Poor airport service

On Jan. 9, I took a two-hour trip from Brushton to Watertown to pick up my daughter and grandson who were flying in on an American Airline flight from Abilene, Texas. I was excited that this flight was now available, because in the past I have had to either drive to Syracuse or Albany to meet their flights.

After their two-week visit, we left early morning on Jan. 23 for the return trip to the airport. Unfortunately, our timing left something to be desired, and we arrived exactly 30 minutes before departure time. We were told that the flight was closed and that someone would be out to talk to us in a couple of minutes. The plane was still at the hangar, and the stairs were in place for loading. No matter how many times we asked for assistance, we got the same answer ... someone would be with us shortly. As they were the only two passengers in there, it was amazing that no one could find time to help them.

After an hour, the plane departed (half an hour late) without two very disappointed passengers. When “help” arrived after the plan’s departure, my daughter was given two options. The first was to return at 5 p.m. to take the next flight at an additional charge and possibly end up stranded in Chicago for the night with a tired 3-year-old. The second was to rebook and return the next morning at a cost of $2,300. This was a little steep for a young military family to afford.

Luckily, she was able to book a flight out of Rochester on Thursday. This cost “only” $569 more than her original tickets, but it also meant that she had to miss three days of work and over $100 for the trip to Rochester for gas and tolls.

My point to this letter is that maybe a smaller airline is not as convenient as it seems. Had it happened at a bigger airport we could have found someone to assist us or at least been able to catch another flight. At the Watertown Airport, no one was willing to even try to assist us.

Karen Hazen

Brushton