[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

I was sitting right in front of the gate 25 minutes before scheduled departure

I’ve heard stories where some people have been talking on their cell phone; went to the newsstand, or Starbucks, and didn’t hear the announcement, and missed the flight. If, however, you were in the gate area for that entire 25 minutes, and you were watching the gate agent, or the door to the boarding ramp, and, all of a sudden, the door was shut, then, clearly, you should receive the compensation applicable for involuntary denied boarding.

In recent years, a lot of airlines have adopted lying as a standard business practice. I don’t know how much Air Tran is into this. Anyway, if Air Tran got desperate, and really wanted to avoid paying denied boarding compensation, they could invoke the rule (section C(5), appearing on p. 12 of their Contract of Carriage, 05-14-08 ed., lie, and basically say you were behaving like a raving lunatic. What is particularly bad about this rule is that the determination you are a raving lunatic is limited to “…Air Tran’ (sic) sole opinion…” American Air has a similar provision in its Contract of Carriage, and I’ve read of more than one instance of a gate agent bullying customers, by playing psychiatrist, and denying boarding.

Air Tran’s Contract of Carriage, Page 11, “Rules On Reconfirmation Of Reservations, Check-In Times…” Section B(2) ( http://www.airtran.com/common/PDF/Ai...f_Carriage.pdf ) indicates passengers need only be at the gate “…ten (10) minutes prior to original scheduled departure time of the flight.” However, in addition to this requirement, there is a requirement, for those who check baggage, that bags can not, at some airports, be checked less than 45 minutes prior to departure.

I guess we’ll have to start making hidden camera videos, with sound, of Air Tran at the boarding gate!