There is absolutely nothing worse and more frustrating than dealing with the airlines on the phone or in person for that matter. I just got off the phone with American Airlines who is acting as the lead airline on a split ticket I have with them and US Air to return to New York from Cabo. I want to come back a day early and they say that there is no availability on any single airline leaving Cabo for New York tomorrow all day. However, if I want, I can buy a one way ticket for tomorrow and be able to get on a flight. Now if they were full, how can I buy a ticket for tomorrow when they said they can’t switch my ticket? This is just one reason that besides parking ticket people and tow truck drivers, airline people are the worst to deal with because you simply cannot win.

So basically, now my options are to buy a one way ticket the day before my scheduled flight which will run anywhere from $600-$1500 for coach for a ticket I’ve already paid for and hope that I can get on my overbooked flight after being told by Mexican customs that we should be at the airport 3 hours ahead of the flight because of this problem of overbooking and rescheduling.

My other option is of course to wait for my scheduled flight which will also be overbooked. Now is one day worth $1500, no probably not but when you are calling the airlines and asking for help, their answer is usually “There is absolutely nothing we can do”. It’s never, let me see if there’s anything I can do for you, maybe we can reroute you through so and so city. If I have to hear about any more restrictions and change or cancellation fees I might scream.

The other thing that makes me mad about the airlines is that it really doesn’t matter any more if you have status on a particular airline. With fewer flights and more people flying and it becoming easier and easier to achieve top tier status on airlines, you really get no benefits unless you are on an empty flight-which doesn’t happen anymore because there are less flights. The only other benefit is that you can achieve double miles. However, most of the time when you want to use your miles, those flights are shut out to mileage tickets unless you want to blow all of your miles in one flight with their anytime mileage ticket which is a total shakedown.

I understand that they are trying to make money and sell those seats but the airlines lost something over the past decade and it’s not just because of September 11th and all the restrictions and fees now. They lost the concept of servicing their clients and customers. We have to deal with being squished in those little seats for hours on end, long delays with no explanations, high prices, annoying people sitting next to us and no more food, drinks and pillows on flights. The least these airlines can do is give us a little break and try to treat their customers like they actually do care. Especially those who have been loyal to an airline for a long time. It’s very frustrating and with airlines obviously having a bit of a monopoly over long haul travel, there isn’t much you can do.

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