POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Pennsylvania mother, whose son was visiting his grandparents in Florida, is upset because she said Spirit Airlines did not take care of her son.
Bruce White, 17, was supposed to leave Philadelphia last Wednesday, but his flight was canceled. He had a direct flight to Orlando. He said the airlines rescheduled him the following day.
“I had a guaranteed flight from Philly to Detroit and then from Detroit to Orlando,” he said.
Bruce White said he ran into trouble with his flight to Orlando in Detroit.
“They told him he was not to get on the flight because they double booked it and he was considered standby,” his mother, Elaine White said.
Elaine White spoke with ABC Action News via Facebook video chat. She said her son was a first time flyer and was stranded in Detroit for half a day.
“I was not comfortable with my son staying at the airport by himself. They were very rude. He told me there was nothing they could do. The best they could do was get him on another flight out of there,” Elaine White said.
She said her son’s luggage made it to Florida before he did.
“I was really upset cause I’m all the way in PA and he’s in Detroit stuck there and, you know, only had a certain amount of money on him. We couldn’t get him a hotel room because he wasn’t 18,” she said.
Elaine White did not feel like anyone was helpful. Her son figured it out and hopped on a flight to Atlanta and then finally made it to Florida early Friday morning.
“I can see other people’s point where yes he’s 17 and he can handle it, but honestly I feel like their customer service, the way they treated him was horrible, and it needs to be out there so other people don’t get treated like this,” Elaine White said.
ABC Action News contacted Spirit Airlines. A representative emailed us back and said they are looking into it and would get back to us as soon as possible with information on what happened.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-polk/mom-says-airline-stranded-her-son-miles-from-home