just disaster experience
American Airlines is terrible for customer service. They completely deleted our flight into St. Lucia when we have had it booked for two months. We made all of our honeymoon arrangements based on the flight. Our only options given by the "supervisor" were: fly the day before/after at midnight, fly into an airport 3 HOURS AWAY or refund our money. That is SERIOUSLY the best their customer service can do? We are now forced to spend extra money with no restitution from the people who are screwing up our honeymoon. This is ridiculous and I'm never going to fly with them again! The "supervisor" stated there was nothing they could do for us. I don't believe this at all and feel like I'm being lied to. Thanks for offering to cancel our honeymoon with 60 days notice! They are the only flight providers for this area and they know it! Ridiculous!
Upgrade to first class, offer a free ticket and also to act like they care.
aadvantage program advertised then abruptly discontinued
Dear Citibank and American Airlines,
I write in regards to the Citibank AAdvantage Debit Card Rewards Program. As a loyal American Airlines customer, the program had such strong appeal that I switched my primary bank to Citibank in September 2011. The significant effort, headache, and cost of changing banks was rendered useless by the abrupt termination of the program in December, 2011. Why was this program advertised and available only three months before its termination?
All of my recent interactions with Citibank have been instigated through my relationship with the American Airlines AAdvantage program, and unfortunately, each experience has been negative. My application for the Citibank AAdvantage Visa Signature required a half-dozen phone calls and an appeal to the Office of the President of Citi Cards before a clerical error on their part was corrected. My application for a checking account at Citibank stalled while I waited to activate checks I never received. The abrupt termination of the Citibank AAdvantage Debit Card Rewards Program leaves me frustrated and without motive to remain a Citibank customer. At the beginning of the new year, I will close all of my banking and credit accounts with Citibank and return to my previous bank, Wells Fargo, with whom I banked for more than ten years with excellent satisfaction.
I now question my participation in the American Airlines AAdvantage program, a program in which I anticipate reaching Executive Platinum (EXP) status by the end of this year. United Airlines MileagePlus has offered me matching elite status, and their recent merger with Continental gives them coverage that is sufficient for both my business and personal travel needs. My continued patronage of American Airlines and Admirals Club will be greatly influenced by your response. I thank you for your consideration.
stolen items
I had over $600 worth of luggage stolen from my bag. This includes 3 Canon camera lens's and a bottle of Polo cologne. I talked to AA customer support and they suggested I go to the airport I landed at and file a complaint. After dealing with 2 very rude employees, I had my list of items thrown back at me and was walked out on. They told me there was nothing they could do for me. I then called AA again and spoke to highest rank person I could. She gave me the number to call and suggested I file a report on both employees I dealt with. Needless to say I'm never flying AA ever again.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Our flight from Charlottesville to Charlotte (connecting to LAX) was delayed THREE times. We landed in Charlotte with very little time to get from one side of the airport to the other. AA knew they had people trying to get on the LAX flight. AA knew they were going to likely be a few minutes late to the gate... a FEW MINUTES. AA flight crew told us they would hold the flight. No matter, we ran all the way. I'm 70 years old and they're lucky I didn't die on the way to the gate.
AA didn't have staff available to help. No carts to get their customers from one side of the terminal to the other. No one called the gate. No one informed the pilot who could have requested a delay. Their gate staff refused to notify the pilotonce we got to the gate. No one from AA call the tower to get A FEW MINUTES delay. And of course, AA gave away our seats knowing we were running to the gate and had landed with ALMOST enough time to get to the gate.
I have flown all over the world with AA. American Airlines used to be a great company.
Now, airplanes have mechanical problems, and no one wants AA to take off with defective planes. But there was so much they could have done to avoid customers missing a flight for the sake of a FEW MINUTES. We waited HOURS in Charlottesville. They couldn't give us a few minutes of help in Charlotte.
I owned an international business. I know mistakes are made. I also know the measure of any company's leadership is how they RESPOND to mistakes... and in doing so let employees know the values of leadership and the company. Until we hear back from AA, we can only assume that the truth is exactly what the gate folks told us: customers are only numbers. They don't care their customers. And they won't lift a finger to help customers suffering from the mistakes AA makes.
skycap curbside service
I am a skycap at Boston Logan Airport for american airlines. Recently the general manager ralph lopez has changed the duties of skycaps. My duties were to assist all passengers with luggage, either checking in at curbside or assisting passengers to the ticket counter or anywhere else a passenger might need baggage assistance. He has now changed it to curbside checkin only, if someone needs helpwith their luggage to the ticket counter for example i cannot help them. Passengers are getting upset when we tell them we cannot help them, as they are forced to drag their bags into the terminal. Because of this i have lost more than 50 % of my pay, i work for tips. It is bad customer service. Example: A family of 5 with 10 bags travelling 1st class needed help to the ticket counter for checkin, i had to refuse, he became angry citing he had paid almost 20, 000$ for his 1st class tickets and you cant help me? I explained the new rules to him nad that i could lose my job if did not comply with the new rules. AA GM ralph lopez has changed the definition of the word skycap, now passengers who need help now suffer for it. No one can help us, we have contacted lawyers and the labor board.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
american airlines is a very sorry airlines
American airlines is a very sorry airline, they are a very rude & unprofessional company, they are $ hungry and they do not value their customers. They are very rude and unprofessional company. All they care about is how much money they can make off each customer. March 01, 2011 was my very time flying on american airlines, so prior to flying I called them to make sure that I had all of their fly rules in place. I called to find out about the baggage rules and I was told that I could bring my luggage on board as long as it did not weight more than 40lbs. I later called back because I read on their website that electronic games were not allowed on board. I wanted to know if that menat that my child could not bring his gameboy. Whne I called a very nasty agent answered and was very rude about answering my question. When I ask her the question she told me to read the website and whne I requested to speak with a supervisor, the agent said that if I wanted to speak with a supervisor, I would have to call back and she hung up the phone in my face. I called back and spoke to a supervisor and she said that she was sorry.
They do only offer snacks for sale. I usually fly southwest airlines and they always offer free snacks. A bag of peanut or chips or something. It shows that they vaule their customers.
I had a even worst experience on my flight back to my home city. Thet ramp agent publicly humilated me in front of all of the other passengers. I asked to speak to a supervisor and guess what she said, you know it. She said that she was so sorry. I will never fly with this airlines every again and I suggest that they you take your flying business somewhere else. I even wrote to the corporate office and the send a response back stating that they were, you know what, that they were sorry to hear what had happen to me and that was it.
I mentioned to a group of people at a beautyshop a few days later and another lady said that she had a very bad experience with them and they told her the same thing that they were you know (sorry). This one sorry airlines and can not help but to mentioning just how sorry of a airline that they are.
When I got to the airport the next day for my flight, I was told that I would have to pay $25 for my luggage. I tried to explain how I called and was told that my bag could be carried on just so long as it does not weight more then 40lbs. Although my bag only weighed 29lbs, I was still made to pay $25 dollars, because ot was a couple inches too tall. I spoke to a supervisor and she just said that she was sorry.
I really hate American Airlines because they have the worst service ever. They gave us headphones to watch a movie which were these small ones that are very uncomfortable to wear. We recieved very thin blankets on the COLD plane. The Tv's that we watched Harry Potter on (unlike Jet Blue, we all watch the same thing) were tiny. All in all, I seriously hate them, and need to stop being SORRY and actually do something.
lack of legroom, seating options
I sent an email to American Airlines on its web site complaining about a lack of legroom in coach and asking why I couldn't pay for more leg room without paying an exorbitant fee for first class. This is the answer I received:
I am sorry you were uncomfortable when you traveled with us. Clearly most of the time customers are on board our aircraft is spent sitting, so we know how important this area is to the overall enjoyment of your flight. Our aircraft seats have been designed to be as comfortable as possible, are standard in size and pitch and comparable to most of our competitors.
Please know that we are all working hard to provide the highest quality service in the industry and are looking forward to demonstrating this commitment to you firsthand. Please travel with us again soon. It is always a pleasure to welcome you aboard.
Sincerely,
Ms. L. Milam
Customer Relations
American Airlines
For security purposes and to protect privacy, our process does not allow for replies to this message.
Isn't that swell? As you can see I received pablum boilerplate from a faceless Ms. L. Milam that completely failed to address my two complaints/questions. I did go back to AA's tiresome contact page and filled out a lot of extraneous info to restate my complaint. I'll just bet I receive a deep apology from AA's current CEO and around-the-world tickets for two to be used anytime in the next 10 years, but I won't wait up nights for them.
I did not order Glamour magazine subscription by redeeming my airmiles.
This company sucks! We'll never fly with them again!
Ramelle,
Nope, I made it clear that I was not threatening anyone, other than to post who you are (the fear of all bullies). Isn't it funny how brave bullies are until they find someone who will hit back? Looks like the admins of the web site see things the same way I do . This site is for people who want to post legitimate complaints.
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I'm not the only one who has had problems with you and others like. You can't only go around pissing off so many people before it comes back to you.
How sad to be you. Truly. You ridicule other people to make yourselves feel better. Sad human beings all the way through to your core.
Chrismur,
DO not take anything personally. Ramelle and her friends have been trolling these board, picking fights and bullying people for quite awhile. Unfortunately, all of their inflammatory comments have been deleted, either by the board administrators or on their own as an attempt to cover their tracks.
You do not owe (her/him) an apology in any way whatosever. NOTE: some of their friends are still trolling the boards. BE careful.
LOL what is up with these comments!
WTF? Don't u people have anything better to do? Join a club, take a walk around the block, masturbate!
Tell us more ILC. You need to talk about it. I only heard what goes on in trailer parks and your kind of communities. But you need to talk, girl. I'm here for you.
Hey Bob, do you suppose Ramasshole got the dick rammed up her ### yet. I hope so because she sounded as though she needs an ###-### real bad.
She swallows it, Bob. Remember these trailer trash are living in poverty and cum is a good source of protein. She doesn't have to eat meat. When her husband catches a rat and kills it, they save the meat for himself and the children.
"I received pabulum boilerplate from a faceless Ms. L. Milam that completely failed to address my two complaints/questions." Please don't be offended by my pointing out to you aWriter, that you have just entered the next step of boilerplate to be served up to you indirectly through the use of these sometimes foul mouthed, sometimes soft spoken, public relations agents. Are you impressed with your overall experience with these replies from faceless people here? Did many address your complaint directly? Are you fed up with the entire complaint process? If yes, their work is done here, and they can spend more of their time "handling" others that dare to ask questions of, or to complain to one of their valued clients. I am also sorry, that all I had to offer was more questions. Maybe more of this pack of jackals will respond to my comment with some concrete suggestions, who knows?
airline and hotel
Iam here to say I am upset in regards to my vacation for we were to enjoy my husbands 50 b-day and 32nd ann. at one of the hoels bookit offers the staff was very unpleasent there and the airline american airlines was just alful the flight from dallas to columbus was terrible we were first moved from one boarding area to another then we waited 20/25 mts. or more before loading they said it was due to no one to clean the plane we were to fly out on was the plane even cleaned who knows then we loaded this plane in above 100deg. weather were we set for 90 or so mts. but now listen to this part we had NO AIR ON THIS HOT HOT PLANE it began to get hotter and hotter as the time went on with little childern and adults setting there so hot no air the poilte came on and said he requested a portable air unit come on the strewarts went to the first class area and servered them ICE AND WATER took all of them as we set there to watch no offer to any one inc. the babies and small childern on the plane give me a break no iam sorry or anything like that It swas so hard to breath after awhile on this plane no one ask how we were doing if we had breathing problems or anything I sent the airline a e-mail for you cannt talk to any one there a week or so ago when we retruned have not heard from them Like I told them THEY DO NOT CARE SO BEWARE for I would like to have my money back or vouchers even a call from the company or something is there any one out there who can help with someything like this problem
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
assaulted by flight attendant
I was returning from a friend's wedding in florida and was assaulted by a flight attendant. I was sitting in the row before the emergency exit so I could not lay my seat back. Therefore, I laid down to sleep on my tray - I was suddenly jolted awake when the flight attendant forced the seat in front of me all the way down.in the process she jolted my head and neck causing immediate pain, dizziness, and nausea. I was then told to leave my party and sit in another seat but the flight attendant did not show me which seat leaving me feeling incredibly ill and disoriented to search the plane for a seat on my own. I was moved three times. After complaining to the airline I received a very rude letter in which I was told essentially that I was lying, had not been assaulted and the airline denied my allegations. Since the incident I have been having severe migraines several times a week. I will be contacting my doctor, lawyer and jag so pursue this but until then I advise anyone reading this to avoid american airlines at any cost.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
This poster sounds like he is just looking for a reason to sue! "Assulted"? Yeah, right...
The poster did not specifically mention that there was no apology from the 'guilty' flight attendant
Even if it was an accident what about an simple apology from the flight attendent. Now what would you have done if it where you, seriously people!
It is probable that the attendant did not see you. As the above commenter said, the tables are not intended to be slept on. You may have been injured, but it was not totally the airlines fault. What would you have done if it were another passenger?
Most aircraft feature trays for eating and reading, either in the seatback which folds down to form a small table in most economy class seats, or inside the armrest which folds out in most first class, business class, bulkhead, and exit row seats.
They are not for sleeping on.
bad management - delays
Heard about the fuel storage container problem at Miami Airport? Sometime last week while we were on vacation in Cayman we heard news of the explosion due to poor maintenance of the system. Thought by the time we left several days later (Monday, Mar. 28) our flight would be ok as American's Management team had several days to organize around their challenges. As it turns out, we were wrong. American Airlines planes are arriving and boarding on time in Miami as they are able to leave their points of origin on time. After boarding passengers on time, American is now choosing to make their customers sit on HOT, STUFFY planes while they que all their planes to stations to fuel up via tanker trucks. WE SAT ON THE TARMACK FOR OVER 2 HOURS. TWO HOT, STUFFY HOURS. The management of American made the choice to put previously ticketed passengers on these HOT, STUFFY planes knowing full well they would not be able to fuel in the planes for a couple of hours. The pilot kept apologizing for the unfortunate delays caused by the "fuel storage incident that could not be prevented." The stories I have read indicate the fuel storage problems were due to POOR MAINTENANCE. The fact that we had to sit on a HOT, STUFFY plane for 2 hours was a CHOICE MADE BY THE VERY POOR MANAGEMENT TEAM AT AMERICAN. As a customer by choice, they have lost my business.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
service stinks
After purchasing a full fare ticket for over $700 five months in advance to accompany my wife and two children (redeemed AA miles) on vacation, I did not have a seat assigned prior to my flight out of STL. Was told at the gate in STL that Dallas had a "gate hold" on all remaining tickets. My wife and children were assigned 9D, 9F, and 10D - seems the logical solution would be to assign me 9E, right? However, when I arrived at DFW from STL over 90 minutes before the flight and went directly to gate A29, "Katrina" reassigned my son from 10D to 9E, and told me I would have to wait for my seat assignment. Returned 30 minutes later, still could not help me. Finally, 10 minutes after my family had boarded (with my daughter in tears because she thought I'd be left behind), Katrina told me the only seat available was 27F. I asked her what happened to 10D and she said she had given that to someone else, "sorry". Throughout the process she was curt, rude and disrespectful. So I spent the beginning of my vacation cramped in the back of the plane next to the engine with some other kid’s head asleep on my arm rest - instead of next to my family. Trust me, because of ONE PERSON - "Katrina at DFW gate A29 on 3/11" I will NEVER spend another dime with American, and NEVER pass up an opportunity to disparage your customer service. I'm heading to Facebook next to find as many pages as I can to share my complaint. Nice work, "Katrina".
I live in Up State New York and on the local news station WGRZ.com, they aired a story about how people are taking their complaints to Twitter and even the airlines themselves confirmed that they have agents that regularly watch for complaints against airlines...and that they will respond to a complaint right away and do what ever they can to rectify the problem. Hope this helps out some.
service dogs
I am writing now because I just found this forum. Around Thanksgiving of 2004 my wife's brother died. She had to get to Florida. My wife had been told her and her service dog would be well taken care. She would be met at the gate, taken to an area where she could let the dog relieve its self then taken to a bathroom so she could and last taken to the next departure gate. The reps in Muskogee were VERY nice. That ended in Dallas. She was not met, she was not helped, and when she had a seizure & her dog did what its trained to do she was told the pilot would not allow her back on the plane, which threw her in massive seizures. To make a LONG story short her family had to drive to Texas & get her out of the hospital where the AA Reps left her after telling her she could NEVER fly again without an escort..
overcharged
Due to a metro breakdown in Paris, I (along with about 15 other people) missed my flight to Dallas, with a connection to Orlando. In order to get out of Paris, my travel partner and I had to pay a ridiculous change fee. The ticketing desk was incredibly rude, and then quoted us a price of $280 to change the ticket (where we would technically be on standby) or a total of $408 to guarantee seats on the next flight, which would not be until the following morning. We decided to think about it, and eventually went back to change the flight and pay the $408. We were then told we were misinformed and the charge was $475. Tired and just wanting to get home, we agreed to the costs.
We had several service issues with the trip, among them nearly missing our connection (after being assured by no less than five agents that we would have plenty of time) but only making it because of mechanical problems. Also, not having seats together because the agents thought we would "miss the flight." Plus, being yelled at for stowing my bag under my seat by an attendant that I was told to do by another attendant. However, what happened after I got home is what is frustrating me the most.
After returning home, my travel partner and I checked our statements and found that we had both been overcharged by American. I received a charge of $571 and my partner a charge of $569. I immediately contacted American through e-mail. They replied four days later and told me that the system showed a charge of $505 and that they would need my statements. She supplied me with the fax number, which I later discovered was not a valid number. I found the correct one and the next day faxed not only our bank statements, but also a letter detailing the lack of service we received and our receipts for $475.
It has been a week and I have not heard back from American. I would appreciate at least an e-mail or a phone call or something to let me know that they even received the documents. For all I know, they never got there and the representative is waiting for them. I called American to see if this could be verified, but of course, the only number is for reservations and they do not have access to this information. The woman also informed me that it has only been four business days so that they still have leeway. Confused, I asked how it was only four business days and she told me that the customer service department had the Monday after Easter off. Right. Because everyone else in the US did too.
I'm just frustrated that I have no way of contacting customer service to see if my stuff even arrived. Plus, I think it is ridiculous that I now have to wait and am forced to pay interest on the additional money I was charged. I filed a dispute with my credit card company and I believe they will probably fix the charge before American contacts me.
not allowed on board
On June 12, 2007 I reserved and payed for a ticket from San José, Costa Rica to Miami.
I recieved confirmation via e-mail from American Airlines that I bought the ticket.
On July 8th, at the time of my arrival to AA counter in SJO, the lady told me at the counter that I had not payed for my ticket. I opened my computer and showed her that I had payed for the tickect and showed the confirmation #. She gave the poor excuse that my credit card bounced and was not accepted when I knew that was not the case.
So I told her to personally call the bank to verify the my credit card is active and that she had screwed up. She said that AA did not have a telephone number at the Santamaría Airport. What a poor excuse.
At the end, I had to give her another credit card and supposedly buy again the ticket. I lost my flight, wasted 5 hours all due to AA´s poor training program.
The name of the lady at the counter is Silvia Camacho, whose lack of entreprenuership amazed me. Got robbed of my time by AA.
pregnant wife refused pre-boarding
American Airlines has reached a new low ebb in its cutomer service. My wife who is pregnant was traveling from Chicago to Washington DC. After a long day of business meetings, she requested that she be allowed to pre-board. The agent at the airport rudely brushed her aside and told her to get back to her group. She requested and politeley asked if she could make an exception, the agent brished her aside and asked her again to wait for her group to be called. When my wife suggested that she plans to complain to the customer relations, the agent arrogantly told her to to use the web to go ahead and complain. Shame om American Airlines for treating its cutsomers in this manner. As a matter of fact I challenge the American management to aplogize in public if they have any guts and self respect and take stringent action against the employee. They know whe the emplyoyee at Chicago is. Shame on American Airlines. This is absolutely pathetic.
AA has recently decided to not allow carry on garment bags regardless of size or weight. When asked why they all respond, " The FAA made us do it" or "The TSA made us do it". After checking with both agencies I found that this patently untrue! AA is running off their best customers and doesn't have the character to admit it.
My wife and I just completed a trip to Europe using AA partners in First/Business Class. On our return flight from Brussels on Jet air (great service) they were 2 1/2 hours late. Needless to say we missed our Newark connection to Dallas. All the agent would say was of course it was not their problem or fault. They put us on a flight three hours later in coach. Do I have a complaint to get my miles back for the leg we had to fly coach?
ADHD?
heartless & inflexible
I received two AA Awards as a retirement gift last July. Knowing they expired in 12 months, I put together a vacation itinerary for my wife and me by mid-June; called Business ExtraAA to ticket the trip and I was pleased. Later I received an e-mail that the award had expired 7 days earlier and should call AA. I did -they said "Sorry"!
I had been a Platinum & Gold Elite customer for a number of years. (They used to have GOOD customer service- some years ago) - This inflexibility is a huge disappointment!
I do not recommend AA as a preferred airline --maybe last in line!
poor customer service
Five minutes after departing in DFW my daughter discovered that she left her Red Blackberry Pearl on American Airlines Flt#1955 on 11/20/08. The gate agent Loletha Bush confirmed with the aircraft that they had the phone. My daughter waited one hour. No one from the aircraft ever walked up with it and Loletha never walked down the ramp to retrieve it. Loletha's solution was to take my daughter's contact info and get it to Lost & Found to be returned later or book her on an even later connecting flight. These solutions are outrageous. Why not just give her the phone now, problem solved. It has now been 18 days and it was never turned into DFW Lost & Found. I sent many emails so American Airlines could start an investigation/inquiry. You can imagine my frustration when each response referenced the first response. SEE BELOW
December 2, 2008
We have received your email regarding your missing cell phone. However, we indicate a response was provided on November 24 to an earlier email when your mother wrote on your behalf. A copy of the text to our previous response is as follows:
November 24, 2008
I'm sorry to learn of your daughter's missing cell phone. I can understand both your disappointments and frustration.
Although I don't have the benefit of seeing the circumstances unfold, the responsibility to handle such matters rests entirely with the station's lost and found office. Learning that you have filed a report with them, just to let you know, they will ONLY contact a customer if the item is identified. Mrs. Eggert, I hope your daughter's cell phone is found.
Sincerely,
Roberto Silva
Customer Relations
American Airlines
My daughter's cell phone wasn't missing until American Airlines LOST it. I notice a common trend in these email complaints. Their inability/refusal to handle their customers. They are trained to give you the run around. I just booked my daughter a flight home for Christmas on Delta. She will spend an extra 2 hours in airports, but I would rather inconvenience her then give American Airlines my business.
unfair
We arrived at Miami International Airport for our flight # 1344 on March 8, 2010, and boarded on time. The crew reported mechanical problems and we were asked to de-plane. After de-planeing the attendant announced over the PA system that our flight was cancelled and that there were no other flights available to New York on American since they were “all over-sold”. She said “ you are on your own; there is nothing we can do; this is no joke”. We were given no information regarding alternate flights, other routes, overnight stay, meals; nothing! My wife and I each own our own business and had important business to attend to on the following day, Tuesday.
Needless to say, this seeming lack of concern for our situation left us feeling frustrated and angry.
We then got on our cell phones to the various airlines that have New York routes. Jet Blue was able to provide us with 2 tickets to New York JFK leaving from Ft. Lauderdale at a price of $379.70 per ticket (receipt attached) at 4:35 on Monday. Additionally we incurred additional expenses of the taxicab to Ft. Lauderdale and lunch for the two of us.
Since the American Airlines personnel announced we were ”on our own’’, we naturally assumed that reasonable costs would be covered for our alternate plans.
In several correspondences with AA they have stonewalled us stating "We wish we had it in our power to guarantee that planes would always arrive on time and that delays and cancellations just wouldn't happen. Unhappily, we don't"...this simply doesn't answer the point: First, it was AA's mechanical error; not weather related or 'act of God' and secondly, even it was weather related, to say "you are on your own" is unacceptable. And then once AA has taken zero responsibility, customer service gives some ridiculous answer to the situation.
We have asked for our flight costs on Jet Blue and Taxi expenses be reimbursed by AA: they countered with 10, 000 FF miles! Unbelievable!
I look forward to hearing responses/ advice...
Very disappointed AA customer (did I mention I am also a Frequent Flyer?!)
blame it on the weather ¬&
I recently changed positions with my company that requires me to now travel across country instead of within the Western US. I have always been a loyal Southwest customer, however with my changing needs, decided to fly with American Airlines. I now know that was a mistake.
My trip began with American Airlines (AA) in Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday December 8 headed to Chicago. This was an American Eagle flight. My travel partner and I changed our flight to an earlier flight due to the coming snow storm. After a relatively smooth boarding process in Omaha, we began to push back from the gate and stopped….we were told that because of we sat at the gate for so long, and because of some changes in contingency plans, we did not have enough fuel. We returned back to the gate and put additional fuel in the plane and then pushed back from the gate and to the de-icing staging area. A de-icing truck arrived, and promptly broke down while beginning the de-icing process. It took a mechanic over 2 hours to get the truck moving again (it appeared to be an issue with the brakes). Meanwhile, airplane after airplane was being de-iced and released for takeoff. Once the truck was repaired, we were de-iced and took off. These delays caused us to take sit on the aircraft for an additional 3 hours. Why was there not another de-icing truck sent to complete the job? Why wasn’t your de-icing equipment better maintained with the coming winter? Poor maintenance and poor contingency planning caused this flight to be significantly delayed, causing us to miss our connection in Chicago…which is another paragraph filled with issues.
Once arriving in Chicago, we were scheduled to leave Chicago headed to Rochester, Minnesota departing at 5:40 pm on another American Eagle flight (Flight 4049). We boarded the plane and sat at the gate. Again, the first de-icing plane that arrived broke down and was unable to de-ice the aircraft. We waited approximately 1 hour for a second de-icing truck to arrive. We were successfully de-iced and ready to depart; however, the AA gate attendant had not pulled the gate back far enough for our plane to successfully leave the gate. We waited for an additional hour, yes, an hour, whey someone was located to simply move the gate back about another 10 feet…..we then left the gate and headed toward the runway…when we arrived at the runway, our captain pulled over to the side, and came on the intercom after sitting there 15 minutes and announced that because of all of the delays (incompetence), we now did not have enough fuel to go to our destination. He told us we had to return to the gate to refuel, and de-ice again! We returned to the gate and refueled. The captain then told us we were still on to go to Rochester, but had to de-ice again first. The de-icing process was started and then stopped. The captain came on the intercom and announced the flight was cancelled. However, the issues and incompetence did not end there.
The flight attendant on the flight was extremely rude. He stomped around the aircraft, slamming doors and being very abrasive and belligerent to passengers. One passenger wanted to know if he could get off the plane when we came back to the gate to refuel and de-ice again to get something to eat. Instead of simply answering the man, he came on the intercom and told all of us, “If you get off this plane, you are not getting back on. I am not standing in your way, you do what you want” And that is a direct quote. He angered many of the passengers….Once the flight was cancelled, we were told that the agent at gate 19 would assist us in rebooking our flights, that we should make sure to stop at the gate for assistance. All of us left the aircraft and formed a line at gate 19, where a flight to Columbus OH was about to board. The gate agent was unreasonable, rude, and confrontational. She told us to “Get out of the way, I am not going to help you. I have another flight to board. You will have to go somewhere else” Passengers were confused and did not know what to do. Instead of politely giving instructions, she barked out that she wasn’t going to help us and to get out of the way. I asked for her name, and she told me “I’m not telling you my name, ask someone else” and then began talking loudly into the intercom at the gate so that I could no longer talk with her…..unacceptable, totally unacceptable behavior.
So, after sitting on a small commuter plane for almost 4 hours, watching one incompetent action after another, while enduring a rude, obnoxious flight attendant….we were again abused at the gate by an agent that was supposed to assist us.
I have been traveling for over 15 years and I have never seen such incompetence nor endured such rude, obnoxious, irresponsible customer service. I have been a happy Southwest customer for many years. American Airlines has certainly left its negative mark on not only me as a customer, but everyone on that flight. This was the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I understand bad weather, delays, even cancellations…but when you have a company whose total business model is based on good customer service, proper maintenance of its equipment, and providing a service….you better make great improvements to survive. American Airlines is not an airline that I nor my coworkers will fly again in the future.
rudeness of customer service agents
I have been apalled at the way customer service agents talk. This happened to me for the first time so I am wondering if other people share my experience.
My Wife and I would be travelling internationally and we found out that a second checked bag is charged now. These rules went into place 6 days prior to our purchasing the tickets. My wife called up the customer service phone asking if they could let us take two bags as we did not realize this when making the booking. The women on the other end started yelling at her and when my wife pointed out that she is being unprofessional and rude and she was calling to only ask a question, she responded by saying "thanks for your opinion." After hearing this account, I am at a loss of how the buisness works. Frankly, I am very dissapointed and most certainly will not be using American unless absolutely have to. I was wondering if this was just our experience or others have had similar issues.Thanks.
do not fly american airlines
On april 14th my wife missed her outbound flight to Tampa because of major traffic heading towards kennedy airport. we arrived thirty minutes prior to the flight and they refused to check her in. we were referred to a supervisor who was not anywhere to be found. so we were referred to the ticket counter. we accepted responsibility but were angered by the fact we could not rebook without paying for a whole new flight because we were using a comp ticket. one that was issued by AA after we had issues with them the prior year. So we re-booked on airtran because the fare was 40 percent of american airlines for a one way flight. We told the AA woman at the counter of our plan and stated to her that we would still keep the return ticket in place.
On April 20th my wife returned to Tampa airport to fly home and American airlines had canceled her return ticket because while in Tampa she wrote to AA about her experience in the airport on April 14th. She complained she could not go on standby or rebook only paying fees because she had a comp ticket. They issued her a thirty six dollar e voucher and never indicated in their return email that her ticket would be canceled home. we have email for those who wish to defend AA.
While in the Tampa Airport my wife called me and i called AA. The woman on the phone was helpful. She called the customer service manager in Tampa and agreed to have fee waived. She told me her name was Lisa ( I will not post last names as I feel that is wrong but we have everyone's first and last name) and to have my wife ask for her. My wife asked the girl at the counter to get Lisa. and her reply was she has more important things to do then help you. She explained I was on the phone with AA and what i was told. The girl said to her i already looked it up and you have to pay. so she paid or she would have missed flight.
She called me when she arrived home and told me the story. I called AA customer service when i arrived home and they told me we are not customer service and that customer service can only be reached through email. i said to the guy on the phone don't you think its silly customer service is unreachable by phone he said no. i asked him how he would feel if he was me and he said i have no opinion.
I'm waiting for a email response to my issue but i included the names of everyone who we spoke in my email to AA.
Billed my credit card twice for baggage fee. I was billed $200.00 for 2 bags that should have cost $100.00. Charging baggage fee in the first place is a good example of skyway robbery.
I too have grown frustrated and disgusted with American Airlines. I have to wonder what deal or under the table kick back has to be going on with SATO since they seem insistent on booking American Airlines time after time for what seems to me to be an overwhelming majority of travel between…
my complaint is the last i travel with american airlines .i don-t found my bagages at same day and when to new york .I have flight at 2h30 .I leaving haiti at 6h02
20 Dec 2008 AA Flight 4599 delayed untold hours departing from Boston despite clear weather. Unsatisfactory.
After reporting a theft in my luggage to American airlines 36 hours after it happened, American Airlines refused to reimburse the stolen goods returning their response 4 months later.
American Airlines uses the excuse that they are having 'engine problems' or something along those lines to delay flights. The reason why they do this is because a flight isn't full. So they delay the flight and wait until the next connecting flight is scheduled and place those passengers on your flight to fill the plane up. So if you are lucky, you will get to your destination 3 to 4 hours late. On top of that you have to worry about your luggage getting there on time. They are going downhill fast and need new leadership.
Stop complaining please