.
I would like to say as a person that is responsible for sometimes cuasing these delays and cancellations, that we
want to get you and yours SAFELY from Point A to Point B. But as a LICENSED AIRCRAFT DISPATCHER, it is my DUTY & RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that the flisght is SAFE & LEGAL according to FAA
regulations. Airlines are being hit from all directions with issues. Passengers want for theirflights to go out On-Time and Arrive On-Time. But then they want to show up at the Gate with less than 5 minutes to departure & still get on & go.
You have to be Seated & Secured by Departure time to ensure a On-Time Departure & Arrival. Also we arent allowed to allow a flight to leave if the Weather isnt Above Minimums at your destination.
Also ATC - Aircraft Traffic Control may tell us we have to Delay your flight. Maybe your Crew isnt LEGAL cause they have already flown too much today because of Delays & such. Also if a PLANE breaks, even if it isnt something YOU may consider MINOR,
may be enough to keep that AIRCRAFT from flying legally. Also when you have a FLEET of several hundred aircraft, it is impossible to keep a SPAREfor each Active aircraft.
Airlines DO have Spare aircraft, but sometimes MINOR MAINT Issues will come up and deplete them. Also they may not be in
the right position to be used for where the Aircraft breaks. This may seem long, but I want everyone to realize that Airlines & Its employees are in the Business of moving People from POINT A
to POINT B in a Timely & SAFE Manner.
We are subject to probably MORE RULES & REGULATIONS than most any other industry. Also we have to battle issues that WE CANT CONTROL, such as Weather and other Govermental Agencys like ATC. While doing all this, we still have the same problems as ALL
other businesses such as NORMAL LABOR PROBLEMS, Competition with other carriers and General Mechanical or Equipment problems.
Im sure if the majority of people used BUSED & TRAINS instead of
Airplanes, we would be hearing how they BREAK DOWN too often & everything. Feel free to comment back to me & I will be glad to offer any more info you would like.