Pissed off at American Airlines

dcmeigs

Has anyone here had an airline try and charge you $75 per segment for a confirmed seat after a missed connection caused by their own delays? It happened to me and about a dozen of my fellow travelers yesterday on American Airlines. I refused and they made me fly the next two segments standby. Took me from sunrise til midnight to get home and I spent more that that in airport bars.

I wrote a particularly nasty complaint letter today, but I'd be surprised if I get more than a middle finger in reply.

I'm still pissed.

sucks2beme

welcome to bankrupt airlines.
take a number and get in line.
Unless it was a weather delay, let the FAA know what happened.

dcmeigs

I think it's the DOT that handles airline complaints. You can send them an email or open the window and shout. The later makes you feel better and there is a better chance of a response too.

Not a weather delay. It was an American eagle flight with a bunch of surfers leaving from the international stand up paddle surfing finals. The airline couldn't figure out how to load a couple dozen surf boards into the hold of an ATR. It was kind of fun to watch, in a Three Stooges kind of way, but the surfers sure looked bummed watching their expensive boards beat around.

steveinaz

I'm done flying, tired of being treated like cattle. I drive; stop when the hell I want, smoke when I want, eat when I want. I'm getting old and crabby, and pretty much wanna do things MY way.

sucks2beme

I never liked AA. I liked them even less after doing business with them.
They lie, cheat and steal. I was very happy when my company stopped doing business with them.
I remember waiting outside my contact's cube, and listened to him and another AA guy scheming
to get some "demo" equipment for a new office. They kept some of our "demo" gear for 8 years!

George Grand

steveinaz wrote: »

I'm done flying, tired of being treated like cattle. I drive; stop when the hell I want, smoke when I want, eat when I want. I'm getting old and crabby, and pretty much wanna do things MY way.

Amen.

dcmeigs

If I could only drive to the Caribbean.

I'm a big fan of Southwest Airlines with their vast network of non-stops and refundable tickets. The secret to airline happiness for me is to fly only nonstops. If they can't deliver, you can just go home and try again another day. I got screwed because I broke my own rules and flew a three segment flight.

seeclear

Seems customer service is becoming rarer and rarer these days. No one seems to care about the longterm effect of their actions on their customers and ultimately their own company. I just yesterday was looking at my credit card charges online, and I see a charge from a hotel I stayed at last month, posted on Dec 12. I was on a business trip and the hotel was paid for by the company that sponsored the trip. It was in Edinburgh, Scotland, and we were offered the option of taking a guest, and I took my wife along so we could sightsee some on my off time. So I check into why I had this charge on there and apparently they charged me for my wife's breakfast each day, because the sponsoring company had paid an individual rate for the room. Now, at checkin we were told that the continental breakfast was included and there was no mention of that being for only one of us. At checkout, likewise no mention of this charge. The first I heard of it was THREE WEEKS after the fact from the charge on my credit card (and actually I didn't see the charge until FOUR weeks after I had checked out from the hotel), which if I hadn't checked it carefully I might have just paid and never known the difference. I emailed them about it and there response was (paraphrasing)"yeah, that's what that charge was for, I hope that doesn't bother you!" I've contested the charge through the cc company, but we'll see how that goes. I also emailed them back again saying that I find that unacceptable and ludicrous to charge someone for something that we were told was inclusive at the time, but so far no further response from them.

gdb

Take it "up the chain".......they should make things right if it was their fault. I would raise H@ll, personally! :evil:

vcwatkins

steveinaz wrote: »

I'm done flying, tired of being treated like cattle. I drive; stop when the hell I want, smoke when I want, eat when I want. I'm getting old and crabby, and pretty much wanna do things MY way.

I'm with you on that. I'll drive just about anywhere possible to avoid airports.

I took the family on a roadtrip out west to Yosemite a few years ago. Transmission went out near Shelby NC, not 6 hours from home. Lost several hours getting repairs lined up and getting an SUV rental, so we ended up driving straight to Grand Canyon. We got so in the zone those two weeks that, on the way back, we ended up driving from Anaheim to Asheville without stopping to sleep. Stopped along the way for things like the Alamo and Six Flags, but just drove during the night, switching off when needed. Absolutely unforgettable trip in so many ways. Like some Chevy Chase movie. It wouldn't have been anything like that wild adventure had we flown.

So lucky not to have to travel to make a living though. I could not do that.

Sherardp

I stopped flying AA a long time ago. I only fly United or US Airways when in the USA. ANA or Asiana when flying in Asia. Works great, and since I'm a Super Flyer I get the best services. Sorry about your luck OP, I've been there. The worst is having your bags lost and it has happened to me several times with US Airways yet I still give them chances to get it right.