Comments on: Bumping games: how American redefined ‘denied boarding’

By: Unenceinfunse

Unenceinfunse — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:08:58 +0000

I found this funny video site with 2 original video’s up here are the teaser

” How to ruin somebodies wedding in 10 easy steeps”

” 10 Things you don’t want to do on your first date”

Check it out link is in my signature.

By: Nav

Nav — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:27:20 +0000

Okay, here’s a new spin. I arrived 45 minutes prior to departure, and NorthWest did not let me check in!
I beleive they had overbooked, and simply denied boarding to the last to check in. Two solutions – 1) always check in the prior night, and 2) DONT FLY NORTHWEST
Nav

By: 2008 August 27 » Upgrade: Travel Better

2008 August 27 » Upgrade: Travel Better — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:41:28 +0000

[...] bonus: There are reports of airlines redefining what denied boarding actually is, so they don’t have to pay out. Shabby attempt at legal [...]

By: Dave E

Dave E — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:14:36 +0000

This might explain it. See (b).

§ 250.6 Exceptions to eligibility for denied boarding compensation.

A passenger denied boarding involuntarily from an oversold flight shall not be eligible for denied boarding compensation if:

(a) The passenger does not comply fully with the carrier’s contract of carriage or tariff provisions regarding ticketing, reconfirmation, check-in, and acceptability for transportation;

(b) The flight for which the passenger holds confirmed reserved space is unable to accommodate that passenger because of substitution of equipment of lesser capacity when required by operational or safety reasons;

By: moosa

moosa — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:25:34 +0000

Message: i have booked a flight from muscat to zurich on 16th of june 2008 and obtained chengun visa multi entry but when i arrived to the boarding desk at muscat airport i have been told that i will not be allowed to travell to swizertland since i am omani citizen therefore i went home back, but at the next day i contacted swiss embassy at muscat which they clarify the issue with swiss airline then i travelled the next day. now i have been hurt by the swiss air and many commiments have been cancelled. this issue impacted my feeling and emotion between my society also physically i am not alright negatively therefore i should be compensated by the swiss airline because of this problem. at this time i am prepairing my all documents and evidence to submit it to the court at my country. this is for youre kind information and then the company reply that i could be compensated for about three hundred dollars. what do you think
Language: EN

By: Amy Alkon

Amy Alkon — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:01:20 +0000

Don’t be afraid to go to Small Claims Court. It’s not hard, it’s an interesting experience, and you just need to read everything closely and do your homework. Make sure you bring a copy of your statement for both the judge and the other party.

FYI, I just sued a telemarketer, GFK automotive, in Santa Monica Small Claims Court. They even sent their New York counsel. And guess what: I won. And I’m a syndicated advice columnist, not a lawyer.

P.S. Joe, just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the story about the lien on the plane.

Oh, and one more thing: companies doing business in a particular state will need to have what’s called an “agent for service of process.” You can probably serve them in your state and they have to come to court there (the law is the “International Shoe Case” — yes, I really do my homework). That said, I’m not the lawyer, Joe is…so doublecheck whether this works in your case. If it does, with this kind of service (to an “agent for service of process”), you just do it registered mail and it should get there just fine. I think it costs $15 to serve them that way. And you should be able to find out who their agent is on your secretary of state’s website.

Don’t let big companies victimize you! If they’re big and in the wrong, go after them. It’s the right thing to do, and it may keep them from victimizing others in the future.

By: bestncvacations.com » Blog Archive » If you have nothing good to say about U.S. travel, come sit by me

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:29:48 +0000

[...] check in online, print my own boarding pass and try to arrive early, so you airline jerks can’t involuntarily bump me because you overbooked flights that you knew would be [...]

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:49:04 +0000

I agree with posters CS, W Lee and Meredith. Most residents are overworked and have little to no control over their schedules. Even though they may be legally held to an 80-hour work week, many work over 80 hours “under the table” for lack of a better term. And at $40-$45k a year salary, it makes for little disposable income to purchase plane tickets with.

And when it comes down to it, the reason for travel is not important here. It is apparent that AA wronged Dr. Singh, and I commend him for standing up to them. More people should stand up to large companies who count on their customers not fighting back (whether they’re airlines, insurance companies, etc.). These large companies count on people just rolling over. From personal experience I know that even just sending a letter on legal letterhead usually scares companies straight.

Though I fly rather frequently, I have never had much occasion to fly on AA; and after hearing horror stories like Dr. Singh’s and that AA is starting to charge $15 for a first checked bag, I’ll avoid them whenever possible. Too bad United is also on my s*** list (for several instances of changed tickets with no notice whatsoever). Anyone know of any half-way decent airlines???

By: Meredith

Meredith — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:20:29 +0000

Stop trying to blame the passenger here! It’s not relevant where he was going to, or why, or whether he should have booked a day before. Whether he was going to Aunt Minnie’s funeral or on vacation, what’s important is that he was depending on AA to fulfill their end of the deal and they dropped him while he was in line to get where he needed to go. And didn’t take care of him and didn’t pay compensation. And that’s just inexcuseable.

“Due to the weather the flight was overbooked”? This is the lamest excuse possible and makes little sense – and it would be very interesting to hear it explained in small claims court. If, for example, AA had a delayed or cancelled flight due to weather they’d wouldn’t just be bumping one or two passengers downstream.

The Dr. should ask his local Small Claims Court legal advisor how to subpeona AA’s cancellation/delay records for that day if he wants to test that excuse. They’ve opened the door in the letter, he should have no trouble with the court. He might even be able to subpeona Operations Officers, Customer Relations Officers, the CFO, and the CEO to explain themselves and their policies. I’m willing to bet that rather than comply with all that he’ll get a settlement check from AA.

By: W Lee

W Lee — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:10:38 +0000

For those who say Dr. Singh “planned” incorectly, you obviously have no idea what a resident must go through. Their schedule is one that is NOT flexible. Should he have flown in the night before? Perhaps, but how do you know he wasn’t on call the night before?

Saying it’s “his” fault is arrogant and ignorant. Bottom line, he was there with plenty of time, he checked in 12hrs early, whether it was a FF ticket or not is irrelevant. AA issued a contract that is expected to be honored, and it was not for no apparant reason.

Take them to small claims court, if they don’t show up, lien their planes so they can’t fly.