Worse trip we ever had with Alaska

[geist1223]

We returned from Cabo yesterday. When I Booked the trips months ago I deliberately selected a return flight that had us leaving Cabo in the AM. A few weeks ago we got an email from Alaska informing that they had had to change our return trip and we would not be leaving Cabo until 4:45 pm. We were not happy because we would not be getting back until the middle of the night. We assumed (wrongly) that they were cutting flights because of reduced customer load.

When we were checking-in with Alaska we discovered there had been an AM Flight and it had had empty seats. We were upset. This was the start of a bad time. As the afternoon progressed our Flight status changed to delayed but no new departure time. I enentually talked to the Alaska Gate Representative at Gate 4. He was no help except to tell me that the flight departure time was now 6pm. I explained that would not work because we would have less than an hour to clear Customs and change Terminals at LAX. The Agent's response was do not worry Alaska will provide a Hotel and Meals if we missed our Flight. I explained that would not work because on Thursday we were scheduled for our 2nd Moderna Shot and it could not be rescheduled. He did not care.

Our Gate was changed to 13. When we arrived at Gate 13 that Alaska Gate Representative (different Alaska Gate Agent) was helping another couple. When they were done we approached her with our problem and why we had to get back that night. She immediately understood. She got on the telephone to Gate 14 and had the Seattle flight held for 5 minutes. In that 5 minutes she had our bags tracked down and switched to the Seattle Flight and changed our Booking changed from SJD - LAX - PDX to SJD - SEA - PDX. We made it to our House in Salem at 1am.

We got our 2nd Moderna Jab today. If Alaska could clone that 2nd Gate Agent they could return to their former greatness.

Lesson learned if you get an email from Alaska or other airline changing your flight call and find out why and try to get it changed back.

The Flight we were suppose to be on did not leave Cabo until almost 6:30pm. We would not have been able to get our 2nd Moderna Jab.

 

[Janann]

Lesson learned if you get an email from Alaska or other airline changing your flight call and find out why and try to get it changed back.

Southwest recently changed both of my flights in May from non-stop to one out-of-the way stop. I was able to get both flights back to a schedule that was very similar to what I had initially booked. I even got a $52 credit for one of the tickets because the price had gone down from when I first booked it! It definitely pays to ask for alternatives when flights get swapped or re-routed prior to departure.

I'm glad it eventually worked out for you.

 

[davidvel]

We returned from Cabo yesterday. When I Booked the trips months ago I deliberately selected a return flight that had us leaving Cabo in the AM. A few weeks ago we got an email from Alaska informing that they had had to change our return trip and we would not be leaving Cabo until 4:45 pm. We were not happy because we would not be getting back until the middle of the night. We assumed (wrongly) that they were cutting flights because of reduced customer load.

When we were checking-in with Alaska we discovered there had been an AM Flight and it had had empty seats. We were upset. This was the start of a bad time. As the afternoon progressed our Flight status changed to delayed but no new departure time. I enentually talked to the Alaska Gate Representative at Gate 4. He was no help except to tell me that the flight departure time was now 6pm. I explained that would not work because we would have less than an hour to clear Customs and change Terminals at LAX. The Agent's response was do not worry Alaska will provide a Hotel and Meals if we missed our Flight. I explained that would not work because on Thursday we were scheduled for our 2nd Moderna Shot and it could not be rescheduled. He did not care.

Our Gate was changed to 13. When we arrived at Gate 13 that Alaska Gate Representative (different Alaska Gate Agent) was helping another couple. When they were done we approached her with our problem and why we had to get back that night. She immediately understood. She got on the telephone to Gate 14 and had the Seattle flight held for 5 minutes. In that 5 minutes she had our bags tracked down and switched to the Seattle Flight and changed our Booking changed from SJD - LAX - PDX to SJD - SEA - PDX. We made it to our House in Salem at 1am.

We got our 2nd Moderna Jab today. If Alaska could clone that 2nd Gate Agent they could return to their former greatness.

Lesson learned if you get an email from Alaska or other airline changing your flight call and find out why and try to get it changed back.

The Flight we were suppose to be on did not leave Cabo until almost 6:30pm. We would not have been able to get our 2nd Moderna Jab.

You have to be proactive. Assuming things rarely helps, and usually only gives you excuses.

You should always check for other flights and have the airline change you on the best flight schedule for you.

 

[easyrider]

On the night before our flight to Cabo we received a text from Alaska Air explaining our 5 am flight was canceled. I called and they said it was due to weather. It was perfect weather here and in Seattle. The forecast was good all week. Since Alaska canceled my first flight they also canceled our seats to Cabo. They put us back on our flight to Cabo and we drove to Seattle to catch it. No sleep at all that night.

Our family that lives near Portland had a similar text as Geist. They were re-routed with a stop in LAX with a 4 hour layover. When they arrived to the airport they found their original flight was still available and they were able to take it non-stop to Portland. They arrived to the airport 5 hours early to catch the re-route. We actually hung out with them for 90 minutes.

Bill

 

[Ken555]

This type of change, and similar quality of service, for years. TUG must have hundreds of threads on this issue. It’s nothing new.

I’ve had time critical events and the airline doesn’t care, nor do I assume they would. You got extremely lucky to find a rep who was able to assist...and yet you still complain. Sure, this shouldn’t have happened and obviously something happened with the reservation to switch you from the morning flight. Glad you worked it out but not really sure I would cast Alaska is such a negative light.


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[easyrider]

not really sure I would cast Alaska is such a negative light

Compared to 5 years back, Alaska Airlines really has gone down hill, but they are the only airline in my town, so we use them. In the past Alaska took care of their mistakes with compensations but now it is you get what you get so don't have a fit. All in all, they suck less than the others for the most part.

Bill

 

[Ken555]

Compared to 5 years back, Alaska Airlines really has gone down hill, but they are the only airline in my town, so we use them. In the past Alaska took care of their mistakes with compensations but now it is you get what you get so don't have a fit. All in all, they suck less than the others for the most part.

Bill

You can say that about many industries and companies. Still, is this experience (as reported by the OP) really that different than what we have seen with others in recent years? I don’t know any airline that does exactly what we would desire as customers. I’ve had problems with JetBlue, AA, UAL, Southwest, and more (Iberia, Eurowings, Ryan) and more. I just expect issues and plan for them. I constantly remind myself that as far as the airlines are concerned, we’re just cattle.


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[dougp26364]

We’ve had similar issues with every airline flying the friendly sky’s. It’s why I check our flight status frequently. Airlines are always changing something. Sometimes it’s as little as a flight number. Sometimes a departure time, sometimes equipment.

One things I’ve found is they all seem to have the same algorithm. If a flight time changes by a certain time frame to an EARLIER departure time. This is to prevent those who don’t check from missing their flight. Believe it or not, there’s always a few that do t check their flight status, their email, phi e messages et......

Recently we had an issue with AA.our early morning flight had been changed to an afternoon departure. Worse yet, there was an equipment change and the first leg was on a Barbie dream jet with NO first class service. It’s rare I pay for first class, but this time the cost difference was negligible.

When this happens, the first thing I do is go to the airlines website and see what’s available. I’ll go so far as to walk through the reservation process to make sure what I want is available. In our case, our departure time on our original flight had been moved from 7:00AM to 06:00AM. Our connecting flight was also still there, but it’s flight times departure to an hour later. The computer algorithm auto changed us to a later flight so we wouldn’t miss our flight if we didn’t check (AA never notified us).

Getting back to square one was as easy as calling and asking to be put back on our original flight and our first class seats were reinstated. You have to be on your toes and check frequently/often. All the way up to the day of departure. We once had a delta flight that changed the night before our departure. At 9:00PM, everything was cool. By 07:00AM the day of departure Delta had for reasons unknown separated our seats. I was able to call and get us back together, but if I hadn’t looked, who knows.

Just keep in mind, if you have time to spare, go by air. Arrival/departure times are more or less suggestions anyway.

 

[ilene13]

Whenever an airline changes any of our flight times and I am not happy about it, the first call I make is to the airline. Often prior to your departure for the actual vacation you may be able to fix the problem. You must be proactive and advocate for yourself!!

 

[Talent312]

I agree with those who say not to accept a significant change "lying-down."
Check online for a better routing and at the airport, with a gate agent.

Once, Delta moved our flights up 50 min. from 7am to 6:10am.
They said, "That's not enuff of a change to warrant rebooking."
I whined, "We had to get up at 4am as it was, now 3am, and we're _old_."
They reluctantly rebooked us on a much better flight leaving at 8:30am.
They said, "We'll do it this one time only."

Another time, Delta shortened a layover by 15 min. "We won't make that."
They agreed to change us from a 1-stop to a pricier non-stop for -0-.
.

 

[clifffaith]

Our favorite flight change story was getting a notice the flight would leave five minutes later. We were flying from Aukland to LAX, with a few hour layover in Fiji. I stared at the computer screen wondering why two months in advance they'd send me a five minute notice. Then I realized it was 24 hours, 5 minutes. This was in 2009 and I think SARS was an issue and they limited flights to two or three a week. We were able to book Worldmark Fiji, and take an island tour. Now we can say we've been to Fiji, which otherwise probably would never have happened.

 

[Beachclubmum]

Last fall Alaska eliminated the non-stop SEA to CHS (aka the Boeing special utilized by Boeing employees). Big pain.

 

[DeniseM]

Alaska changes our flights to/from Hawaii almost every time. I always go online immediately to see if I can find an option that I like better. Then I call them, and they graciously make the change, at no fee.

 

[Luanne]

A few years ago we had an issue with an Alaska flight that had been booked through American. American cancelled the flight. But when I called Alaska the flight still existed. They re-booked up on the flight, but we had lost our seat assignment during the interim. Not happy about that.

 

[JudyH]

Alaska and SWA have been changing my flights all winter. I always check, call with my preference, and in the case of SWA make sure my Early Bird changes with me.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Compared to 5 years back, Alaska Airlines really has gone down hill, but.....

All in all, they suck less than the others for the most part.
Bill

What a wonderful line for their next ad campaign -

 

[Snazzylass]

Right now, understand no matter what airline you chose, you fly in unpredictable times.

And, it's laughable - the OP's complaints, especially when it all worked out. Airlines have taken it on the chin. I'm super tired of people complaining about how other people do their jobs right now. The complaints are as if things are normal. They are not. Get real. Show some grace and zip it!

Glad it worked out for you! Good grief. My parents who are in their 80's flew to MX in January for a family wedding. So glad Son2 & his wife were flying with them. There's no way it would have all worked out w/o Son2 being there. So grateful.