Flight From Hell: Passengers Land In Stockton 17 Hours After Taking Off From Las Vegas

[UpInArms]

STOCKTON (CBS13) – For passengers on Allegiant Airlines flight 161, an hour-long flight turned into a 17-hour journey.

“It was absolutely horrible,” said Jade Watts, who was flying from Vegas to Stockton.

The flight was scheduled to arrive at Stockton Metropolitan Airport on Monday night at 9:30 p.m. They got in on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Here’s what happened.

“The pilot comes on and says the control tower is closed,” said Watts.

… snip …

So, the flight headed back to Las Vegas.

“He comes back on again and says there’s a thunderstorm in Vegas and zero visibility,” said Watts.

More at:

https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/07/14/las-vegas-stockton-flight-allegiant/

[FoxNewsSucks]

1. This just further reinforces my decision to drive everywhere.

It was definitely right, and I've never been sorry to have taken the car instead of suffer today's airlines.

[USALiberal]

3. Lol, well one incidence does not scare me from flying! Nt

[FoxNewsSucks]

6. It's not just one incidence.

Aside from the hassle of airports, being packed in like sardines, and the bag fees and restrictions, this kind of thing happens often.

I realize that they can't control weather. But I have had so many flight delays, cancellations and missed connections that were not weather related. And they do little or nothing to help. It used to be that they would provide a room, put you on the next flight, and provide meals. I was always very nice and thankful to the airline employee, because that ensured I'd get the most help. Unlike the a-holes who yelled at them for things they couldn't control.

But I realized that even though I only flew a handful of times a year, I was having mild to severe delays and disruptions almost half the time. I couldn't imagine having to put up with that if I were a regular traveler who flew frequently.

The last time I flew, I went to San Diego with a connection in Phoenix. When we got to San Diego, which we could see out the window, it was announced that due to wind they were turning around and going back to Phoenix, where we landed at 8 pm. There wasn't an employee to be found. In fact at the terminal we arrived, I saw the employees run for the door and leave. We were given an 800# which turned out be some travel agency that would book a room at an airport hotel. I went down the hall and found an employee at a different terminal who got me on a flight the next morning, and got me on the next hotel shuttle. That was good, because there was only one employee at the hotel checking everyone in. When I got there it took 30 minutes to get up to the front desk and by that time the line had increased fourfold. The airline was of no help and paid for nothing. I also still had to pay for the room at my destination because it was several hours after arrival time before I could call which was too late to cancel.

The airlines have a lot of good employees, but their policies and customer service suck.

[lindysalsagal]

10. I have found it incredibly frustrating that there are no staff to be found at airports.

When I have a quirky question, and I need a human to figure it out, there's no one on duty. Sometimes I can't even figure out where the airline's reporting desk will be. they all sell off each other's flights under each other's names. I'm looking at Delta signs and AA signs, and there's not a human anywhere.

It's unforgivable that you were re-routed and then they didn't staff the desk.

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. I'd much rather drive.

You get to see where you’re going.

And I have seen some things at airports. Not nice things.

[USALiberal]

5. Much more risk of dying by driving!! Nt

[wryter2000]

11. Works for Las Vegas to Stockton

Not so good for Oakland to Hartford or even Oakland to Phoenix.

I do take the train when I can. It takes longer, but it's fun.

[lagomorph777]

13. I used to think of air travel as a bus in the sky.

Now, it's a whole lot worse.

No air travel for me anymore. Too many hassles and discomforts and scary people.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. Agreed!

I traveled quite a lot for work. (Around 600 round trips, much of it international.)
After just a couple years I thought of flying as a 600mph bus ride.
Admittedly, the vast majority of my international travel was business class, so I wasn't jammed into a middle seat.
And I got several upgrades because of frequency.
Still just a 600mph bus trip.

[Dial H For Hero]

18. Given that I frequently fly international, that's not an option for me.

That having been said, I'm looking forward to my flights to Phuket, Thailand in a couple of weeks. I'll be flying in the Qatar Airlines "Q-Suite" for almost the entire trip. I've never flown that particular hard product, and I'm glad I was able to book it with points.

[Initech]

20. Oh man I so want to fly in a suite like that.

Looks nicer than a lot of hotel rooms I've stayed in!

[Dial H For Hero]

21. It's been rated the best business class product in the sky.

15 1/2 hours from Atlanta to Doha, 6 1/2 from Doha to Phuket.

[FoxNewsSucks]

23. Now that would be a good flight

That must be incredibly expensive

[Dial H For Hero]

24. $8,333 one way if you pay cash. My cost: $504 and 90,000 American Express points.

$504 in carrier surcharges and taxes is actually rather high for an international award flight. They usually cost me less than $100 (plus all the points, of course), but my flight options into Thailand are limited right now, and given the points I have right now, this was the only way I could swing it (while still flying business class).

[FoxNewsSucks]

25. Definitely worth it

I'm actually surprise the cash price isn't higher, if I remember right, I heard that tickets on the Concorde were $12k

[Dial H For Hero]

26. Quite so. I'm just glad my points hobby lets me fly in premium cabins every time I go overseas.

As for the price of a ticket on the Concorde, that was over 20 years ago. And while it had good food, the seat wasn't that great compared to today's international first and business class products.



Here's ANA's "The Suite", their new first class product (I'll be flying it in November):



I'll take that in a heartbeat over the Concorde, even if it is only half as fast.

[Klaralven]

2. Not that unusual

I was on a flight from DEN to EWR that left at 4 pm MT and arrived 4:30 am ET the next morning. Boarded in DEN, electronic failure at the gate, waited in the gate area for several hours until another aircraft became available (pissing off a lot of people who wanted to go to Texas), boarded again, diverted to PHL due to weather at EWR, waited in the boarding area in PHL (investigated getting a rental car, but all were closed for the night), boarded again for flight to EWR.

Also had a late pm flight from Dulles to EWR cancelled, eventually rebooked on the last flight of the night, boarded, taxied, lightning on the runway caused plane to return to holding area, waited, crew time on duty expired, returned to terminal and deplaned, taxied to Union Station, went home on Amtrak.

[wryter2000]

12. I have given up flying anywhere out of Florida

There's always a storm somewhere that cancels my flight out of Florida. One time, I ended up sitting in the Orlando Airport for 8 hours, and I was lucky. Lots of people were being told to come back the next day.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Same Here!

12:45 flight from NOLA to Chicago.
Downpours from a tropical depression shut down flights, in & out.
At around 5:30, our plane gets in from Denver. Airline decided to take it for the LA flight.
Downpours pick up again. Our plane got to NOLA from D.C. at just before 1am, but crew is done.
We left at 3am, got to Chicago at 4:45am, got to my car to 5. I got to my office at 6:20am.
Thing is, as I was heading east on I-10 back to the airport I drove by I-55. That was 11am.
It would have taken much less than 18 hours to drive back!
Had I known, I would have kept the rental car & driven home.

[lark]

7. The only flight safety issue I have is with the passengers these days.

Don't want to fly anywhere now with Covid spiking in FL and no business here can refuse service based on vaccination status. GA is close by, but even less vacinnated than the folks in FL. We are driving to the Keys next month and I hope we end up going to NE in the fall and will drive there too. Maybe by next April things will be better with the pandemic and we can fly again. I won't drive through FL panhandle, AL, MS and LA to get to NO - too many crazy rednecks.

Damn, I really want to go back to NOLA Jazz & Heritage Fest but need to be able to do it safely first.

[lagomorph777]

14. That is definitely the most dangerous part of air travel now.

Well, also the cabin crew can be pretty scary sometimes.

[Hortensis]

8. :) Seems clear to me that choosing to go to Las Vegas

and Stockton in the first place, and in summer no less, was like pinning a note to the passengers' butts inviting fate to kick them.

No offense to those who love either place, of course. It has been a while since I've been.

[DBoon]

9. Stockton to LV driving time is 7hrs 53 minutes

according to Google maps.

Would have save 10 hrs by driving

[lagomorph777]

15. And see the sights, stop for food...

Would have been a hell of a lot more pleasant.

[Initech]

19. OMG! I totally feel for those passengers, I was on a flight like that!

Going from Ontario (CA) to DFW, and DFW got shut down because of a thunderstorm. We sat parked at Abeliene airport for like 8 hours, and no one was allowed off the plane. I missed my connecting flight to Nashville by like 2 hours, it sucked so bad.

[MurrayDelph]

22. For the passengers, it was closer to 21 hours,

once you factor in the time to get to the airport (whether having to wait for the cab or drop off the rental, along with the drive time), the check-in, the waiting at the gate, the boarding process, the taxiing before the flight, the 17 hours they admit to, the exiting process, picking up luggage (if any), and ground transportation home.

If you're lucky, it's a minimum five-hours to get anywhere by air.

20+ years ago, I used to travel between San Jose and Van Nuys. I would typically leave LA on Sunday afternoon, get to San Jose in the evening, teach for a computer company that no longer exists, and come home Friday. We wrapped up noonish on Friday, but if students wanted to come back to play on the computers, I couldn't leave until 4. If i flew, I couldn't book a flight until 6, and wouldn't be home until around 9. If i drove, I would be home around 6 (if everyone left after class was over) or 9 (if they didn't).

Since then, flying has only become less pleasant, so unless there's an ocean involved, I'd rather drive.