Imagine, you are just touching down in Las Vegas with a secret! You have been working on a surprise birthday party for a friends husband for months now, in just a few hours, it will all be real. All the parties will be there, the birthday boy will be surprised and life will be great! Then, you turn on your phone! Within in seconds you start to get texts and voicemails from 10 of the party guest were on a plane whose engine failed during take off....yes, scary moments!
So, being in the know, I jump to my emails to look for information about the flight, its passengers etc. Nothing, nadda, zip. How can that be? An airplane full of people just had an engine go out and there is nothing on the wires about it. Then it hits me, this is Allegiant Air, a vacation carrier, operating a very low cost, low frills service....who was going to pick up that story?
So, as we try to keep the drama from the birthday boy, we sneak into the ladies room at McCarran Airport to try to sort through the "what next?" questions. I found out that they were kept on the plane for quite some time. When finally allowed to deplane, the passengers went to the Allegiant counter for help in rebooking, refunds etc, there was no one there. They LEFT! The passengers were made to call Allegiant and get help! (If you have ever tried to call Allegiant, know that isn't an easy task.)
So, my issue here....1 - In the industry, we hear about a train hitting a cow on the tracks...no one hurt and the train just kept right on going, but don't hear about it when and MD80 loses and engine? 2 - The fear in the voices of the people who heard the boom, who felt the plane lurch and then, prayed until they were back on the ground were left to figure it out on their own. 3 - This is a carrier that I had to take coming home out of Vegas. Was I okay with that?
Bringing it full circle, the rest of the party made it in, although a day later. The birthday boy was surprised, the folks in Vegas let me postpone all the events one night and yes, I flew Allegiant home. Did everything work out? Yes. Was it a blast? HELLO, it was Vegas...yes, it was a blast. Is it scary some of the stuff that happens that no one hears about? Heck yeah!
Will this stop me from traveling? Nope, because as always, we must, Keep Going!
So, being in the know, I jump to my emails to look for information about the flight, its passengers etc. Nothing, nadda, zip. How can that be? An airplane full of people just had an engine go out and there is nothing on the wires about it. Then it hits me, this is Allegiant Air, a vacation carrier, operating a very low cost, low frills service....who was going to pick up that story?
So, as we try to keep the drama from the birthday boy, we sneak into the ladies room at McCarran Airport to try to sort through the "what next?" questions. I found out that they were kept on the plane for quite some time. When finally allowed to deplane, the passengers went to the Allegiant counter for help in rebooking, refunds etc, there was no one there. They LEFT! The passengers were made to call Allegiant and get help! (If you have ever tried to call Allegiant, know that isn't an easy task.)
So, my issue here....1 - In the industry, we hear about a train hitting a cow on the tracks...no one hurt and the train just kept right on going, but don't hear about it when and MD80 loses and engine? 2 - The fear in the voices of the people who heard the boom, who felt the plane lurch and then, prayed until they were back on the ground were left to figure it out on their own. 3 - This is a carrier that I had to take coming home out of Vegas. Was I okay with that?
Bringing it full circle, the rest of the party made it in, although a day later. The birthday boy was surprised, the folks in Vegas let me postpone all the events one night and yes, I flew Allegiant home. Did everything work out? Yes. Was it a blast? HELLO, it was Vegas...yes, it was a blast. Is it scary some of the stuff that happens that no one hears about? Heck yeah!
Will this stop me from traveling? Nope, because as always, we must, Keep Going!
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