21/04/2010…Stranded councillor accuses airline of profiteering

THAME Town Councillor and hair salon owner, Adam Buckland, who is stuck in Alabama due to the ash cloub traffic chas, has accused an airline of profiteering out of people’s misery.

Adam send the following message this afternoon to ThameNews.Net:

“Myself and two friends went on a fishing trip to Alabama on 14th April until what should have been the 18th. When we got back to my friend’s dad’s house in Trusville to get ready to go the airport for our flight, we heard about the volcano and all the problems.

“Continental airlines cancelled our flight and then did not let us know what was happening for two days. We phoned helplines and Internet contacts but couldn’t get through! Eventually we recieved an email to say they had rebooked our flight but not until the 28th of April!!! 9 days later!! We have been back to the ticket desk at the airport several times and this morning we found out that you can actually get an economy ticket for this week but it will cost you $2200 one way!!

“They are actually holding seats back to try and get people to pay that money! By the way, if you want to upgrade to business class it will cost you $5000 one way! We see this as profiteering out of people’s misery! Our issue is, why can’t they give us one of the earlier economy tickets? No one is helping us! We have phoned the local paper and they are passing it on to CNN.

“I have emailed Sky news and have just spoken to a guy from BBC news so watch this space! While we have seen on our iPhones that European airlines seem to be on the case and laying on extra flights to get people home, Continnental Airlines has been a nightmare and we want the world to know it!!!

Hope to see you soon,
Yours trapped in Trusville,
Adam

PHOTO: Adam Buckland, right, with his hosts in Alabama