Thread: Buddy Pass Story

I can't understand why pax refused vouchers for hotel/food..then had paramedics check the 4 yr old for vomiting.

Originally Posted by SKC

I'd blame the employee that gave them the passes and told them it was advisable to travel with all the flights full.

I do too.

I do not get buddy passes anymore, but even when I did, I never gave them out. You just cannot trust anyone. They say they know and understand the rules and what can happen, but you just do not how a person will snap under pressure. Not worth it.

Well the employee that gave them the passes must be fit to be tied …and they just may be too. *wink* I saw this story on the national news
This whole thing illustrates once again why I have my own “You’re Not Flying On My Pass No Matter How Much you Beg, Whine and try to bribe me with the Master Suite at the Cabin” List.

But I do have pass riders. People that have what I call, ‘pass rider temperament’ and that are prepared to purchase a confirmed ticket or catch a bus, train or rent a car if necessary.
Here’s how I prepare my pass riders

First, travelers that have time sensitive trips are eliminated immediately. Those that want passes so they can go on a Hawaiian honeymoon or meet their cruise ship in Civitavecchia are laughed out the door.
For the hearty souls that are left I tell them flexibility, patience and planning is the key and then go into every worst case scenario I can think of.
I tell my D3s to eat before they travel, to arrive early and that they don’t have to call and tell me they made the flight. *wink*
I spell out there’s a fair chance they’ll be bumped, and I make certain they know what to do if they are. I give them a plan A, B C & D, plus alternative routing with hotel info for all plans.
I make clear that they should expect, hurried boarding, packed flights, a middle seat and no food.
I explain non rev gremlins and what they can do to our perfect plans.
I tell them that no matter how well we plan, odds are there will be some kind of a hiccup, and that bad weather, especially in Dallas/East Coast, can add days to their itinerary.
Lastly I tell my D3s they represent me, and I know where they live.

A couple of D3 adventure stories -http://nonrev.net/general-discussion...-d3-style.html


How do you prepare your pass riders?

Wow, if I had been the one to give them a pass I would be pretty angry about now. I almost never give out passes because I can't be sure what will happen and the people who get them don't have the same options to take Plan B/C/D that I do. My daughter-in-law just flew on one of my passes and got stuck coming home. She did not handle it as well as I thought she would and will not get another pass as a result. She didn't do or say anything to the gate agent (even when they bypassed her and gave a seat to someone lower on the list which I noticed as soon as it happened as I was watching to see if she got on) but couldn't handle the pressure. I ended up getting her a ticket with miles when a seat opened up on the last flight of the day.

To actually have people complain to the news about not getting on and getting stuck in the airport would be awful.