Updated on Avelo Experience - Response From Avelo

Submitted by Tunarepa2 t3_zogn8h in newhaven

Yesterday I made a post regarding a fiasco with Avelo on the Orlando to New Haven route. From what people posted on Facebook and twitter it seems many other routes were impacted. My biggest issue with the problems were more the lack of customer service than the actual casualties although the delay was something I had never heard of before for a domestic flight.

However, it would be unfair to not post a follow up to this forum with Avelos response we’re they acknowledge the issue and offer a way to make customers whole.

The email they sent is below; I am impressed with the maturity of the company h to issue such a response and follow up with compensation, which places them above most other airlines. For those who read my review yesterday, please also read below to understand although there were issues, the company made an effort to rectify.

“ Dear xxxxxx,

When you booked your recent trip with us from Orlando to New Haven, you expected a smooth and on-time journey. Unfortunately, that didn’t occur on Thursday. I want to explain what happened and apologize for the inconvenience you experienced.

There were two contributors to the 24-hour delay you experienced getting to New Haven. The initial 10-hour delay resulted from an inoperable hydraulic pump. This is a rare occurrence, and a replacement pump was not immediately available and had to be special ordered – consequently, a different aircraft was flown to Orlando to operate your flight. Shortly after taking off, a cabin pressurization indicator light illuminated and the Captain elected to return to the airport out of an abundance of caution. This resulted in an overnight delay and your unacceptably late arrival to New Haven the next day. As frustrating as I know this experience was for you, I want to underscore that we will never compromise safety for convenience, and yesterday was no exception.

I am very sorry about this unsatisfactory experience. Our Customer Support Crew is fully refunding your original form of payment for this flight segment and issuing you a $150 Avelo Travel Fund (ATF) that you can apply to future Avelo purchases. Your refund and ATF deposit should take 3-5 business days.

We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you aboard again soon and deliver the seamless experience you expect and we strive to provide.

Sincerely, Captain Greg Baden Chief Operating Officer”

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Comments

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usmercenary t1_j0mwsqp wrote

nice of them to follow up like this. It would be helpful though, long term, if they beefed up their normal customer serivce

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JmnyCrckt87 t1_j18vpid wrote

Yeah, I'm waiting for anything like this to come back from my canceled flight from PBI to New Haven. Their "normal customer service" is some 3rd party contractor at PBI that has no direct line to anyone from Avelo and if you ask a question they can't answer, they threaten to call TSA on you. It was insane. They wanted to call TSA on me and a bunch of grandma's that were trying to figure out what was going on. I was stuck in the airport for 14 hours with my children (one special needs) and no updates (until it was finally canceled).

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IAmThe0neWhoKn0ckss t1_j0n9gha wrote

I flew MCO-HVN yesterday and saw a lot of angry people from the 12/15 flight. People were straight up screaming at the avelo workers, it was wild. My 9am flight was delayed til 12, and I missed an event at my kid’s school, which sucked.

I was stuck at MCO in September for two days since my avelo flights got cancelled two days in a row. All we got for that was a $75 travel credit, no refund. Looks like you made out a lot better. I heard there was a man in a wheelchair who had no assistance (from your flight) who slept in his wheelchair overnight. That’s so awful.

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JmnyCrckt87 t1_j18w2d7 wrote

I still haven't gotten refunded for my $135 in checked bags, yet alone a voucher. And, the 3rd party contractors Avelo had working at the gate who couldn't answer any questions and treated us like criminals for wanting to know a flight status...the screaming you witnessed doesn't surprise me.

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IAmThe0neWhoKn0ckss t1_j19e5gx wrote

You should call their customer service. I see in your other comment that you spoke with some 3rd party? But I’ve called Avelo multiple times and was able to speak to someone and get fixed whatever it was.

I think my flight credits in September came 3-5 days later, it was an automatic email to everyone on the flight. That’s just the credits though, I never fly with bags so I’d assume you have to call. Email takes a while to get a response, I sent them proof of my hotel stay when I was stuck at MCO and took exactly a week to get a response that they would refund that. They refund up to $150/night I think. They refunded it back to the credit card though I think, didn’t send me a check or anything.

They will probably be busy right now if weather is affecting any of their flights, but it’s definitely worth waiting on hold to try and get money back for your bags.

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JmnyCrckt87 t1_j19en6q wrote

My wife has been on the phone with them. The other comment about a 3rd party was referring to the day of the flight - the only people present at the airport to seek answers from were 3rd party contractors. My wife was a Saint, waiting on hold for hours with customer service, getting disconnected, waiting again and then relaying the info to everyone in the terminal. I'm hoping they will take care of it. It's frustrating waiting for hours and then having to give up because I don't have 2 hours to wait on hold...between the two of us calling, I'm hoping we get reimbursed. I'm going to ask them to compensate me for my disgusting $60 terminal pizza, too, lol. If they're going to cancel my trip to New Haven and hold me captive in an airport terminal for 14 hours with crappy pizza, it should be on their dollar.

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IAmThe0neWhoKn0ckss t1_j19lpvr wrote

Though email takes a while, at this point I’d email as well. It’s been almost a week, so that’s got to be frustrating.

I hear you—I had to stay in florida for those two days and I spent so much money because everything is expensive in the airport. Wish I was refunded for that and transportation costs. I emailed them Saturday with some complaints and haven’t gotten an email back, which I predicted. Hope your issues get resolved soon.

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JmnyCrckt87 t1_j19o9gi wrote

Thank you, you as well! We emailed them, immediately after we got home. And, we were able to get through to customer service at the same time at 1am and they started the refund on the tickets themselves, but said we would need to call back for the luggage we paid for and to try to get reimbursement for any expenses. My wife or I have yet to reach them successfully since that night, despite a few hour+ stints waiting on hold. The man hours we are putting into having our money returned...and, the horrible waiting music.

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