Travel

[granddi]

We normally fly Southwest but occassionally fly American. We must be the unluckies travelers because we have nothing but bad experiences with AA.

The latest is flying overnight from Anchorage to Dallas. We arrive at 6:00 am expecting to connect in Dallas to a 8:30 am to final destination. At 7am our flight was cancelled. We were rescheduled for 10:45 am the NEXT day--28 hours later. We go to the gate and were told "sorry nothin' we can do about the weather."

Asked another agent for the location of the central AA CS. Of course it is in another terminal. Rep at the central AA customer service said "Why didn't the put you on stand by for the 10:45?" Anyway we got on standby rather than the suggested 28 hour delay.

But another couple was flying American from Barcelona. They connected through Philly going to Dallas then connecting to another city. She said while on the plane in Philly the pilot came on and said he was embarassed but had to tell then the delay was bc they could not find anyone to load baggage!  They missed connections out of Dallas and were forced to stay overnight. 

I read that the 5 major airlines in US account for 80% of domestic air travel. I guess if no competition then poo poo the customer. Someone is going to say well maybe it was weather or airplane repairs and of course no travelers want to travel in unsafe conditons. This airline does not care about passengers.

[on the bay]

I feel so sorry that you have had those experiences but I want you to know you are not the only one.

Except for maybe 2 out of the many times I have had to fly American Airlines, there have been bad experiences.

I think they have too many times have planes that are delayed, and I'm talking over an hour delay. Once they were waiting for the crew! Another time they were repairing part of the plane! I kid you not!-I asked.

I may be going from an area with good weather to an area with good weather but the plane may be coming from states away where the weather is not good.They have a disorganized way of routing their flights I think.

One thing American always does is overbook.

The people who pay for their luggage, have got to be upset when they hear passengers at the gate being told "we have run out of room so bags will have to be checked but there will be no fee!)

I fly Southwest whenever possible. I think the pilots are excellent and you can cancel any flight 10 minutes before and still get credit (towards your next flight within a year).

You can change flights as often as you want with no penalty and money credited.Even change if you find cheaper flights. This is the only airline that does this.

They always have a "wanna-get-away" price so I find they are the lowest of any (besides spirit, allegheny or whatever that I wouldn't fly on anyway).

Southwest also does not charge for first 2 bags checked.

Once when flying American and my mother was with me, they told us they didn't have room for some people-my mother was put in a waiting line with others.

I found the guy in charge and told him she had to travel with me. Ridiculous what they put passengers through.

[StylishLady]

DH and I are booked on American for our trip north and back on July 6th. I'll report back about our experiences. The last time we were on that airline DH was happy because they had nice leg room for his 6'3" frame.

[itiswhatitis]

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@granddi wrote:

We normally fly Southwest but occassionally fly American. We must be the unluckies travelers because we have nothing but bad experiences with AA.

The latest is flying overnight from Anchorage to Dallas. We arrive at 6:00 am expecting to connect in Dallas to a 8:30 am to final destination. At 7am our flight was cancelled. We were rescheduled for 10:45 am the NEXT day--28 hours later. We go to the gate and were told "sorry nothin' we can do about the weather."

Asked another agent for the location of the central AA CS. Of course it is in another terminal. Rep at the central AA customer service said "Why didn't the put you on stand by for the 10:45?" Anyway we got on standby rather than the suggested 28 hour delay.

But another couple was flying American from Barcelona. They connected through Philly going to Dallas then connecting to another city. She said while on the plane in Philly the pilot came on and said he was embarassed but had to tell then the delay was bc they could not find anyone to load baggage!  They missed connections out of Dallas and were forced to stay overnight. 

I read that the 5 major airlines in US account for 80% of domestic air travel. I guess if no competition then poo poo the customer. Someone is going to say well maybe it was weather or airplane repairs and of course no travelers want to travel in unsafe conditons. This airline does not care about passengers.

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@granddi, what a mess.  So sorry you had troubles.  I'm reading how flying used to be such a joy.  Not anymore.  Shameful for them to lie about it.  People would feel a lot better if they're just kept in the know.

[GCR18]

I haven't flown American in a bunch of years.  I flew United today.  Before boarding, they announced they need ten volunteers to take the next flight.  They offered $400 credit.  After twenty minutes they got two volunteers, so they upped it to $500 credit.  The seats went empty, so I'm assuming they had cargo on board.  I didn't know at the time, but the next flight was 12 hours later.  The ten people were happy with their credit.  

[Desertdi]

It was many years ago........but the ONLY time I flew on American.........was from Los Angeles to Chicago.    While we were in the air, Chicago had a blizzard, and the only airport available was Cleveland.   The passengers were then put on an ancient Greyhound bus to Chicago.   The "flight" took 24 hours.

[reiki604]

Out of all the flights I've taken, I try to never fly American unless I can absolutely not avoid it. I even go from a non stop on American to a one stop on another airline t avoid them. I find American uncomfortable, rude and dingy.

[zitawins]

Sorry for your troubles, but these complaints belong on AA's  Facebook page (that often gets quick results) or in a letter to the CEO.

There are also a number of flyers' websites out there. Flyers Rights comes to mind and they have some clout. We here on the Forum can only sympathize with you.