[JaBlue]

[censored] you, US Airways. [censored] you.

I was scheduled to leave for Richmond, VA on a Friday. Had a return flight scheduled 10 days later on a Monday. Got strep throat on Teusday, was too sick to fly. Rescheduled with an agent for the Monday after the Friday. Now I was scheduled to fly into Norfolk and out of Richmond. Cost $100 + difference between airfare, which was like $3. Arranged on the phone with an agent in Thailand or India or something.

Here it begins.

Going...

Monday: Go to SFO, ready to fly SFO-Charlotte, Charlotte-Norfolk, arrive around 11:00 EST. First flight delayed an hour. No surprise there. When we get into Charlotte I see that the next flight is delayed until 12:15. [censored], my dad's in the middle of a two-hour drive to pick me up. Call him, he resigns to waiting 3 extra hours for me at Norfolk.

Midnight rolls around and they make an announcement that the flight is canceled. Reason? One of the flight attendants has been working too long and cannot continue due to FAA regulations. This is something they should have known and informed us of at 10:00, when the flight was originally delayed. If they had realized this, they could simply find a replacement for the one person that cannot work. At midnight there was no replacement to be found. They say, "normally we would send you (a fullish shuttle plane) to a hotel, but there is some kind of convention and no hotels are available... if you can find a hotel and bring the receipt back we will send you a check in the mail." Meanwhile they had arranged another flight for us at 7:40 the next day.

So they wanted us to wander around Charlotte, 15 min cab ride from the airport, at midnight when we would have to leave the hotel at 6:00 AM anyway. I slept in baggage instead.

Teusday: 7:40AM flight is delayed until 10:50. Ugh. Didn't sleep at all Monday night and now another day's gonna be wasted just catching up. That's 1/7th of my vacation with my Dad.

Returning

Monday: scheduled to fly on American Airlines out of Richmond to San Francisco by way of Richmond-O'Hare, O'hare-SFO. Go to American self-check-in an hour early. 3 people in line. Nobody around. Insert credit card. Itinerary shows. Print boarding ticket. Will not print. See attendant. Oh, no...

"US Airways has 'control' of your ticket and we cannot print it. Go to US Airways agent to print your ticket." On over. 50 mins from flight time. Go there. They can't print my ticket either. Agent helping me calls superiors, slowly works on the problem. Nothing gets accomplished in 20 minutes, 30 minutes from departure time and I'm getting nervous. She asks for my previous flight information. I don't have flight numbers, etc. but say I can look it up, remembering the original departure times etc. US Air only has 5 day's worth of flight data recorded. I can look it up in my email if they have internet. They don't have internet on their computers. WTF? "That's why people bring computers with them." Wow. WOW. [censored] YOU AGENT. I explain the process I went to to change flight info, she looks it up. Then she drops the bomb, "when you rescheduled the flight, you canceled your return trip." Woah. WHAT? Why was I not told this on the phone? You're telling me I paid $100 extra to CANCEL MY RETURN FLIGHT? Now I have to buy a new last-minute ticket to SFO. Now I'm out another $350, and have to hang around the airport for a while again and lose my day in San Francisco.

I start arguing with the agent, saying that everything that has happened has been US Airways's fault. I'm entitled to a free ticket to SFO at least. No dice. This incompetent half-wit's chief argumentation technique consists of replying "no" to any sentence without attempt at assimilation of content. Goes on like this. She thinks I'm angry at her but everything I've said is "US Airways..." She's clearly not going to give me anything. Conservative Richmonders are getting nervous. Condescending eyes are upon me. Argue longer. Lady still won't budge, or explain why, other than "no." "its not US Airways fault."

Can I see your manager?

You're speaking to her.

You've got to be kidding.

I leave, $350 and a center seat on a 6-hour flight later.

Will be calling customer relations, and if I don't get something up and above the money that was wasted, I'm going to small claims, which guarantees to be more of a pain in the ass than it'll be worth. But its the principle. Suggestions for going about this?

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The dumbest thing I did in all of this was not ask the Richmond manager for her name (she wasn't wearing a tag)

US Airways is not getting any of my business. Ever. And I spend thousands on airfare each year. EDF, do not let yourselves be held subject to the mercy of this awful airline.