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
My flight was several times rescheduled and then finally canceled.
The flight itself was great. But we had to wait over an hour to deplane so I missed my train. Not the crews fault. They were wonderful!
Flying into PAE was so easy because it’s baggage claim is quick and accesible. I had a car rental and the counter is inside the baggage claim area, very convenient.
It was a very short flight so there really wasn’t any entertainment my. The little pretzels were good though and the cabin crew was awesome.
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.
Over all it was great. My original flight was canceled but they quickly rebooked me. I was frustrated because I had to cancel my entire plans for the day but all considered, not bad. The crew tried to keep us calm while we sat in the plane for was felt was an hour or so but they could use a bit of a script. The seats were comfortable and I would give it another try.
Flight delayed Didn’t send second leg of trip itemerary First class was fair, but not great.
Short trip, was nice to have a drink on the short flight still.
Flight was delayed, full flight and I had to change gates. Southwest flights are always late later in the day.
Was fine, delayed and feels like southwest is always late
The entire experience from boarding to landing was amazing! The crew were very friendly. Will definitely be back.
Delayed flight, lack of information, boarding process is a mess as is the carryon luggage causing issues when leaving the plane….just a poor experience.
Comfortable. Easy. No problems. Just wish they had gf options for snacks.
The crew was very kind and made going to Hawaii relaxing and fun to look forward to! Thank you Southwest for a pleasant flight!
Terrible. Even though there’s assigned seating now, they are still the slowest boarding airline of anyone.
It was good from LAX to Phoenix, But the connection in Phoenix to Tulsa was not that great. The staff on both flights were great. The choice of free entertainment was ok nothing to brag about. The 45 min delay because of some electrical issue wasn't great from Phoenix to Tulsa. We sat there with hardly any air, The seat I had was between windows so the side of the plane pushed in on you. My being a bigger man it then made the seating area uncomfortable. The seats on the plane had no power to connect to recharge your phone or anything. I would recommend that they should look into a slot or clamp to hold your phone to enjoy while watching the entertainment choices hands-free. Also make it possible to raise the inner seat by the window be able to raise the arm rest up to make more room for larger people to set more comfortably. I would also say other then that stop price gouging the airfare or nickel and diming everything. Not fair for people having to fly for emergencies and be paying for higher prices due to the season or holidays. Your making your money either way and the cost of flying is still going to be the same regardless if there's 100 people or 200 people.
Southwest was greaat! The most expensive but the least upsetting for those we were flying to see.
Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable
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.
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.
Long story short, it was one of the better flight experiences I've had in some time when compared with other airlines.
While they turned off most cabin lights to allow people to sleep, I was bothered by how bright the side lights still were. It was still quite bright for me in a window seat, when I wish I could have slept!
Generally on time departures and arrivals, clean planes, sky miles membership provides great benefits (complimentary upgrades, etc).
N Everything was perfect from boarding to assistance to baggage in Tampa
Loved the crew! Sucks that we went from 1 hour and 8 minute layover to a 3 hour layover. But weather sucks like that.
Fast, lovely scenery, great info on the Delta flight screen about landmarks we were flying over. Great landing!
Long flight but comfortable and not freezing as I have experienced on Hawaiian flights to the islands. They gave us blankets just in case. Nice touch.
Fabulous if you have a portable wheelchair. They can store it in the galley and you can just walk out with it. Really nice and the flat seats are just incredible, very nice. iPads for movies, also pretty nice,
No charging outlets worked. Other than collecting trash attendants didn’t come around. No one could hear flight attendants announcements during the flight. Seat pads were horrible. Sitting on a board for 5 hours. What happened to Hawaiian airlines comfort, hospitality, and extras? Our pilots did an excellent job trying to minimize turbulence and incredible job in landing in windy conditions.
I like that if they asked you to checked in a bag at the gate they give you priority to board
I received several emails about my 3:10 flight. When I showed up to the airport at 12:30 to check my bags I was told the flight was actually at 1 pm. They grudgingly rebooked me for a flight at 5:22 to Vegas to get a connecting to LAX. I did find the gate for my original 3:10 flight but they were booked. I proceeded to receive status updates and gate change information for the 3:10 flight, even though I was apparently never supposed to be on that flight
The food options were limited and very specific. Some type of entertainment option for a 4.5 hour flight would have been nice.
The Kayak confirmation number did not work for checking in the day before. I checked in at 8.30 using my ticket number. When I arrived at the airport, I was informed that the flight was overbooked, and since I had checked in late, I did not have a seat. The Next flight was not until ten PM. I called my wife, who had been taking care of our kids all weekend, and she was upset, calling me a liar and telling me to stay in SD. It turned my weekend getaway into a nightmare! I blame the Kayak website and will not book flights using your app in the future.
comfortable but the food is horrible. I have flown Hawaiian several times now and no matter what they say the food is its the same squashed bread with melted goop inside. Tastes fake and isnt what they represent, its quite nasty. What happend to real food? And there is NO entertainment!! so not sure why they are asking for a review on that.
Good and friendly staff. Nicely enjoyed the complimentary drink and snack.
I was very, very cold and a stranger loaned me her sweater next to me. I didn’t wanna buy a blanket just for a four hour trip when I did not need the pillow or the earphones. I don’t mind purchasing a blanket, but I only needed that not all of it accessories. Cold air pretty much blew the entire trip. Two people in front of me both bought the blanket packages. Maybe that’s the idea. The crew was exceptionally nice and passed through multiple times.. the restrooms were very clean and usually accessible.
3 hour wait on customer service after flight was cancelled. Was bumped to a flight where I wouldnt have gotten to my destination for another 2 days. Had to fully refund flight and book a new one the following morning. Paid twice the amount for the flight than I had originally booked. Very disappointed I was not offered any sort of discount or points for all of the frustration, in fact the airline profited twice as much off of me by cancelling my flight and and changing my entire trip.
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!
They didn’t offer a water, even after I asked
Remind customers of the need to have passport or new ID for boarding.
The flight never took off and we spent 7 hours at the airport
It was ok. It was expensive to check 2 bags ($75.00 per bag), and then it took a long time to wait for shuttle to take us from one terminal to the terminal where the plane was taking off at LAX. And all of this for a flight where we had to pay for any food or drink that was not water.
