American Airlines Reviews

My son's return flight was a different story. February 25th my 23 year older son, Isaac, showed up at the airport 2 1/2 hours early to put his younger 10 year old brother, Gabe, on an American Eagle plane back to Lubbock. They stood in line at the ticket counter in an attempt to check-in 2 hours and moved 2 feet. Everyone around was complaining about the wait and several missed their flight. Afraid that Gabe would miss his flight Isaac, inexperienced and unaware (as all of us were) of the proper procedures and policies, decided that he would check his little brother in electronically.

Isaac kept and careful eye on Gabe as he went through security and then kept in contact with him up to the gate by phone. Everything seemed to be going well until the gate agent discovered that Gabe was an unaccompanied minor without paperwork and that the additional $60 child fare had not been paid. She then called her supervisor who proceeded to rudely and harshly interrogate my 10 year old son which unnecessarily scarred him to the point of crying. Because it scarred him so bad, he called me in Lubbock from his phone. He was so upset I couldn't understand what he was saying.

All I could do is ask if there was a grown-up there with him. He answered NO and then his phone went dead. I can not even convey to you how helpless I felt when I could not reach him. Even though your supervisor and gate agent were standing there beside him, he DID NOT perceive them as safe grown-ups! Fortunately the supervisor was able to reach Isaac and made arrangements to correctly get Gabe boarded but not without being rude and acting totally unprofessional. Instead of handling the situation kind and professionally your supervisor proceeded to chastise BOTH my sons and then while walking by later with a fellow worker, after the whole incident seemed to settled, point at my sons and laugh.

I can guarantee you this was not something we planned to happen and certainly was not a laughing matter!

OH! By the way, when the supervisor was asked what his name was he gave a bogus name. After making contact with my two sons, my husband and I started out to the airport to meet Gabe's arriving flight. Along the way my husband tried to convince me that perhaps the rude and unprofessional conduct of your supervisor and gate agent was an isolated single incident. When we got to the airport we found that thought was far from the truth. Again there was a long line with lots of angry passengers. Although there were two ticket agents, one announced that the other one was the only one handing out boarding passes. I came up to the counter and told her that all I needed was a security pass. I explained what had happened but was told to go to the back of the line.

Several passengers, even though they were late themselves, allowed me to cut in front of them. When I got to the counter the agent that I first spoke with whispered to the other "There she is."

It was now time for Gabe's flight to arrive. I, panicky and now even more agitated, tried to explain that I wanted to be at the gate when my son arrived. I thought I was helping by trying to hand her a copy of his ticket. I was told rudely NOT to place that in front of her. She abruptly sit it aside. Then there was total silence. Afterwards she callously announced the flight was delayed and flung the paper ticket back at me off the counter. I asked what her name was. She told me Janice. But when I asked her what her last name was she offensively told me that she didn't have to tell me her last name.

I recently saw a TV commercial for American Airlines that centered around smiling agents and children passengers. It was nothing like we experienced. Our family members have been flying back and forth across the nation, several times a year for the past 20 years. In all those years, even though there's been the usual delays and mishaps, we have never been treated rudely by the employees of Southwest Airlines. Your employees should take classes from them.

Besides my time, i am not able to change a flight that I need changed. I bill my time out at $150/hour for consulting services; I will need to try to contact them again during the day tomorrow and forfeit billing time for it.

There was no flight from Orlando to Nassau, Bahamas that evening. We went around the airport asking every airline if they have any flight to the Bahamas that evening. We were given a voucher for a distressed hotel at Quality Inn. We lost 2 days of our 4 days 3 nights cruise vacation.

When we were at the Sovereign of the Seas Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, I requested for a special dinner to the administrative representative who met us since we missed the Captain's dinner and I'm celebrating my birthday. When we went to our only dinner to the cruise to celebrate my birthday there was no reservation. As a guest, I felt ignored.

Of course, not surprisingly, our bags were no where to be found when we landed at DFW airport. We immediately went to the baggage claim center who took our claim, and the informed us to also make a claim with Midwest Airlines, which we found out later was a mistake. It is January 29, 2007, and our bags still have not been located. We have called the airport, the baggage claim call center, and have talked to everyone from supervisors on down. Every person is giving us a different story, from our bags are at the airport to our bags are overseas.

We took a straight flight from Cleveland to Dallas, so we are confused as to why our bags our nowhere to be found. We asked if they track the bags, and they told us no and that they are not responsible for our bags. As this point we don't know what to do. We are very expensive, irreplacable items in our luggage, and it will cost a lot money to even try and replace the things that we can. We really need some help in this matter. American Airlines has treated us with direspect, have lied to us about where our bags could be, and is not doing anything to find our bags. We have called them everyday since the 7th, and no one is telling us anything.

We have to replace all of our clothes, shoes, perfumes, jewelry and bags. Most of the clothes were new with tags still on them, and the jewelry and perfume had never been worn.

I told him, that it would be fine, I would go to the other airport since i needed to get to NY that night. Then i asked about my luggage. He snapped at me and said i would get it the next day. He said it was not possible to change my luggage. I found that rather strange, I asked if i could have my luggage and re-check it in. I needed my clothes and all my stuff that was in it. He snapped once again and said it cannot be done. I would have to find my way to JFK the next day and pick it up. He gave me a print out with an 800 number and told me to call them and maybe they would deliver it the next day to me.

So i continued to my new gate and I saw another employee there and asked him if there was any way that i could have my luggage and re-check it in. I really needed my clothes when I got to NY. I had nothing on me. I let him know how my original flight had been canceled and i was told i had to get my luggage the next day. He said it could be switched over to the new flight. He said he didn't know why the other man in customer service didn't do that for me. So he took a few minutes extra and made that change for me.

When i landed in Laguardia, my luggage was there. Next, a week later, upon my arrival back home, my luggage did not make it back with me. They told me that my luggage got held back in Chicago. No one could tell me why. He told me they would deliver it to me the following day by 3pm. Well, it wasn't delivered. I called and asked them. They gave me one excuse after another. 24 hours later, still not here. Now they are telling me that maybe tomorrow it will arrive. I do hope so. What i do know...is that i will not be using AA anymore.

We went back the next day. They refused to take the claim. They said TSA did it. Well, I checked with ICE and at FLL this is virtually impossible. Here is what 99% sure happened: This bag was opened on the way to the plane (they had time because this bag missed the plane), the contents removed, the tags ripped off to make it harder to detect the theft, and the computer was stolen. American's policy appears to be that they are free to take anything in your luggage and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.

How they let employees just walk out of the airport with a laptop under their arm no questions asked just means to me they allow this behavior (instead of a raise they just allow the workers all they can steal?

I had not filed my claim within their 24 hour liability window. I reported my laptop stolen approximately 42 hours from my arrival. After landing from a 4-legged, delayed flight from Cairo, Egypt I finally arrived at my home after midnight on December 11th. I had been abroad for 32 days and had packed quite a bit of clothing. Unpacking was a daunting task that was going to take a couple of days to complete.

The next morning on December 12th I woke up in the early afternoon with considerable jet lag and began unpacking. My laptop case was embedded in my suitcase among my clothes and did not appear to have been tampered with. I unpacked everything around the laptop case without inspecting it. It was only when I continued unpacking the next day that I handled the case and found it abnormally light. When I unzipped it I saw that a skilled thief had taken the laptop and battery charger from the case. Had the entire case been missing I would have noticed its absence right away but in this case I implored them to see how I was deceived for longer than 24 hours.

Upon this appalling discovery I called American Airlines customer service number who referred me to baggage services at LAX airport. At no time did anyone mention any time frame of liability to me. All that was said to me was that I would have to speak to the Customer Relations department. And in a display of shocking negligence towards its customers the department does not even disclose a phone number! I in turn was given their fax number and website address. If you think it was easy to correspond via fax or email without my laptop to write a letter you are mistaken. But I persevered and used a public computer and trusted in the system of the department to return to me what is rightfully mine or to refund me its value.

My son was flying to NY to take an internship at the renowned American Folk Art Museum as part of his college credit for his degree in Art History. In order to accept this internship he had to purchase many new clothing items including sport coat, suit, shoes, boots, dress shirts, ties, garment bag (business attire not owned by most students). He also had all toiletries, personal items, college work, and files. None of it has been found or returned 3 days later. He has had to start this endeavor, vital to his future career, in borrowed, and then newly purchased items. If we had any indication that there was a problem we would have made other arrangements

We have since learned that AA knew at 10AM on Tuesday that there was already a baggage problem at La Guardia, almost 12 hours before he took off, yet informed no passengers. They have only been able to tell us that there are thousands of bags being stockpiled , they are a week behind in the baggage department, and they do not have the personnel to take care of the problem. When we asked what to do, the AA said Deal with it. Ironic.

Is this AA new policy? Do we just deal with anything they throw at us? My last flight on American we had to Deal with no flushing toilet, no food or bev service,( inluding water) a 6 hr delay, and luggage that did not arrive until the next morning, while we sat in an airport waiting, without service, food, assistance. Due to the lack of information we received we missed our scheduled limo service as well. However, in my son's case, the extremely bad attitudes of emplyees at LaGuardia, lines with hundreds of people, and no answers have been an extreme detriment to the start of his internship, as well as an extreme hardship on the host family from the MOMA.

If I could, I would do as one of AA employees suggested, which was just go to Laguardia and start looking through the piles of luggage that are lining the corridors, and being placed in storage due to their lack of personnel during the holiday season? Didn't they know how many people were flying? I am incredulous that this company is actually getting by with this slovenly disregard for customer service. I am just so upset and angry and have no where to turn.

We checked 3 bags at the Commuter Terminal as our routing was through Los Angeles and through Miami. Weather problems caused us to re-routed through Dallas and to overnight in Miami. When we arrived in Barbados, only 2 of our 3 bags made it. We wasted almost 3 hours trying to get a baggage claim filed. We were taking a Seabourn Cruise and were lead to believe that we would rendezvous with our delayed bag in 3 days when the ship docked in St. Thomas (STT), the only port of call on our itinerary served by AA.

We gave the Barbados "baggage service office" information on the ship's agent in St. Thomas. We had been calling the airlines (at great personal expense) as did the purser on board the ship and the ship's agent in St. Thomas. The St. Thomas port of call passed sans our bag. It was expensive and inconvenient to spend a week on this cruise missing a bag. Needless to say, much of the enjoyment and anticipated relaxation had been diluted.

At the conclusion of our cruise when we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL we went to the baggage service office at FLL. This visit was frustrated by blank looks and non-answers. We spent a few days in Palm Beach, FL. We returned home from PBI on December 25. There was no one at the AA BSO. We changed planes in Dallas. The first truly helpful AA person in this whole fiasco was Bill Stigliano in the DFW Admirals Club. Bill took the time and trouble to use the computer and some "back door" phone numbers to gain information about our missing bag.

When we arrived in San Diego as is usually the case none of the baggage carousel enunciator boards had any information about the flight numbers they were serving. No San Diego baggage service personnel were available. The AA Baggage Service employees possibly do this as a game. It seems to amuse them when a herd of anxious travelers run to a starting carousel not knowing what flight the bags are coming off.

At 9 am, we were told that they would not promise us a flight for 3 days,thus missing the holiday that we planned> We then decided to rent a car for $164,and drive 10 hours to Durango, after paying $1348.38 for two tickets.They lost my bags for 48 hours, arriving at 10pm on christmas night. The took our bags and put them on an united airlines differant airlines (real safe)

I then had a long and unproductive conversation with a supervisor. When I expressed dismay at the way this had been handled and at how unaccommodating AA was being, and informed her that this would be my last flight on AA, she told me that she was CANCELLING my reservation. (Obviously, I had not told her to do that. The point of all of this is that I'm STUCK. I schduled my business trip months in advance, and must BE there.) I told her that I had NOT asked her to cancel the reservation; on the contrary, I HAD to fly with AA, despite the fact that I was now appalled to learn that both their service/notifation was awful, and their service personnel were unaccommodating, and borderline abusive. She nastily said, Well, you said that you did not want to fly AA anymore. I will now spend my Christmas wondering what the next piece of nastiness, incivility and potentially business-destroying (uncommunicated) 'schedule change' AA will inflict upon me.

I do not know why my bag is missing since it was a direct flight and I was at the airport 2 1/2 hours early!! My bag had a bright yellow tag with my name/phone number, etc and inside my bag their is also identification. I don't understand why I am being treated with no respect and why no one at US Airways will help me. I have a lot of valuable items in my bag that mean a lot to me including my eye glasses, which would not fit into my laptop bag so I had to pack them. The last person I spoke to tonight at 9:20 P.M. (Jackie) said she would check with the United booth at the Clt airport and call me back in 15 minutes. Needless to say, my phone has not rung.

As a result of travelig with US Air, my brand new bag which was my first time using was damaged. My security lock was stolen. My bags wound up missing for 4 days. I missed doses of my medication. I lost points on a presentation that was due Tuesday 28, 2006. The economic consequence for this scholastic matter is that I may have to retake the class which would cost me money that I do not have.

Loss of $3,000.00 and no tickets home for Christmas.

Throughout my time on the plane in seat 15C chunks of dirt were falling from the vent onto my book, my seat and me. After deplaning it looked like I walked through falling snow.

In flight, looking up I saw that the bottom of the luggage compartment was absolutely filthy. Not just dirty or smudged. Filthy.

After my last AA flight to Memphis a month ago, I was ill for weeks with bronchitis and laryngitis. I missed work and could barely speak. I did not look at the conditions of the plane on that flight because it was delayed for hours and I was too tired to look. And now my illness is starting all over again. It seems a safe assumption that the deplorable conditions are not unique to flight 4378 and are likely a cause of the upper respiratory illness I suffered.

As my business trips continue and increase in frequency, I will seek other carriers.

When several people around me turned on their lights to request additional liquids later in the flight, the attendants were rude and asked them not to turn on their lights unless it was an emergency and did not bring them additional beverages. I have always flown U.S. Air and it is definitely the most convenient airline for me to use for my current travel, but I will avoid them at all cost from now on.

When she kept demanding that it was her consumer's right to know either where the bag was OR get the employees' names/badge numbers, they called airport police on her. Luckily, there was no incident. Finally, a US Air employee by the name of Jorge Laguna (ID 24201) appeared and was MORE than gracious in his customer service and professional behavior. Thanks to him we got our bag, but not until 5 AM Christmas Day morning, almost 2 days after I arrived in Memphis.

On my return flight on 12/27, my bag was not at my Boston destination, and the baggage claim line was over 2 hours long. US Air does not allow its customers to file claims online/via phone; only in person at the airport. I went home utterly frustrated and then drove BACK to the airport late that evening, only to find my bag strewn in the mix with other US AIR bags from other flights.

Myself, my wife, in-laws and their entire family was emotionally impacted. I had my Christmas gifts in my checked luggage and had no idea as to whether I would have them in time to distribute on Christmas day. I had to go and purchase new under/outer wear, toiletries, etc; since I didn't have my bag my Christmas Eve day, I assumed I was going the duration of my trip without these items. We also had to make additional trips to both airports because of the "strike" US Air employees felt they had to take over the Christmas holidays.

My mother had to drive 2 hours to get them instead of the normal 1 hour trip to the airport. To date, I still have not been able to speak to someone. I get their electronic recordings. And yes, their luggage is still in the system - with no response as to when, or if, we will receive it. So, in addition to added stress and frustration, my family had to buy them clothing for their vacation. I have e-mailed the customer service department, but receive an automatic message about being out until 1/4/2005 by one system and another automatic response apologizing for the delay and increased volume of contacts.

The line for US Airways was at that time about 3 hours long, so my husband opted to speak to Continental personally and find out if they could give us a later connecting flight in Dulles, since United Airlines seemed unable to do so. Eventually, it worked out that we were going to take our original (but delayed) United Airlines flight #7132 to Dulles, and take a later Continental flight (#2017) to Newark. We would be getting in around 6 p.m., and might still have time to reach our Christmas destination. After being flagged for further inspection at the security area, and after they unnecessarily searched my 10-month-old baby, we all waited at United Airlines terminal A2 for hours. Every hour it seemed our flight was being delayed more and more. Eventually it came to the point that if our flight had been delayed one more time, we would surely miss our already changed connecting flight at Dulles.

At this point, my husband spoke with the United attendant at gate A2 in Charlotte. She informed him that we could catch a 2:25 US Airlines non-stop flight #104 to Newark, NJ, and that someone would be sent to switch our baggage over. (Our baggage items consisted of one carseat, all of my son's winter wardrobe, and two other bags.) We were ecstatic, because we would be arriving in Newark one hour earlier than previously expected. The US Airlines flight was smooth, and we landed in Newark early. But when we went to the baggage claim area to collect our bags, they were not there. We did not have our carseat to take our son home in. We were stranded at the airport. By this time, I was running out of formula for my son. I had expected to be home by late afternoon and able to feed him at home, but this had not been the case, and I was running out of formula for him, and I did not have any jar food to give him, either.

My husband spoke to Richard at the US Airlines baggage desk in Newark. He informed Richard of our situation, that we did not have our carseat, and Richard told him to file a baggage claim form, but that if we wanted to see our bags that night, we should see United instead. My husband went to the United Airlines baggage desk, where they were unwilling to help us. They said it was not their responsibility, but it was instead US Airways responsibility. The woman suggested that we go see Continental Airlines to see if they possibly had our baggage. It became clear we were not going to be able to find our carseat, so we arranged for a family member to drive to the airport from two hours away to bring us a spare one. We could only wait.

My husband then took the monorail to the Continental Airlines baggage center, because it was located in another terminal. The line was over one hour long, but he waited in it, and they finally told him they did not have our bags, and could not help us, either. By this point, my son was hungry and tired, and very fussy, and I was completely fed up. While waiting on my husband to return from the Continental terminal, I visited Richard at the US Airways baggage desk again. I told him that we could not locate our bags still, and everyone had informed us it was US Airway's responsibility, and that I did not have my son's car seat, or his clothes. When I mentioned the carseat, Richard went into the back room and brought out a carseat. (Keep in mind that we had been waiting for an hour and a half at this point at the airport because we were stranded without a carseat.) My husband had told Richard at the very beginning about our need for a carseat, and he had failed to mention he could provide us with one. If he had told us this, we could have been home and had our son fed much earlier.

Our family member was already almost to the airport, so we had no use for Richard's carseat at that time. Now, two days later, we have heard no word on our baggage. We have called many times, and filed our claim, but have not been able to speak to anyone on the phone. I have written US Airlines multiple e-mails regarding our situation, and they have not responded. I am at my wits end, and I need help.

We soon made the decision to cancel everything by working with Expedia.com over our cell phone. Now the hard part -- how to get our luggage back. We figured out on our own to get in line at baggage services along with many others from our flight. After an hour wait in line the extremely rude customer service person told us that she in no way could help us and that we should go back to ticketing and stand in line.

Lucky for us we noticed that the skycaps had started an enterprising operation of finding luggage for those on flight 5. Sky Cap Tim asked me "How bad I wanted my bags?" So for a $40 bribe we got our luggage back in 5 minutes. $20 bucks a bag for the Sky Caps on Xmas ... nothing like taking advantage of frustrated travelers. I have been traveling for 20 years and have had many horror stories and frustrating experiences but never have I seen anything approaching the complete lack of concern and rudeness and lack of basic human ethics exhibited by US Airways employees.

Their only comments were: "He's in denial." and "You smell like smoke." No kidding I smell like smoke. I'm a smoker. But it wasn't me who violated the rules. There was no convincing the flight attendants, however, that they should go smell other possible passengers to see if someone else MIGHT have committed the violation.

As I departed the aircraft at Dallas to get my connection, I heard one of the attendants call my name and I stopped and turned. "He's the one!" she exclaimed, pointing to me and two federal officers took my arms and asked me to remain where I was. They questioned me in the chill morning air, repeating the accusation that I had smoked in one of the lavatories. I explained to them what happened and they also would not listen, instead telling me they would investigate and report me to my employer and ban me from all domestic flights in the future.

It seems that, because of American Airlines' discrimination, I was tried and found guilty right then and there at the doorway to that aircraft. Although I have not been contacted in reference to any investigation, nor have I been formally told I am banned from domestic flights (I have flown since that date), nor has my employer (to the best of my knowledge) been information of the accusation, the harrassment and embarrassment of the moment at having to explain to clueless people some of the facts of life were horrendous.

Unfortunately, in today's high-security atmosphere, passengers can be accused of almost anything without having much opportunity to defend themselves. However, Bob should disabuse himself of the notion that he is the victim of unlawful discrimination. It's only unlawful to discriminate against those in a protected class -- ethnic minorities, the disabled, the elderly, etc. Smokers aren't a protected class.

If Bob is banned from future flights, he will have to consult an attorney and possibly pursue legal action to clear his name.

I could hear two people discussing non-business related matters and laughing before the telephone was hung up. My call was never acknowledged by the person who picked up the receiver. The receiver was simply picked up, held for a few seconds without interrupting the ongoing conversation and then hung up or returned to its cradle or disconnected. I called twice in rapid succession. It happened the same way both times.

I have everything well documented and I am very upset with a number of things. I have lost a significant amount of money ($1200) because of this and my wife and I were utterly disrespected by AA. When the horrible actions of September 11th occurred, war was in my immediate future as a commissioned officer in the United State Marine Corps. My taxpayer dollars saved AA from disaster during those difficult times and my family sacrificed when I fought in Iraq to ensure the events of 9/11 would never be repeated. My wedding was pushed up because of my impending deployment, and my honeymoon was pushed backed until my return. Now that I returned from combat actions, my wife and I were going to finally enjoy our well deserved honeymoon. Instead, it ended up as the most aggravating and humiliating 24 hours of my life. AA or any other organization associated with this company will see a cent of my money in the future.

To make matters worse I filed a complaint regarding the events of the 8th and got back a letter stating that American is not responsible for the strike in Antigua and is therefore not liable for any damages. I'm completely outraged at how we are being treated by American. Our complaint has nothing to do with the strike but Americans failure to handle the situation. How do you not tell paying passengers that you will not make it to your destination?

Being a young and liberal caucasian female, I have had the advantage in life of never being discriminated against. For the first time in my life I was told in cold, blunt, and wholly inappropriate terms where 'my place' is - at the back of the plane. If I was treated as such, I shudder to think of how others who occupy a more negatively class-defined role than I have been treated by such a rude service staff.

Furthermore, being on an international flight, there were many people who did not speak perfect English. The flight attendants' response was unanimously to ignore, hassle, even shout at these poor people - totally undeservedly. American Airlines should be ashamed of their treatment of customers. I know that not only will I never purchase their services again, but I will ensure that not a single soul whom I know will either.

I have asbestosis and also a problem with congestive heart failure. This fiasco put me in bed for almost a week.

Damage Resulting: Financial loss, a terrible trip, hours of letter writiing, re-initiated this July with the new CEO Mr. Gerald Arpey. My complaint falls on deaf ears, one woman against mega-corporations like Citibank and American Airlines.

The crew said the plane only needed 10 minutes to finish cleaning the plane and we would be leaving. Five minutes after maiking this announcement they said the crew went illegal and we would be staying overnight. They offered us a discounted room around 12:30, but our flight left the next morning at 7:30 and we would only be at the hotel for only a few hours. Plus all I had was temp. checks on me. The airlines provided cots but threw them in the cornor and did not bother to pass them out. Then we had to ask for pillows and blakets. When we got them they threw them aside also.

The people working for American were very rude and some of the crew were even yelling at the customers. When we asked for a supervisor the crew told us they would not come down and talk to us. Later my father called the airlines to see what time my flight would be leaving in the morning and the guy on the phone said "I do not know anything and will not know anything" -- he then hung up on my father when he was asking him another question.

Nothing was offered in return for the hell we went through. They could have at least served us a meal on the plane or offered coffee to those who had to stay the night in the airport. I had a horrible experience from american airlines. I was even told by a pilot that American does this all the time to the customers. For the money I paid for my ticket and the time I spent in the airport it would have been cheaper and shorter for me to drive.

Whenever I had a problem no matter how small it was I was always rewarded by other airlines. I remember flying Continental and the flight got pushed back 2 hours. They offered everyone dinner and a flight voucher for the next time they flew with them. We were offered nothing by American -- not even an apology until the morning flight crew came in.

I missed work and was terribly sore from carrying my flight luggage with me. My ride also missed 1 and 1/2 days of work due to picking me up twice and making an 1 1/2-hour drive up to the airport.

Flight #5305 did not leave St. Maarten until approximately 8:30 p.m. When we asked the American Airlines agent at the airport what the problem was, we were informed that the plane had not left Puerto Rico, no further information was given. When I arrived in Puerto Rico, after going through the first customs check-point I contacted an American Airlines agent, advised her that my mother was dying and I had get on to flight #1478 which had already boarded. This was at 10:05 p.m. She told me that the flight had already boarded and there was no way I was going to make it.

She gave me vouchers for transportation and a hotel and changed my tickets so that I would leave San Juan the following day at 9:20 a.m. to arrive at JFK at 1:20 p.m. What would it have taken to hold the plane for another five minutes so that I could board, knowing my situation, when I spent four hours waiting in the St. Maarten airport for my flight to take off. Was that too much to ask?

On the way to the hotel we met another couple who were supposed to be on the 3:05 p.m. flight (#1412) out of St. Maarten, and here again the plane did not show up, no explanation as to why. I cannot understand how a plane just doesnt show up and no one at the airport had any kind of explanation. Not only did I have to pay $200.00 to change my reservations, spend four hours at the airport in St. Maarten, have to put up with an arrogant airline representative in San Juan who had no sympathy for my situation, when I arrived home I found out that my mother had already passed.

This is not the first time that I had problems with your staff in Puerto Rico, and I think its unfortunate that your airline, in my eyes, is one of the worst Ive ever used. You can be sure that in the future I will spend the extra money that it will cost me for airline tickets to use Continental Airlines.

The only thing that is covered is clothing, because everything that you bring on a plane could be considered "fragile". I am so disappointed at their obvious negligence and refusal to take ownership for their mishandling of my luggage. I will never use them in the future, and I will encourage all of my friends who enjoy snorkeling vacations as much as I do, to take a different airline. Shame on you AA!

It was physically impossible for my husband to return and I could not leave my husband of 36 years alone and hospitalized. Is there no compassion? Most especially beacuse I am an AA frequent flyer and acculmulated enough miles for free tickets. We were forced to buy another set of tickets, which I refused to buy on American.

I called American Airlines and told them my situation. My only two options werer to make other plans by May 21st (which I could not because of the condition of Cynthia) or to just lose the tickets. Tickets were purchased using a voucher of $200 leaving a balance of $188. I did not ask for a refund, but some kind of credit or voucher that I can use at another time when my girlfriend is well. The floor supervisor told me that no credit voucher could be issued. I either have to make plans by the May 21st or loose the amount.

I plan on going to New York about once a week over the course of the next two months for interviews that usually only last about one hour, before I have to hop back on a shuttle to return to Washington, DC, where I then have to race from the airport back to the law school, where I try to catch my afternoon classes.

Out of the 8 passes that I purchased (the total including sales tax amounted to approximately $430), I was able to use 2 of them before September 11. Since the terrorist attacks, Washington National Airport is closed. The one time I actually did this trip to New York, the flight was fantastic, the service was impeccable, and I had nothing to complain about. Unfortunately, circumstances have changed, and I am now completely unable to use the rest of my flight coupons (six, at an approximate value of $322).

I called US Airways Customer Service this evening to attempt to obtain a refund for my shuttle passes because the tickets are now completely useless for me. The person with whom I spoke said that the US Airways policy, written after the terrorist attacks, does not allow me to have a refund. The US Air Rep said that I had the option of flying out of Dulles Airport, and catching a flight into LaGuardia.

This poses a major problem for me, however, because the reasons I purchased the shuttle passes -- convenience and quick travel -- no longer exist. As I said before, I am a law student with no income. Reagan National Airport is a ten-minute taxi ride from my house, which costs me approximately $12. I can get from my school/apartment to the DC airport within 20 minutes, and prior to the heightened security at airports, the whole trip to New York, door to door, would take me less than 2 1/2 hours, including air time, and only cost me the negligible taxi money plus approximately $100 roundtrip for air travel.

If I were to fly out of Dulles Airport, this is what would happen: I have to arrive at the airport 4 hours in advance (this is according to the Dulles Airport website). In order to get to Dulles Airport, I would have to take public transportation, including 2 buses (approximately 35 minutes in travel and waiting time), then a Metro (approximately 45 minutes in travel and waiting time), and then a free shuttle from the Metro to the Dulles terminal (approximately 5-35 minutes depending on what time I arrived at the Metro stop).

Therefore it would take me approximately 6 hours to get to New York City. If you add on the time it takes me to get from LaGuardia to where I am staying when I go to New York (approximately 1 hour on the shuttle bus to the city from the airport), then it takes me about 7 hours door to door, whereas before it would have taken me only 2 1/2. Of course I could opt to take a taxi (I don't have a car in Washington, DC because I can't afford to own one) from my apartment/school to the Dulles Airport, but that taxi ride would cost me $50, and would only cut down my travel time by about 2 hours (bringing me to 4 hours, which is still much more than 2 1/2).

If I had all the time in the world to travel, this might be okay. But since I am usually leaving my class in the late evening to catch the shuttle that night, and then immediately after my morning interviews in New York, racing back to LaGuardia to catch the afternoon shuttle back to school in time for my classes, this schedule is no longer feasible.

An additional problem is that the shuttle passes I had before, which departed out of Reagan National, allowed me to take flights on the hour every hour between 10 AM and 2 PM, or between 5 PM and 9 PM (the return flights from LaGuardia offered the same options -- 10 flights/day). So I had the option of hopping on to one of 10 flights. NOW, the shuttle operations that they are operating out of Dulles only allow me to travel at one of 4 times: 7 AM, 12 Noon, 5 PM, or 7 PM (with the same return schedule from LaGuardia).

Let me give you an example of why this limited schedule is impossible for me now. I have an interview in New York this coming Wednesday. On Tuesday, I have class until 5 PM. Normally, I would have gone home right after my class, picked up my suit and travel bag, etc., and made it to National Airport in time to catch the 6 or 7 PM shuttle to New York. Under the new schedule, I ONLY have the option of taking the 7 PM flight out of Dulles. But because I cannot leave school until 5 PM, and because I am required to arrive at the airport 4 hours in advance of my flight, that flight is impossible. Of course you could argue that I could take the 7 AM flight on Wednesday morning -- but first, I might be late for my 9 AM interview, and second, I would have to get to the airport in DC at 3 AM (and at that time of the morning in Washington, DC there is no public transportation running so I would be forced to spend an extra $50 to take a taxi). Thus, it would cost me $50 extra dollars, and I would walk into my interview having been awake since 2 AM (or not having gone to sleep at all).

At that point, I might as well cancel the interviews because who would want to hire a walking zombie for a lawyer? In any case, regarding the return flight from NY to Washington, I would be unable to make the 12 Noon flight (my interviews that day will actually not be over until 1), and it is possible I would miss the 5 PM flight, thus leaving me only with the option of taking the 7 PM flight back into DC and arriving home to my apartment, via public transportation, probably around 10 or 11 PM at night. If the shuttle were still operating the way it was when I purchased the tickets, on the assumption that things would remain the same, then I would have been able to catch the 2 PM flight out of LaGuardia, and at that rate I probably could have made it back to school in time to catch my later afternoon class.

As you can see, the fact that Reagan National is no longer open makes it impossible for me to use my shuttle passes. The difference in cost between the Amtrak train (roundtrip) to New York and the 2-way shuttle is approximately $30, and door to door it takes me approximately 3 1/2 hours. This is how I have been getting to New York since the September 11 tragedy, and this is how I intend to get to New York this coming Tuesday.

I fully sympathize with the extreme financial losses that US AIrways must be experiencing at this time, but I believe that I am owed a refund for my shuttle passes since the deal I am getting for my money is no longer the deal I originally bought into. While I understand that increased airport security is not the responsibility of US Airways, I also do not believe it is feasible to expect me to go to an airport that is so difficult for me to get to that it either costs me a decent sum of money, or an extra 3 hours in travel time.

If Reagan National were still open, then I might consider flying out of there (although the 4-hour pre-arrival time makes it pretty much impossible for me to catch flights). However, that airport remains closed indefinitely and therefore I cannot rely on the convenience of that airport or my remaining shuttle passes anymore. My interviews will be over by the end of October and I will no longer need to go to New York anymore, and thus having 6 shuttle passes to use in the future (for example, if and when Reagan National Airport ever opens up again) is useless.

Please advise me if there is anything that I can do. If I had a job with an income, then I might just let this whole thing slide. However, I am already severely in debt due to educational loans, and if I lose this $350, then I am really in a bind in terms of financial support for this semester. $350 is probably about what I would spend on food and transportation to school in about 3 weeks -- so if this money is just taken away from me without being refunded, I am really in a tight spot.

We believe that US Airways is obligated to refund Teresa's money. The Washington-New York Shuttle has operated from National to LaGuardia throughout its history, which stretches back to at least the mid-1960s. The flights now operating from Dulles are not "shuttle" flights in the commonly accepted sense of the word and Teresa is therefore owed a refund. She should write to US Airways and send a copy of her complaint to the U.S. Department of Transportation Consumer Protection Division, whose address appears below.

Aviation Consumer Protection Division

U.S. Department of Transportation

Room 4107, C-75

Washington, DC 20590

During my previous employment I traveled a lot all over the US, I cannot understand how an airline that has such poor scheduling, high prices, and very poor service manages to stay in business. I personally abhor government intrusion into any aspect of our lives, but the airline industry needs to have some control and oversight.

I am being tossed around to about four or five different American Airlines phone numbers: claims, damages, supervisors... I don't even know where to go now. My other option was to have my PEG PEREGO VENEZIA stroller sent to the dealer and be assessed, and then fill out forms, write letters. This is all VERY time consuming and I need the stroller NOW for my infant so I can do my day to day chores...food shopping as well as leisure. IT is a 300 dollar plus stroller.

I am very upset with the treatment, and the lack of help I am receiving from American Airlines. I want what is due to me: not a repaired stroller! It is only a few months old. It was a gift. I have no receipt, no box. I do not want to use a stroller that is brand new and have it act and look like something that is weak and old. This is a pricey gift. I also want to mention that one of my other suitcases is MISSING! I had a four hundred dollar camera in there, and other items. They cannot find it. I am waiting and hoping this will show up so will not bore you with these details as of yet. Please help, I am very, VERY upset!!! Keep in mind, I have an infant and cannot drive hours away with her, and run around hunting down assessments, filling out forms and begging for receipts somehow. Thank you.

I purchased an airline ticket thru American Airlines for $382. I realized it was a code share with Iberia Airlines of Spain. The service I received and the treatment being an American citizen and not being able to speak Spanish was horrific.

I assumed that because American used Iberia as a code share partner, the quality of service would be comparable to American. It was not even close.

So I wrote a letter to American and mailed it April 12, 1999. I was told it was received on April 15, 1999. As of May 4,1999 I still had not recieved an answer so i called.

I was told that American was not responsible for Iberia and I would get no compensation, yet they sold me a product with thier name on it and I paid them not Iberia. They told me to write a letter to Iberia. Why should I? Why don't they compensate me then they go after Iberia.