I wanted to share with you my recent experience on my flights to/from
Fort Lauderdale so that you are more informed when you travel.
I left for my cruise the day after Thanksgiving. Great time to fly
as it is not crowded at the airports and no hassle. However, when
dealing with the stress of trying to keep yourself occupied on a flight
is another story.
As we all know, airlines try to have you purchase movies on board.
No problem when you don’t bring anything with you purposefully so that
you can watch a movie and now, some Fly-Wi on the aircraft to keep in
touch via social media (Facebook, Pinterest, twitter, etc). I was not
so lucky. On both my flight to and from Fort Lauderdale, FL, I had
neither TV nor Wi-Fi. The airline can “reboot” the system, which the
flight attendant tried twice. However, little did Jet Blue tell anyone
that they decided that this was the time to actually upgrade their
system. Therefore, both were not available.
SOLUTION: Call Jet Blue and let them know what happened. They usually will give you a voucher to use on your next flight.
In addition, when you fly during the winter months, most people bring
very heavy and bulky coats with them. The rule is that when you do
bring the coats you either put them on your chair and not in the
overhead bins so that there is room for everyone’s carry-on luggage.
Moreover, when you picked your seat to sit in, the overhead bin above
that seat is for your personal carry-on luggage. It should not allow
someone else to randomly put their luggage in that spot. As you know,
we have all had instances where people are rude and inconsiderate to
others in both these situations. On my flights, I experienced just
that. People put coats in the overhead compartments leaving no room for
luggage and no choice but to search for another available compartment.
They moved my friends to the BACK of the plane!
SOLUTION:
Not much, however, I have moved other people’s luggage out of my space
where it didn’t belong, complained to the stewardess, and pulled the
person’s jacket out and dropped it in their lap. I spoke to Jet Blue
and that rule about the jackets is correct. However, Jet Blue believes
that the overhead compartment above your seat is for everyone. Doesn’t
make much sense as if your luggage is in the back of the plane how do
you not know someone would not go through it? Make sure you put a lock
on it!!
The last issue I had was on our return flight. A very obese woman
was hacking and coughing profusely at the gate which sounded like she
had severe pneumonia. As she coughed, she started to choke and kept
trying to say “I am choking.” I turned to the Jet Blue Check In Desk
and told the two women that the person was choking and all they said was
“We are on the phone calling for help.” I said, “Are you kidding me?
By the time help comes she could be dead! Don’t you know the Heimlich
maneuver?” They didn’t say anything. Luckily, another individual
traveler waiting for our flight went up and did it and she was ok.
SOLUTION:
Jet Blue needs to train their staff in medical emergency situations.
This woman could have died if it wasn’t for this individual.
Besides the obese woman choking, passengers were worried that she was
going to be on our flight. Everyone was concerned that she was going
to get everyone sick. Luckily for us, she was not on our flight.
However, what are the rules that apply to people being that severely
sick trying to travel?
SOLUTION: I spoke to Jet
Blue about this issue and they stated that it is based on the Surgeon
General's list of what they consider to be generally transmissible
diseases that can be transferred to other passengers while on an
aircraft to be denied boarding. As even stated in their “Contract Of
Carriage” Policy (Section 24 “Rules of Transport”)(F) it states: Persons
with a communicable disease or infection whose condition poses a direct
threat to the health and safety of others…. Can be denied boarding the
plane in addition to the Jet Blue Agent making an informative decision
to deny them boarding privileges. Just the same if the person was
intoxicated or on illegal substances.
Please be mindful of your surroundings. Make sure if you do have an
issue with an airline, always get the agent’s name, document everything
once you board or are waiting so that it is fresh in your mind, and call
me to assist if necessary.
If you would like a copy of Jet Blue’s “Contract of Carriage” please email me at maralohatvl@aol.com
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