Bad Scare, Spotty Service
Written: Jun 14 '00 (Updated Nov 09 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Plane crew, agents in Columbus
Cons: Lack of communication, poor organization, understaffing in Indy
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| Tholian's Full Review: America West |
I flew America West from Seattle to Baltimore through Phoenix, an itinerary which on its best day sports a nine hour travel time. On the Phoenix-BWI flight, all was uneventful until a funny smell started making its way through the cabin about an hour before we were scheduled to land. A woman several rows in front of me paged the flight attendant to tell him she smelled smoke. I swear, I have never seen flight attendants move so fast. Two of them were literally running up and down the aisle of this 757 with fire extinguishers while the other one called the cockpit.
They couldn't find the source of the smoke, which everyone in the cabin could smell by this time, and which smelled very much like an electrical fire. Very shortly, we were informed that we would be making an emergency landing in five minutes. The flight attendants sped through the cabin picking up all our trash and then one of them coached us in how to brace for a crash while two others drilled the exit-row passengers in the operation of the slides, and taught them how to block people from getting past them in case there was a panic. Although not seated in an exit row, I could clearly hear all of this, and suddenly a crash landing no longer seemed a remote possibility.
The captain announced over the intercom that he had diverted the flight to Indianapolis and we would be emergency-landing there in 12 minutes. I had never experienced the rapid descent of a large aircraft from 40,000 feet, and it was terrifying. Things were shaking everywhere and we were being hurtled constantly forward and downward.
I tried to brace as best I could, but my seat was too close to the one in front of me and I could not get into the optimal position despite being a short and fairly flexible woman. My head was jammed against the seat-back tray and all I could do was scrunch down and pray that if we crash landed I would die instantly so I wouldn't have to live with the broken neck I was sure I was going to get. I sat like that for five or ten minutes, which seemed like hours, before the flight attendants announced that we could sit normally during landing after all. It was a bit of a turn, though, to see a line of fire trucks with flashing lights, lined up to greet us as we landed.
Upon landing at the Indianapolis airport (and exiting normally through the jetway, thankfully, despite what was by now a visible film of smoke near the cabin ceiling), we sat around for an hour while United's mechanics (who are apparently contracted by AW to do their maintenance at this airport) looked at the plane. One of the air recirculation fans had burned out its motor and the insulation had started to burn as well.
Questions about whether or not another aircraft could be sent were deflected by AW agents without a clear answer, as were questions about what the people at BWI were being told, who had come to meet the flight. As it turned out, the people waiting for the plane were getting better information from those of us who had cell phones, then they were from AW's gate agents at BWI. Come again?
Approximately 20 minutes later the captain appeared and stated that the mechanical problem had been dealt with to his satisfaction, and though he had inspected it, believed the plane safe and was willing to continue on to Baltimore, that the flight attendants were not willing to go up as they had been working too many hours and were stressed-out from their experience. Without a crew the plane would not be flying, and he was very sorry but he had to think of them now that the passengers were all safe on the ground. So our plane would not be going anywhere.
By this point it was after 1AM local time, the Indianapolis airport was completely closed. I happened to be hanging around the AW counter at the right time and accidentally ended up the second person in line when they started handing out hotel vouchers, so I was able to get out of there pretty quickly. But some waited until after 2 or even 2:30 to get their vouchers. What I found amazing about this was that even though 200 people had been on the ground for over an hour, no one else showed up from AW to help expedite matters.
We were also given a $5.00 breakfast voucher that would hardly buy a cup of coffee in any hotel dining room.
Passengers on our flight were told that we would be re-ticketed on other carriers by the AW central office, and we could call the 800 reservation number in the morning to find out when we'd be leaving. There was a lot of talk among the passengers that, as long as we were not going anywhere overnight, why not bring in another aircraft, or let us leave in the morning on the same plane? But our plane was going back to Phoenix in the morning and there were no additional aircraft being brought in, nor were there ANY America West flights from Indy to Baltimore. So what we basically had was 200 stranded people.
One couple had enough and got AW to pay for a rental car despite their stated policy against it. They drove to Columbus, OH (a hub for AW) and presumably got on the first Baltimore flight in the morning. I went to the hotel and just decided to check with the 800 number before I slept. I was informed that there was NO WAY that I or anyone else on my flight could be re-ticketed overnight, as the Indy airport was closed and AW could not put me on another carrier "just like that" without calling first. This was, as you'll recall, the complete opposite of what we had been told at the gate. The phone agent strongly suggested that I go over to the AW ticket counter at 5:00AM when it opened. That would be, he said, the soonest I could get another ticket. By this time it was after 2 in the morning.
I couldn't manage to get up until 6AM, but by 6:15 I was in front of the AW ticket counter, along with a hundred or so other people who were trying to check in for a Vegas flight due to leave shortly. I was not about to wait in line with 100 people so I just went in the First Class line and stunned the agents by informing them that I was the first of about 200 ticketless passengers they were going to be seeing, and could they please get me on a flight to Baltimore now? They had been told that the tickets were already taken care of, and with 100 people in line already they were ill-equipped to take on another 200.
To their credit, the agents immediately started calling people trying to get them in NOW instead of when their shifts started...but I also got to witness some unsightly squabbling amongst them due to the poor organization and mis-information they had received from their own company, combined with the growing unrest in the Vegas line.
I was told that there was only ONE non-stop flight from Indy to BWI on any carrier, and it was full. The best they said they could do was put me on a USAirways puddle jumper over to Columbus, then I would have a four hour wait until the next AW flight out of there, finally arriving at BWI a mere 24 hours after starting in Seattle. With all the waiting for planes, this would mean a ten hour travel day. I told the woman I could DRIVE to Baltimore faster than that. Not realizing that I was being sarcastic and exasperated, she replied that of course I was free to do that, but AW would not reimburse me for the rental car nor would they refund the ticket price.
I was also told that I would have to check my irregularly-shaped bag because I would be flying on small planes. I refused to do this, explaining forcefully (combination anger and lack of sleep) that my bag contained a musical instrument, I am a professional musician, and if it were damaged or destroyed that could bankrupt me; it was totally unacceptable to check this item and it had been accommodated easily on the 757--under the seat--it was not my fault the plane broke, and I expected AW to accommodate my bag. She replied that she understood my concern and if I was unwilling to check the bag that I could find my own way home and pay for it myself, stating that AW was only required to get me back to Baltimore and not in any way required to make any accommodation for special luggage.
I was livid but realized that making a further stink was not going to get me anywhere, as the Vegas takeoff time was nearing and they were feeling more and more pressure. So I accepted the ticket, took my bag and decided to see what USAirways had to say about it. They let me strap it into the empty seat next to me, no problem.
In Columbus, I decided to try my luck at the AW ticket counter just on the off-chance there would be a better connection. Here I encountered a lovely woman by the name of Leanne, who bent over backwards trying to get me on every flight she could, calling the other carriers repeatedly. When she could not improve on the ticket I had, she graciously gave me enough meal vouchers so I could eat at the "nice" airport restaurant and get a decent meal. It's a small kindness, but it made a big difference to me. And she maintained a smile and a genuinely pleasant attitude all along, despite the fact that I was tired, hungry and totally exasperated with her airline and could not have been an easy customer to handle.
Even so, I'm not sure I'll ever fly this airline again--it was a lot of aggravation for an only moderately "cheap" ticket to Seattle. I was appalled at the lack of internal communication which left 200 people sitting in Indy with no tickets and improper information. If I were running an airline and I had a full 757's worth of people stranded due to mechanical problems, I would really bust a** overnight and solve the problem for them. It seemed that most of the Indy airport staff either did not know what to do, or just wanted to get us out of their faces. However, the crew of the plane was well prepared and fully professional, my compliments to them.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Tholian
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 2 members
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