So I spent the night at LAX

[Der Blaue Engel]

It is a hotel I do not recommend.

(United Airlines is also an airline I do not recommend.)

Why is that airlines are allowed to charge you for a service, then cancel that service and strand you, and do not have to give you your money back?

After standing in line at Customer Service for hours Wednesday night, I was told that I might be able to get a flight at 4pm the next day. They'd put me on standby with the rest of the schmucks they'd screwed. Oh, and the fact that not a single hotel in the LA area had a vacancy that night was just not their problem. (How does an entire city get booked solid?)

They gave me a voucher for $75 off another flight with them (ha!), and, after several hours, a box of questionable dried goods and an airline blanket.

Did you know that muzak is played all night long at airports, and that the lights are never turned off, and that a security reminder blasts over the loudspeaker every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day?

These are the things I learned on Wednesday.

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Please don't tell me that you were trying to get to SF.

They could have put you on Amtrak for Pete's sake.

Airports are strange places in the off hours. Not a hotel that I would recommend either.

[Capn Sunshine]

4. If I was trying to get to SF from LAX

and they CXLed my flight, I would rent a car and drive there.
Or at least far enough out of town to get a room........

[Der Blaue Engel]

6. The flight was cancelled around 9pm

We spent three hours in line, with me Googling and calling hotels on my cellphone. Midnight wasn't exactly a good time to run out and try to find a rental car and we were ridiculously tired by that point.

[Capn Sunshine]

7. Well now you know

I don't know whey they insist on Bullshitting you at the gate like that, my rule of thumb is one hour over and I'm on to plan b. Another trick is flyaway service to Burbank, the Hilton is HUGE and never fills up; or to John Wayne. Same thing , lots of hotles not as many LA touristas.

Then rent a car or hop a Southwest /Horizon shuttle in the AM. They leave like every 15 mins. But sorry for your experience.

I always wondered if they turned out the lights.

[Der Blaue Engel]

5. Yup. The funny thing was that my friend and I joked about keeping the rental car

and just driving home, figuring we'd get home around the same time as our flight would get us there, and this was before we found out about the "delay" that became a cancellation. We were kicking ourselves by 10pm when we realized we were screwed. The drop-off fee probably would have been less than the two one-way tickets we were able to book on another airline in the morning. At least the company was paying for it.

[JI7]

2. they probably just looked for cheaper hotels

i know it's summer with a lot of tourists but Los Angeles ,e specially near the LAX has many hotels.

[Der Blaue Engel]

3. Oh, they didn't bother to try to get us hotels

I called every hotel chain I could find on Google maps within 30 miles of the airport, from resorts to Motel 6, including the place I'd just checked out of in Hollywood.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Check your PM.....nt

[AggieGal]

9. I have spent the night at many airports.

Basically, due to me being cheap. If you want to be cheap like me check out http://sleepinginairports.com/ for some ideas. I recommend staying only on the secure side when asleep.

I agree it does suck when you are stranded there.

[trof]

10. I hope you brought supplies for 24 hours

as recommended by CNN.
Sorry, bub.