direct
i had the chance to hear a conversation with an employee of southwest airlines and the family in line ahead of me this week. the family was upset because they had bought a ticket from nashville to norfolk and thought that it was direct. the guy from southwest said that it was direct. the only problem was that for passengers getting on the plane to go to norfolk they first had to go with the rest of us to baltimore. the family said, "sir it is not direct". southwest said, "sir, it is direct but not nonstop". i listened and thought that it sounds like the same thing. after the argument finished i boarded the plane and headed for baltimore. i felt bad for the family of four who bought direct flights to norfolk. i actually heard southwest say that passengers going to tampa had to go to baltimore then norfolk, then tampa. how can that be a direct flight? it sounds like a deceptive way to sell tickets to me.
am i the only one who is confused about this? i decided to find out what the dictionary said about the word direct. here is what i found.
direct–adjective
14. proceeding in a straight line or by the shortest course; straight; undeviating; not oblique: a direct route.
15. proceeding in an unbroken line of descent; lineal rather than collateral: a direct descendant.
direct means exactly what i thought it meant. i guess the airlines have invented a new meaning that only serves to deceive passengers.
if i am going directly home from work i am not going to go the opposite direction and stop at wal-mart, drop off a passenger, wait for them in the parking lot as they shop, then go home. if i want to take a direct trip to the bathroom i am not going to go to the mailbox first. if i wanted to go to tampa on a direct flight i shouldnt have to go to baltimore then norfolk first. THATS NOT DIRECT. how stupid are these people?
for all of you frequent travelers who know about direct flights maybe you can share your insight. when i tell my travel agent to book me a direct flight to somewhere i expect to go there without other places first. my travel agent understands this. i think that anyone with an i.q. of 50 or more would believe that a direct flight is direct. i just hate seeing people taken advantage of. i hope that this is a warning to all travelers who buy tickets on southwest airlines.
i need some comments now
am i the only one who is confused about this? i decided to find out what the dictionary said about the word direct. here is what i found.
direct–adjective
14. proceeding in a straight line or by the shortest course; straight; undeviating; not oblique: a direct route.
15. proceeding in an unbroken line of descent; lineal rather than collateral: a direct descendant.
direct means exactly what i thought it meant. i guess the airlines have invented a new meaning that only serves to deceive passengers.
if i am going directly home from work i am not going to go the opposite direction and stop at wal-mart, drop off a passenger, wait for them in the parking lot as they shop, then go home. if i want to take a direct trip to the bathroom i am not going to go to the mailbox first. if i wanted to go to tampa on a direct flight i shouldnt have to go to baltimore then norfolk first. THATS NOT DIRECT. how stupid are these people?
for all of you frequent travelers who know about direct flights maybe you can share your insight. when i tell my travel agent to book me a direct flight to somewhere i expect to go there without other places first. my travel agent understands this. i think that anyone with an i.q. of 50 or more would believe that a direct flight is direct. i just hate seeing people taken advantage of. i hope that this is a warning to all travelers who buy tickets on southwest airlines.
i need some comments now
posted by Life with Brock Gill at 10:37 PM
8 Comments:
The big question that I have is why they did not look at the amount of time from departure until arrival. That is a great way to tell if there is a stop. Also, I look to see if it is "nonstop" instead of "direct", because in the airline industry they have very different meanings.
I bet they still got to their destination by the scheduled time or at least close to it.
And it was probably still faster than driving ;-)
Rhonda
Rhonda seems like a definite glass half full kind of girl. I am too, but HELLO! I would still be HIGHLY irritated, esp. if traveling with my 3 (almost 4) toddlers. Believe me, you want to be in airports and airplanes the LEAST amount of time possible. I would not have personally looked at the amount of time...I would've mistakenly trusted the airlines to be truthful in their terminology. Sad that I would've been wrong in doing that. Thank you for ratting on them...I will be well aware of their deceptive words in booking tickets from here on out.
Here's my experience....
I once took a direct/non-stop flight from Frankfurt Germany to Atlanta Georgia. I think the carrier was Delta. On my direct/non-stop flight I had the fortune of seeing Newfoundland while sitting inside the plane for one hour; then I had the pleasure of clearing customs at Washington Dulles with a small baby, tons of luggage, and my cat. We then loaded everything and everyone back onto the same plane to continue our direct/non-stop flight to Atlanta. I think we were around 2 hours late for arrival. I can understand the frustration felt by the family you told us about.
Teresa
glad to know this. Brian was just looking at Southwest's website. they have been advertising very cheap flights. hmmmm! don't know how good the advertisement sounds now that i know they're so deceptive!
thx!
southwest is actually a good airline overall. they all are deceptive. just be careful. they have a different language.
southwest usually has great rates on tix. that is an airline i fly often.
all air travel is tricky
well, i don't fly often, but if i buy a ticket to a direct destiny. i expect the plain is going to go directly to the destiny. Like you say. I will not get upset because i have 1 stop. But is because i don't care if i arrive at 3 or 5 in the destiny. But there's people who have a full agenda and need the fastest fly to the destiny.
It is really people that is taking advantage of. Bad people
slap on the hand
I prefer to fly nonstop when I can. I never heard of an airline representing direct as nonstop. That would be deceptive.
nonstop = no stops between where you leave from and where you're going.
direct - means you don't have to get off the plane until you arrive at your destination. However, you will make stops.
Interesting.
Post a Comment
<< Home