Michigan High School Baseball Team Stranded In Florida After Spirit Cancels Flight

(frankieleon)

Just two days ago the American Customer Satisfaction Index revealed that Spirit Airlines was the worst when it comes to, well, customer satisfaction, and it seems the airline is wasting no time in confirming that it earned its low scores. Just ask the Michigan high school baseball team that had to fork over thousands of dollars for a chartered bus after being told they would have to wait an extra week to rebook their canceled Spirit flight.

WXYZ-TV in Michigan reports that the airline left a Detroit-area baseball team unsatisfied after stranding the high school students in Florida last month.

The ordeal began when the team was attempting to fly back to Detroit after spending a week training in Florida.

When the group arrived at the Orlando airport they learned that their flight was canceled due to weather. With few other options, the team stayed the night in a hotel and returned to the airport in the morning.

However, the team’s coach tells WXYZ-TV that when the players and chaperones attempted to rebook, they were told the only flight that could accommodate the large group was six days later, meaning the students would have to miss about a week of classes.

Because missing so much school was out of the question, the team ended up spending $12,000 to charter a bus and drive back to Michigan.

As if the 21-hour ride wasn’t bad enough, the funds used to pay for the bus came from the team’s fundraising account.

“To say a week – that’s not a viable option. I feel as if they should play a part in getting us home,” the team’s coach tells WXYZ-TV. “One of our mottos is, do the right thing, and Spirit could have done the right thing.”

But it doesn’t look the airline follows the same motto. The coach says that while the airline did refund the return portion of the group’s trip, it refused to refund baggage fees.

While the team feels that the airline should help cover the cost of the bus trip home, Spirit says that falls outside of the airline’s responsibility.

A spokesperson for the Spirit tells WXYZ-TV that because the flight was canceled due to weather, the company is only responsible for getting passengers home on their airline, even if that’s a week later.

Baseball team says Spirit Airlines not a good sport after weather cancellation leaves them on buses [WXYZ-TV]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist