AirTran lied to me, tried to strand me alone in Atlanta

I had a flight scheduled for the evening of Dec, 27, 2008 to fly from Reagan National in Washington, DC to San Francisco with a layover in Atlanta. My flight to Atlanta was delayed 40 minutes and as a result I would miss my connection to San Francisco which was still listed as on time.

I called AirTran to find out my options and they said there was little they could do over the phone, and I should come to the airport. I did, because it was about 2.5 hours until my flight. The agent at check-in told me that my San Francisco flight was now delayed, and I would make it. He lied. I took the time to go through security and settled in at the gate. When a gate agent finally appeared I asked him for a status update. He said the San Francisco flight was still on time. He told me the earliest I could leave Atlanta for San Francisco was tuesday. If I had taken the flight and not be diligent in checking, I would have been stranded in Atlanta for three days. I asked if he could switch me to another carrier and he told me to ask a supervisor at check-in. I left the terminal to do just that.

I had to wait 45 minutes, but eventually I got to talk to someone at the check-in desk. They told me there was nothing they could do and refused to put me on another airline. It was suggested that I call customer relations. I called the main number and asked to be transferred, although I'm not sure that I was. Either way, I was told that I was speaking to customer relations. The agent told me that he found me space on a flight for the next day, the 28th. I told him the other agents couldn't find it and confirmed three times that I would get to San Francisco the next day. He rebooked my flight and I left the airport. I then attempted to check in for my new flight online and found out I had again been lied to. The supposed customer relations agent had put me on a flight for Atlanta for the next day, but a connection for Thursday, 4 days later. I would have been stranded in Atlanta with nowhere to go. I called back and rebooked the tuesday flight.

I find it ridiculous that AirTran doesn't think it's a problem for them to take 3-5 days to get me to my destination. They claim it was weather and out of their control. I would understand if there was a storm blanketing the midwest or something, but it was a little bit of fog in Atlanta. The delays were cleared up in a couple of hours and they weren't that severe. I would understand them not being able to do something if there were hundreds of stuck travelers, but there only seemed to be two of us that would have to wait days for another flight.

I was lied to twice and almost had to spend multiple nights stuck in an airport in an unfamiliar place as a result. AirTran needs to find a better way to deal with customers and will not be getting my business again because they are not trustworthy. I've flown AirTran before and had no problems. But now that I've seen how the company handles a relatively small problem, I will never fly with them again. I've been in the exact same situation with Delta and was immediately transferred to another carrier, without asking, and actually arrived at my location earlier because it was a direct flight. Three days to get me somewhere in fine weather is unacceptable, the lying is unforgivable.