Subject: Formal Complaint – Incompetent Service and Denied Boarding on Flight 1409 (CLSVJM – Dear Alaska Airlines Customer Relations, I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding my experience on Flight 1409 departing from Seattle on 6/13/26. As a physician and business owner who frequently coordinates group travel, this was one of the worst airline experiences I have encountered. Upon arrival, I was informed that my check-in boarding pass was not official, despite successfully obtaining it electronically through your website/app with no warnings or indications of issues. My electronic boarding pass was rejected, leading to cancellation/denial of boarding. The gate agent (an older woman) was unhelpful, claimed my name had been announced multiple times (which it had not—she did not even know my name correctly), and mistakenly boarded my traveling companion under my name. Additionally, an older blonde staff member nearly failed to return my passport, highlighting a clear lack of training on your check-in and boarding systems. This chaos forced me onto a later flight while my group waited in Canada, unable to check into our Airbnb or pick up rental cars (as I was the primary booker). The entire incident caused significant business disruption, stress, and additional expenses. I have flown Alaska Airlines previously but will not consider it again without resolution. I request: • Full reimbursement of any additional costs incurred. • Appropriate compensation (vouchers/miles) for the inconvenience and poor service. • Confirmation of corrective actions for Please respond within 7-10 business days. Sincerely, Dr. Chunwen Teng
Never had so many staff members be rude and disrespectful. I had a staff member sarcastically call me “girly” after making me wait 20 minutes to be seen by her. I was able to print my luggage tag and she told me I was too late to check luggage I said the system obviously disagrees. And you had me wait way too long while you asked every single passenger ahead of me about their Disney vacations. She wasted so much time to then say “girly your bag won’t make it on the plane” I’m not her girly I’m a full grown adult. She needs to learn a hell of a lot of respect
The agents were super helpful. I was traveling with my mother inlaw who needed whell chair assisstance. The help and accomodation from the checkin crew, to the boarding crew and inflight crew was excellent.
Completely full flight. Boarding was smooth, but people didn’t listen about use of overhead bins which is typical. We pre-purchased a snack which was tasty. Drinks were good and plentiful. Flight left late because previous flight was delayed.
Eva Airlines attendants were wonderful. I really enjoyed the hot meals. They always greeted me with a warm smile. I'm looking forward to flying back to the USA with them again!
Flight maintenance was on so that flight didn’t go able to fly out to Seattle and Inhad to get another flight,,
3 of the 4 legs of our trip the crews were awesome! 1 leg the trip attendants were rude & dismissive, didn't even greet us when boarding even though both myself & my husband said hello directly to them when we boarded.
Well organized boarding. Cabin crew were efficient and professional. Thoroughly enjoyed the flight.
The first flight was fine, great crew, but the plane was delayed 45 minutes to go to Seattle because of they were missing a ramp. That would make sense if the plane was actually at the gate. Not if we’re still waiting for a plane. After we landed we waited 30-45 minutes on the tarmac just to get off the plane. Alaska made me miss my connecting flight, wasting my time, and my money. I should honestly be reimbursed, but hey, when does the airline ever actually take accountability? Never.
Everyone from the ticket counter to the stewards were so accommodating and helpful
Flight was delayed before take off and at landing. Baggage took 20 minutes. Flight crew would not serve full soft drink and had to ask multiple times before receiving water.
From checking to boarding, it was a seamless experience. The service agents were so helpful. The flight crew was so pleasant.
Gate agent showed up 20 minutes before boarding and was not at all friendly. Had to take this flight due to the one on the day before being cancelled and any later options were already full with long standby lists. Despite having paid for Delta Comfort seats, Delta did not allow me (or anyone) to choose their seat. The agent assigned them for everyone just prior to boarding. Self seat selection was allowed on the original flight. Flight staff was great - very friendly.
Flight attendants were great. Cheerful, upbeat and friendly. Jet, in particular, was fantastic.
I have Precheck. Flew HPN to DEN and return this past weekend. Delta didn't attach my Precheck number to this trip. So it was waiting in general line especially in Denver. Unavailable.
Original flight was delayed, then cancelled and the gate staff did not expedite rebooking. Also, no instructions were given that a ticket number was needed before being called to facilitate rebooking. This could have been much more organized.
Be on time? When not on time a circling for over an hour offer more than 1 bag of chips to the passengers? It was a 7 hour flight by the time we got done.
Five hour delays every hour, I wish it were all at once
Flight delayed four separate times. I’m now one hour hours late to landing.
Checkin was good, fllight ws good. Onlly complaint is lack of foot on 6 hour flight from Seattle to Boston. Snacks were flimsy - chips and cookies. could have offered something more substantial for such a long flight. I know you can buy food in airport but for the price you pay for a ticket, they should step up for the passengers.
Airline tickets are not cheap. You expect reliable competent service. Thanks to canceled flights and botched transfers we arrived at our destination two days late. This is not acceptable
Horrible! Several delays and then was cancelled! I spent over 24 hours in the airport and was unable to get a hotel or food voucher.
The entertainment is a bit limited, it would be better if they added some games to play besides the movies and tv shows. But the seats are comfortable and the crew is polite
This planes staff was top tier. Everything went great and had a great flight home.
Food was great. Staff was phenomenal. Seats were a bit hard and could use a lot more entertainment options as far as movies to choose from. WiFi was good. Overall great trip.
This was an overnight flight, and in the morning they did know coffee service. How you can throw passengers in a San Francisco airport at 5:40 a.m. in the morning and not giving them Coffee is a crime.
Our flight was delayed several Times due to mechanical issues. Although I understand this may happen at times, it was very inconvenient and we had to book a hotel for an overnight stay. We were traveling with my 3-yo grandson and waiting at the airport from noon until 6:30pm with no reassurance that our next rescheduled flight would depart, we had to decide what’s best for him. A day later, I found out that I may be able to demand compensation if my flight is delayed more than 4 hours. I will hav to read the fine print next time.
The pilot had to extend the flight time from san antonio to Houston to burn off fuel. This caused a lot of unnecessary stress since we had a tight connection to Aruba. And with no other flights going to Aruba we were worried about spending a night in Houston. We had to to run to our connection because of the flight crews mistake. Not happy.
Service was professional and quick. Premium economy seat was comfortable given the class
I'm a United 1K member and have ben for 10 years. The gate agent had no control over the boarding process and had us passengers queued for hours as delays were announced. On the plane, the overhead air nozzle was broken so col over was powering through on me and the passenger next to me. Not a great experience for a million miler on United. Feel free to contact me. Josh Smigel - DM426089
Flight was delayed due to connecting passengers. Lack of snack options bad. Sitting in Aisle, last cart run pulled the cart directly into my knee. Rude awakening.
We sat on plane at gate delayed without communication as to why we were just sitting there
Agency very bad had to cancelled my booking too many changes in the flight changed my flight to 1 week
Trash. Sat on the runway for 40 mins…missed connecting flight because of it now I’m stuck. Thanks…a whole fkn lot.
The flight was delayed significantly and we sat on runway after landing for awhile. Best thing was the flight attendant, Jenny, in first class, who was very professional and attentive. She was excellent - the rest of the flight was not.
Awfully rude American worker at door when we started boarding flight. Then, walk into a blazing hot airplane with no air conditioning until twenty minutes into the flight. Free entertainment was non existent! My husband, along with the fellow passenger in our row, and I could not get entertainment to work, no WIFI! Really?? Been flying American a long time. Was very disappointed.
Flight was delayed by 6 hours... the level of incompetence was truly astounding. I won't be flying American Airlines again. I don't care if AA is direct and there is a layover with another airline, I'll take the layover.
Leave on time. We waited on the plane for hour hours and it was hot and smelly
Two hours delay, probably one hour because they didn’t bring catering and they had to bring water in board. There a change of aircraft. But delays galore at CLT so it must be a CLT and/or AA operation issue. The 1 hr additional delays because nobody could bring 2 packs of water sooner is probably the best example of this airline operates
Flight was delayed 5 hours. Initial reason for delay was 'maintenance' - which makes sense. Then, the additional 2 hours continued to say it was maintenance - when I know EWR had a 2 hour delay. AA did not say that. Additionally, when boarding, there was only one agent at the counter for a long time - until another came to help. After boarding, we had to wait another 45 minutes due to 'no catering'. So while we waited for catering, AA continued to board additional passengers - which seemed odd - and raised questions about what really was going on. I sat in First Class. During the flight, the flight crew allowed a significant number of non-First Class passengers to use the front bathroom - which created a very crowded environment in First Class which was uncomfortable. This also delayed First Class passengers from using the bathroom. Overall, horrible experience.
There weren't enough employees at check in took awhile to get bags checked. There wasn't a wheel chair for me, I was sent to someone who turns out to work for a different airline, if My flight hadn't been delayed I probably would have missed my flight as it was, by the time I arrived at my gate, they started boarding in about 15 minutes. I don't know who took me to my gate, definitely was not the normal people who take passengers to the gate. I'm guessing she may have been in a management position. I wish I knew her name, she went beyond to help me. With that said everyone was kind, and were doing the best they could. So, I choose to say it was an Adventure, stressful start, but good. In the end went well. The situation was not only difficult for passengers but the employee's.
The staff at the check in counter was so rude. Made you feel Incompetent
Frontier scheduled a 40 minute connection in DEN. What they failed to mention was that they “close the doors” 20 mins prior to departure, which means you only have 20 mins. Not enough time. Possibly against DOT regulations. Filing complaint.
Flight was scheduled at 9:40pm. Got delayed to 10 am, the next day. crazy
The bag check, flight check-in, and onboard experience convinced my wife and me that we will actively go out of our way to avoid flying Frontier Airlines in the future. At bag check, we were informed that check-in could only be completed via the Frontier mobile app. Unfortunately, the app was extremely frustrating—sending us through repetitive, confusing loops that repeatedly forced us to decline add-on services with nearly every click. While most airline apps upsell, this one felt intentionally exhausting. As the process dragged on, we became genuinely concerned that my phone battery would die before check-in could be completed. We approached the bag check staff—who were standing together talking—and explained both our frustration and our predicament. They laughed. Later, my wife described the interaction as “gaslighting,” which felt accurate. We were then informed it would cost $25 per person simply to have our boarding passes printed. From that point forward, the tone of the experience was consistently hostile. The bag check employees were condescending and combative, behaving more like bullies than customer service staff. Unfortunately, that same attitude continued onboard. One flight attendant argued with me when I attempted to stow my backpack in the overhead bin. I explained that we had each paid $75 to check our bags specifically so we would not need to use carry-on space and could have adequate legroom. She demanded to see my ticket, pointed out that it said “no carry-on”—which I acknowledged—and I reiterated that this was precisely why we paid to check our bags. Her response was, “I don’t make the rules.” She then walked away, but not before asking if I “truly wanted to fly back to Chicago today?”—an unnecessary and unmistakable threat. It is also worth noting that despite booking our tickets together in the same transaction, we were not seated together. Upon our return to Chicago—where we could once again sit together—we compared onboard experiences. We both remarked on how unhappy the flight attendants appeared and how each of us was separately asked whether we would like to purchase a beverage. We declined. At no point was water mentioned as an option, leaving us with the clear impression that even water came at a cost—or that complimentary water, if available at all, was deliberately left unmentioned. Overall, the experience was shocking and deeply disappointing, but it was also a profound learning experience—one we will not forget and will not repeat. -Steve
Plane was hot and miserable and the crew was rude!
12 hour delay required getting on and off plane 3 times - would have at least liked to have been offered a snack or drink
They didn’t offer a water, even after I asked
They switched our terminal 3 times and we were delayed for four plus hours!!!
It was an early flight and most people napped/slept and the crew let us which was nice.
