麻花视频

In the meantime, let鈥檚 consider a near-disaster. I heard about it from Dr. Mick Meyer, a part-time pediatrician who lives in 麻花视频 County. He and his artist wife, Voleta, are both in their 70s. Recently they took a cruise to Alaska.

Many aspects of their journey would fall under the category 鈥減ositive experience.鈥� The Meyers greatly enjoyed the cruise, which took them to exotic destinations such as Skagway and Whittier.

In Ketchikan (pop. 8,200), they posed for a photo above a salmon run in what used to be that city鈥檚 red light district. Another memorable place was Alaska鈥檚 capital city, Juneau (pop. 20,000). From there, they went on a whale-watching excursion.

鈥淭hat was my favorite stop,鈥� Meyer told me. 鈥淲e saw a lot of whales; we watched one baby whale for 20-30 minutes.鈥� (A guide on the excursion explained the calf was waiting for its mother while she fed from the ocean bottom.)

But one aspect of the trip was distinctly unfavorable, in multiple ways. That鈥檚 why you鈥檙e reading about it now. It was their United Airlines flight out of 麻花视频-Blacksburg Airport.

Smartly, the couple flew the day before the cruise departed, rather than the day of departure. Flying the latter is chancy to say the least, as the Thompson family of 麻花视频 learned in summer 2023.

Because the Meyers are no longer spry twenty-somethings, and because Voleta has some age-related disabilities, they booked more comfortable (and pricier) business-class seats on United Airlines. The total cost of those tickets was more than $5,000.

They departed 麻花视频 on a regional jet at 5:35 p.m. June 24. The airliner was supposed to land at Chicago鈥檚 O鈥橦are International Airport at 6:40 p.m., where they would catch a 7:35 p.m. United flight to Vancouver.

But the weather didn鈥檛 cooperate that evening. Storms forced detours on the Chicago-bound aircraft; the flight ended up landing at O鈥橦are more than three hours after it departed the Star City.

That included an 鈥渦nscheduled landing鈥� in Dayton, Ohio 鈥� for more fuel. Apparently, there was a possibility the plane would not make it otherwise.

鈥淭he steward on board said (the unscheduled refueling stop) had never happened to him before,鈥� Meyer told me. He added he was unsure how many years鈥� experience the guy had.

Meyer said he鈥檚 never experienced an unscheduled refueling stop either. Neither have I. I鈥檝e been flying commercially since 1975, but I鈥檓 no frequent flyer.

Anyway, they landed in Chicago about 9 p.m., Meyer said. And although their connecting flight to Vancouver departed an hour late, they still missed it.

Meyer told me he was under the impression that an airline is obligated to rebook waylaid passengers under such circumstances, even if those passengers have to be flown on another airline. I believed that as well. But according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, no such rule exists.

the agency notes on its website.

United tried to find two tickets on a United flight to Vancouver. But it couldn鈥檛 find any seats that would get the Meyers there before their ship left the next day. So United gave them coupons for a motel room and meals and told them they were on their own.

Meyer was able to buy some one-way economy-class tickets on Delta Airlines. Purchased last-minute, they cost about $800 each. With those, the Meyers could change planes and connect to Vancouver through Minneapolis-St. Paul.

They wanted to get their luggage back from United 鈥� so Meyer waited hours at an O鈥橦are luggage carousel for the suitcases.

Voleta went ahead to the motel. But initially, personnel there refused to give her a room because the United motel voucher bore only her husband鈥檚 name. After she created a scene, the motel relented, Meyer said.

He arrived there with their suitcases after midnight. Then they caught a few hours sleep until their Delta flight the next morning.

Ultimately, they made it to Vancouver and the Coral Princess about noon on departure day, Meyer said. The ship left Vancouver about 2 p.m. 鈥� so they had two hours to spare.

The final stop was Whittier, Alaska. From there, the passengers shuttled to Anchorage; the Meyers used their United return tickets to fly home. And afterward, he applied for a refund and filed a customer complaint.

鈥淭o me, the most egregious thing is, they had to make an unscheduled refueling stop,鈥� Meyer told me. 鈥淭he plane should have enough fuel to fly from 麻花视频 to Chicago.鈥�

Hard to disagree with that sentiment, eh?

United refunded the Meyers $650 each, or $1,300 total, for the United flight to Vancouver they missed through no fault of their own. But their late-purchased Delta economy tickets cost $800 each. And that means that, aside from the travel inconvenience, the couple鈥檚 out $300. Meyer believes the airline should reimburse him.

I contacted United about the refueling stop and the $300. Soon, I heard from Erin Jankowski, a United spokeswoman. She noted that United has roughly 4,500 flights per day. She also told me unscheduled refueling stops aren鈥檛 at all uncommon. They鈥檙e more common in the summer.

鈥淚n severe weather conditions, flights may need to make an additional stop to refuel. This helps ensure the aircraft has enough fuel to safely navigate situations such as potential reroutes, holding patterns at the destination station or stronger headwinds en route,鈥� Jankowksi said.

Regarding the $300 the couple is out-of-pocket, Jankowski said United鈥檚 Customer Care department is currently considering their complaint.

Stay tuned.