By 5:30 a.m., Fran Denicola of Woodbridge, Virginia, was obviously tired, exasperated, and at times still shaking when talking about the problems she had getting her daughter鈥檚 flight home from Florida rebooked.
鈥淚t should have never been this catastrophic, never,鈥� Denicola said after she had just finished talking with a rep from Southwest Airlines at Reagan National Airport.
Denicola鈥檚 15-year-old daughter is in the Tampa area for spring break with some friends. She said her daughter was supposed to fly home Thursday, but when the FAA grounded Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, that meant her flight was canceled.
Both Denicola and her daughter struggled to get any help online or over the phone. She says they both got cut off by the automated system after waiting for two hours to figure out how to rebook.
But it was when Denicola鈥檚 daughter went to the Southwest gate at the airport in Tampa that things got really bad.
鈥淚nstead of them booking her on another near flight,鈥� said Denicola, 鈥渢hey waylaid her all the way til March 21. To come back seven days later 鈥� she鈥檚 only 15 years old.鈥�
A quick look on Southwest鈥檚 website showed a number of flights leaving Tampa for Reagan National Airport on Thursday, and while some were sold out, others were not.
鈥淪even days without being able to book a hotel, because she鈥檚 only 15-years-old and it鈥檚 illegal for a 15-year-old to book a hotel,鈥� vented Denicola.
The good news is that Denicola was able to get some help from Southwest agents stationed at Reagan National and her daughter will be flying home Friday.
鈥淭he nice people here at DCA 鈥� thank God,鈥� said Denicola, who also got a voucher for future tickets in the ordeal.
鈥淏ut the incompetence in Tampa Bay Southwest is reprehensible. There was no reason for anybody to be that incompetent at any counter,” said Denicola.
