Deplorable Negligence to a Missed Flight
My message to them Today, we missed our connecting flight from Pudong to JFK due to gross incompetence and negligence from multiple parties throughout the day from your airline staff. My Father and I arrived at Hong Kong airport incredibly early on Sunday morning (roughly 10:00AM) in order to check into our flights to JFK at 3:55pm as early as possible. Since we have a 2 hour 15 minute layover Shanghai, we asked to be seated in the front of the plane so we could ensure we get to the next gate in time. This was communicated to the China Eastern check-in representative in Cantonese, Mandarin and English so we are not sure how this was lost on her. Instead, we were seated towards the end of the plane. On top of the plane staying on the tarmac for an extra hour, being late to arrive at the gate for another half an hour, missing the first shuttle bus (because once again, we were seated in the back of the plane), and the bus stalling for an extra ten minutes, I had to rush from checkpoint to checkpoint with my elderly 72 year old father. Why wasn’t it obvious that this sort of transfer is incredibly taxing for him and that he needed accommodations? As we arrived at the gate, we had a total of two minutes but my father could not catch up in time due to a difficulty hearing and his slow speed. This entire scramble made it worse as my attempt to rush to the gate made me lose him for a solid 10 minutes and obviously missing our flight! And of course, this negligence doesn’t end here. Each person I spoke to directed me to an arbitrary direction in the airport in what to do next. Asking for a refund, booking the next flight, getting our baggage, determining where to stay overnight were all met with same “go that general direction”. On top of being flustered by the staff’s lack of care in all this, they simply showed no sympathy or care. In the two hours of trying to gather our belongings and book our next flight and overnight stay, we wandered the airport without proper instruction what to do and who to speak with. Towards the end, I am told by a supervising staff member (in a quite belittling way) that other people on our flight made the connection but they were clearly in the front of the plane. This could have been avoided if we were seated where we requested but the supervisor was insistent on placing the blame on us. Halfway through speaking with her, she pulls out her personal phone! I am currently writing this message, not back in New York where I should be on route to, but in a bare minimal effort hotel room that is riddled with mosquitoes. The “free” part of this hotel and the rebooked flight does little to resolve the fact that this could have been avoided and not worsened by the negligence I experienced from the staff as a whole. I demand compensation as this service is by far the worst airline experience me and my 72 year old father has ever had