Not compassionate and not helpful at U.S. Airways

Well you being military, know that breaking rules is a violation.
Compassion means saying sorry that you have health problems, not
forcing someone else off of a flight to accomodate your needs. I think
the military should be providing your travel . Would the military
allow you to alter their commands and orders given to you without any
problem? Unlikely, so you asking the airline to bend the rules for
you is no different than you bending the rules to accomodate your own
health or military conditions. In the military there are plenty of
rules and conditions. What would be the result of a mission if you
altered it? Could cost lives. Airlines follow rules to prevent chaos.
If you wanted the flight changed then we must look at what their
policy is on that, and go accordingly. Just because someone does not
tell you something does not make them at fault. I think instead you
should ask the military to refund your ticket loss since they are the
ones who forced you to alter your plans.

Your comment paints the military in a bad light. If your CO finds this
letter, he or she should reprimand you for representing the service as
a group that expects preferential treatment from the civilian
population.

The bottom line is that this is not the reason the military exists.
Only if you had orders saying you needed an earlier flight, should
they then have had accomodated you. If not, then it comes out of your
own pocket. I've traveled with military orders before and that's SOP
that upgrades/different flights come out of your pocket.

You're setting a bad example for the uniformed services; being in the
military does not give you preferential treatment. Any company that
does give discounts/benefits to the military should be respected for
their charity, but it should not be expected for every company to do
so.

I think they were helpful, in my opinion. They were able to
accommodate your request, it just wasn't convenient for you. Just
because you are in the military does not mean they need to be
compassionate or bend the rules for you. All customers are likely
bound by the same policies, which were likely in the fine print when
purchasing your ticket. Additionally, it makes sense from a logical
standpoint that when flying on a roundtrip ticket, not showing for the
first part would forfeit the return seat. It is reasonable for the
airline to assume that you did not get there, therefore you will not
need return transportation. From my experience, Indian call center
reps are courteous with a desire to be helpful, although sometimes
difficult to understand and communicate with.

did you have any orders to show for you change of plans?

with orders - even medical orders - you may have been able to get the
change without penalty

If you are in the military and have health issues you should have
known that your plans might change. Therefore you should have
purchased a refundable ticket.

Good Day

sentiment. Why not have special treatment for fire fighters, police
officers, child protection services workers? The list can go on and
on. What works best is consistent rules applied to everyone.

You would have received the same treatment from almost any airline
with the possible exception of Southwest. You purchased a non
refundable ticket. The terms of such a ticket are spelled out and if
you have to change you have to pay a change fee plus any difference in
the fare. Airlines will usually waive this for changes in military
orders provided the ticket was purchased through the military.

Another common thing with most airlines is if you fail to use the
first leg of a round trip ticket, the remainder of the ticket is
cancelled.

You were not treated any differently than anyone else.

What you describe sounds consistent with what I know about airline
tickets.

I don't see what being in the military has to do with this. I
appreciate your service to the country, but I don't believe it
entitles you to exceptions to rules. Certainly not for health
reasons. However, if Uncle Sam made you change your plans, I would
think he would pick up the difference.

Personally, f I were flying from Jacksonville, FL to Hartford, CT I'd
use Southwest. There are no fees for changing a flight (just pay the
difference in fare) and more important to me...no fees for checked in
bags! Please consider flying Southwest in the future, you'll be glad
you did.