Clark Howard's Tips

February 21, 2007

There are some things going on in the travel industry that are appalling. First it was JetBlue, and then it was American. Now, USA Today has uncovered a story that is unbelievable.

United had some weather related problems around the Christmas holiday and diverted two planes to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Passengers were told to find a hotel room at their own expense and come back in the morning. When they arrived back at the airport, they watched as the pilots took off without them.

Pilots abandoned the passengers in Wyoming with no food, no money and no explanation.

A Hertz station manager felt so bad about what United had done to its passengers that he organized a caravan of buses to take the people where they needed to go. United has still not apologized. All the company did was reimburse them for their food, shelter and the cost of the bus.

Spokespeople told USA Today that pilots stranded people at the airport because it had passengers waiting at other locations. What? People commenting on the story said they had never heard of a case where passengers were left behind at an airport.

This is inexcusable. The industry is clearly so disconnected from its customers that it simply doesn't care about them. Clark says something needs to be done on Capitol Hill about this. We need a cop on the beat!

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