^- [Pilot] We need to return to the airport.
^We're gonna need to land
^probably pretty soon, here.
- [Noel] Welcome to
Atlanta, Georgia
Hartsfield Jackson international airport.
And today, well, we're headed
into another least used airport.
Well, yeah,
that was the plan
at the beginning of this video admittedly
but as you're about to find out,
well, it didn't entirely go to plan.
After discovering there weren't any members
of staff at all
from Boutique Air in the terminal building
here at Atlanta
Not lease anybody to help
with the wheelchair assistance
for Rach.
We eventually made it to the gate
with me pushing Rach through the airport.
Boarding today was buyer or bust to the remote stand
and we made our way out,
to get onboard the Pilatus PC 12,
that was going to take us on
a magical mystery tour today.
- [Pilot] All right,
We're going to go over a couple quick things.
This is
Boutique 736.
We got safety cards in the seat,
back pockets here,
along with air sick bags
if you aren't feeling well
for whatever reason.
We got a cargo door back there,
window exit right here
and the passenger door
right here.
Those are going to be a three exits
it's a no smoking aircraft.
- [Noel] And with the brief incomplete
we were on our way
for what turned out to be quite a lot
shorter flight
than the one that was planned.
Our route today then took us out of Atlanta
and then pretty much straight
back into Atlanta.
Flight time today was 18 minutes
cruising at 4,000 feet.
Right?
So airborne from Atlanta onboard,
the Boutique Air PC 12.
What do you reckon Rach?
What do you reckon this aircraft?
- [Rach] It's nice
it's small.
- [Noel] It's a private jet.
- [Rach] Yeah, I know.
- [Noel] That's pretty cool.
apart from the fact that the ground service
in Atlanta was a bit terrible.
And it wasn't too long after
that, that I noticed that something
wasn't quite right.
For some reason we've still got the flaps down.
I'm not entirely sure why
and as I'd find out very soon
well, the crew didn't understand why either.
- [Pilot] Oh, we actually need to return
to the airport
we're having a little bit of a flap issue
right now.
- [ATC] Boutique 736 do you need to get there
now or
can you fly around for a little bit?
- [Pilot] We're going to need to land
probably pretty soon here
Boutique 736.
- [ATC] Boutique 736 flight
Turn left heading 360.
- [Pilot] Three six zero
Boutique 736
- [Noel] It seems the flaps being down,
may be an issue
there's emergency checklist
out on the flight deck
and we are turning back towards Atlanta.
So it seems like it we might be
diverting
back into Atlanta.
Our trip to
Tennessee may be cut short Rach
- [Rach] What?
- [Noel] Our trip to Tennessee may be cut short
there's an
a warning light on over there.
Look as well.
They've got warning lights
and all sorts on over there.
Ooh,
exciting times.
Let's see what happens then aye.
Now maybe my nerves were getting the better
of me at this stage
but I was actually feeling pretty nervous
at this stage.
Despite me trying to put a funny face on it.
In over 700 flights that I've taken
this is only the second time
that a plane I've been on
has had to divert to the airport.
So it's not exactly a common occurrence.
At this point it dawned on me
that Rach had never been on board
an aircraft making an emergency landing before.
So I tried to do whatever
I could to prepare her for the landing.
Noel: Are you alright?
Rach: Yeah
Noel: It'll be OK.
Rach: I know.
Noel: They're going through all the checklists.
We might have fire engines and stuff
Waiting for us when we land.
I dunno, we'll see.
It might be a fast landing
If the flaps are jammed.
What I didn't tell her
was that I was a little bit worried
that if the flaps weren't working well,
did that mean that maybe the landing gear
wasn't going to be
working either.
Pilot: Atlanta Tower, Boutique 736, just passed JJ
For Bizarre, 4,000.
ATC: Boutique 736, Atlanta Tower.
Runway 8L, the wind 100 at 11
Gust 18, cleared to land.
Pilot: Cleared to land, 8L, Boutique 736.
Well here we are, back at Atlanta.
- [Pilot] All right folks
sorry
I apologize for the inconvenience.
As you can see,
we're not quite in Jackson
shortly after we took off
we got an,
on indication here on the,
on the menu of that
it called definitely for us to come back
and making sure that, you know,
get on the ground safely first,
have that looked at instead of,
you know, continuing on the,
on the flight,
you know, having to do something even
you know, something major
or may develop something major in the air,
you know it's always better to just come back
and have it
take a look at.
So
in the name of safety,
that's why we we're back here again,
I certainly apologize for the inconvenience,
but we're contacting the ground agents
as we speak.
and they're going to come here
back shortly.
We'll go ahead
and probably open this door just so we can
get some type of flow of air.
And as
soon
as we get our ground transportation, we'll get,
let you guys out.
The agent will take care of you.
- [Pilot] Okay. Thank you so much.
- [Noel] Thank you.
I noticed the flaps were down outside.
- [Pilot] Yeah, so they didn't come up
when we wanted them to.
(chatter)
- [Noel] Then I saw the flaps
and was like okay,
So I will thank you so much. We can get it sorted.
And we're going to just get back to the house.
- [Pilot] Oh Okay.
(indistinguishable)
- [Noel] Back at Atlanta
- [Rach] At least we made it out safely.
- [Noel] We made it out safely,
got a scenic tour on the top of the clouds
or inside of the clouds,
didn't we for a little bit.
We're down safe, the aircraft is poorly unbroken
by the looks of it
and a few of the passengers
are still trying to get over to Jackson.
I don't know
what we gonna? What are you thinking?
You think we should just give
it up as a bad job.
Cause I don't really want to spend hours
on a bus or anything.
- [Rach] Makes no sense you'd have to drive back
tomorrow anyway.
- [Noel] Yeah
and there's this tropical storm
rolling in tonight as well.
So we're stuck here,
much longer.
Then we're going to be stuck in the storm
as well.
Well there you go, your first inflight diversion.
We're now waiting because they've got to go
and open the terminal area for us now
and there's a little stuff going on
so they've got to call them to comeback
into the airport and so yeah.
Rach: Talking of which, the car?
Yeah, yeah
Well, we'll see what Boutique can do about all that
We'll see.
Anyway,
Waiting for the terminal to open now.
- [Rach] yay
- [Noel] 40 minutes and we're moving.
Back to the terminal.
Back to the terminal. Back to reality. Oop there goes gravity.
Rach: Don't sing, Noel.
Agent: Yeah, they went ahead and cancelled it.
They cancelled it altogether?
So the flight was now canceled completely,
or at least that's what Boutique Air
were telling us at the time.
We're just going to cancel,
but deal with these guys first because
they're trying to get home so we can, we can wait here.
By the time we got back through the airport,
it was getting really late in the evening
so we just decided to grab an Uber back to the house
and call Boutique Air
to deal with the refund in the morning.
But it's of course, as we all know,
dealing with airline customer service departments,
isn't always smooth sailing
and that certainly was the case here with Boutique Air.
What happened when I got in touch with them,
the following morning completely baffled me.
And I'm gonna tell you everything that happened.
So I decided to open a live chat with the Boutique Air's
customer service, the following morning,
to try and figure out how we went about getting our refund.
Now we weren't holding out much hope that we'd get anything
for the canceled hotel reservation or the car hire
that set us $500 out of pocket,
but we might at least get a refund for the flight
that we weren't taking.
The response I got from boutique Air
Well, I was just absolutely astounded.
The first thing that worried me was when they said to me,
- [Boutique Air] Did you take your flight today?
- [Noel] I said No, we didn't
because the flight to Jackson was canceled
so we were stuck in Atlanta.
- [Boutique Airlines] So did you call in
to cancel your entire reservation?
- [Noel] And I said, yes, the gate agent
was dealing with the cancellation
and said that all we had to do was drop them
a message and they sought out the refund.
The next message I got from them
well, it just hit completely the wrong notes.
- [Boutique Air] Deal with things appropriately
and in a timely manner next time
so we can address things as soon as possible.
- [Noel] Well, you can imagine how that left
me feeling, I'm sat here thinking I'm being
told off by a school teacher for not
handing my homework in on time.
When the following morning after the flight
within 12 hours, I was onto them
saying, right, what happens next guy's,
in a polite and friendly manner to get
scolded and chastised by them for not responding quick
enough to them in the first place.
I was like, well, that is kind of a little bit to much.
And then what happened next?
Well, it just got worse and worse.
- [Boutique Air] Flight 736 diverted back
to Atlanta due to maintenance
flight delayed until this morning
and left
12 hour delay.
It wasn't totally canceled just an overnight delay
for 12 hours.
- And the gate agent told us the previous night that the
flight was canceled.
At least when she said to us best,
Agent: Yeah, they went ahead and cancelled it.
I generally take that as meaning that the airlines canceled
the flight.
Would you like a refund for that?
But no,
apparently when they figured out that everybody
that was on the flight decided to cancel their reservations,
well, they just went ahead and delayed the flight
by 12 hours to the following morning,
by which case by their policies,
they don't have to give anybody a refund for anything
because nobody showed up for the next flight
therefore they're not due a refund.
Honestly, guys,
this is an absolutely shocking tactic
Boutique Air if you are watching this video,
the way that you've handled, this is absolutely
bang out of order.
In my book, you can't cancel a flight,
expect everybody to go home, expecting a refund
and then go actually never going to operate the flight
at 5:00 AM the following morning,
and then wonder why nobody turns up and then wonder why you
don't have to give anybody a refund.
It's just really,
really shady. And I'll be completely honest
Boutique Air you sell yourself as an airline
with a private jet style experience.
The customer service that you guys give is just bow of
order.
And the way that this person spoke to me on the live chat
well, to be completely honest,
I was absolutely appalled.
And this isn't my first time dealing with Boutique Air
in disruptions as well.
This is my third flight that I had booked
with Boutique Air all in all and out of those three
only one of them has actually gone without any issues.
The last time I was due to fly with them,
our flight was canceled because of the weather,
which is completely out of Boutique Airs hands
I completely appreciate that,
but again,
I was left high and dry with a $500 bill
to drive a car, the length of Alabama
to a different airport,
and then buy my own flight out of that airport
because Boutique Air wouldn't give me
any assistance other than saying they were going
to give me a refund, which incidentally
they've never actually sent over either.
We just want the money back
for the flight that we weren't able to take
and as of yet, well, we aren't going to get that.
So yeah,
unfortunately Boutique Air for me
it's a big nata.
Let me know what you thought
of this video, by the way, down
in the comments below.
I'd love to hear your thoughts
and then maybe I'm out of order for just asking
for some money back for a flight that
they canceled.
I don't know
is that
I'm asking too much of them?
I mean, they got at least us down safe
and sound I guess which is absolutely fine
and I completely appreciate that, but you know,
am I out of order to say that
we didn't get to go where we were planning to go?
Therefore they should at least give us a refund for our
flight.
I don't know.
Let me know down in the comments,
what your thoughts are on it.
And if you've flown with Boutique Air before,
I'd love to hear your experiences as well
if you've had any of this sort of experience
with them, because to be honest,
they didn't really give me a good impression.
Anyway, thank you so much for watching this video.
I really hope you enjoyed it.
I'm sorry if I'm ranting on too much.
Thanks for watching.
Take care and I'll see you on the next one.
Bye for now.