Luggage arrived 2 days ago - Passengers still stranded
 

I am sending this message with disgust how the airline handled and had my parents listed above stranded at the airport in CLT when in fact they were trying to reach Miami to Baltimore since Sunday November 10th. I just made another reservation for them to stay at a hotel in Charlotte with no assistance offered by US Airways. Their luggage has been in BWI since Monday morning (if not Sunday evening). The details of their flight is as follows. They were not able to board from Charlotte after attempting to four separate flights since they were on standby. I will be sending this experience to all the authorities, friends and acquaintances i can think of. Way to go US Airways! What a great way to treat elderly people and have them stuck with no additional necessities/clothes since you have provided an exemplary service by making sure that their luggage arrived promptly but left the passengers behind!

Ticketing Airline: US Airways
Ticketnumbers: 037-2335022470, 037-2335022469

Flightno Date From Dept* To Arrv* Status Class
US1996 10 Nov 2013 MIA 17:06 CLT 19:12 listed Economy
US1836 10 Nov 2013 CLT 19:59 BWI 21:17 listed Economy

If they are traveling on standby on pass benefits, then you have no complaint, as most airlines use seniority to determine who makes the flight after all revenue standbys and anyone else with higher priority is cleared 1st. If the flight is full or oversold and volunteers are solicited no standbys will make the flight. The checked bags on a domestic flight will go no matter what as all bags are screened by TSA.

Would be interesting to know if your parents where on a buddy pass, if so A320fan is totally correct.
A friend of mine at Southwest gave me one of his buddy passes to go to San Fran. a few years ago.......it took me four days to get back to Dallas due to full flights. But I knew what to expect when I was using his buddy pass and luckily had the time off to allow for the delay home.

Thanks for your replies and letting me know about the things i have not considered previously. I am not certain if their tickets were considered buddy passes however they were purchased via an online system due to Turkish Airlines' agreement with participating airlines in order to be able fly domestic routes while they are in the United States. Roughly they were purchased at approximately 50% discount over confirmed tickets. Hope to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

That sounds like a Z.E.D. ticket which are 100% standby, and as with all other airlines are way down on the totem pole when it comes to clearing standbys. There are times of the year when ZED travel is 100% the greatest and times when it is the worst. Holidays are usually a time when you consider buying a ticket instead of standby travel.