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.
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
The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.
Service was professional and quick. Premium economy seat was comfortable given the class
The staff was extremely helpful and friendly at all times! They went above and beyond to get us into an earlier flight in San Diego to make our connection in SFO possible, because our original flight did actually not make it! I did so much appreciate the UA team and how they made this possible. We also didn’t have seats together on the long flight to Singapore, but they found us seats together last moment with no additional cost! Nobody sat next to us, so that we were able to sleep! Thanks to UA for improving their service and Underpricer for booking this trip! Please be careful: 1,5 hrs for transfer in San Francisco might not be enough time in the future
Over 2.5 hour maintenance delay on first morning flight with no acknowledgement, compensation or even gesture of good will. Aircraft had overnighted at airport so issue should have been addressed prior to boarding. Over 3.5 hours before first slow and deliberate beverage service.
Horrifying Almost 2 million miles. Bring your own food and drink. One coffee or drink every three hours. Have to order meals on app more than 24 hours ahead Tiny and dirty bathrooms
Flight was delayed but more than 90 minutes. This caused me to miss my available windows for pick-up by a friend. I had to pay $125 for an uber back home from the airport which was an added expense that I had not budgeted for my trip. Staff was friendly.
Seat pitch is horrible especially on the 15 hour flight. Gate crew at SFO was Outstanding. The flight crew was also great.
My service dog and I were asked to deplane just before they closed the door - clearly very last minute they couldn’t find the documentation that I have filled out many many times before that is for flying service animals. I purposely purchase 3seats (a whole row) since he is large and not all passengers want to sit next to a dog on a cross country flight. The plane departed with my husband on it!!! They made me fill out a hard copy of the same form and had to reschedule me on a later flight where they could find 3 seats together!! I’ve done this so many times before - clearly the error was on their part in a technology glitch - but really people - do better!! Very traumatic - and my husband had to wait for us when he landed ….so bad. Poor pup was confused and tired.
Late plane. Only one crew on the ground so we b had to wait for Denver flight to come in, board, and depart. At 78 yrs of age I was not pleased trying to get my connection. What really made me angry was the notification you sent me to hurry up or I would miss my connection. Why tell me to hurry up when you got me in late. It was not a good way of treating customers.
No screens or meal options. Freezing cold. Dirty seats. Left late.
Booked through Kayak Business, had a seat in middle and towards back due to booking rate, not comfortable.
Agency very bad had to cancelled my booking too many changes in the flight changed my flight to 1 week
The gate experience at LAX was abysmal (same for the arrival experience two days prior). Despite the LAX -> SAT schedule of two flights daily, our departure gate was at a smaller hub that we had to be bussed to from Terminal 4. Fortunately, I arrived at LAX extra early and had time to spare, but if I had not known, I might have missed my flight. I looked at the LAX airport map in the AA app and there was no indication of the additional boarding process. Lastly the gate area we were bussed to was crowded with limited food and beverage options. On flight, the fight attendant was hospitable and attentive, the flight was smooth, and AA's free (and working) wifi for AA members were all on the positive side.
Our flight from JFK to Madrid was delayed. We had to go from one side of the Madrid airport (Terminal 4s to the far end of terminal 4 - Gate K98) to our gate in less than 30 minutes. Put passport control and security/baggage check and that’s very hard unless you’re Usain Bolt. I called Iberia Airlines and the telephone customer service told me that I was going to have to pay to re-book. Luckily the help desk in the airport (who was dealing with dozens of people from the same JFK-Madrid flight) did not charge us extra to reschedule to a flight 8 hours later. They also gave us a voucher for breakfast and lunch. Glad the actual person at the airport had some actual sense.
Take-off delayed an hour because of a missing flight officer, so,arrived in Charlotte lates causing many passengers to miss connections. Otherwise a very good flight, safe and comfortable, with an excellent professional crew.
The flight from LA to Chicago was smooth and service was very good overall.
Ontario airport boarding was very easy to park and access, is clean and TSA took 10 minutes total. Check-in was a breeze and cruise was very nice.
Left early arrived early..right amount of talking from pilots..of course had to love the biscuit and water!
Boarding gate at LAX was too crowded—two gates next to one another
On time departure and early arrival. Flight attendant very nice.
The SFO Lounge crew were amazing. The bartender Faris was great. Thanks!
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
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
