Complaint Review: USAirways - Phoenix Arizona

On or about 21 July 2014 I was on a flight scheduled to leave Fort Lauderdale for Charlotte North Carolina with my 1 year old son. Charlotte airport closed and we were delayed and I was changed first to the earlier Charlotte flight to make my connection to New York LaGuardia. Minutes later they bumped me again and sent me to the Philadelphia flight. 

The flight was to give me a connection that would get me to my destination 15 minutes later than scheduled. I had now been at the airport since 9 in the morning. We boarded and to my shock USAirways policy is to NOT give any preferential treatment to people travelling with infants or children. This was to the outrage of many passengers and in fact one ground staff woman came forward and defied the gate attendant and pulled me forward and boarded me and when the woman taking the tickets complained she defiantly said, SHE IS BOARDING. They let me on and I had to collapse and fold my son's stroller and take him out of his car seat. 

We pulled out of the gate after about 45 minutes of delays and nothing said by captain MOXIE CONNOR. After sitting on the tarmac for more than an hour Moxie Connor, the captain finally announced there were now local storms preventing us from taking off. We remained seated. About two more hours passed at which point I had let my son, who was restless walk back and forth by my seat. Please keep in mind unlike European carriers US carriers do not give child safety belts for lap infants anyway but nevertheless Scott Clapper, who had already been moody and rude to other passengers during the walk through, scolded me publicly asking "THE WOMAN WITH THE CHILD TO PLEASE GET HIM OUT OF THE AISLE AS WE ARE IN ACTIVE TAXI MODE" (the engines were off). Two minutes later the captain Moxie Connor, allowed everyone out of their seats at which time we got ONE OF ONLY TWO services of water given to us. 

I spoke to Sarah Finkle who I told I thought thatr Scott Clapper was very rude and she concurred with me at the time. Initially she was quite nice and I had no issues with her. Weather is, after all, not in their control but being polite and understanding is. 

Almost everyone on the flight was missing connections as most USAirways business from Fort Lauderdale is based on connections. It was very frustrating and little to no information was given to us but for that they were aware of the situation. 

After taking off at about 3-4pm if I recall correctly, hours after leaving the gate, we finally got one service for what they admitted was an extra long flight due to the need to take a different flight route to avoid storms. At one point I asked if I could get up and change my son despite the fasten seat belt sign being on and was given permission. I still had no issue with Sarah Finkle of USAirways. 

Scott Clapper came through the cabin, not offering service, but returning a cart to the back and he was repeating "watch your hands, watch your hands" when he slammed into my sons sleeping head and just kept going saying, "I TOLD YOU TO WATCH OUT". 

Sarah Finkle later came around and I asked, hours after my travel was supposed to be completed, if they had any cold milk or child appropriate foods as my son had eaten most of his snacks and was due a meal and also I was weaning him from breastfeeding and other than hand expressing my own milk into a bottle in plain sight of everyone or in the toilets while holding him I needed milk. SHE SCREAMED AT ME THAT I SHOULD KNOW THEY DID NOT HAVE MILK AND HAD NOT HAD IT FOR 16 YEARS (I had told her, which is true, that I had worked for USAirways in the past, I just did not tell her it was indirectlyt for the publisher of their in-flight magazine and thus she made assumptions I was possibly a flight attendant). I got agitated and replied that I DID NOT KNOW THAT, HOW WOULD I AND THAT MANY AIRLINES HAD MILK FOR PEOPLE WHO WANTED TEA OR COFFEE WITH REAL MILK. She took offence at my answering her back and said, in front of witnesses whose names I took and cards I took, 'I AM CALLING THE AUTHORITIES'

Now having been on THOUSANDS of flights my whole life I knew that when the air staff say that they have the power to get three bodies involved, 1 is police, though this would not be a police matter, the second is DISPUTE RESOLUTION (this they do usually to screw with you and prevent you from making a connection) and the third is airport security. 

I warned all around me to be my witness should anyone come on the plane when we landed. Nobody did. 

I exited the plane though and found two Dispute Resolution staff waiting for me and a male and female staff member were there and they asked me some questions in front of everyone exiting and I told them I expected this and had witnesses and had already intended to file a complaint due to what had happened on board and they, after hearing my story, seemed to be embarrassed and actually tried to explain, as I was irate, that I should file a complaint at LaGuardia and they actually helped me to my connection, which was also late. In the course of this they announced that one of the two attendants, Sarah Finkle or Scott Clapper, had accused me of grabbing them during an argument, I NEVER TOUCHED A SOUL WITH A ONE YEAR OLD ON MY LAP. I made my delayed flight and at 11pm landed in LaGuardia, HOURS after my scheduled landing and I had a very nice flight attendant named Katie who had the pilot call ahead and get supervisors to meet me so I could file my report. I explained I would be suing and that I also refused to take USAirways back, told my story, which the Dispute Resolution had also annotated and the Supervisor was so appalled she broke protocol rebooked me on a Delta flight for my return and she gave me a print out of the staff names so I could identift them. 

I do wish to say that OMBRETTA BIANCHI who was working first class was extremely nice. I spoke to her in Italian and explained what was going on and she brought me food for my son from first class and expressed her sympathy. 

USAirways thus far has not been cooperative and have offered NO compensation nor have they taken any measures, to my knowledge, to discipline the two offending personnel. I have a lawyer and will be pursuing this if this is not taken care of and this includes pursuing libel charges and assault charges against the two staff members Sarah Finkle and Scott Clapper who ought to be fired. 

Weather is out of everyone's control but if you are that miserable that you cannot do your job without an attitude many Americans would love to have your job.