Continental Airlines Complaint – Hidden Fees And Tax

Customer Leave a comment Tours & Travels

Subject: Hidden Fees and Tax
My Name: PanamaSooner
My City: HOUSTON
My State/Territory: TEXAS
Country: USA
My Complaint Against: Continental Airlines
Complaint Category: Tours & Travels
Claim Amount (Approx.):
My Complaint Description:
I have been attempting to book a ticket using the "Advanced Search" option. I was looking for the lowest fare so I did not need exact dates or the +/- 3 Days option, I was/am "flexible" with my dates. I have used this option many times to review prices and to actually purchase tickets. As you know, the destinations are required and then a beginning date for travel, then a choice for the total number of days desired for the trip. I did this and the familiar grid appeared with dates and fares, noting the lowest fare in green, which were December 25-31 and then again in mid-January…$470. I clicked the price and as usual it took me to a list of flight options but with a price of $710.

I spent an hour or so trying to figure out if it was me, my computer, or a rogue cookie… I called customer service and she got the same results and could not explain it but said she would notify the appropriate department. I continued this for two more days, getting a mix of prices, and all considerably higher than what www.continental.com said was the "lowest available fare". Now, I just hung up with a representative in your web support department and after about twenty minutes of her getting the same bizarre results, researched the issue enough to find there is a $240 International Fuel Surcharge Fee.

That "fee" is over 50% of the "lowest available fare" and is NEVER mentioned or explained on the website or during the reservation process. I fully understand and expect that the $470 does not include fees and taxes so the final fare is higher…but double your "lowest available fare"? I wasted (yes, I am at fault for being so stupid) three days checking your website, expecting the computer glitch to be fixed or frankly, some semblance of logic for the unexplained increased fares. So, now I can use what few miles I have and pay the fees for expediting the OnePass reward ticket (that fee is posted), pay the increased fare or not make the trip.

I could also try American Airlines but they do not have good connection times and they have really gone down hill the past few years… I'm writing this due to two reasons, I decided at the last minute to visit my family in OKC and the price seemed fair enough, considering my timing… and I want someone, somewhere at Continental Airlines to know how disappointed I am with the online services. It has been an extremely frustrating few days that could have been avoided if this YQ tax was noted and explained on the site.

I still do not have, what I feel is a logical answer to how a tax could be so much… and a flat $240, not a percentage…and hidden from a loyal flier. Plainly put, it is deception in advertising. Okay, I feel better and now I just need the tax explained to me. I can then move forward with planning my trip. Thank you.

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AirTran Airways Complaint – Pet Policy – Fictitious Rules Given & RUDE Employees

Customer Leave a comment Tours & Travels

Subject: Pet Policy – Fictitious Rules Given & RUDE Employees
My Name: Mindy
My City: ST. PETERSBURG
My State/Territory: FLORIDA
Country: [country] My Complaint Against: AirTran Airways
Complaint Category: Tours & Travels
My Complaint Description:
11-19-2012 – Boo on you…AirTran. The pet policies on AirTran are atrocious!! FYI: I have already spoken w/ your customer service representative on Monday…day of flight…for 30 min. I haven't received any response yet. I'll see how long after Thanksgiving it takes for a response…if at all.

What's even more interesting is that Southwest's pet policy is: "Southwest Airlines accepts small vaccinated domestic cats & dogs. All in-cabin pets must be carried in an appropriate carrier, as indicated below & are subject to a $75 pet fare each way/pet carrier. The pet carrier counts as either a carry-on item or a personal item." "Southwest Airlines allows only one pet carrier/ticketed passenger." "The carrier may contain two (2) cats or dogs & must be of the same species/carrier." "The cat or dog must be completely inside the pet carrier & be able to stand up & move around the carrier with ease."

This finding is particularly interesting as AirTran is NOW owned by Southwest & I followed SW's pet policy to a 'T'!! Also the pet carrier I was required to purchase was nearly 1/2 the size of my carrier…& provided poor Mister Charlie far less room than Bailey Sue had in the carrier I already had. He certainly was NOT able to stand up & move around the carrier with ease…as it was quite evident when I witnessed the top of the bag bulging when he stood up. Supposedly the policies have recently changed… However the policy stated on AirTran's own website does not reflect the 'new' changes.

My problem on Monday: While flying home for Thanksgiving, as I was waiting to board w/ my 2 precious small Maltese dogs… A 'NEW' policy was presented verbally that only 1 dog/carrier was allowed. This creates quite a problem because in order to do this, it requires an extra carrier & according to the 'NEW' policy, would require an extra person. As it now states… "Airfare for a pet is $75 one-way & is non-refundable. Six (6) pets are allowed with a limit of one (1) pet/paying customer traveling on the same flight." And THAT'S where 'they' got me!!!

Nowhere did it state that 2 dogs cannot be in the same carrier nor does the current policy even have a weight restriction. But as soon as 'they' NOW noticed the '1 pet/paying passenger' policy… The issue was now 'that'…& not '2 dogs in the same carrier' issue.

See…I am a single young woman who has flown multiple times w/ dogs on AirTran & other companies & have NEVER received this kind of mistreatment & humiliation…& at the GATE, no less!! I nearly missed my flight due to this last minute… "Oh we can't allow 2 dogs in the same carrier" crisis. (FYI: I had been sitting at the gate since 9:30 am & flight did not leave till 11:08 am.) This pet carrier crisis wasn't brought to my attention until the flight was about to board!?

First, the claim by AirTran employee ** was that only a mother & her pup could fly in the same carrier. Knowing that the 'current' policy did not state this, I replied w/ "This IS her son. She's 5 & he's 2." To which her response was: "The pups must be of the same litter & under 8 weeks old." That's when I required this 'new' policy be shown in WRITING. As her worried eyes skimmed the current printed policy, I could tell that it obviously did NOT have her statement in it. I even had to go so far as to bring it up on my iPad to prove to her that the policy she was holding (that I currently have in my possession) was the SAME one on the internet.

Then & only then did she latch on to the new '1 pet/flying customer' policy. And as I said previously…THAT'S where they had me! I was told I must purchase a 2nd carrier & pay an additional $75 pet fee. Their solution ONLY created more problems for me cause NOW I had 3 carry-ons & oh yeah, 2 dogs in 2 separate carriers but only 1 paying passenger.

If it hadn't been for 2 lovely angels placed in my path Monday, I would still be in Tampa Airport stranded w/ no way of getting back home to either of the 2. First, the issue was I needed to pay for an additional pet fee & carrier which easily totaled over $100. I had only a small amount of $$ on me & they would not even speak to my mother over the phone who was trying to do anything at this point to get me home. They wouldn't even attempt to manually type in the same CC # that I used to purchase my ticket, original pet fee, & checked luggage fee. They wanted the physical card now.

That's when the 1st angel walked into my life in the form of "** from DC." She ended up paying w/ her own CC & would not even give me her address to repay her OR to even send a thank you! She must have noticed my shirt I was wearing & told me, "It's fine, I ran the half marathon w/ you yesterday." It was like a breeze of fresh camaraderie had entered my solo circle of it's ME against ALL of 'YOU' mentality. In a clash of irony, the Women's Half Marathon in St. Petersburg had brought 2 first-time race runners together in this time of crisis. Of course that's where AirTran employees had to shortly dash my hope w/ yet another one of their problems.

I still needed a 2nd paying passenger for the 2nd dog. That's when my 2nd angel entered my life in the form of "passenger last name ** in row 30."

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Tours & Travels: AirTran Airways Complaint – AirTran Communication W/ Parents Re: Unaccompanied Minors Needs Major Improvement

Customer Leave a comment Others

Subject: AirTran Communication W/ Parents Re: Unaccompanied Minors Needs Major Improvement
My Name: Laura
My City: NEW YORK
My State/Territory: NEW YORK
Country: [country] My Complaint Against: AirTran Airways
Complaint Category: Tours & Travels
My Complaint Description:
Yesterday (Saturday, July 27th), I had quite a traumatic experience involving AirTran Airlines. I am still terribly upset by it. My son was flying as an unaccompanied minor out of LaGuardia to Akron/Canton. Gate B4. My son is 8 years old, and as you can imagine, this was already a bittersweet moment, to have to say goodbye to my only child as he departed to fly solo.

It is important to note here that I was told that I needed to stay until the plane left which I did. It departed right on time, 2:25pm. No, the plane was not in the air. I did not stay at the gate until the plane was in the air because it was not made clear to me by any of the staff at any point that this is what I was expected to do. Nor did I at any point receive an email or any written material that detailed the policies about exactly was expected of an escort to an unaccompanied minor. I was doing as I had been told -“ I stayed until the plane departed.

I went downstairs to the food court and was there for a full hour after the plane left the gate. It is my understanding that somewhere in that time, the plane had to return to the gate. I had my cell phone with me, and yet no one called me. I am aware that my cell phone number is in the computer system because I gave it over the phone to the reservation agent when I purchased the ticket for my son.

I was called by my mother-in-law from the Akron/Canton airport around 3:55, just as my husband and I were entering the Midtown Tunnel into Manhattan. We were told that his plane had de-boarded and that we should go back. We were preparing to do so, but knowing it would take us at least 30 minutes to get back at that point and another 15 to reach the gate, I decided to call AirTran for an update about my son'€™s flight. I explained to them that he was an unaccompanied minor and I was his mother.

I was told his plane was scheduled to depart at 4:00. Since that was five minutes away, I was given the impression that the flight had already boarded and was about to leave, so my husband and I decided to not to go back based on that information. At 4:45, my mother-in-law called me and told me that his flight had been delayed further but that his flight was now scheduled to leave at 5:00. Now I'm starting to get really upset. I should have been there with him. But with his plane leaving at 5:00, there was really no point for me to make the 30-minute journey from Manhattan to LaGuardia as I would not get there until after the plane had left.

Again, no had called my cell phone or had left a message on my home phone. And I'€™m beginning to wonder why no one would call the child's parent in this type of situation. I'm only getting the information I am receiving because my child'€™s grandparents are at the Akron/Canton airport where they are able to get immediate information.

At 5:30, I was sent a text by my mother-in-law that his plane was now leaving at 5:55. I began to feel myself starting to emotionally unravel, worried sick about my child, and started trying to find a way back to the airport. I arrived at Port Authority at 6:00 and waited for an Express Bus that was supposed to arrive in 10 minutes but had still not arrived 30 minutes later.

While waiting for the Express bus to show, my mother-in-law gave my husband and I a number to call. It was a 718 number so I can only assume I was going to be speaking with someone at LaGuardia. I was so grateful to finally have a chance to speak to someone who could tell me definitively what was going on.

The person on the other line kept telling us that we were supposed to be there and that they weren't allowed to give us any information -€“ both extremely unhelpful things to say. I was very angry that the airline was not able to give the parents of an 8-year-old information about their child. We were immediately put on the defensive and tried to explain that we were there until the plane left the gate, were in the airport for another hour after that, and that no one had told us that we were supposed to stay until the plane was in the air. Nor had anybody tried to call us. The conversation was ultimately unproductive, extremely frustrating, and of no help whatsoever.

Because the Express Bus never showed, I hailed a cab around 6:40. I called AirTran while stuck in traffic in the cab. I was told that my son'€™s plane had been cancelled and he was being placed on another flight set to leave at 7:55. Upon arriving at the airport at around 7:20, I was told that I would have to wait in line for a gate pass, so I did. And by the time I got to the gate at 7:40, his plane had already left the gate and was about to depart.

Upon arriving at the gate, the gate attendant started to berate and verbally abuse me for not coming back to the airport earlier. Already being quite emotional and angry about the events leading up to this moment, his tirade really blindsided me. He told me that I knew I wasn't supposed to leave, so I told him that I did stay until the plane left the gate and was never told that I had to stay until the plane was in the air.

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AirTran Airways Complaint – Rude And Dismissive Treatment And Unfair Overcharge For Luggage

Customer Leave a comment Tours & Travels

Subject: Rude and Dismissive Treatment and Unfair Overcharge for Luggage
My Name: Fred
My City: ATLANTA
My State/Territory: GEORGIA
Country: [country] My Complaint Against: AirTran Airways
Complaint Category: Tours & Travels
My Complaint Description:
This is being sent to you in hopes you will review and have concerns for the airlines that you and others formed from a situation that most would have thought impossible. We were in Atlanta in the old days and have followed the growth of AirTran Airlines since its beginning. It does not take many experiences like ours to reach a broad number of customers. Had it not been for the agents in Denver, Colorado, we would have a totally negative mindset regarding AirTran Airlines.

On March 22, 2008, we flew from Atlanta GA to Denver, Colorado with 22 other people. Our confirmation number was **. We were the only two flying AirTran Airlines. All the others in our party were glad that they had flown other airlines when they heard of our experience with AirTran in Atlanta, GA. AirTran got a lot of bad press within our group and with others who stood in line with us at baggage check-in.

We had registered online saying that we would check two bags each for a total of 100 lbs per person for two adults, my wife and me. We, instead, brought one bag each to check in. The total of our combined baggage was less than 100 lbs. and we were allowed to have at total of 200 lbs. The curb side agent quickly measured our suitcases at 62.5 inches each and stated in a very matter of fact way that would cost us each $50. He seemed to not be interested in anything but NEXT CUSTOMER IN LINE. We asked to see a supervisor as the cases were not full and the top could have easily been compressed to comply with baggage size allowance.

A gentleman walked up but never spoke directly to us. He indicated to the person checking our bags in that we were to be charged that. He did not measure to confirm what was being said. We asked if there were someone else we could speak to and he said "You can go inside." By this time, he had left the agent where we were and walked away so this was said from a distance and without looking at us.

We thought that may be we just hit them at a busy time as we felt very dismissed when we asked them to re-measure our bags. We then went inside and the outside agent must have notified them as the person inside seemed to not even look at the bags before she informed us that we were oversized and she began to measure. Again, eye contact was poor and we felt talked at instead of with. Other bags larger were being loaded. She measures the bags at 62 inches and again, we made the same request that she press the air out of the top of the bag and measure. We had measured the bags at home and they complied with requirements.

She stated she would not and that would be $100 and we could pay by credit card or cash. Now, we were talking 1 inch by her careless and quick measure. She loudly informed us that there could be an "increased fuel usage" caused by our oversized luggage. Her mathematics made no sense to any of us standing there as we were still 100 + pounds less than what we were allowed to check in. We paid the penalty, as by now, we were running late. As we walked off the Air Tran agent stated loudly to the next customer that "some people cannot be pleased no matter how nice you are to them."

We had not raised our voices, not said anything rudely, just requested what we felt was reasonable. Our request, "Pœlease press the top of the case down to fill in the unused area of the luggage and then measure the cases." If we had been rude or demanding, the agent in Atlanta making an open comment to those following us in line was still out of order, but we were neither. Other customers observed the interaction and stated how ridiculous to charge us $100 for a hurried measure of 1 inch. Other gentlemen commented to us that AirTran was not known for customer service and the agent's increased fuel calculations were ridiculous.

Others in our party, who were traveling other airlines, had larger bags and were shocked at the penalty we had been forced to pay. The luggage was measured by two or three in our party and were well within the requirements when measure accurately. On our way home, we brought the same bags, but simply pressed the air out of the top. The agent in Denver was so different. She processed them, smiled and wished us a good trip.

The agents in Atlanta caused us to plan to NEVER travel AirTran again and others in our party determined the same. The agent in Denver made us want to travel AirTran again. The charge was ridiculous and unnecessary, but the rudeness left a very negative impression with us and others. We are requesting the $50 penalty times 2 bags be returned. We are asking which agent and treatment best represents AirTran?

What is our recourse? Is the Atlanta airport staffed differently than the airport in Denver? We were well known to those 22 others traveling with us and they formed, along with us, a very negative mindset of your airline. Will AirTran Airlines lose our business by allowing the agents in Atlanta to be the standard?

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AirTran Airways Complaint – AirTran Airways Business Class Review

Customer Leave a comment Tours & Travels

Subject: AirTran Airways Business Class Review
My Name: bottleneck_mn
My City: Provo
My State/Territory: Utah
Country: [country] My Complaint Against: AirTran Airways
Complaint Category: Tours & Travels
My Complaint Description:
I've flown with AirTran Airways a number of times, in both coach and business class. I will review my experiences with business class, as there are many coach reviews, and few business class reviews. Overall, I do recommend business class as long as you know what to expect.

My experiences with business class has been mostly pleasant. Each time was an upgrade as I checked in online. The process is easy, and walks you through the steps with ease. Changing seats interface is a bit clumsy, though. You also get to declare how many bags one is going to check, I think with business class you get a 2-bag allowance with no fees. Checking in 24 hours online in advance gives the best chance of seat preference.

Business class gets priority baggage check and security queue. This alone is a great perk for those whose time is valuable, and the airport is busy. Service is prompt, and usually professional and courteous for business class travelers. I did have a few incidents where the attendant was a bit rude upon check-in, where they must've thought I was in the wrong line or something ("Sir, this line is for business class…"), although they did become courteous once they confirmed my status. The security queue is usually out of the individual airline's hands, but having priority through the queue is nice especially when there's time constraints.

Boarding is a bit odd, business class travelers do get priority boarding, although it hardly matters it seems. The attendants seem to rattle off each boarding zone after a few seconds which makes the zones seem redundant, and the boarding line just becomes a big herd. Though in all honesty, it's best for business class travelers to board close to last (especially if one has an aisle seat), since the cabin gets crowded as passengers pass through. Once seated, the flight attendant usually will offer a pre-flight drink. It is good that business class overhead storage is reserved, most of the time.

The seats are comfortable, and roomy (in comparison to coach). There isn't too much difference in the quality between the two main planes of Airtran – the Boeing 717 and the 737. I do think the 737 is generally nicer. It is a great step-up from coach in quality and comfort. Generally the cabin is clean (in comparison to coach), earlier flights are cleaner while later flights tend to have more trash and crumbs scattered about. The big perks here are leg room and elbow room. The under seat bag storage is a bit cramped, and business passengers in the first row have to keep bags in the overhead – there's no other storage, which can be inconvenient.

However, there's a lot more leg room in that row. The cabin can be a bit loud, though it's fairly easy to just drone out the noise, although it does make speaking to the flight attendants a bit more difficult than needed. There's XM radio, although I've never used it. There is a lavatory in the front, which is primarily for business class, as the flight attendants generally announce that the rear lavatories is for coach. However, the front one can be utilized by coach if the rear is occupied.

In-flight service really depends on the flight attendants, though you can expect a few complementary drinks and a couple snacks. The GO magazine has a list of the drinks available in back, I'd recommend using it to help facilitate service if one is unfamiliar with what's available. Asking the flight attendant can be hit or miss. Generally, the flight attendants are courteous, and friendly, to everyone in the cabin. I have been on flights were the flight attendants were selective in service, rude to some passengers, while going out of the way for other passengers. Some flight attendants were short-tempered, others had seemingly eternal patience.

I was, however, put off by a couple flight attendants that were rude towards my pregnant wife once (who had to use the bathroom plenty of times in-flight), and towards my young daughter (who was well-behaved, I'm thinking that flight attendant just didn't like children in business class). Overall though, the service is decent, as expected. It's also a nice perk to exit the plane first to head to baggage claim or one's next gate.

My gripes with AirTran isn't with business class per se, which is what this review is about, but about general service, which I will state briefly. I have issues with how they handle luggage, since each time at least one checked luggage item gets minor, usually repairable, damage (a small rip or tear usually, with nothing lost though). The gate attendants tend to be a bit rude, sometimes understandably though. I don't like that gate changes tend to go unannounced at certain airports. I really don't like the aggressive AirTran credit card hawkers, some of them are really unprofessional.

I do recommend business class as an upgrade option, it's worth its price for the peace of mind when traveling on time constraints for the baggage check and security queue alone in many instances (like at Washington Reagan National Airport). The extra comfort is decent, as is the complimentary snack and beverage. Depending on how one plays their cards, one can get this service fairly cheap too (like still significantly cheaper than full fare coach).

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