The Honorable Ray LaHood
Secretary
Department of Transportation
Dear Mr. Secretary:
We write to express our serious concerns about the recent actions of Spirit Airlines and its CEO Ben Baldanza in connection to claims and promises he and his airline have made to passengers leading up to, during and after the current pilot strike. As you are aware, the strike has caused widespread stranding and dislocation of passengers. On June 9th, just before Sprit Airlines pilots walked off the job, Spirit spokeswoman Missy Pinson told The Associated Press that the carrier was “partnering with other air carrier providers to continue to serve our customers.” The airline has also stated it would provide a $100 voucher in addition to free passage home. So far these claims have proven to be false.
We have direct information from passengers across the nation and in international locations that their tickets issued by Spirit are without value on other airlines. Furthermore we have been informed that Spirit is depriving passengers of information on how they will care for them. One mother called us to say that her daughter and a friend are stranded in Aruba. The family was assured before the trip that Spirit would not strand the girls, but they have now told them to buy their own tickets, and they will be reimbursed later. Or, they can come back in a week for a booking on Spirit. The girls’ credit cards and cell phones do not work in Aruba, and they have no cash even for food. Spirit officials in Aruba confirmed that Spirit has no agreements with any other airline. This is just one example of the dislocation and distress that Spirit’s actions and unfulfilled promises are causing.
We are also troubled by statements and actions taken by Spirit leading up to the strike. The airline was also engaged in active sales of airline tickets leading up to strike, despite the fact that it knew or should have known a disruption in service was imminent. We believe that these actions, coupled with the other false statements, the mistreatment of passengers, the withholding of vital information and broken promises constitute a global fraud upon the flying public. As such, we call upon you to use the full power of your Department to investigate this incident and once you have determined all the facts, apply the strongest sanctions available to make passengers whole while punishing Spirit for its unethical behavior.
Sincerely,
Kate Hanni
Monday, June 14, 2010
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9 comments:
I also have an 18 year old daughter stranded in St. Thomas. SpiritAir knew there was a potential emergency with their pilots and made no effort to partner with other carriers to minimize circumstances passengers are now experiencing. It will cost me a fortune to get my daughter back to DC, however, the flights are not available therefore we are attempting to route her back through multiple cities. She has been abandoned by SpiritAir for two days. The employees are not even showing up to work at St. Thomas because they have no information or alternatives for passengers. This is a disgrace and passengers should sue. Any attorneys want a class action?
I also have an 18 year old daughter stranded in St. Thomas. SpiritAir knew there was a potential emergency with their pilots and made no effort to partner with other carriers to minimize circumstances passengers are now experiencing. It will cost me a fortune to get my daughter back to DC, however, the flights are not available therefore we are attempting to route her back through multiple cities. She has been abandoned by SpiritAir for two days. The employees are not even showing up to work at St. Thomas because they have no information or alternatives for passengers. This is a disgrace and passengers should sue. Any attorneys want a class action?
Spirit airlines has done NOTHING to help stranded passengers in light of the pilot strike. I am extremely upset and agitated, as I was affected by this. When I called them, they said it was an "Inconvenience." This is NOT an inconvenience, this is a PROBLEM that has no solution at all. We flew to Chicago and were left stranded. After calling all day, and waiting for an hour one the phone (we also got hung up on), Spirit could only offer us a refund of $139 for 3 people to try to get back to our destination. No one can get 3 airline tickets back home for $139! We also will get a $100 voucher for another future Spirit flight (wonder if that one will actually take off). It was like talking to a brick wall that kept giving us the answer of "I'm sorry you're inconvenienced but..."
They even said they didn't have any other way to get us on a different carrier or any other solution to try to help us. We have had to dig into our own pockets with money we do not have, not only for flights, but for a hotel and having to rent a car to drive back to North Carolina! That's not even counting the lost wages that we will have from having to miss work because of this mess. We also had a young child on vacation with us, his mother and father were still in NC. So, we had no option but to drive to NC to get him back to his parents. This was the worst dealing of a flight situation that I've ever seen! They don't seem to realize that they have a MAJOR PROBLEM on their hands with no solution for stranded customers (not just a mere inconvenience.) And shame on the other airlines for not jumping in to help stranded customers. It seems as if they are trying to capitalize on our misfortune. They could've made loyal customers for life, instead they decided to charge $250 for one-way flight a person. And shame on Spirit airlines for not taking care of their corporate problems before it arrived at the hands of the customers. Now we are left to fend for ourselves. This was an EXPENSIVE INCONVENIENCE that Spirit should pay for- since it's their fault this happened in the first place! Thank you flyersrights.org for sending letters in our defense. This is totally ridiculous!
Spirit airlines has done NOTHING to help stranded passengers in light of the pilot strike. I am extremely upset and agitated, as I was affected by this. When I called them, they said it was an "Inconvenience." This is NOT an inconvenience, this is a PROBLEM that has no solution at all. We flew to Chicago and were left stranded. After calling all day, and waiting for an hour one the phone (we also got hung up on), Spirit could only offer us a refund of $139 for 3 people to try to get back to our destination. No one can get 3 airline tickets back home for $139! We also will get a $100 voucher for another future Spirit flight (wonder if that one will actually take off). It was like talking to a brick wall that kept giving us the answer of "I'm sorry you're inconvenienced but..."
They even said they didn't have any other way to get us on a different carrier or any other solution to try to help us. We have had to dig into our own pockets with money we do not have, not only for flights, but for a hotel and having to rent a car to drive back to North Carolina! That's not even counting the lost wages that we will have from having to miss work because of this mess. We also had a young child on vacation with us, his mother and father were still in NC. So, we had no option but to drive to NC to get him back to his parents. This was the worst dealing of a flight situation that I've ever seen! They don't seem to realize that they have a MAJOR PROBLEM on their hands with no solution for stranded customers (not just a mere inconvenience.) And shame on the other airlines for not jumping in to help stranded customers. It seems as if they are trying to capitalize on our misfortune. They could've made loyal customers for life, instead they decided to charge $250 for one-way flight a person. And shame on Spirit airlines for not taking care of their corporate problems before it arrived at the hands of the customers. Now we are left to fend for ourselves. This was an EXPENSIVE INCONVENIENCE that Spirit should pay for- since it's their fault this happened in the first place.
Spirit airlines has done NOTHING to help stranded passengers in light of the pilot strike. I am extremely upset and agitated, as I was affected by this. When I called them, they said it was an "Inconvenience." This is NOT an inconvenience, this is a PROBLEM that has no solution at all. We flew to Chicago and were left stranded. After calling all day, and waiting for an hour one the phone (we also got hung up on), Spirit could only offer us a refund of $139 for 3 people to try to get back to our destination. No one can get 3 airline tickets back home for $139! We also will get a $100 voucher for another future Spirit flight (wonder if that one will actually take off). It was like talking to a brick wall that kept giving us the answer of "I'm sorry you're inconvenienced but..."
They even said they didn't have any other way to get us on a different carrier or any other solution to try to help us. We have had to dig into our own pockets with money we do not have, not only for flights, but for a hotel and having to rent a car to drive back to North Carolina! That's not even counting the lost wages that we will have from having to miss work because of this mess. We also had a young child on vacation with us, his mother and father were still in NC. So, we had no option but to drive to NC to get him back to his parents. This was the worst dealing of a flight situation that I've ever seen! They don't seem to realize that they have a MAJOR PROBLEM on their hands with no solution for stranded customers (not just a mere inconvenience.) And shame on the other airlines for not jumping in to help stranded customers. It seems as if they are trying to capitalize on our misfortune. They could've made loyal customers for life, instead they decided to charge $250 for one-way flight a person. And shame on Spirit airlines for not taking care of their corporate problems before it arrived at the hands of the customers. Now we are left to fend for ourselves. This was an EXPENSIVE INCONVENIENCE that Spirit should pay for- since it's their fault this happened in the first place.
Spirit airlines has done NOTHING to help stranded passengers in light of the pilot strike. I am extremely upset and agitated, as I was affected by this. When I called them, they said it was an "Inconvenience." This is NOT an inconvenience, this is a PROBLEM that has no solution at all. We flew to Chicago and were left stranded. After calling all day, and waiting for an hour one the phone (we also got hung up on), Spirit could only offer us a refund of $139 for 3 people to try to get back to our destination. No one can get 3 airline tickets back home for $139! We also will get a $100 voucher for another future Spirit flight (wonder if that one will actually take off). It was like talking to a brick wall that kept giving us the answer of "I'm sorry you're inconvenienced but..."
They even said they didn't have any other way to get us on a different carrier or any other solution to try to help us. We have had to dig into our own pockets with money we do not have, not only for flights, but for a hotel and having to rent a car to drive back to North Carolina! That's not even counting the lost wages that we will have from having to miss work because of this mess. We also had a young child on vacation with us, his mother and father were still in NC. So, we had no option but to drive to NC to get him back to his parents. This was the worst dealing of a flight situation that I've ever seen! They don't seem to realize that they have a MAJOR PROBLEM on their hands with no solution for stranded customers (not just a mere inconvenience.) And shame on the other airlines for not jumping in to help stranded customers. It seems as if they are trying to capitalize on our misfortune. They could've made loyal customers for life, instead they decided to charge $250 for one-way flight a person. And shame on Spirit airlines for not taking care of their corporate problems before it arrived at the hands of the customers. Now we are left to fend for ourselves. This was an EXPENSIVE INCONVENIENCE that Spirit should pay for- since it's their fault this happened in the first place.
Spirit airlines has done NOTHING to help stranded passengers in light of the pilot strike. I am extremely upset and agitated, as I was affected by this. When I called them, they said it was an "Inconvenience." This is NOT an inconvenience, this is a PROBLEM that has no solution at all. We flew to Chicago and were left stranded. After calling all day, and waiting for an hour one the phone (we also got hung up on), Spirit could only offer us a refund of $139 for 3 people to try to get back to our destination. No one can get 3 airline tickets back home for $139! We also will get a $100 voucher for another future Spirit flight (wonder if that one will actually take off). It was like talking to a brick wall that kept giving us the answer of "I'm sorry you're inconvenienced but..."
They even said they didn't have any other way to get us on a different carrier or any other solution to try to help us. We have had to dig into our own pockets with money we do not have, not only for flights, but for a hotel and having to rent a car to drive back to North Carolina! That's not even counting the lost wages that we will have from having to miss work because of this mess. We also had a young child on vacation with us, his mother and father were still in NC. So, we had no option but to drive to NC to get him back to his parents. This was the worst dealing of a flight situation that I've ever seen! They don't seem to realize that they have a MAJOR PROBLEM on their hands with no solution for stranded customers (not just a mere inconvenience.) And shame on the other airlines for not jumping in to help stranded customers. It seems as if they are trying to capitalize on our misfortune. They could've made loyal customers for life, instead they decided to charge $250 for one-way flight a person. And shame on Spirit airlines for not taking care of their corporate problems before it arrived at the hands of the customers. Now we are left to fend for ourselves. This was an EXPENSIVE INCONVENIENCE that Spirit should pay for- since it's their fault this happened in the first place.
I have reservations for the 26th of June and I am very worried about my vacation. I tried calling and got a busy signal. When I finally go trhough I was told that they are only talking to customers whose flights have been cancelled. While I understand this, I feel that I am left in the dark with no option to cancel and book on another airline.
What type of service do you expect for the fare you paid? Other airlines now that people vote their feet based solely on the fare, so don't expect them to bail you as a traveler out by matching the Spirit Airlines lowball fare. Sorry, but that's the risk you take.
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