My family travelled to Florida last week for vacation. We travelled with Continental from Ft. Lauderdale FL to Scranton, Wilkes-Barre PA on October 18th. Our connecting flight was in Newark. This is where the problem lies. We missed our initial flight out of Ft Lauderdale due to a traffic jam on 95 from Miami to Ft Lauderdale. Our original flight was to leave Ft Lauderale at 1:35, wemade the 2:20pm flight. We arrived in Newark 15 minutes early giving us 30 minutes to catch our connecting flight. We contacted Continental at that time and advised we were in the airport and we would be there for boarding. The agent at the gate stated "No problem, we'll have your boarding passes ready, come straight to the gate." So we ran through the airport and made it there as the other passengers were preparing to board. The agent first printed my nine year old sons boarding pass and put him on the plane, then printed my friend's boarding pass. At that time two passengers showed up as the last ones to be boarded. The agent unseated me and gave the last passenger my seat. She then proceeded to walk away without notifying me that the flight was overbooked and I could not board (mind you, my 9yr old son was already on the plane alone.) When I stopped her from leaving, she stated, "I don't know how you got these reservations in the first place, there are no seats left." She did not advise that it was overbooked at all until I questioned her. At this point I told her that my son was alone on the plane and I needed to get him off. She told me the gates were closed. I regret to say that I acted irrationally and caused quite a scene to get my son off the plane before take off. I apologize for that, I do. However, I could not allow them to let my son fly alone without my consent or his knowledge. Imagine if that plane did take off with me and my son being alone on a plane without his mother and not knowing what was happening. I am still very distraught over this matter. My son is afraid to ever fly again. I can't blame him.
When my friend asked to speak to a manager at the gate a woman presented herself and would not assist us other than stating we had to go to customer service. When I asked her to show us where it was, she refused. After asking another consumer, we found the Customer Service desk where we asked for a manager again. As our scheduled flight was the last one to Scranton/Wilkes Barre, they offered to send us to Harrisburg, Pittsburg, or Allentown and ground transportation would be our responsibility. Then they did offer to put us up in an airport hotel for the night and travel the following afternoon (which I later found out was also full). The end result was we cancelled our flight altogether, received a refund for the portion of the flight we did not take, and 3 $12 food vouchers for the airport. Meanwhile I had to pay $60 to a friend back in PA to drive out and pick us up.
We attempted to track our luggage at the baggage claim desk (Carousel 6) and the agent there told us our luggage made it on the flight to Scranton/Wilkes Barre and she could not retrieve it. She did offer us a toiletry bag. My mother had already arrived at the Scranton/Wilkes Barre airport to pick us up not knowing we did not make the flight, and she advised me that our luggage was not there either. I called the Baggage Information line 1800-335-2247 and was advised that they could not track our bags past the Newark airport. The following day, I called again and was told someone would call me as soon as luggage arrived in Newark. Two of the three bags arrived in Scranton/Wilkes Barre and noone ever contacted me. The third bag, I was told was to arrive on the next flight. It did not. I did not receive my luggage until Tuesday October 21st. Noone from the airline or baggage informatione ver called me. I had to call them several times to locate my luggage. They advised me it would be delivered to my home and when it did arrive, out of courtesy, an agent at the Scranton/Wilkes Barre airport contacted me from my luggage tag to ask if I lost a bag. She had no delivery information, no knowledge of my experience.
I must say that while the only people that were slightly compassionate, understanding, or even helpful were the agents at the Scranton/Wilkes Barre airport and the agents I spoke to on the phone at Baggage Information and 1800 WE CARE.
I am not satisfied with the way we were treated at the Newark airport. It caused much distress for me and my son, a huge inconvenience to my family and friends that helped provide transportation and in addition I had to make two separate trips to the Scranton/Wilkes Barre airport for my luggage and pay $60 to get home from the Newark Airport. Although we did receive refund for the flight we did not take and food vouchers for the airport, I do not feel satisfied with our compensation. I have flown many times, without any problems, and I have also missed flights, lost luggage, and gone through similar situations, but never was any of it handled so poorly as it was out of the Newark airport. I can assure you that my story will be heard all over. I have filed complaints with Continental and will continue to spread my story with all who care to listen. The customer service, organization, and operation of the Newark airport is a disgrace. The facility leaves much to be desired and the majority of the employees I dealt with spoke broken English.
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