An Ohio man was delayed a whopping eight times by Southwest Airlines over the span of two days as he tried to return home from a convention in New Orleans.
Twitter user @iamKerm attempted to get to his Columbus, Ohio, home after enjoying a trip to New Orleans for his fraternity’s 81st Grand Conclave.
A member of historically black fraternity Omega Psi Phi, @iamKerm shared that he was ‘exhausted’ from the weekend festivities and ‘was just ready to get home’ on Sunday.’
Twitter user @iamKerm attempted to get to his Columbus, Ohio, home after enjoying a trip to New Orleans for his fraternity’s 81st Grand Conclave
But arriving for his 8.25am flight with two hours to spare, he was shocked to find that there was a massive line ‘longer than when Jesus fed the Israelites with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish’
But arriving for his 8.25am flight with two hours to spare, he was shocked to find that there was a massive line ‘longer than when Jesus fed the Israelites with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.’
After missing his first flight, @iamKerm was able to get moved to a 6am flight for the next day. He decided, instead, to fly to Orlando at 10.20am to make it back the same day he was originally scheduled
Luckily, @iamKerm saw another member of his fraternity and finessed a ‘Dap & Cut’ move to jump the line, which he added was common for ‘club lines, Jordan releases, & especially for close flight times.’
The duo would eventually realize that only four gate agents were working and manually tagging bags – causing the excruciating delay.
They missed their initial flight, but an agent was able to book them on the 6am flight for the next day. The move excited @iamKerm’s friend, but not the brave voyager who needed to make it back home so that he could be at work the next day.
He said: ‘I called @SouthwestAir customer service to see if they could rebook me on an earlier flight. To my surprise they tell me that there was a 10.20am flight and immediately tell them to make the change.’
Separating from his frat brother, @iamKerm departed from New Orleans and headed to Orlando, Florida, where his connecting flight would get him home.
Falling asleep immediately, he was shocked when he woke up on the plane to see that his connecting flight had been cancelled
Falling asleep immediately, he was shocked when he woke up on the plane to see that his connecting flight had been cancelled.
‘So I see a group of Zetas from my same flight approaching the gate agents desk and I realize that they stood between me and getting home so in a mad dash I sprinted in front of them,’ he added, making it to the gate and eventually getting the last seat for a 9.40pm flight.
Taking a brief nap – since it was still 1.30pm when he arrived in Orlando – @iamKerm woke up and was perplexed by an influx of AirDrop photos of dogs and Deadpool that came from a ‘JesseiPhone’.
Taking a brief nap – since it was still 1.30pm when he arrived in Orlando – @iamKerm woke up and was perplexed by an influx of AirDrop photos of dogs
A photo of Deadpool followed and he looked for the culprit – ‘JesseiPhone’
‘At this point I’m pissed and I look up to see this little bad a** white kid looking down at his iphone laughing hysterically,’ he recalled. ‘I realized that this little young punk was “Jesseiphone”’
‘At this point I’m pissed and I look up to see this little bad a** white kid looking down at his iphone laughing hysterically,’ he recalled. ‘I realized that this little young punk was “Jesseiphone”.’
Evading the harassment, @iamKerm goes to grab Chinese food before returning to his gate to see that it was still expected to leave on time.
But that excitement would prove to be short lived, as his flight would be pushed back to midnight, 1.50am and then eventually cancelled along with the rest of the Southwest flights at two.
His flight would be pushed back to midnight, 1.50am and then eventually cancelled along with the rest of the Southwest flights at two. So he decided to take a Megabus
@iamKerm hoped making it to Jacksonville would allow him to catch a quick flight from there back to his home
And by the time he makes it through the crowded chaos and to the gate, agents informed @iamKerm that the next flight from Orlando to Columbus was scheduled for Tuesday.
Checking his Southwest app, the tired traveler notices that there is a flight from Jacksonville, Florida, to Columbus that leaves in the afternoon. He quickly snaps up the seat and takes a two hour bus to the next airport.
‘I get to Jacksonville airport sleep deprived, frustrated, & hygienically challenged aka stank,’ he said, adding that he decided to change his clothes for a ‘mental boost’ after being in airports and on planes for 24hours.
‘I get to Jacksonville airport sleep deprived, frustrated, & hygienically challenged aka stank,’ he said, adding that he decided to change his clothes for a ‘mental boost’ after being in airports and on planes for 24hours
But then he notices that his entire suitcase is wet – forcing the man to only brush his teeth and change his hat, glasses and shoes in an effort to ‘lift my morale’
But then he notices that his entire suitcase is wet – forcing the man to only brush his teeth and change his hat, glasses and shoes in an effort to ‘lift my morale.’
From Jacksonville, @iamKerm flies to Chicago where he was supposed to catch another connecting flight.
But as he arrives at the airport, he notices that his final flight home has been delayed.
From Jacksonville, @iamKerm flies to Chicago where he was supposed to catch another connecting flight
‘At this point I’m thinking this is just a prank that @SouthwestAir is playing on me,’ the now disgruntled man added. ‘After 6 delays in Orlando I was now on my 7th delay. I couldn’t believe it. At this point I wondered if I’d ever get home.’
Eventually @iamKerm gets on his flight from Chicago and his Columbus destination is in clear sight.
He quickly doses off while on the connecting flight, with the expectation that when he awakes he’ll be in Columbus.
But as he arrives at the airport in Chicago, he notices that his final flight home has been delayed. On Monday evening, he boards his final plane from Chicago to Columbus
That doesn’t happen, however, and the man is shook when he wakes to find that the plane has had to detour to Cleveland because of weather complications
That doesn’t happen, however, and the man is shook when he wakes to find that the plane has had to detour to Cleveland because of weather complications.
‘The 8th one hurt the most because I thought I was home,’ he shared. ‘I thought I was finally free from the clutches of @SouthwestAir. I was broken.’
The delay left @iamKerm stumped as he contemplated what he had done to deserve such a fate.
Eventually, the plane takes off again and gets the man to his destination. Everyone clapped when the plane landed in Columbus.
Eventually, the plane takes off again and gets the man (second from the right) to his destination
He said: ‘I was finally back home after almost 48 hrs of being held hostage by @SouthwestAir. Overjoyed I did the only thing I could do – said thank you Jesus.’
And while he was happy to be home, @iamKerm quickly realized that he wasn’t offered any form of compensation for his trouble.
The Columbia, South Carolina, native added: ‘Never fly SW they are the worst!’
Southwest Airlines saw all the tweets and sent a response to the man on Twitter that said: So sorry to hear about the less than ideal experience, Kerm. Please DM your confirmation number & any additional details so we can follow-up!’
Southwest Airlines could not be reached for a comment about whether they compensated the man for his trouble.