Midwest Airlines: Did They Take Care of Me or Should I Hate Them?

The day after my Easter vacation, I had nightmare trip planned. I was to fly to Nashville, drive two hours for a meeting, drive back, then fly home -- all in one day. This long trip was scheduled to start at 4:30 am and end at 11:45 pm the same night. What a way to come back from vacation, huh?

Well, the first part of the trip went as planned. I made the first flight, drove two hours, had my meeting, and drove back to the Nashville airport. That's when the nightmare began.

It seems that Midwest Airlines had a plane with a flat tire earlier in the day (this is what they told me.) The time it took to repair the tire messed up that plane for the day, throwing off the entire schedule. So when I arrived at 6 pm for my 7:40 pm flight, things were totally screwed up. My flight was now scheduled to leave at 9:45 pm which meant I'd miss my connection. I'd be spending the night in Milwaukee. In the clothes I had worn all day. Nice. Real nice.

Now before I go on (yes, it gets a lot worse), let's review what they could have done to make this situation better. After all, planes do have mechanical troubles and I personally don't want to fly on one that needs repairs, so I'll cut them some slack on the flat tire. What irks me is what they did (or should I say "failed to do?") once the flat tire messed everything up. Here's what they could have done differently:

• They could have called me to tell me of the trouble as soon as they knew of it. They had my number and could have easily contacted me. I could have then made other plans.

• They could have emailed me. If they didn't want to call, how about at least an automated email? They have my email address and I carry a Blackberry, so I would have known about the issue as soon as they sent the message.

• They could have had enough people working the counter to handle the traffic quickly. They had one person handling all the re-booking issues. When I arrived at 6 pm, I was the fifth person in line. By the time I got up to be served, it was 6:45 pm. When I asked her if I could get a flight on another airline, she said she could have done something for me if I had been there before 6:30 pm -- after that time, all the other airlines' flight options were booked or gone. I mentioned (through gritted teeth) that I was there before 6:30 pm -- in plenty of time to get on another flight. She said, "yeah, but I was busy." I was not impressed, as you might imagine. (FYI, I was headed back to Grand Rapids and had lots of options in addition to flying there if they had simply gotten me the information in time. I could fly to either Chicago or Detroit and drive home. But, it was too late for anything.)

• Once the die was cast, they could have made it a bit easier on us. They could have paid for dinner. Did they? No. They could have gotten me into a club of a partner airline so I didn't have to wait for hours in the concourse. I asked if they could do this. No, they couldn't.

The story continues...

So I went to a business services place in the airport and paid $18 for one-hour of internet usage, made some calls, got a BBQ sandwich and chips at the snack bar, then headed to the gate. Then the wait began. Eventually, the plane arrived, we boarded at 10:30 pm and landed in Milwaukee at midnight. They gave us vouchers for a hotel and breakfast the next morning. No, they didn't call the hotel shuttle to be there and pick us up -- we (there were about ten of us in the same situation) had to do that ourselves. So we called, waited some more, then went to the hotel. I got to bed around 1 am. After getting up at 4:30 am in an earlier time zone. The day after my vacation. I was not a happy camper.

I was up at 6 am the next morning and at the airport soon thereafter for my 8:30 am flight to Grand Rapids. I ate my breakfast courtesy of Midwest, then went to the gate. It was not good. All the later flights to Grand Rapids (and flights to many other places) were either delayed or canceled. Why? A big snow storm was moving in to both cities and while it wasn't bad in either of them, it was going to get bad. And it was bad enough now that no one was doing anything.

After a bit of time, all of the other flights to Grand Rapids were canceled and mine was delayed until 11 am (just enough time to let the storm really get there in full force.) I asked if there was a chance that this flight was ever going to take off or if they were going to string us along for hours just to cancel it. Of course, no one at Midwest knew the answer to that as "they" (someone other than the people there) were making the go or no-go decision.

My flight was delayed a couple more times until at 11:30 am when they announce we'd be boarding soon. At 11:35 am they canceled the flight. As you might imagine, I was not impressed.

So, I re-booked on the 6:50 am flight the next day and went back to the hotel where I stayed the previous night. I was able to get some work done in my hotel while 5-6 inches of snow piled up inside, so the day wasn't a total waste. But I was not very comfortable and was, of course, in the same clothes I had left with at 4:30 am the previous day. Yep. It was a blast. ;-)

On the third day of this nightmare, I went to the airport early and was able to get the flight as booked. I arrived home around 8:30 am that day -- exhausted, feeling dirty (I showered each day, but still wore the same clothes), and mentally drained. It was one of the worst trips I've ever been on.

Now certainly it wasn't Midwest's fault about the weather. Maybe I could blame them for how they announced the flight changes and led us on for a few hours, but I'm not sure they could have done much other than had agents who were a bit friendlier (two were while one was not helpful in the least.) So I'll give them a pass on the second day's problem.

That said, if they had handled the flat tire situation correctly in the first place, I would have been home when the big storm hit. So while they didn't cause the events of the second day, their mis-management of day 1 set me up for the events of day two.

So, what did Midwest do to make it right? They gave me one round-trip ticket free for my inconvenience. (They did this the evening we arrived in Milwaukee at midnight.) Was it more than they had to do? Certainly. Obviously, it was better than nothing. Was it more than most airlines would do? Probably. I've never received a free ticket on the few times I've been stranded before. Was it good enough to make me happy? I'm not sure. I'm going to leave that decision to you. Should I be happy with Midwest Airlines for doing the right thing and taking care of its customers or should I be mad at them for putting me through a couple days of agony? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Comments

[shawna]

Seems like they did more than most airlines in terms of compensation for the problems. And their "management" of issues when they arise seems to be the same as all the other airlines I've flown - crappy. That being said - I've had similar problems with American, Delta, and America West. Only America West offered compensation - a $25 voucher, and American was beyond rude when I asked for compensation. So, all in all, I don't think you came out of it too bad. I'd be content :)

[Tom]

Isn't there still a ferry across the lake from Milwaukee to Michigan-ish?

[Jason]

Your expectations are unreasonable. Call you? No, you should have called the airline to determine if your original flight back was departing on time. Any traveler knows to call ahead, to check arrival and departure schedules. Because you fail to say whether you called ahead (like everyone else knows to do), and merely indicate you "arrived" and found out the flight was delayed, it is proper to assume you failed to call ahead. That's your fault. No one else's fault but you, and you alone.

Further, your original travel schedule sounds unreasonable in the extreme. With that much single-day traveling planned, you need to be prepared for interruptions. But you were not prepared.

I can't believe you didn't at least have the forethought to bring one change of clothes with such a tight traveling schedule. Can't blame the airline because you were too lazy to pack a simple carry-on containing just a few basics.

[segfault]

I'm with FMF on this one. Could he have been better prepared? Yes.

Could the airlines make air travel less onerous? Yes, but possibly at an increased cost to the passengers. The current system is like a system where, if I'm a barber, I get to punch you in the face, and then offer you a voucher to obtain a free haircut later. What, you'd rather not be punched in the face at all? Not an option. Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line...

I'm not sure how we can hold airlines accountable without increasing ticket prices.

[Chicky]

What stands out to me about being the biggest problem of your experience is trying to cram the flights and meeting into one day. That being said, I've done the same thing. The comments by Jason above were harsh and lead me to believe he doesn't travel frequently for business. Those of us that do understand that most of the time a flight is cancelled, it isn't until almost departure time (and sometimes after) that you find this out. Also, we as consumers buy the ticket for the flight and associated services. You are right to be upset with Midwest, and in my opinion one ticket alone isn't enough reimbursement for 3 days of agony.

[roye]

When you were waiting in line for a rescheduled flight, you should have called the airline res number. They can usually do the exact same thing the agent can.

[Fare Check]

Some advice: Sometimes on various airlines like Midwest you can probably sign up for alerts about whether or not your flight will be delayed. Plus its always a good idea to check your reservation online 24 hours prior, then 6 hrs prior, and finally 4 hrs prior. If you have a blackberry you can always check an airlines website. This is a very good idea if there is some weather situation going on where you are at, or where you are going to. If there is a weather situation some airlines get overwhelmed because things are always fickle. If a thousand people are calling in, it would be pretty difficult to make one call out, and even more simpler to check online rather then to talk to someone. When checking out the information it appears there are only 3 Midwest Airlines flight a day from Nashville to Milwaukee, being on the very last flight didn't improve the situation the reason being: If they had tried to book you on another airline, it wouldn't have worked, if it was on American Airlines, last flight leaves at 6:25pm, not enough time, US Airways, last flight leaves at 7:05pm, but would have to connect through Philadelphia, United Airlines last flight leaves at 6:34pm, again not enough time, Northwest Airlines, last flight leaves at 6:15pm, again not enough time, Continental Airlines, last flight leaves at 7:20pm, but would have needed to connect through Newark, NJ. Basically this means, and apologetically, you were overwhelmingly SOL, even if they were able to book you on these other flights, you would have needed to be there by about 5pm, and each of those flights would not have been non-stop to Milwaukee. The reason why they probably didn't pay for dinner was because they don't have the agreement with restaurants as they do with hotels and car rental agencies as far as making a reservation. But overall yes, getting a free ticket is a good thing, but always try to push your luck and try to get two.

[plonkee]

It sounds to me like it not actually what they did or didn't do that is the problem but the way that you were treated by the staff.

You give the impression that nobody went out of their way to really help you. Expecting excellent customer service from an airline is reasonable, some of the little things that didn't happen like the hotel shuttle bus could have been done by an employee with only the authority to make phonecalls. In contrast, not having enough staff on is difficult to correct quickly.

At least you got a good post and a free flight out of it.

[FMF]

Wow. There are some interesting comments here. I'll address several of them, but wanted to reiterate a couple of things first:

1. Yes, hindsight is 20/20. As a long-term traveler, I now know what I could have done to make the situation better.

2. The main issue I was asking about was a company's reaction to a problem and how they took care of their customers. remember, the original issue that started this whole ordeal was NOT weather, but a Midwest equipment problem and how they reacted to it. The problem was only made worse on the second day when weather hit (which wouldn't have mattered if I'd been home the first day as planned.)

Here goes a few specific comments:

Tom: Yes, there's still a ferry. But it only runs in the summer months and only in good weather.

Jason: I'd respond to you if I seriously thought you'd been on a plane more than two times in your life.

Farecheck: Just want to clarify that on the first day, there were no weather problems at all.

Plonkee: You cracked me up with that last line. ;-)

[tinyhands]

I did NOT need to read this post 10 hours before getting on a flight from IAH-EWR.

I've gotten delayed (though not as severely as you) and I've sat on the tarmack for hours in a crampy, stinky plane (though not as long as some). Every couple of months there's a story about a horrible incident on a flight (or a complete collapse, like JetBlue) and a few people start talking about a passenger's bill of rights. It never happens though and we continue to get pushed around. Maybe it's time we got organized and pushed back.

[Suze]

It sucks, I'm sorry about it. I'd put it in the very annoyed bucket, though, not the outrage bucket.

Just a response to the poster who says that airlines don't notify you of cancelled flights: Spirit Airlines does notify customers when flights are delayed or cancelled. They have to have a valid phone number for you and the flight has to be interrupted far enough in advance, but they will contact their customers.

[Fare Check]

I should have probably added these news links:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18024688/
http://www.newsnet5.com/slideshow-flash/11586652/index.html

Even though weather didn't affect you're actual flight, it probably hampered efforts as far as them trying to reach you (if they even bothered to do so). I had remembered that there was a winter storm around the 7th, 8th (Easter Sunday), and 9th of April that affected a lot of the areas in the Midwest, and in the Northeast (areas serviced by Midwest, and among other airlines as well).

This may have very well messed up other people's travel plans so I'm not sure why they didn't see it fit to add more workers at the airport. Maybe because it was sunny in Nashville, they weren't aware of everything else going on or they weren't in the loop as far as the weather situation in the rest of the US, (I've had this happen multiple times, example: Christmas Earthquake/Tsunami of 2004 in near Indonesia).

[FMF]

To set the record straight, there was no weather that impacted the first day which was the day that started the whole thing. It was simply a flat tire on a plane that delayed their flights. The Easter storms had passed a couple days earlier and the next week's storms were yet to show up. When they did show up, I was trapped since the Midwest problem left me stranded the night before.

[EA]

I think I've always been called when a flight delay will cause me to miss my connecting flight. I flew Delta in Feb, and they called me when my flight home was delayed. I re-booked (through Atlanta of course, which is very much out of the way) on the phone with the woman who called, all from my hotel room. Got home only a couple hours later than planned. Much as I hate Delta, they have been good about calling with delays/cancellations.

[C, San Diego]

Same experience happened to me December 2007 Christmas Eve out of San Diego to Kansas City Mo. There was an ice storm where the planes where stuck at Milwaukee, WI. to take off for San Diego that morning so un-announced we waited for over an hour in line . I was about 10th in line as I got there very early to beat the crowd, behind me where over 60 people. There was no Midwest representative and a rep from another airline announced the delay and eventually cancellation. The Rep from the other airline said to call customer service to reschedule but the lines where busy until 2:00 the next morning. A customer in line actually took a picture of all of Midwest Customers waiting for over an hour. I made another reservation with South West; they were available and very willing to help on short notice. I was told by customer service/Midwest that I would not get my money back and the hub from KC Mo., to my small town airport would not be refunded and I booked that through Midwest US Air. I was told if I applied for a voucher that I might be issued a refund. Now, looking to rebook this November 2008 with the voucher they have issued me they no longer have service out of San Diego and now only fly out of L.A., I have until December of 2008 to book a flight out of LA for any time in the future (what!). They were the ones that cancelled the flight and the ones that no longer fly out of San Diego but the burden is on me to get to LA to fly their lame Airline to some lame city I would never go to. Yes LA to Hawaii but LA to Milwaukee? I can see this airline is going under by their horrible customer service! I will never fly this airline again, good ridden. I am consulting a lawyer for advice as a consumer.