Posted: 12/29/2007 12:40:12 PM EDT
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The wife and I flew to to see my parents for x-mas. On the flight there, the pilot announces 20 minutes before landing that the steering mechanism is broken and we won't be able to steer when we land. The pilot tells us as a precaution, they'll have fire trucks and EMS on the landing strip. The pilot assured us this was a safety precaution and there was nothing to worry about. When we land, we end up a little off the runway. 4 fire trucks and a half dozen EMS surround the plane. Everything is fine. We wait 30 minutes for a tow back to the terminal. On the return flight, the plane is having technical problems and is 4 fooking hours late taking off. ALL of our luggage is missing when we land. The AA baggage claim dept is closed. We wait 1 hour for someone to come back to the AA baggage claim office. Luckily we were 3rd in line, because the line had grown to 50 people by the time the AA personal returned to man the office. 24 hours later, our luggage is still not found. They have no idea where it is. I'm wondering what kind of compensation I'm gonna get for our lost luggage. I'll never fly American Airlines again. |
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Hate to say it but ALL Airlines have treated me crappy at one time or another, with many hour delays, breaking up my group and only letting some of us on the plane, but not letting us even talk to those left off the plane to make a plan. Then there are the multi hour delays extending to overnight waits, etc... They run a very tight ship to cut costs, packing planes to the last seat. This causes lots of issues. |
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Wow! We fly AA all the time for vacations and never had a problem. They have a limit on the amount you can collect on lost baggage unless you bought insurance. Give them a week or two before you lose hope, they usually turn up. Go to their web site. They have all sorts of information about your problems. You should be looking for comps for the other inconveniences though. Go for a upgrade or more miles or something. |
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yeah seriously i had no idea i didn't get the tickets i just know i have to be in DC on Feb 2 to fly out |
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I have just over 1 million miles on American Airlines. One thing I got used to is delays. Any AA flight arriving in Austin Texas is subject to being "reallocated" to a more important route. At least 25% of my homeward bound flights over 15 years have been delayed (by more than 30 minutes) and about 8% outright cancelled. Since I have not flown in 3 years (nor do I intend to) I can only imagine that it is worse now that the planes are running 93% capacity rather than the 75-82% when I was flying regularly. I have been giving away my flight millage (e.g. free tickets) to friends and family who need to fly. Comercial airlines just plane (intended misspelling) svck; excepting Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines. |
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I doubt airlines look their best around the holidays when everyone wants a day off, cant' get it, calls in sick and their replacement does too. You might think you can plan for a big jump in business by hiring more people, but the labor market's slim...caveat and all that. |
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I flew to S.Florida last month... 4 Delta aircraft, 3 had some sort of mechanical problem that delayed our plane 30min to 1hr. Note to everyone who flies: Tags on your luggage are not enough, put a business card or better a large piece of paper with you name, addy, e-mail, cell number, etc. They will open your bag if the tag is ripped off... It was advice given by the place where all unclaimed luggage goes. |
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I had a bag lost in between flights last year coming back from Spain. I was obviously pissed, thinking I would never see the souvenirs, Christmas gifts, and personal effects contained in the bag. However, like instructed, I filled out the claims form and a couple days later a DHL truck dropped the bag off at my house, unopened and unharmed. Hopefully you have a similar experience. |
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From my experience going on Government TDY for years, American Airlines is the worst. Used them twice on official Government business. First time they lost my checked-in luggage but was returned a couple days later. Second time, on a flight from Albuquerque to Chicago to Newark, after the plane landed in O'Hare, the second leg of the flight to New Jersey was cancelled for no apparent reason. Passengers were left to re-schedule and book themselves onto later AA flights (which landed in LaGuardia, NY instead of NJ) or other airlines. I opted for another airline and when I tried to get a refund on that leg of the flight, it took weeks and a nasty email to their customer service department to get reimbursed. Too bad AA is a contract carrier for the Government. |
Okay, what's the problem you encountered on the way out there? Are you angry at the airline that the emergency was handled perfectly by the crew? You know, it sucks taking off late. But, hey, better late than dead. I've had checked bags end up at my doorstep 24-48 hours after arrival time. It sucks, oh well. If you want to be somewhere and need to be there at a certain time, flying the airlines is probably not your best bet. Charter your own personal jet, hell, buy your own. For personal travel, I travel with low expectations and a flexible schedule when I book my reservations with the airlines. |
| I got over 40 full price business flights changed to another airline over a 1 year period due to AAs poor treatment. Hit them in the wallet. They can carry all the low price folks they want, but they won't get my high fare business. I have several family and friends that work there too. Ken What does the AA on the tail stand for? Asshole Airlines. ETA- The flight crews were OK. Did their job. Its the gate/ticket- customer dis-service folks that sux. ken |
They can return your lost bag to you 3 days / 72 hours later without even a 'we are sorry' and you have no claim at all. I had my bags lost about 10yrs ago flying home ( Ohio ) for Christmas. Took them 3 days to get them to me. I was mad as hell and wanted to jam it up their ass. The law states they have 72 hours. |
2 Million Miles on American and I've had a handful of issues...much the same as I've had on EVERY Airline I've flown. Alaska Airlines lost my bag two years ago and it NEVER appeared. I'm sorry you had issues, but I doubt American will lose any sleep over your "boycott"....I tend to hear the I'll never fly so and so again from the people who fly once a year. These are also the same ones who don't know TSA rules and how to board and deplane an aircraft. |