I don’t know how often you fly, but it seems that the flying experience is getting worse. In particular I recently flew on Continental Airlines from BHM to OKC. My itinerary put me through Houston.

The story begins in the morning. My flight was scheduled to leave at 11 AM and of course, I got to the airport about 1 1/2 hours early. The man at the ticket counter told me that he didn’t think I would make the connecting flight at Houston. He said he was going to go ahead and book me on the 3:10 flight, just in case. This was the first sign of trouble. I guess the man knew something, since that flight took off an hour late. I wasn’t too worried.

When we arrived in Houston, it was 15 minutes after my scheduled flight took off and the attendant waiting at the gate told me where to go for the 3:10 flight. I called my sister in Oklahoma City and told her that I would be coming in at a later time (the first of many of such calls that night). When I got to the gate at that flight, I thought I better check in to get my seat assignment changed. The lady at the gate said I didn’t have a reservation, but I was third on the stand-by list. Now I have never flown stand-by and didn’t know too much about it. After they boarded everyone, they started calling the stand-by people. They only took two people, and of course, that didn’t include me. I didn’t know what to do. I just sat down and cried.

Finally I rallied and went up to the counter at that gate and asked. She said there was a flight at 5:25 PM that I might can get on. Then they sent me to the information counter down at gate 82, a long way aways! When I got there, they said I was on the stand-by list for the 5:25 PM flight, but there were about six in front of me. Everyone kept telling me it was Spring Break. (It was Wednesday by the way. Who flies on Wednesday for Spring Break?) I asked what if I can’t get on the 5:25 flight. They said there was another flight at 7:30 PM and also at 9 PM. I told them to put me on the stand-by list for all three of those flights, so at least I will up at the front of the list. She said they couldn’t do that, you can only be on one list at a time. I went down to the gate for the 5:25 flight and waited. I did not get on that flight. I went to the 7:30 flight gate and waited. Of course, I didn’t get on that one either. Again, I am in tears. The lady at the gate at the 7:30 PM was extremely nice and assured me I would get on the 9 PM flight. I didn’t have much choice but to go down to that gate and wait. I kept thinking, “what do I do if I don’t get on that flight? Spend the night at the airport there in Houston?” They told me they didn’t have an open seat to go to Oklahoma City until 9 PM the next night (Thursday). Forunately I did get on that last flight at 9 PM. None of this was my fault. I was not late checking in or at the gate. At the end of the day, I did arrive in OKC at 10:30 PM.

I thought all of this was behind me and at least I made it to Oklahoma City, six and a half hours late–with worries that I might not make it at all. So the flight back couldn’t possibly be bad right? Wrong! My flight back to BHM was on Tuesday, April 4th, and my sister took me to the airport on her way to work, which put me there around 8:30 AM. My flight was scheduled to take off at 11 AM. When I checked in, it said there was a problem and to check with the counter person. I did and the lady there said I didn’t have a reservation. I assured her I did and showed her my e-ticket and confirmation number. She got on the telephone and called someone. Then she told me that everything was taken care of. I asked her what the problem was and she said that when you don’t make one of your scheduled flights, the remaining flights are cancelled. I couldn’t believe that. But since she said it was all taken care of, I thought at least I can get home. Just glad I got there really early.

I went straight down to my gate. My flight was scheduled to leave at 11 AM. I sat at the gate until they started calling the rows on the plane. When they called my row, I started to go. The ticket guy told me I wasn’t on that flight, that my boarding pass was for the next flight out at 12:15 PM. I said, no way. He told me to take a seat. By this time, I was really mad and again about in tears. I asked to see the manager. Finally he came and we sat down and he talked with me. He told me that he understood me being upset, but that is the way all airlines do when the scheduled flights are not completed. That’s pretty bad. He was very nice and really let me ‘vent’ on him and guaranteed me that I would make my connecting flight in Houston for Birmingham. And I did. I had about 35 minutes to get from one gate to the other, but thankfully, the gates were close.

I sent an e-mail to Continental Airlines when I returned home. For almost two weeks, I didn’t get a reply. I wrote again and the next day I got an e-mail from them stating:

Thank you for including Continental in your recent travel plans. We appreciate the time you took to let us know about your experience. Although our response is brief, please know that in addition to completing your file your feedback was communicated internally to the appropriate senior management. Given the opportunity to welcome you aboard once again, I am confident you will experience the outstanding service and operational reliability we traditionally provide.

My goal is to retain you as a loyal and satisfied Continental customer. I would like to extend to you as a goodwill gesture an Electronic Travel Certificate (ETC) in the amount of $50 for you to use on a future trip with Continental. The ETC will arrive via a separate email along with the terms and conditions. I’m certain you will find it easy and convenient to use. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to address your concerns and I hope Continental Airlines can serve you in the future for your travel needs.

I guess this is all there is to it. I just have never had such an experience like this before. One person here that I talked with said I should file a small claim suit. When I was waiting at the Houston airport, they came on the loud speaker and said they have overbooked and were offering $200 and to get on the next flight, to someone to give up their seat. And here they are offering me $50 off my next ticket????? Just like to know what someone out there thinks.