As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I had two dear friends visiting me last week from the U.K. I will refrain from mentioning which carrier they took as this is not a positive story; however, I will let you know it was  a U.S. airline. At any rate, on their way home from LA to London, they were to have a layover in San Francisco. I dropped them off for their 5 p.m. flight; at 9 p.m. they still had not left Los Angeles. Once they were placed on a new flight for San Francisco, their flight was then delayed again by 24 hours! We have all been there with ridiculously long delays, but the difference was, airlines in the United States used to care that their misstep delayed your plans. Now, we all know that U.S. carriers are battling with flight delays because of the economy and the cost of fuel and I certainly do not blame them. However, just because carriers have a justified explanation for all their troubles does not mean it is okay to not apologize for the delay and, in some situations, be downright rude to people! They are the ones that are throwing a kink in OUR lives! Three days later, my friends finally made it to London and in the 72 hours they spent on a plane or in an airport, not once did they hear “I’m sorry for this inconvenience.” They did not receive flight vouchers or food vouchers. They were put up in a 2-star hotel outside of the airport for 9 hours. Then, the carrier’s provided car service arrived an hour and 15 minutes late to pick them up. I ask you this – I know that airline carriers are battling with canceled flights, but is it okay for them to take our business for granted? I don’t think so. And I can tell you it will be a loooong time before I use this particular airline again! -Carla Guzzetti, account executive