Very unprofessional!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

To whom this may concern:
I am writing this in regards to my missed flight connection from Istanbul to LHR London on December 20, 2009. I was scheduled to board flight 1979 at 0825 Hrs from the Istanbul Airport, when it was reported that the flight was to be delayed for twenty minutes. Please note: The reason for the delay was never disclosed to any of the passengers there. On or about 0850 Hrs, we were called to board the aircraft. Instead of the aircraft leaving the runway, it sat at a standstill for approximately 45 minutes and again, there was never any explanation of the reason. The aircraft was scheduled to arrive at the LHR London Airport at 1025 Hrs, and I was to make another connection to Boston, USA at 1215 Hrs via American Airlines, flight 109.  When the aircraft got near the airport, the pilot announced over the PA system that there would be 10 minute delay in landing at the airport. Then when the aircraft landed, there was another delay of the passengers getting off the plane. I ran and got into the customs line and slowly passed through the security. While I was in the line of customs, I heard over the PA system that my flight to Boston was boarding the aircraft. I ran all the way to the American Airlines gate, and when I approached it, they had the doors locked. I banged on the doors and begged them to please let me in, that I must catch that flight to Boston. A female that came to the door, told me I was too late and I had to go to the American Airlines ticket area and reschedule the next flight. When I arrived at the ticket area, I noticed extremely long lines had started to form at the American Airlines ticket counter. I shortly found out that the JFK Airport had been closed due to snow, and American Airlines were trying to get the passengers that had arrived on American Airlines, and were connecting back with them, onto another flight to another USA destination. We were asked to form two separate lines. One line was for those that missed their connections to Chicago and Boston and needed to be rebooked. The other line was for those who were flying to JFK and the flight was cancelled. I got into the missed connection flight line, which had gotten long and was at a stand still pace. I had been in the line for approximately 2 hours, when a female called out for those who had missed their connections to Chicago and Boston to come to this particular line, and she was going to attempt to get them on the next flight. When it came my time to speak to the female, she advised me she had a flight leaving out for Boston in a little over four hours. I asked her to please place me on that flight. She then asked me why I missed my connection to American Airlines and I told her I was flying from Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. Their flight was delayed and by the time I went through customs and ran to the American Airlines, the gates had been closed and I was routed to go back to American Airlines to rebook. She told me it was not American Airlines fault that I had missed my connection that it was Turkish Airlines, and I would have to go to the Turkish Airlines counter and have them rebook me. I pleaded with the female to please go ahead and book me for the next flight. I reminded her that I had been standing in the line for almost 2 hours and please don’t have me to get out of this line when she can handle this for me. She told me she was sorry, but she could not help me, but tell the Turkish Airlines about the next flight to Boston and they can book me. I got out of the line that I had waited so long in, and went to the Turkish Airlines and spoke with a young male at the desk. I, once again, explained to him the entire story from the beginning to the end. He looked on the computer for a lengthy period of time, and then told me that he had no flights going out until Tuesday 22nd. I told the male that was impossible, the female for American Airlines was going to put me on the next flight to Boston. He advised me that he looked and there was nothing going out until Tuesday and if I wanted to go and have the female come over there and speak with him, then he would look into it further, but he could see nothing. I got out of the Turkish Airlines line and once again went back to the American Airlines female. I told her what the Turkish Airlines male had told me, and she said she would not leave her desk and go over there, stating that the male didn’t want to take any responsibility for the flight. She said there are flights going out and he can look on the computer and see that.  She would offer no further help to me here. I went back to the Turkish Airlines and again spoke to the male and told him what the female had said. He advised me that American Airlines were booking for American Airlines, and they had booked all the flights by rerouting those that was cancelled to JFK to Boston, and left Turkish Airlines with no flights to pull from. He told me there were no flights anywhere to the United States, on any carrier, until Tuesday. He told me Turkish Airlines would put me up in a hotel until Tuesday morning. I told him, I had no money on me but $20.00 U.S Dollars and no luggage, only my carry on luggage. He stated Turkish Airlines would provide the meals for me. He told me to go back  to the American Airlines line and have them call to the American Airlines luggage area having them to pull my luggage, and for me to go and get it. I said “Sir” can’t you do that? The lines are very long, and I don’t want to get back into those long lines. He stated to me, that American Airlines would have to do it. I got out of the line, and returned back into the, very long, American Airlines line that was being used for missed connections. I stayed in the line for over one hour, before I was able to speak with an American Airlines agent. When I told her what the male at the Turkish Airlines asked me to do, she became upset and told me, “Let him do it” that is his job and he only wants to put his job on someone else. She said she has no idea as to why she needs to call, what to say or what number to be calling to ask for my luggage. She refused to offer me any further assistance, and I again went back to the Turkish Airlines. When I told the male what the female had said, he picked up the phone and called the American Airlines luggage area and asked them to pull my luggage. Please note: By this time, many hours had passed by and I had been unfairly shuffled from one airline to another. I was the innocent victim here. I had done nothing wrong to cause this. It was the Turkish Airlines that was late and caused me to miss my connect flight. While I was in the line at one point speaking to the young male at the Turkish Airlines, I heard over the PA system that the plane for Boston was now boarding, and it was the time that the female from American Airlines was going to book me. I don’t know what the problem was or is, but there was and is a horrible communication between the two airlines, and I feel I was badly treated here between the two. However, I also believe the male for Turkish Airlines could have resolved many of the problems without having me to get out of the Turkish Airlines line and continually getting back into the, extremely, long lines of the American Airlines. Example with the luggage. When I told him American Airlines refused to call for him, he simply picked up the phone and called them himself. This was totally not called for. Such a lack of professionalism. After it became apparent this flight was going no where and I was headed to a hotel for two days, I went on my way in an attempt to gather my luggage, retrieve my bus ticket and hotel preparations. After I waited in the extremely long line to exit customs to gather my luggage, I was told “They didn’t know where my luggage was at, and it could be anywhere. I left the airport through an area I was not familiar with, and headed into an area that I was not sure where I was going. With no gloves or hat, snow on the ground, and the wind blowing hard, I stumbled about to find a bus that would take me to the hotel, that would be my home for the next couple of nights. It was bad enough that I had to be put through the entire mess that I had to go through, but it was even worse that Turkish Airlines cared so little about me, that they placed me in a 2 star hotel, with a broken heating system, nasty walls, stained up carpet, no wash cloths to bathe and cold food to eat. My bed consisted of 6 metal squared studs with a piece of particle board for my mattress, and a pillow top to sleep on. I do think I deserved a decent bed to rest on. I ask that whoever reads this letter will imagine what it would be like to have to sleep on a board with a pillow top. When I asked them about wash cloths to clean with, I was told by the housekeeper supervisor, that the hotels with 2 stars or below don’t furnish wash cloths. The only thing that I had to wash my body with was by my hands. Can you imagine doing that? When I went to the counter and explained to the desk clerk that my luggage was lost, and could they provide me with a toothbrush and toothpaste, I was  told that Turkish Airlines should had provided that for me. After much pleading, I gave them $3.00 for a toothbrush and tiny tube of toothpaste the size of my small fingernail. Such a shame and disgrace. On the bus, there were other passengers from other airlines that had been put up in hotels, and they were being dropped off at much nicer hotels. I would be ashamed and embarrassed to know that I worked for an airline that treated it passengers with such low dignity. It really says a lot about your airlines, that I promise you I won’t let this rest. I will place my reviews for Turkish Airlines so everyone that reads it, will know just in the manner that I was treated by this company, and I will urge no one to fly with Turkish Airlines. Shame on your company for treating people as if they are the ones that committed the crime here.

Cynthia S. Yesilyurt