
American Airlines Reviews
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About American Airlines
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American Airlines delivers passenger and cargo aviation services and offers multiple cabin classes. Operating from hubs including Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami and Chicago, it serves destinations across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Visit www.aa.com/homePage.do- Timely flight departures
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Reviewed June 14, 2010
I saved up for years to have an American Advantage (frequent flyer) flight. I called before my flight to find out it had been cancelled. No one bothered to call or email me, even though they had my phone number and email. Then, I waited with them on the phone for half an hour only to find out that they will not reissue a new ticket. Since they booked the flight through a third party airline (Air Tahiti), they refuse to reissue a new ticket, and have instead referred me back to Air Tahiti, which is of course a much smaller airline. And since I spent half an hour on the phone with an American, that meant a half hour on the phone that I was not on the line with Air Tahiti.
Reviewed June 13, 2010
I was in the hotel in Pittsburgh to visit a friend. Some US Airways flight attendants were very rude and nasty to the clerks. Is this a standard procedure for this establishment? Are these customers frequent complainers?
Reviewed June 5, 2010
I traveled from Zurich to JFK. Had a lot of luggage and one suitcase mainly contained stuff I bought for other people. When unpacking most of the male stuff is missing that is how I discovered the theft. I called for 3 consecutive days and bounced from one person to the other to no avail only to be told I had to report in 24 hours. Who unpacks several suitcases in 24 hours after an international trip and I had a full time job to report to in the morning? The sad thing is that they interrogated me for 2 hours before boarding like I was a terrorist or something due to the amount of luggage my friend and I had. There is nowhere on the website listing 24hr policy except for lost domestic luggage and not missing. I will never ever fly AA again. I said that about Air Tran and they have never seen me again. The AA for international service is very poor compared to other international flights.
Reviewed June 4, 2010
After boarding everyone, AA canceled this flight and gave a reason of severe weather and told everyone if we were to wait for take off, we would have to wait for more than three hours. However at that time, I have weather maps and an airport profile showing perfectly fine and sunny weather at Miami airport with no severe weather in the coming hours. In addition, Mexicana flight 307 departed at 6:35 for Miami, demonstrating this flight should not have been canceled.
First and foremost, AA lied to everyone on the flight and blamed the canceled flight on bad weather that did not exist. Because of this lie, AA refused to provide accommodations for its passengers, forcing people to stay overnight in the airport. This was the concluding flight of my senior trip and because of such an egregious error, I was forced to miss the first day of graduation activities at Princeton University. When I explained all of this, Orlando **, at the ticket counter, told my group that if we were unhappy, we should sue American Airlines. I am completely and utterly appalled by the horrendous service and lies begrudgingly provided by Orlando ** and American Airlines as a whole. I have numerous documents that provide evidence AA was completely in the wrong.
Reviewed June 2, 2010
I changed my ticket on US Air from Wednesday may 26 to Monday May 24 (flight 1717) because of a medical emergency in my family. They charged me $243 for the ticket and $150 penalty. I could have cancelled the existing flight and bought a new ticket for less. And to make matters worse, the agent I spoke to on the phone assured me that I would be charged only $75 and nothing else. In this era of economic problems I would think the airline would go out of its way to assist a customer who has a family problem, not cheat him. I have contacted their customer service dept and they won't change anything. I'm a senior citizen and can't afford $393 for a one way ticket.
Reviewed May 26, 2010
I used the US Airways MasterCard to accumulate travel miles for myself and grandson. The promise was that you could book domestic travel at 20,000 or regular domestic at 25,000. Whenever I called in 2009 to use miles, there were none available at the times I planned to travel. At that time the ticket rates were lower, so I ended up buying tickets. This year I called to book a flight from Huntsville, AL to Norfolk, VA. There were no seats available on the date I requested so I asked when the seats would be available. The agent said no seats were available during the entire month of June. She could accommodate me if I used 60,000 miles, which I did because airline tickets have almost doubled. US Airways is using the travel mile gimmick without intentions of giving customers travel for miles. It is dishonest and fraudulent, and the consumer is taken advantage of without any recourse for action. Big business gets away with criminal acts.
Reviewed May 26, 2010
Dream vacation turned nightmare! I booked a flight and cruise for myself, my 11 year old daughter, my boyfriend and his parents. My boyfriend and his parents have never flown nor been on a cruise, a once in a lifetime trip. We saved up and paid months in advance, which was no easy feat as none of us are wealthy. I am a CPS investigator and single mom. The time finally arrived last week for this well deserved and much anticipated trip. It ended before it started when the airline delays kept us from reaching the cruise in time. I received a text in the morning that said that the flight was on time. We stayed in Charlotte the night before the flight to ensure we were at the airport on time. We arrived two hours early. AA staff continued to say that it would be a few more minutes every time we asked. Eventually, they cancelled the flight.
Needless to say we were devastated and tears replaced the feelings of excitement. We were not the only ones left behind as two newlywed couples were stranded (one of which was military). Although we were all heartbroken, I was most upset that everyone trusted me with their hard earned savings for nothing.The financial cost of trying to remedy the situation has left us all several months behind financially. Neither Carnival or AA has responded to requests for remedies. I just wish that there was some way I could make this up to the people who were counting on me to make a lifelong dream of theirs come true.
We paid for the airfare and cruise in advance. After the airline made us miss our cruise, we had to pay for a hotel room, rental car, food and entertainment. We kept receipts for the entire trip.
Reviewed May 25, 2010
Due to bad weather, the plane landed in Kansas City, MO, and then we left in an hour to Dallas. We were told that those that were going on to El Paso would continue once we landed in Dallas. When we landed in Dallas, we were told the plane wasn't going to continue as the crew was tired. If we had known this, we would have tried to get a flight from Kansas City to El Paso and not go into Dallas. We then had to fly stand by. We lost 1 1/2 days of our vacation, a hotel room had to be paid for as we did not make it to El Paso in time, and I lost the rental vehicle that was being held for me. All the agents were rude to all passengers and one even snapped her fingers telling people to hurry up and board the plane.
I am writing to the Customer Service Manager - Sean with this complaint but do not expect to hear from him. If I get no response, I will send a copy of my letter to the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General’s office. I think the way that American Airlines Agents treat their customers is absurd. We have to pay extra for baggage, the lady traveling with me had her baggage damaged and they gave her a very hard time about taking care of it.
It was going to cost us another $139 to spend the night at a hotel in Dallas. American Airlines gave us a voucher for "Distressed Passenger" rates at the Sheraton for $69. But no shuttles were available so we would have to pay an additional $17.00 per person on our way to the hotel. Therefore, it would have cost us an additional $139 to spend the night. We ended up staying at the airport. One gal slept on a cot and I slept or tried to sleep in a chair (then you had the night people working) vacuuming making all kinds of noise, needless to say nobody slept very much.
We were lied to by all the agents and told that our names would be at the top of the list the next morning and that the first flight out would be at 9:30am. Guess What! The flight at 9:30 was cancelled. They couldn't get a crew together, our names ended up in the 20's. We did not get a flight out until 2:30 on Saturday afternoon. I had appointments I couldn't keep. I had people waiting for us in El Paso and they were very concerned about everything. I would advise people not to fly American Airlines and definitely not to fly into Dallas airport.
Reviewed May 22, 2010
On my way back from New York to Savannah, my entire carry-on bag was damaged along with the contents inside. I boarded a plane in New York headed for Charlotte and my carry on bag was checked at the gate because apparently there was no room on the plane for it. The next time I saw my bag, I was in Savannah, GA and it came out on the conveyor belt with everything in it exposed and it looked like a baggage cart had run over it. My laptop was crushed; my Sony Cybershot camera was crushed; my shoes were crushed; cosmetic bag was crushed and the suitcase itself was crushed and totally destroyed as all of the above items along with my flat iron, crushed and destroyed.
Reviewed May 20, 2010
I've flown countless time with American in many parts of the world, having been an American Advantage Platinum member in the past, and cannot recall an instance of such poor service, and certainly nothing remotely approaching the exceptionally poor service which I received in Rome with two of AA's personnel, one of which was the AA supervisor there. This Rome AA supervisor was arrogant, indifferent, and condescending. Below is my experience:
On Tuesday May 11, 2010, I flew on American Airlines from Chicago to Istanbul with a connection in Rome (AA 110 Chicago-Rome and scheduled TK 1862 Rome-Istanbul). The flight from Chicago was scheduled to depart at 4:55pm but was delayed due to mechanical difficulties. Hence, instead of arriving in Rome on Tuesday at the scheduled 9:15am, it arrived the same day at 11:30am.
As I was disembarking from the plane in Rome, I was intercepted by a local representative of AA who informed me that I had missed my connection but that I was protected on a later flight. Seven hours later to be exact! When I explained that that was an unreasonable amount of time to wait for a connection and that there must be other routes which could get me to Istanbul in far shorter times than nine hours (seven hours waiting plus two hours flight time).
The AA representative showed me on a nearby screen about four flights. The first of these flights on the screen was my original connection originally scheduled for 11:40am but now set to depart at 11:50am, so I asked if I could not board that one. I was told that there was not enough time. With twenty minutes to spare, I took it that, based on the AA representatives rejection, that the 11:50 flight must be in a far-off terminal and gate. The remaining handful of flights presented to me did not appear to arrive in an earlier time in Istanbul.
Having just flown for some nine hours plus delay, I then reluctantly went to the main terminal as directed by the AA. For this I went into the satellite terminal where I had landed, down the stairs to the tram boarding area, waiting for and rode on the tram to the main terminal, waited in line at and went through the security screening checkpoint. There on the screen adjacent to the main terminal security point, I was to discover that the 11:50am departing flight, i.e. my original connection and the one which I had been told I did not have enough time to board, was not only still boarding but that it had been back at the tiny satellite terminal (circular and only 14 gates, grouped in pairs of two) and just by the gate where I had landed!
Disturbed by having been directed physically away from a connection which I could have easily made, I went back to the satellite terminal to speak with a supervisor. [Side Note: There was not any valid reason for my being directed to the main terminal, because even my seven hour later connection was in the very same satellite terminal. ]
When I first explained the situation to the supervisor and asked for an explanation, he said that he had to get a flight boarded. So I waited, waited while the supervisor chatted leisurely and jokingly with others. The flight fully boarded and then I saw the supervisor move over to another flight, with not a word nor gesture to me who was by the now empty boarding area waiting for him. So, I patiently moved over to this new gate and attempted a couple of times to discreetly get his attention, wherein he avoided even eye contact with me, let alone giving some indication that he understood that I was still waiting for him. Finally, as this second flight was nearly fully boarded and the AA supervisor was again holding non-business conversation with others and still completely ignoring my presence. I spoke up and explained that I was still waiting for him. The supervisor then said that he would be with me in a few minutes and I continued to wait.
When the AA supervisor finally came over to me, all he attempted to do from beginning to end is to attempt to justify that the original AA representative's actions. The lies and misrepresentations which came from the AA supervisor are summarized as follows:
Falsehood #1, that the AA representative had not known that the flight which departed to Istanbul had been delayed to 11:50am. While he may have not know at the time he re booked me to the seven hour later flight, he certainly knew when the two of us were looking at the same screen at 11:30am.
Falsehood #2, that there were only the handful of trip routing from Rome to Istanbul. Rome and Istanbul are major international airports, only two hours flight apart, and each with flights departing and arriving every few minutes. There were far more options to be routed to Istanbul (or Ankara which I had given as a possible option) than the handful which I was shown.
Falsehood #3, that the original flight AA110 delay was due to weather conditions beyond the airline's control. The final words of the Rome supervisor as he haughtily and indignantly pushed my documentation across the counter back to me were, and I paraphrase: "I cannot help someone who is not able to understand that we are dealing with weather forces out of our control." The fact is that I was on the plane naturally when the pilot, before take-off, informed the passengers that there was a delay due to two mechanical difficulties - one that his windshield wiper had to be repaired. Further, the pilot had informed us that at least an equal amount of time, if not more, would be due to the paperwork. Thus the original flight delay which was the first factor in my missing the connection in Rome was due, not to some unavoidable act of God, but rather due to American Airlines.
Thus, naturally, there is no justification for my not having been directed to board the 11:50am flight, nor to being sent to the wrong terminal, nor for AA claiming that they were not responsible for my missed Rome connection, nor for not rerouting me to arrive in Istanbul in less than nine hours. Further, neither the original AA representative nor the supervisor even gave my any assistance nor guidance relative to the apparently re-booked seven-hour later flight. During my time in Rome, I noticed that I was not given a boarding pass for the flight, nor directions to obtain one nor told where / in which direction even to go.
The reality is that without Rome AA's misinformation and misdirection, I would on my own have easily located and boarded my original connection, the nearby 11:50am departing flight. Rome AA violated a primary rule which can be applied to customer service: "Do no harm." In sum, with my result of my seven hour Rome ordeal, I spent over 24 hours en route, due to the incompetence and intransigence of two, ill-mannered and ill-trained American Airlines personnel in Rome.
Reviewed May 18, 2010
Whenever I flew to Asia in the past, I was always allowed two pieces of checked in luggage. AA made excuse that since I am flying through Europe (my flight was to London), I was only allowed one luggage. I am continuing on with another carrier but on the same itinerary to Malaysia. American clearly has two piece luggage rule listed on their website. I traveled from RDU to London Heathrow on May 18, 2010. Bob was rude and condescending; he refused to let me speak to supervisor. Most likely it has something to do with my Asian background. I was made to pay $250 instead of $50. My son and I have 5 luggages between us; I planned to pay for one luggage, which is $50.
Reviewed May 18, 2010
I was booking on your carrier last week. My flight to Boston was outstanding. My flight back from Dallas to El Paso was canceled four different times. I don't have a problem with the cancellation, not even the weather that causes this mess, but with the American Airline agents that was handling our questions and our rescheduling. They were rude, unprofessional and downright mean. First, an elderly couple that had been there since Friday morning, one of their agents yelled at the gentlemen and I quote, "You need to come on now or you are not going to get on this plane." He may have been about 70 or 80 years old. I was on AA flight #1281 from Boston to Dallas at 330 pm. We had to fuel-up in Missouri, so we didn't land until on or about 10:00 PM.
I do understand that things happen and I know their company tries it best to accommodate all passengers. But when I go to my next gate which I was late already, their agent ask me to stand by, which I did gladly. Then he says, “What can I do for you?” I said, “My plane just land and I need to see about getting the next flight out." He said "Oh, you are the one that walked up late." And I said, “No, I just got in from Missouri (that night Friday).” Then he said, “There isn't any more flights leave Dallas tonight.” I said, “Ok, so check back tomorrow.” Again, not a problem, I am prior services US Army. I try to do the right thing.
The next day I was standby for four flight flying to El Paso. Each time I checked, your agents were so unprofessional. I know they are having a harder time than we are because they are getting an ear full from other passengers. But I was thought to do unto other as you would like done unto you. I know we were all tired and need sleep but respected I’d earn not given. Your reply is welcome. I have flown with American many, many times. But this was not the proper way to care for customer.
Reviewed May 10, 2010
I had booked a flight from FLL to DSM (round trip) for June 4th and paid for it. For work I found out I had to fly to Fort Lauderdale to Dallas so I was attempting to change the first leg of my flight from June 4 to June 1. Due to the cost I decided against this. Therefore, I was going to have my company schedule a one-way ticket from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas; then on Friday (June 4) just leave for Des Moines from Dallas. I was told that by doing this my original ticket would be cancelled because I was not on the Fort Lauderdale leg.
Changing this would cost almost $500. So now the airline is forcing me (my company) to book a round trip flight and fly from Dallas to Fort Lauderdale, then fly back from Fort Lauderdale back to Dallas and then on to Des Moines. This is absurd. If this isn't price gauging I don't know what is. They're basically telling me I can't skip a flight that I already paid for and it will cost me more money and time to double my flying time. The cost will be at least $500. And since now I have to fly back to FLL on Thursday to catch my Friday flight. It cost me my time. $100/hour. Flying time 3 hours each way, transportation and waiting for the flight 6 hours. This will end up to a cost of over $2000 or more.
Reviewed May 4, 2010
I had called American Airlines 1-800 number from the Bahamas to book reservations for my husband and I. After giving the customer service agent relevant information and credit card number, she told me that everything was confirmed and she would email me my confirmation number and itinerary, which she did and told me to show it at check in. When I arrived at American Airlines check-in counter, I gave them my confirmation number and was told I don't have reservations.
I then asked to speak to a supervisor, who was very rude and in no uncertain told me that she cancelled our reservations because we were calling from the Bahamas with an international credit card! She informed us that there was no more seat on the plane and the only thing available is a flight to Barbados and we would have to spend two days there before we can get a flight to Dominica. I asked her if we will be compensated this inconvenience. She said, "No! I am not going to compensate you." So my husband and I purchased a ticket to Barbados and spent two nights there and then purchased another ticket to Dominica and on our way back had to spend another night in Barbados. We were on two-week vacation, which is the only time my husband get to spend time with his family and I was meeting them for the first time. When I returned home, I wrote American Airlines and told them about my trip. They wrote me back and told me they would look into the matter. I haven't heard from them since. This all happened in 2007. We had to spend more monies than we planned to and the anxiety of meeting my in-laws had to be put off.
Reviewed April 24, 2010
In 2 instances of flights from Seattle to Chicago to St Louis, there were delays and poor planning on the Airlines part for catching a connecting flight from Chicago to St Louis. My flight was 20 minutes late taking off from Seattle due to what the pilot said was the airport shutting down the fuel tanks at the airport to replace filter, which he said they do every night at 11:55pm to 12:05am. So why does American schedule a flight at this time?
The connecting flight in Chicago has a 45 minute window to catch it. Since the Seattle flight always leaves late, the window to catch the connecting flight to St. Louis becomes smaller and almost impossible. The concourses for landing in Chicago and taking off for St Louis are different as they were today for my son’s flight.
Since he only had 15 minutes to catch the St. Louis flight from the time they touched down, he had to go to a different concourse and he was in the back of the plane from Seattle. He missed the connecting flight and had to wait 2 and a half hour to get the next flight to St Louis. At the least, they could let connecting flight people leave the plane first and keep the connecting flight on the same concourse not a mile away. It is a poor planning on the part of American Airlines all the way around.
Reviewed April 20, 2010
I have never experienced such unbelievably rude treatment as with American employees, in person and on the phone. I was stuck in Dallas on stand-by and desperately needed to get home. My mom called and tried to pay for a one-way ticket to an alternate airport to see if that would help. She is 73 years old and we just lost my dad to cancer. She was trying to help me, and I went to the concourse and they wouldn't let me on, even though the ticket agent told me to have her call in with a credit card and I could go. They sent me to another flight which was the one I had originally paid for. She was told over the phone, that "she couldn't pay for something that's already been paid for".
I go to the counter and they had me listed as "stand-by" again! She made a 4th call, and the agent on the phone said, "She is not stand-by, tell her to go back and take her off stand-by". When I did so, I was questioned and lectured by a very rude older lady, who interrogated me as to why I was flying stand-by! Are you kidding? Now, after the phone operator told her my ticket was already paid, they are trying to bill my mom almost $800 for a one way ticket! I was flying the same route as the ticket I originally paid for! I have had nothing but horrible experiences with 99 percent of American Airlines employees. I have never interacted with such rude, unorganized, people in a customer service oriented job. For them to treat my 73 yr. old mom the way they did, and treat me equally as bad, is just inexcusable.
Reviewed April 19, 2010
We both (my husband) traveled from CMH to MIA via CLT, by US Air on Jan 15th 2010. At CLT, my carry on luggage was not allowed in, (Lack of overhead space) despite pleading, it had life saving medicine besides personal stuff. Our final carrier was AA from MIA to STT island. We never saw that piece being recovered as of today when we received a compensation of a meager $425.00 from AA who claimed that they are not responsible for the Meds (Cost us over $700.00 by itself. We feel strongly that a AA baggage deliverer at STT stole my piece.
He looked suspicious, drunk,and had already delivered one of our suite case to a wrong hotel. I feel that there is a ring at Marriott Fisherman at STT who is behind all this. AA is keeping silent about this. This is a case of steeling ones property and cannot be taken lightly accepting this check $425.00. I need some help in this ripp off by AA.
Reviewed April 18, 2010
On 04/14/2010, we had a scheduled flight form Cancun Mexico to New York with American Airlines flight AA1674 that was scheduled to depart at 16:35 local time. After checking in, obtaining boarding passes and passing the security, we were delayed by 3 hours. We were told that the reason for the delay was a bad weather that prevented the airplane crew to arrive on another flight from Dallas (although we saw a crew entering our plane and exiting). All this time planes from another flights were taking off.
Finally, after Dallas plane crew took the place of the original one, we were told to board the plane. Then the captain announced that heavy rain flooded the runway and we need to examine it by taxing along before we could take off. Then it was announced that the plane doesn't have enough reverse thrust to abort a take off and accordingly to FAA regulation we cannot fly, unless we change the equipment, and the flight was delayed till the next day early morning. So we had to pick up our luggage and exit the airport, but not before our luggage went through exit screening that is in place now in Cancun airport. Than we were directed to go back to the check-in area where we were given vouchers for transportation, hotel and food. We were told to be back at check-in area next day at 5:30 AM.
Next day, they picked us up at 5:15 AM and we were back at the check-in area. After checking in our luggage, getting new boarding passes, passing the security, we proceeded to our gate. Then we were told that the flight was delayed again. This caused tremendous uproar among the passengers. What annoyed us the most was the fact that American Airlines made no attempt to replace or fix the plane and was simply deceiving us and obfuscating the situation.
After significant pressure put on American Airlines management, we were told to exit the gate area (again through immigration area with the usual exit screening) and go back to the check-in area where we joined the line to get new tickets to our destinations. Then we spent 5 hours in mother of all lines before we reached check-in counter. People were camping out on the floor, screaming at American Airlines employees and throwing tantrums. Finally, we got new tickets to New York, through connecting flight AA1654 to Dallas. After manually intensive search, American Airlines employee found our immigration card (retained during the initial check-in at the ticket counter). We returned it again at the ticket counter, passed the security area again and finally took off.
Considering all the mess at the check-in area, needless to say that AA1654 departed with one hour delay and we were late for the connecting flight AA744 to LaGuardia airport. We got on the next flight and landed at LaGuardia at 11:15 PM with 26 hours of delay. Instead of canceling the flight upfront and dealing with the situation by fixing or replacing the plane or putting passengers on another flights, American Airlines engaged in a game of deception and trickery that glaringly demonstrates careless attitude and bad judgment.
Reviewed April 17, 2010
I signed up for card and was promised points and when my bill came for year 1, I realized I never got points and now 4-5 months later, I still have no points, and worse yet, I get the same answer over and over from them and they say reply to this e-mail and it bounces back every time and end of day. Nobody gets back to me. So I want to let you know that US Airways MasterCard has the worst customers service imaginable and I am frustrated to the point of contacting the head of Barclay's Bank but I think anyone signing up for this card better make sure they get points and also they better hope they never need to deal with customer service as it's a nightmare. Nothing has been done, I got ripped off for my points and insulted by the treatment to the point I won't use the card ever or fly US Airways either.
Reviewed April 13, 2010
On April 11th 2010, my nephew travelled on American Airlines. While in flight, he needed to use the restroom and was charged $2.00 for this.
This disgusting practice of making people pay for the use of the bathroom must be stopped and any and all fees returned to the consumer. It is inhumane to make anyone pay to use the bathroom. Businesses on land are not allowed to do this and American or any other airline should not be exempt.
Reviewed April 8, 2010
Our travel issues with American Airlines began before we even took our flights. We booked a flight with AA, through Royal Caribbean and because of the way we booked, we were unable to have seats assigned, possibly separating us from our 7 and 10 year old.
Our flight to Miami was okay, despite the fact that I had to sit separated from the rest of the family. On 4/5, our return flight, was a negative experience. We were on scheduled on Flight 1226 Miami to Boston. We attempted to go on an earlier flight (Flight 4662), which we paid the $50.00 change in reservation fee (four tickets, $200.00). We never made it onto Flight 4662, overbooked. I have not seen a refund notice from AA, since that time.
Our originally scheduled flight, which we made, Flight 1226 was delayed 1.5 hours over a mishandled log book, as was reported by the pilot to the passengers. During the flight, the flight attendants told everyone that no one was going to miss their connections. However, as we got closer, they notified us that someone would assist us at the gate. We went to the gate and the attendant, told us to rush down to where our flight was, as it might not have taken off.
As an aside, when we landed at BOS, the pilot made some sort of mistake, as the flight landed hard and incorrectly. We ran down to the gate (AA 24) and were notified that we had indeed missed our connecting flight by over ten minutes. The attendant at the gate re-routed us to LGA on US Airways on their 7pm flight, #2141. The flight attendant/gate attendant informed me that the bags had arrived at JFK and that they would have to be delivered to us, since we were not going to that airport.
We landed at LGA, left the airport and called to make arrangements for the delivery. Every call to AA, from that point on, told me that I had to file a complaint with US Airways. US Airways would not take the complaint over the phone. I lost an entire day of work 4/6, arguing with them over getting me my bags. I was in fact insulted by Supervisor Holly, who told me that he was not going to "bend the rules" for nobody.
After finally getting a supervisor Felicia- her code- RFB to assist me, she set up delivery, but for COD. She also told me that I would get a travel voucher, but did not send it to me.
The end result, three days later, was that AA charged me $55.00 for delivery of my bags and I was held up by the delivery guy. Since I have had this ridiculous experience, I am not interested in a voucher, unless it is for a partner airline.
Reviewed April 5, 2010
My wife and I used your airline for our recent trip to Kauai, HI with our two small children (aged 3 and 1 years old). I purchased tickets for these flights in early September for the trip in December, and due to the inherent difficulties in traveling with young children of these ages, I was especially diligent when choosing departure times, seating, connection and layover times and indeed which airline I used, and in fact, paid more to fly at times which best suited my son and daughters nap times and witching hours. Therefore, when I arrived at LAX at 6::30 am for an 8 am flight, I arrived confident in the knowledge that I had confirmed seats that I had purchased at considerable cost with an airline who would be sensitive to our needs.
I was wrong. We were immediately directed to an automated check in machine, which after 15 minutes in line, told me I had to check in with a human as we had a stroller (this fact was missed by the AA employee who directed us to use the machine in the first place, despite the fact that the stroller is bright orange with off-road wheels and a noisy passenger). We then took our place in line at one of the few open human staffed check-in desks, and after 20 minutes, placed our documentation on the desk. The time now being 7:10 am, 50 minutes before departure. Six minutes after this (at 7:16am), she asked for my credit card, said something along the lines of its locked me out, "You can't get on this flight," and promptly disappeared.
At this point, I began to get concerned and after about seven minutes I asked the attendant at the neighboring desk where our agent had gone, with no results. She returned at around 7:24, and said (and I am paraphrasing), "It's locked me out, you can't get on this one. I'll try and get you on the 10:30 but I doubt you'll get on that one. This one is overbooked by 10 and that one is overbooked by 4 so it's not looking good, but you were late." I explained (as she of course knew) that we were not late, and asked her to get a supervisor, with whom she returned at around 7:28. This is when things got interesting. When I explained (calmly considering the circumstances) what had happened to this supervisor, she responded by telling me, "Don't raise your voice to me or I walk away."
When I calmly informed her that I wasn't raising my voice, she again implied the contrary, "Stop shouting, sir. Don't take that tone with me or this conversation is over." I was not shouting. I wanted to shout. I am very capable when it comes to shouting. I know what shouting is, but I was not shouting, using expletives or any of the other reactions I am sure she is well used to given her job and American Airlines policy of overbooking flights. I could tell that this was a person completely incapable of rational discussion, and asked her, calmly what she could do for us considering we had two small children and missing this flight would already cause considerable inconvenience and stress to us all. I also explained that we were not late for check-in and the the check-in agent may have taken a little long to check us resulting in my credit card being swiped after the 7:15 cut- off time. At this point, the check-in agent laughed at us.
We were then put on standby for the 10:30 to Honolulu, for which we waited 2.5 hours in the departure lounge to find we did not make because it also was overbooked. I then went to the AA customer service office, which incidentally was filled with other complainants, and found our limited options, (and I do commend your customer service staff for their professionalism and courtesy in the face of much not unjustified hostility from other passengers) none of which looked hopeful. Our next possibility was a 5:30 pm direct flight to Lihue. Despite the fact that our kids were showing signs of being difficult and we were ill-equipped for a 10 hour wait at the airport, we decided to wait despite the fact that we were in no way assured a place on the flight.
At this point, we paid $100 to join your Admiral's club to wait in a little more comfort. This was not offered to us and when I asked, we were told that we had been late and that no compensation would be forthcoming. We were not late. We eventually got on the 5.30 flight to Lihue after a very difficult, uncertain nine hour wait with two very unhappy kids, and after missing the best part of a day of our limited vacation.
Last September, I purchased a product from American Airlines for just over $3000. This product was a service, a service to convey myself and my family from Los Angeles to Lihue at 8 am on Saturday, December 19, 2009. American Airlines failed to provide me with the service/product I originally purchased, a failure which caused a good deal of distress and inconvenience, and I believe I am entitled to compensation. Furthermore, your airlines policy of openly overbooking scheduled flights is completely unacceptable. A passenger enters into a contract with you at the time of purchasing a ticket and this policy routinely (and I say routinely because we met other passengers in similar situations on the day and have spoken to many since) causes these contracts to not be honored.
And finally, your customer service failings were surprising to say the least. In this economic climate where potential customers think long and hard on where to assign their hard-earned dollars, the treatment we received from your check-in agent and supervisor beggared belief and was completely unacceptable. The supervisor was openly hostile (she wasn't wearing a visible name tag, incidentally) from the moment she came over, and clearly was so safe in the knowledge that she could snap her fingers and have me dragged away if I argued with her that she chose the immediate tactic of antagonism. She is an absolute disgrace to AA, as she would be to any company in which she had to deal with customers, but is for me now the face of your company. I have no complaints about any other part of your customer service.
Service on board both flights was adequate but this person is the reason I will not fly AA again without good reason. As long as you employ people like this in important front-line positions, something I have never encountered with any other airline, I can't see how AA can remain even remotely competitive as long as customer service has any importance.
Reviewed April 3, 2010
On March 13, 2010, at 9:45 pm, our connecting flight from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, Pa. was canceled and we were stranded at Phil. The next available flight was 12 hours later the following day, but that flight was full. My only alternative to get to my final destination was to rent a car. When I purchased my three tickets through Travelocity.com, I had purchased the travel protection package from them as well, so I expected some compensation for the unused flight tickets and cost of the rental at $214.
Once home I filed a claim through Mercury Claims and assistance of Wisconsin L.L.C. They have denied any reimbursement due to the fact that I got home within 12 hours by renting a car. I guess I was supposed to sit at the airport for a few days as a standby passenger and wait for a flight even though I was only four-hour drive from home. How silly is that?
I don't understand how you can pay for services that you do not get from a major airline and an insurance company and they get to keep your money. How is that legal? I paid hundred of dollars for flight service that I did not get, plus over $300 in additional expense to get home. Seems to me the travel insurance that they eagerly took money for should cover some of the additional expenditures.
Reviewed March 29, 2010
On December 29, 2009, we, two families with a total of 8 people (4 adults and 4 children), wanted to take the ferry from Shekou to HK Airport on December 31, 2009, to take flight AA6116/CX520 to Tokyo and then on to Dallas in the U.S. We bought the ferry tickets on Dec 29, 2009. We both called Shekou Ferry and checked personally with ferry staff about which ferry we should take to catch flight AA6116/CX520 departing the HK Airport at 10:20 am, and if we could check in our luggage for the flight from the ferry. We were told that we should take the 7:45 am ferry and our luggage could be checked in directly for flight AA6116/CX520.
On Dec 31, 2009, Shekou ferry staff keyed in our air ticket information to their computer. They informed us that they could not check in our luggage directly for the flight because they could not find the seating information in their computer. They told us we had to check in our luggage at the HK Cathay Pacific counter.
The ferry departed Shekou at 7:50 am and arrived at the HK Airport Sky Pier at 8:29 am. After we claimed our luggage and reached the Cathay Pacific counter, the time was 8:40 am, 100 minutes before the flight departure. The Cathay Pacific counter supervisor, Maggie **, refused to check us in because there were less than 120 minutes before flight AA6116/CX520s departure.
We were told our tickets were Q class. To accommodate us on the next available Q class seats, we would have to wait at least one month. To be accommodated on the next day's flight, we had to pay about $1600/person. We paid the money because we had no other options, and we could not afford to exhaust the four children any further and delay our business schedule in the U.S. Contrarily, a friend took the same flight as ours on Dec 31, 2010. She checked in her luggage through the Cathay Pacific counter in another HK Airport terminal at 9:00 am, 20 minutes after we were told we were too late for boarding. The time for her to get to the boarding gate from her check in terminal was the same as for us, about 10 minutes. She was allowed to board the flight.
On Jan 01, 2010, we took the same 7:45 am ferry to catch the same flight AA6116/CX520. Even though we bought our tickets directly from the Cathay Pacific counter, we still could not check in our luggage directly from Shekou. We were told only Cathay Pacific customers could check in their luggage directly from the ferry. Our tickets were paid to American Airline, and therefore we were AA customers, not Cathay Pacific's. Therefore, we had to check in our luggage at the HK Airport. We arrived at Cathay Pacific counter at 8:25 am on Jan 01, 2010, 115 minutes before the flight departure. It took Cathay Pacific about 15 minutes to finish the luggage and boarding pass process, which finished at 8:40 am.
We then went through security screening, airport tax return, and took the train to arrive at our boarding gate. This process took us another 10 minutes. In other words, it took us a total of 25 minutes from starting to check in our luggage to arriving at the boarding gate. We were the only 8 passengers waiting in front of Cathay's counter on Dec 31, 2009 for flight AA6116/CX520. Cathay would have finished our check in process within 15 minutes (as we proved it on Jan 1), and had another 85 minutes to process our formalities and load our luggage to the plane, but they refused to do so, even though they were capable of handling our friend's boarding 20 minutes later after telling us were too late for boarding. They forced us to buy the tickets on the 2nd day at $1600/person (total $11,625 for 8 of us).
We understand it's airline company's discretion in determining the necessary connecting time. We think this connecting time should be more a guidance to assist passengers having a smooth boarding. It should not be used as a barrier to manipulate the passenger flow to the flight. The flight we were taking on Dec 31, 2009 was oversold , and it's beneficial to the airline company to block 8 'economic class' passengers, thus relieve their burden to upgrade some passengers to higher class seats.
Reviewed March 27, 2010
I had to make everyone at your company aware of the unprofessional and insensitive way that my family was treated by your airline. We were stuck in your Tampa airport for an entire night with no sleep and no real answers. The plane from Philadelphia was being repaired and another plane could not be substituted. We made these plans in January for a vacation in March and the lack of planning, scheduling and preparation on US Airways' part was horrendous. On March 24, we were scheduled on flight 1744 from Tampa to Philadelphia. They didn't have a crew available. What? After that unbelievable foul up, they needed one person to complete the flight and they couldn't get in touch with him.
That has to be the most unprofessional behavior ever. My parents are 80 years old and they were expected to sit in a waiting area all night with no sleep and no food. Every store and restaurant was closed. We finally got a flight at 2:45 a.m to Charlotte, NC. We arrived in Charlotte at 4 am and were told by security that we weren't allowed off of the plane because they didn't expect passengers. Finally, after we all complained, we were allowed off of the plane. We had to wait around for another hour then headed back to Philadelphia.
We arrived about 8:00 in the morning. I missed a day of work because of the incompetence of your so-called business. My poor parents are still recuperating and don't ever want to travel again. Will I be compensated for the day of work that I missed because of you? I want a personal phone call of apology to my parents and they deserve some kind of return for the sad excuse of service that was put upon them. I expect an answer within the next two days. You have my phone number and I will not let this go until this situation is rectified. You will not ignore this complaint or sweep it under the rug. My parents paid for seven round trip tickets and they deserve some respect from your company. My confirmation numbers are xxx to to Charlotte and Philadelphia. I look forward to hearing from you. You have the chance to do the right thing, take it.
Reviewed March 24, 2010
Do not fly US Airways if you have any other reasonable choice. Their indifference to their customers borders on unethical. They charge you upfront and all along the way, never really promising to give you what you pay for. If they do ** up, you might get "a voucher", which is worthless because to use one you need to phone them, and then your fare goes up by more than the voucher's worth.
Reviewed March 24, 2010
When I reserved my ticket, the lady on the phone sold me the ticket for a different day. I noticed that when I reserve the confirmation via email. So I called to fix the problem they created. Then they charged me $150 plus the difference in the fly rate, a total of over $300. Then I got to the airport the day of my flight, 3-24-2010, at 7:45 going to Santo Domingo Dominican republic. They checked my bags 3 times. I told them that I was going to lose my flight. They said they were only doing their job. One (1) bag was going to throw the belt which went to Puerto Rico, by the way, and arrived 5 hours before my arrival. It got there at 1:45 and I arrived at 7:30. Now because I lost the flight due to their laziness, I had to pay $282. So I pretty much lost over $530 with American Airlines.
This airline will never ever see a penny from me ever. And I will complain about this until I hear from a supervisor from American Airlines. My flight number was 1689. Before I forget, when I finally got to the boarding, the airplane was sitting there for 15 minutes and the agent refused to let me in the airplane. I lost over $530 and the taxi that was waiting for me.
Reviewed March 24, 2010
My family and I were scheduled on a 7:45 am flight on US Airway from Philadelphia to Naples, FL for a 4-night vacation. We bought the tickets in October 2009 for a flight in March 2010. At some point in February 2010, the 7:45 flight was cancelled and we were moved to a flight that left Philadelphia on the same day about 4-1/5 hours later, around noon. The change effectively reduced our vacation by a day. When we called to complain and to see if there were any other earlier flights available, we found out that US Airways had added another morning flight, at 7:50, 5 minutes from our original (ostensibly cancelled) flight. We were told that was a recently added flight, but that it was sold out and we couldn't get on it. We were dumbfounded! Our flight was cancelled, then essentially rescheduled, but we couldn't get on it! We have been offered no compensation at all and are furious! We are curious to see how many other people on this noon flight were rescheduled from the "cancelled" 7:45 flight. We think US Airways did this just to fill another flight and now we are missing a significant chunk of our short vacation. Please help.
Reviewed March 24, 2010
My husband and I were on a 12 day cruise around Cape Horn aboard the Star Princess, leaving Buenos Aires on Feb 18th and arriving in Valparaiso on March 2nd. We were departing on AA on March 2nd from Santiago, Chile to the USA.
On Feb 28th, an 8.8 earthquake struck Santiago, Chile. The airport terminal in Santiago,Chile was damaged and flights to the USA were canceled for about a week before gradually returning to normal schedule. Our cruise ship was docked in the harbor from March 2nd thru March 4th, to allow cargo ships to enter with needed supplies for the earthquake victims.
The damage in and around Santiago was moderate but the airport terminal was shut down and alternate ways to screen passengers were developed. With no definite date of when the airport would reopen and our safety in doubt, staying in Santiago for an undetermined amount of time, Star Princess offered to let us take a return cruise back to Buenos Aires.
We contacted AA, via our travel agent in the USA, and she was told that AA would not honor our return ticket (already paid for), but would charge us an additional $1400/ticket to return from Buenos Aires. Needless to say, we were quite upset about this outrageous fee but more so when others taking the same flight were not charged any additional money.
When we arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires and spoke to the AA representative there, they too, were shocked at the fees we were charged. We felt that they were obligated to get us home safely and instead made our journey home more stressful than it needed to be.
We were in constant turmoil about how we were getting home safely and then have to deal with the added stress of these over priced tickets. I sent an email to the CEO of AA from the ship, and his return email stated that they could not give us a return ticket w/o this fee but they did waive the change of flight fee (a minor fee by comparison). I feel that they were taking advantage of us knowing that this was the only way we had to get home safely. It is always the bottom line for big companies. They do not think about how these fees affect our finances. We were forced to put these fees on our credit card in order to get tickets home.
Reviewed March 23, 2010
My flight was delayed twice. As a result of the delay, I missed two transfer flights from Chicago to Atlanta. Service at the ticket counter was extremely slow. I stood in line for an hour before being informed that my flight was delayed by two hours. The customer service agents were extremely rude and would not contact a supervisor for me stating that they "have no superiors". The gates printed on my tickets were incorrect and I was not informed of the changes until the very last minute.
I missed all of my scheduled appointments at my destination due to the delays and missed flights. I was unable to redeem a $150 dollar ticket for an event that I missed because of the inefficiency of American Airlines. I was appalled at the poor level of service provided by the airline.
Reviewed March 22, 2010
On March 12 my girlfriend, her son, a friend, and I were scheduled to leave Phoenix airport to Ocho Rios via Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale and Montego Bay for a 5-day cruise (3/13-18). We`booked air travel on UAL Flt 120 (9:45 am departure), which was a code share flight operated by US Airways. On 3/12, we arrived at Terminal 2 (UAL) at approx. 8:15 am. We were immediately redirected to Terminal 4 for US Airways. We arrived at the correct terminal at approx. 8:30 am. Upon our arrival, we faced a rather long line, but was told that the wait would be approx. 30 mins. We finally reached the check-in kiosk at 9:02 am. and when we tried to check-in, we were denied because the cut-off was apparently 9:00 am for both bags and passengers!
We were then re-directed to Customer Service, who explained to us that we not only missed the cut-off but they could not override the lock-out. We would have to make arrangements to get on another flights, but since it was Spring Break week, there were none available! Our only option was "Stand By". We then proceeded to attempt to get on the next 4 flights to Charlotte, with no success. We finally met a Customer Service manager, Cheryl, who said that she would help us. She suggested that we return home and return for a "red-eye" flight to Charlotte and then on to Fort Lauderdale, in time to make our cruise. As suggested we returned at 9:00 p.m. Upon check-in at the gate, we received 4 boarding passes with seat assignments to Charlotte, while in route she would have confirmed to Fort Lauderdale. We lost one night in a prepaid hotel ($180) in Miami. We confirmed twice prior to boarding that we were good to go! Once the boarding process started the next nightmare began.
As we boarded, 2 of the boarding passes were deemed "incomplete", so 2 of us had to return to the check-in counter, while the other 2 boarded. After further review, we were told that 2 of us were assigned those seats in error so we could not go, but we would get $500 vouchers for our trouble. Once we notified the 2 on the plane of our status (via cell phone), they asked to deplane, but were denied! Once we demanded that they be let off, the manager in the area (Mike) made everyone aware that they got off voluntarily and would not qualify for similar vouchers. After tempers calmed and we had a chance to explain our plight to Mike, he agreed to help. Mike informed us that he would do his best to get us on a 6:45 am flight to Charlotte and that we could connect in Miami in time to check in for the cruise.
We slept in the airport that night while Mike confirmed the arrangements. Mike later informed us that he had made the necessary arrangements and we boarded the flight and safely arrived in Charlotte. We had one shot left! When we arrived in Charlotte to check-in for the flight to Miami, we were told that we did not have a seat! We expressed our total disbelief, and the counter agent could not do much about it! He suggested that we might try Customer Service. We now had no way of getting to Miami in time to make the cruise, our luggage had been sent to Fort Lauderdale, we had no place to stay. So, we first went back to Customer Service where we discussed options. The only remaining option, was to fly to Montego Bay and get to Ocho Rios for day 4 of the cruise.
So we purchased 4 one-way tickets to Montego Bay ($900). We also went to the Baggage Claim office and asked if our bags could be sent to Miami to the cruise ship. We then had to get a hotel room ($100), rent a car ($35) and go to Wal-Mart to buy clothes and toiletries (about $100 per person). The flowers that I had purchased for day one of the cruise we forfeited ($90, by cruise line for safety reason). The next morning we arrived for our departure to Montego Bay, stopped by the Baggage Claim office again to discover that our bags had not left Fort Lauderdale, so we asked that they be sent to Montego Bay. We finally arrived in Montego Bay, with our bags on 3/14, spent 3/14-15 in another hotel ($200) and met up with the cruise ship on 3/16. We docked back in Miami the morning of 3/18 so we had 2 days on the ship of the 5 that we had planned/hoped for.
When we called to confirm/check-in for our return flight, we were informed that since we did not complete the original itinerary, the entire return portion of our itinerary was cancelled! After numerous calls that was corrected and we we returned to Phoenix on 3/20. I have flown approximately 1.5M miles over the past 25+ years on American Airlines, American Eagle, America West (awful), British Airways, Continental, Delta, Delta (SkyWest), Eastern, Luthansa, SAS, TWA, and United. I can say without hesitation that this is the worst airline experience that I have ever had which is saying a lot given America West's history. I would not recommend that anyone fly this airline!
Reviewed March 22, 2010
On March 12 my girlfriend, her son, a friend and I were scheduled to leave Phoenix airport to Ocho Rios (via Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale and Montego Bay) for a 5 day cruise (3/13-18). We`booked air travel on UAL Flt 120.8 (9:45 am departure), which was a code share flight operated by US Airways. On 3/12, we arrived at Terminal 2 (UAL) at approx. 8:15 am. We were immediately redirected to Terminal 4 for US Airways. We arrived at the correct terminal at approx. 8:30 am.
Upon our arrival, we faced a rather long line, but was told that the wait would be approx. 30 mins. We finally reach the check-in kiosk at 9:02 am. When we tried to check-in, we were denied because the cut-off was apparently 9:00 am for both bags and passengers! We were then re-directed to Customer Service. Customer Service explained to us that we not only missed the cut-off but they could not override the lock-out. We would have to make arrangements to get on another flights, but since it was Spring Break week, there were none available! Our only option was "Stand By".
We then proceeded to attempt to get on the next 4 flights to Charlotte, with no success. We finally met a Customer Service Manager (Cheryl - SP?) who said that she would help us. She suggested that we return home and return for a "red-eye" flight to Charlotte and then on to Fort Lauderdale, in time to make our cruise. As suggested we returned at 9:00 pm. Upon check-in at the gate, we received 4 boarding passes with seat assignments to Charlotte, while en route she would have confirmed to Fort Lauderdale.
We lost one night in a prepaid hotel ($180) in Miami. We twice confirmed, prior to boarding that we were good to go! Once the boarding process started the next nightmare began. As we boarded, 2 of the boarding passes were deemed "Incomplete", so 2 of us had to return to the check-in counter, while the other 2 boarded. After further review, we were told that 2 of us were assigned those seats in error so we could not go but we would get $500 vouchers for our trouble. Once we notified the 2 on the plane of our status (via cell phone), they asked to deplane, but were denied!
Once we demanded that they be let off, the Mgr. in the area (Mike) made everyone aware that they got off voluntarily and would not qualify for similar vouchers. After tempers calmed and we had a chance to explain our plight to Mike, he agreed to help. Mike informed us that he would do his best to get us on a 6:45 am flight to Charlotte and that we could connect in Miami in time to check in for the cruise. We slept in the airport that night while Mike confirmed the arrangements. Mike later informed us that he had made the necessary arrangements and we boarded the flight and safely arrived in Charlotte. We had one shot left!
When we arrived in Charlotte to check-in for the flight to Miami, we were told that we did not have a seat! And when we expressed our total disbelief, the counter agent replied, "Oh, well", not much he could do about it! He suggested that we might try Customer Service. We now had no way of getting to Miami in time to make the cruise, our luggage had been sent to Fort Lauderdale, we had no place to stay. So we first went back to Customer Service where we discussed options. The only remaining option, was to fly to Montego Bay and get to Ocho Rios for day 4 of the cruise.
So we purchased 4 one-way tickets to Montego Bay ($900). We also went to the Baggage Claim office and asked if our bags could be sent to Miami to the cruise ship. We then had to get a hotel room ($100), rent a car ($35) and go to Wal-Mart to buy clothes and toiletries (about $100 per person). The flowers that I had purchased for day one of the cruise we forfeited ($90, by cruise line for safety reason). The next morning, we arrived for our departure to Montego Bay, stopped by the Baggage Claim office again to discover that our bags had not left Fort Lauderdale, so we asked that they be sent to Montego Bay.
We finally arrived in Montego Bay, with our bags on 3/14, spent 3/14-15 in another hotel ($200) and met up with the cruise ship on 3/16. We docked back in Miami the morning of 3/18 so we had 2 days on the ship of the 5 that we had planned/hoped for. Story over? Nope. When we called to confirm/check-in for our return flight, we were informed that since we did not complete the original itinerary, the entire return portion of our itinerary was cancelled!
After numerous calls, that was corrected and we returned to Phoenix on 3/20. I have flown approximately 1.5M miles over the past 25+ years on American Airlines, American Eagle, America West (awful), British Airways, Continental, Delta, Delta (SkyWest), Eastern, Lufthansa, SAS, TWA, and United. I can say without hesitation that this is the worst airline experience that I have ever had which is saying a lot given America West' history. I would not recommend that anyone fly this airline! We missed 3 days of a 5 day cruise, had to purchase new tickets to Montego Bay Jamaica, to catch the ship for last two days. Since we were stranded in Charlotte, we had to get a hotel room, rental car and clothes to hold us over.
Reviewed March 19, 2010
On February 24, we received a call from Cheap Tickets informing us that the Continental flight from Newark was being cancelled due to the snowstorm coming overnight. We had our wedding planned for Las Vegas and everything paid for. There wasn’t any flight leaving Newark at that moment. What we were told is that if we get another flight from JFK, we will get our money back for the portion of that ticket which we did from Cheap Tickets, Continental gave us partial of the e-money. They said purchase your tickets to leave from JFK in 2 hours and we’ll reimburse you.
So the Cheap Ticket agent set us up and we purchased two tickets from American Airline at $800 each to travel from JFK to Los Angeles, then to Texas, then to Las Vegas, all in one night. When we arrive at JFK, the ticket agent looked at the itinerary and said, “Wow, that’s a lot of traveling.” She saw my husband carrying my wedding dress and congratulated us and said, “Let me help you.” She looked and looked and came upon the following itinerary. She stated that we can travel to Los Angeles and stay there until morning, get on a plane to Las Vegas around 10 am. So we said yes, all we wanted to do was get out of the snowstorm that was coming. I have all four boarding pass tickets and ID numbers for verification purpose.
We stayed at that Motel 8 down the street from the airport. Well, when I received my American Express bill, American Express charged me $1451 per customer. You’ve gotta be kidding me. We sat in the last fourth row with crying babies and man drinking and being so loud. If we knew that American airline was going to charge that amount, which is crazy, we would have never gone. No way. Please look into this matter. We cannot afford this. It was never told to us. We agreed because $800 per person was easier than $1451.
Reviewed March 17, 2010
I recently traveled from Milwaukee, WI to PAP, Haiti with 1 stop in Ft Lauderdale. Upon check-in in Milwaukee, I was told that my luggage would be sent straight through to PAP. Midwest Airlines failed to get the bags to you for the trip to PAP. But also during that time, I tried continuously to contact your offices both in PAP and Ft. Lauderdale. Usually there was no one available, and when there was, nobody knew anything nor would they listen to what I had to say as I would try to explain the situation. It was horrific! And to say the least, being in Haiti for 8 days with no clean clothes, food or medications was a most unfortunate experience.
I had to borrow extra food and clothes from other team members. However, I have MS and not having my medications did cause a bigger problem. I ended up being a patient in the very hospital that I was working in. It was painful and embarrassing and would not have happened if the personnel on the phones would have taken my calls and acted on it. Please call me for details on AA Flight #2285 on 2/26/2010.
Reviewed March 17, 2010
Via American Airlines, my husband & I flew from Madison, WI to San Juan, PR on Saturday, 02/27/2010. Upon my flight had an arrival in San Juan, my luggage was nowhere to be found. We went to the American Airlines Baggage Claim desk to file our claim and the agent stated that my luggage was held back on 02/27 at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, WI. I later found out that this was not true. Per TSA: "If a Transportation Security Officer (TSO) needs to open and search a checked bag that is unlocked or locked in order to resolve an alarm, the TSO will place a Notice of Inspection (NOI) inside the bag in order to alert the passenger that his or her bag has been searched." I did not receive a NOI in my luggage. Therefore, my luggage was not held back by TSA. Noting this, American Airlines (AA) lost my luggage on 02/27. I was lied to by the agent.
Starting the morning of Sunday, 02/28, I called to check on the status of my luggage. The response from the agent was, "We have no idea where your luggage is at this time". This is our vacation, what do you mean you can't find my luggage! I called three times (3x) that day to find out status and we never did get any answer. Without my luggage, we boarded our Carnival Victory cruise ship to cast off to St. Thomas, VI with me in my winter-type clothing which consisted of a sweatshirt, long pants, socks and boot shoes.
On Monday, 03/01, we again called AA to locate my luggage. No one knew where it was. We called again in the later morning/early afternoon and we needed to convince the agent to let us talk to a supervisor. The supervisor approved us a reimbursement amount to get some clothes and necessities. This was needed since I am now wearing some of my husband's larger-than-me-clothing. We had great difficulty finding undergarments, shorts and shoes in St. Thomas, VI. This is our vacation and we spent a good portion of our day trying to locate items for me to wear! We continued to call AA twice (2x) more to get a status on our luggage and it still was nowhere to be found. I started to cry.
On Tuesday, 03/02, we again called AA to locate my luggage. Still, no one knew where it was. We, again, needed to convince the agent to let us talk to a supervisor. The supervisor allowed us to get yesterday's items laundered and to allot me more money to buy clothing due to the fact that there was still no sign of my luggage. Again, we spent our day looking for clothing for me, rather than going on a fun excursion! We are in a much poorer country (Dominica) and we are having worse luck finding items; we actually settled on some items to make due.
It was completely difficult to find business casual/business attire since tonight on the ship it was formal night. I cried and cried and cried. We continued to call AA twice (2x) more to get a status on our luggage. On our last call, we found out that my luggage was in route to hopefully make it to our next destination, but there were no guarantees.
On Wednesday, 03/03, we again called AA to locate my luggage. It was maybe going to make it to Barbados, but they were only hopeful, not positive. Without hesitation, our agent directed us to the supervisor who allowed us more of an expense. This is now day #4 without my clothes, without attaché items, without my personals, without anything. This is supposed to be a vacation! What kind of vacation is it when you spend all your time trying to find something to wear? Do you know how fun it is to locate a driver and to explain that you want to go to a place that sells underwear? No excursions for us; just shopping to find me undies and a bra! Ugh! We, finally, received my luggage around 5:30pm on our ship. AA did not deliver, but rather Carnival was gracious enough to pick up my luggage at the airport and to rush to get it on the ship before we disembarked.
Just when we thought it was all over--the nightmare continued! On our return flight from San Juan, PR with arrival in Madison, WI on Sunday, March 7, American Airlines lost my luggage again! How ironic is that?! Our flight was a late flight, so we filed the claim at the claim desk and went home.
On Monday, March 8, we contacted AA Baggage Claim and the agent stated that my luggage was currently in London, England. What? She thought that my luggage may be in Madison, WI on Tuesday, March 9, in the later afternoon or early evening. I told them to hold it at the airport, and then once it arrives, I will pick it up rather than having them deliver it.
On Tuesday, March 9, after contacting AA, the agent located my luggage in route to Madison, WI with an approximate arrival at 3:41pm. I, again, told the agent to hold my luggage at the airport and I would come and obtain it. Just after 3:41pm, I contacted AA. My luggage did arrive and I, again, told the agent to hold it at the airport for me to come and get it. I arrived and the airport, my luggage was in the van to be delivered. I had to have the agent call the van guy and have him give me my luggage. It was located and I was able to take it home. I was happy until I opened my luggage! My luggage was settled and the insides were settled just like they appear after you get your luggage for the first time after traveling.
Then I noticed things were not packed the way I packed them (I roll my stuff, things were unrolled) and my stuff had been rummaged through! My attaché case was opened with all the items from within it were dispersed throughout my luggage. To top it off, the 2 cartons of Marlboro Lights we had in the luggage to take home with us were gone. I know that my attaché was zipped shut since I checked it after we got off the ship. I am also 100% positive that the 2 cartons of cigarettes we purchased were in there because I checked.
Not only was my trip ruined by my husband and I running here-&-there to purchase items to wear (instead of going on fun excursions), but also, I was violated and I was robbed. This is intolerable! American Airlines Customer Service Plan states: "Every customer is important to American Airlines and American Eagle and we are dedicated to making every flight you take with us something special. Your safety, comfort, and convenience are our most important concerns."
This was in no way comfortable with flying with you on my return flight in fear of losing my luggage and you were not convenient at all! The travel vouchers are a nice gesture, but are not satisfactory to us. You complicated our lives for 7 days out of 11! You give better voucher amounts to people willing to give up a seat than to those of us whose vacations you have ruined! You had my luggage more than I did and it was my vacation!
To sum things up, only after requesting a refund did I finally receive an apology (which I do appreciate it). AA has totally poor and pathetic customer service in that it took all this time to get one persons to feel even one bit sympathetic. Secondly, I was lied to by an AA agent stating that TSA lost my luggage. Thirdly, once I give my checked luggage to them, aren't they in-charge and responsible for it? I don't believe that my luggage should have ever been outside American Airlines' care. I gave them my stuff with the expectation that AA would treat it as your own, but that apparently didn't happen. Lastly, I was not only violated by people rummaging throughout my luggage, but I was robbed! I spent more time crying than enjoy my vacation!
Paid for luggage to arrive in a timely manner (not acceptable, they had it 7 days out of 11). I requested a full refund along with a request to reimburse us for the costs of our airline tickets, the payments made to have our luggage checked with them, and the cost of the stolen cigarettes refunded to me. Total amount of plane tickets is $459.64 x 2 = $919.28. Total amount for baggage is 2 x $20 x 2 = $80.00. Total amount stolen was $39.92. Grand total is $919.28 + $80.00 + $39.92 = $1,039.20. As a result, we were only given $200 (2) vouchers. What a rip off!
Reviewed March 16, 2010
I got to the airport 2-hours before my flight to departure. When I got to the front desk 40 minutes before departure, the front desk Julie, was losing time by talking to her co-worker. I approached her and she started taking care of me after 15 minutes. She said I was late and she cannot put us in a later flight. We talked to the supervisor and she said to call the agent and see if he can help, but no results.
We are very sad since we always fly with American Airlines for many times. My wife who flies to North Carolina every 4 months, and now we ask to look over what happened. I arranged someone to pick me and my son up at the airport in Budapest, I also need to be there for Immigration appointment. Please help us to get our money back. I do not have any more money to buy new tickets. Kindly overview my case.
Reviewed March 15, 2010
My flight was delayed because of bad weather. I missed my connecting flight because of the delay. I was put on standby, along with 60 other people for the same flight! I got nothing from AA except: "It's out of our control". No offer of another ticket and I even had to pay my own hotel for two nights, although they did give me a "distressed traveler" voucher. If I had not spoken to an agent who told me I needed to re-ticket my return flight, I would have been stranded and unable to return home. It seems that the computer system labels you as a "no-show" if you don't make any leg of your flight and cancels your other tickets.
Staying in the airport, waiting through at least seven other flights before giving up (I had only scheduled a weekend visit to Phoenix to visit my son for his birthday), and then my return flight could have been cancelled? Paying for hotel on my own and no apologies, no offers of another ticket? This was my third flight with American Airlines and the other two, those were international, were also disasters: Long, long delays, arriving in a foreign country well into the wee hours.
I thought maybe domestic would be better. Well, never again! As I walked through the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, I saw the same scene over and over again. AA offering cash to any seat holders willing to part with their tickets, many people on standby. Yes, it was spring break but they obviously oversold. Unethical behavior on the part of American Airlines.
Reviewed March 14, 2010
I received 2 companion tickets through US Airways Mastercard. I called US Air and priced the flight for 3 using the companion tickets and they quoted me a rate of $136/one way for the first ticket. I did not book and called on 3/13 to book. The first man had no idea what I was talking about, placed me on hold and hung up. The second man told me I couldn't use the certificate. The third man told me I couldn't get a direct flight and gave me a price of $791 for 1 ticket with layovers.
I called again and got a woman who gave me direct flights with a price of $591 for one ticket. I booked. Less than 24 hours later I went on the website and the fares originally quoted for $136 each way were posted. I called and they said that they will not honor the price online and said that I would have to pay $150 to cancel the flight and receive a $70 voucher for future travel in return. I feel like I have been taken advantage of because of the companion ticket and given higher ticket prices to overset the price of the companion tickets. By the way, when I called back to complain, I was on hold for over an hour with no satisfaction.
Reviewed March 13, 2010
After having tried to resolve my complaint with American Airlines, their final response after 8 communications between American Airlines and myself is "...any further correspondence about this particular issue would be unproductive." I was overcharged between $132.90 and $340.00 by American Airlines and a refund to me is due from American Airlines.
Reviewed March 13, 2010
I recently booked air travel using my frequent flyer mileage. Though all non-stop flights were practically empty to CLT from NY on May 20th, I had to book a flight that required changing planes in Washington, DC. in order to use only 12,500 of my miles. Returning to NY from CLT on May 24th, I was able to book a nonstop flight, (Flt. 1910) yet although the plane was almost empty, I had to use 20,000 miles instead of 12.500 miles. The total number of miles I used was 32,500 miles for this itinerary in what should have been a total of 25,000 miles.
Within 18 hours of making the booking, I found out that my niece was graduating from college that Friday and I needed to change my flights to be able to attend her graduation event. I called to cancel my itinerary and was told I would have to pay a $150 fee to either change my itinerary or redeposit my miles. Having no other choice, I told the agent to cancel my itinerary and I would look online to rebook a new itinerary.
Today, I went online to book a new flight on Saturday morning, May 22nd. I need to be in Charlotte about 10:30 am to be able to attend my granddaughter's dance recital. There are two flights available that will get me there by 10:30 am on May 22nd - Flight 883 and Flight 1509 LGA to CLT. Unfortunately, both flights say they are sold out for Economy Low using frequent flyer miles. Though both flights are again practically empty, I would now have to use 30,000 for the available Economy High or I could book First Class Low for 25,000 miles. I called and spoke to a supervisor in the DividendMiles Center and was told it would now cost me 50,000 miles for my new itinerary (in addition to paying the $150.00 fee to first redeposit my unused miles ).
I would like someone to help end this travesty. Could you please book me on either nonstop flight 883 or 1509 on May 22nd (again both of which are practically empty) and rebook my original return Flight 1910 on May 24th? I have paid 32,500 frequent flyer miles already and although I think that as in many contract situations one should have at least 24 hours to change plans without penalty. I will pay the $150.00 change in itinerary fee. I would appreciate your assistance.
Reviewed March 11, 2010
3 times when we went to get on the plane and get to our seats, they had given them away to someone else and never said a word so we had to wander around. “Is anyone sitting here?” just a bit embarrassing especially after the 3rd time. If our plane had crashed and someone was sitting in the seat I was assigned to, what would my family have done?
Reviewed March 8, 2010
In 2/25, I called American Airlines direct to book a business flight from Charlotte to Dallas and requested the bulkhead row. Due to my inability to bend my right knee, I cannot sit anywhere else on the plane because I won’t fit. I also use crutches, so my disability is obvious. On 3/4, I boarded the plane to find another passenger on my seat. A female flight attendant refused to help me and told me to de-board the plane and go to the gate agent for assistance. A First Class passenger offered to give up his seat for me and was told no.
So I hobbled up the ramp on my crutches to the gate. I told them there was a mistake and asked if I could get another bulkhead row seat. I was told none were available. When I told the gate agent that I booked that seat directly with American because I had to sit in that row or I couldn't fly, she accused me of lying and told me not to fly. So I asked for my luggage back and she refused. When asked what happens once my bag arrives in Dallas, she said, “It’s not my problem.” She then threatened to call the police. I sighed and told her to go ahead to which she screamed, "Did you tell me to go to **?" I replied, "No. When you threatened to call the police, I told you to go ahead because what are they going to arrest me for, crying? I've made no threats to you."
When I asked for the number to the customer service, she refused to give it to me and threatened to close the door and not let me on the plane. At this point, I was so upset with the way this was being handled. I was shaking and tried to decide what to do. I did not want my luggage to go missing on the other end and since I did have business in Dallas, I decided to get on the plane, not knowing where I was going to sit. She screamed at me that I had 30 seconds to get on the plane, so I tried to hobble down the incline ramp to get to the door as fast as I could, but because I was so shaken up, I lost my balance, collapsed on the floor in front of the door and I burst into tears.
The male flight attendant helped me up and got me on the plane. The female flight attendant who refused to help me earlier put me in an aisle seat where I had to sit with my right leg across the middle seat and my foot in the lap of another passenger. I asked this flight attendant for the name of the gate agent and she refused to give it to me. Instead, she told me there were lots of stories flying around about what happened. Four rows in front of me, there was an empty bulkhead row seat.
The next day, I called AA. They confirmed that I did book the bulkhead row for that flight and they agreed that they dropped the ball. Their legal department has contacted me and informed me they were opening an investigation and to not do anything for 30 days.
Reviewed March 7, 2010
My husband was traveling with a broken ankle. He is on crutches. He need help to get from on gate to the other. We would have never made our flights if they had been back to back. We waited 27 min. on the plane for a wheelchair in Chicago IL. Then in Dallas, he was taken to the wrong gate, left there and had to take an escalator on his crutches to another level. We then had to ask for help to get a wheelchair. Thank goodness someone helped us and we finally made it to the proper gate.
On both flights, we sat in the 14th row. It was a nightmare for my husband. I could not help much as I just had hernia surgery the week before. My husband was completely exhausted by this ordeal. He decided he could not fly back. So we had someone come to Texas and drive us back home. I can't imagine how a truly disabled person could travel. The help we got was very unsatisfactory.
On the plane, he was given a 14th row sit. No one tried to give him a front sit. I understand our tickets are none refundable but that’s ok. It has soured us on flying again in the near future. I hope this will wake you up to the fact that people with needs are being overlooked. I hope this will give you a new light on this failure to help disabled people in the future. My husband was sore for 2 days and delayed our vacation plans. He was exhausted from moving around on the crutches when he was supposed to be off his as possible. He had a note from his Doctor to have this wheelchair help. This was not the case in the two large airports. This was not good for his ankle to heal.
Reviewed March 7, 2010
After spending 2 months in Ecuador with my mother, she and I were headed back to our home in Ontario, Canada using American Airlines. We were to go from Quito, Ecuador, stop in Miami, Florida and then board another plane to land in Ontario. The flight from Ecuador to Miami was fine, despite the not-so-fresh food I ate for breakfast on the plane. When we got to Miami however, things turned sour. As we were getting our bags checked before boarding our plane, the ladies working in that area stopped us because we had cream and perfume in our carry-ons. That is completely understandable and had I known about that policy, there would have been no issue.
Before even explaining why they had pulled our bags aside, however, the three ladies working in that area practically bounced on my mother and I. I didn't know why we had stopped and the second I saw them opening my carry-on and pulling things out, I went to grab my things and said "Hey, that's mine". One of the workers almost grabbed my arm to stop me from touching my own things. My mother and I were not aware that we weren't supposed to have those types of products in our carry-ons as we're not frequent travelers. We were only in Ecuador because a family member had passed away suddenly. The last time we had traveled was in the early 90's.
So these three workers now became extremely hostile with my mother and I, simply because we were asking questions about why we had stopped. Over and over again, they said that there were "signs everywhere" saying that these types of products were not allowed in carry-ons. The last time I checked, my eye vision was fine and I did not see a single sign about this policy. Furthermore, people in airports are usually rushing to get out or catch their flight. It is not anyone's priority to be checking signs for policies they may have missed.
Eventually, their supervisor was called and the three workers (very obviously frustrated) were told to leave (by their supervisor). We were told that we could take these products in our carry-ons, but that we'd have to go to some other place in the airport to have them approved and that it would be a charge of $100. And then we would have missed our flight anyways.
So we left, leaving our products (some of which were Christmas gifts) behind and barely caught our flight. The only reason we even made it was because there was a person ahead of us going for the same flight. We could not walk as fast because of all our baggage and so the person in front told the workers on the plane that there were more people coming. The whole experience made me dislike traveling altogether. And if that wasn't enough, the night I got home, I threw up twice, then developed food poisoning, which then led to a nasty bladder infection that left me with a fever that had me in tears. All this I linked to the food I ate in the plane the morning we left for Miami. I will never travel with American Airlines again, if I do ever decide to travel.
Reviewed March 5, 2010
Upon arriving to SYR airport, I saw that flight was #3960 was going to be late coming into SYR, which led to short time to catch #1649 for TPA leaving at 5:30 out of Reagan. I was told that as backup, I was also booked on flight #1645 leaving, 2 hours later out of DCA in case, but that they were making up time, and it probably would be okay. When we were boarding the plane, one of the employees asked if I had a yellow tag for my carry on (which met carry on standard dimensions), and I said no.
She promptly gave me one. When I asked what it was for, she said my bag was too large. I told her that I didn't have time to wait for it to get off the bottom of the plane, and her uncaring response was, "you can make the 7:30 flight", to which I responded, "I don't want to wait another 2 hours for that flight! " We never left SYR until around 4:10 PM #3960 and arrived at Reagan at 5:15. One of the flight attendants knew there were 7 of us who had to catch flight# 1649, and asked the passengers to let us off 1st.
We all got off, and had to wait for our carry on luggage to be unloaded from the bottom of the plane, and put on the belt, before we could board a special shuttle bus, which was waiting to take us to gate 40, where flight #1649 was to take off. We were escorted personally by a man who ran us to the gate, and were there no later than 5:25PM, only to find no one at the boarding desk, and the door locked tight!
I personally pounded on the door several times, attempting to get someone's attention, and all of us tried to flag those in the cockpit from the window, to let them know that we 7 passengers were there waiting to board the plane. We were all in disbelief that after being rushed by an escort, that we were not going to be allowed on to the plane.
After the walkway was removed from the plane (although the plane did not leave the actual hangar for at least 10 minutes), Frank came to the desk. He was short with us, and said no one called ahead to have the plane wait for us, and that it happened quite frequently. I find this hard to believe, as we listened for the next 2 hours, as passengers who were not boarding on time, had their names announced for last call! We all had boarding passes by the way, so US Air had our names too! Two passengers, who also were to leave for TPA said, they never heard an announcement for the flight, and missed #1649 as well ,while sitting in the gate area. I am not only upset at the fact that US Air was late, but that the staff had an "uncaring/ disrespectful" attitude.
An elderly couple who had to run to gate 40, as well as a lady who had asthma, had to run and any of them could have had a heart attack rushing to the gate, only to find that all of our efforts were in vain, escorted or not! We were all lead to believe that the plane was waiting for us, since we had not missed the departure time. It was all a joke! And to top it all off, the 7;30 PM flight never left on time either! Upon boarding that flight, and noticing all the empty seats, I think it was a ploy for US Air to justify the later flight! The experience was stressful, and totally unnecessary, as we could have boarded that plane, if someone was made aware that we were all on our way to the flight. It was also unfair to make 9 of us wait 2 hours for another flight. Other airlines do it all the time.
Reviewed March 3, 2010
An unfortunate situation has occurred between US Airways and my family (me, my wife, and my two young daughters) and I would like them to consider our experience to make a decision on refunding our expenses for the two missed days at our destination that is an out-of-pocket expense, and or to refund our flight expenses. All of the following were 100% avoidable. The weather nor mechanical issues were a factor in resulting our debacle.
I received a telephone call at 6:30am on February 13th from US Air stating that our connecting flight 1005 from Philadelphia to San Juan was going to be delayed 70 minutes in Philadelphia. Upon arriving in Philadelphia, I checked the TV monitors, as instructed by flight attendants, to get the most up to date information regarding flight departures. US Air 1005 was to depart at 2:50pm.
US Airways website stated that the ETD was 3:00pm and the delay was due to CRR- Flight delayed due to crew rest requirements. My family and I took a lunch break and went back to Gate B4 at 2:15pm and was told by other stranded passengers that our US Air 1005 had departed. However, I noticed that it was still parked at the jetway but I could not locate any US Airways agents to assist me, my family and 21 other US Air passengers. There was a total of twenty-eight passengers left standing at Gate B4 with no one to assist us. We could have boarded the flight becuase it was sitting right in front of us but no one from US Air was there to help us. US Air stranded 28 passengers that were either going on a cruise or on a resort vacation, like my family. The actual time the flight departed according to your website was 2:32pm.
It took from 2:15pm until 8:00pm for Stan, their Shift manager to rebook my family's departure from Philadelphia scheduled now for the 15th of February. When I asked Stan and an agent to reconfirm my return flights for the 20th, he said he could not find any. I called my travel agent to check on the flight numbers we were scheduled on. Originally, it was US Air 1024 which had been changed to US Air 740. We were not on the flights, apparently our reservation was either cancelled when we didn't board flight 1005 or when he reissued the new departure flight, he did not include the return flight.
We got the excuse that the monitors were controlled by the City of Philadelphia, which one of their employees stated that may not be so accurate. After I photographed the monitor to show the flight information, I went to another gate and asked an attendant about our flight information. This attendant, on her own monitor, stated that flight 1005 was to depart at 2:50 pm. Does the city control their own monitors?
We have accumulated twelve of the other passenger's names and phone numbers that were also stranded at the gate. This was not a weather-related incident. The early departure of US Air 1005 was not only the result of human error but perhaps a violation of the Crew Rest Requirements. If it was deemed necessary to depart at 3:00pm due to crew rest requirements as posted on your website, then why did the flight depart at 2:32pm?
The early departure cost 28 passengers time, aggravation, loss of vacation time and money. Since US Air could not get my family out of Philadelphia to San Juan until the 15th of February, we are missing two days of our vacation at a cost of over $1,200.00 a day at the El Conquistador Resort. I expect US Air to reimburse me for those two days. They will never be able to compensate me for the aggravation they caused me and my family. I am a reasonable person and although weather-related delays are aggravating, I understand that weather is something we cannot control. However, this debacle at the airport was completely preventable and I expect reimbursement.
This is an absolutely disgusting way to run a service-oriented business and a total disrespect for the people who keep them in business. I am outraged.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2010
Our flight was scheduled to take off at 2:45pm on February 26. Please note we had severe weather in NYC and the airline never canceled the flight We arrived at the airport, my daughter and her boyfriend. We checked in at 12:45pm. We sat at gate 7 and was informed via the departure screen the flight was delayed until 3:30pm, never an announcement.
I went to the counter and asked the gate agent if the plane was ready to board at 3:00pm. He said no, that the next flight boarding was the Richmond flight. At 3:30pm, I went back to the gate agent because no announcement was made to see the status of the departure. He informed me there was a maintenance problems with the plane. Again no announcement. I looked at the board and it said it was delayed until 3:50pm. I went back to the gate at 3:45pm and the supervisor told me the plane had not boarded since they were waiting for more people.
I told my daughter and she went to the gate 2 minutes later. The supervisor told her the plane was closed! No one else can board the plane because they had too much weight on the plane and not enough fuel. I called another supervisor at the ticket counter and they informed me I was the last 3 people to check in and was not allowed on the plane because they did not have enough fuel to take more people.
First I had been at the gate for 3 hours. I was misinformed numerous times by the gate agent and finally by the supervisor. When were they going to inform me we were boarding? I'm a frequent flyer and have never been misinformed by a gate agent and/or a supervisor. I've never seen a flight take off with not all the passengers, especially since we were there for 3 hours ahead of take off.
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2010
I booked a non-stop, round-trip flight for $871 from Chicago, IL at OHare to Orlando, FL on February 12, 2010 at 8:09pm. I brought my sedated pet. The airline severely overbooked the flight, and I was denied boarding. I was number 7 with a confirmed ticket and no seat assignment. There were at least 4 others waiting behind me who never got seated.
I had tried to book a seat assignment 24 hours in advance, like the website told me to do. But I was denied. I arrived at the ticket desk to pay my pet charge and was still denied a seat assignment. The next flight wasn't until 7:00am the next morning, so with my sedated pet, it was impossible for me to take that flight. At that late hour, the ticket desk was closed; so I called US Airways.
I was told I would receive a refund, and in fact, on their website, my refund status shows a check was mailed February 12, 2010. However, I just received an email from customer service stating the ticket wouldn't be refunded, just remain viable for a year, but I would have to pay an additional $150 change-of-ticket fee. That is outrageous!
What happened to their decision to refund my ticket? Why did they change their minds so arbitrarily? Because the airlines is intentionally overbooking popular flights (by an amount that can't possibly be by mistake) and effectively forcing non-seated people into less desirable flights (if they can fly), this business practice is "bait and switch," which I was taught is illegal. How can the airlines do this? How can I take US Airways to small claims court?
Reviewed Feb. 23, 2010
American Airlines had cancelled my flight due to weather. After refusing to refund my credit card and insisting all refunds must come in the form of a voucher, they had sent the voucher to an incorrect address and I have never received it. American Airline's policy is, all disputes need to come in the form of writing and email from a link off of their website. They are supposed to resolve in 2-3 days. It has been over a week since I sent in 2 complaints requesting my refund voucher being sent to the correct address with no response.
Reviewed Feb. 22, 2010
No one I saw came at these women with any type of attitude, just simple questions about the gate being opened or closed. One of them gave very unnecessary attitude, several people around me as did I sat and witnessed her over and over again with 20 customers. One lady I did not know leaned over and stated ,"What a lack of personality.She could really use one." Dirty looks, rude comments, and eye rolling were all she was giving out. She has really long white/blonde hair. I never caught her name. Most of the flight attendants were rude for my flights today. I wish I had a better experience being that my brother used to fly for this company and would have never treated anyone this way.
Reviewed Feb. 22, 2010
My husband and I had reservations on Alaska Airlines traveling from Juneau, AK connecting to American Airlines in Dallas, TX and continuing on to McAllen, TX. The Juneau flight was canceled due to bad weather and was re-booked for the next day with no additional fees from Alaska Airlines. To change our reservations with American Airlines for the next day, my husband and I were charged a change fee of $150.00 each (a total of $300.00) plus the ticket increase of $88.20 each (a total of $176.40), which brought the cost of the 90 minute flight to $561.90 each ($1123.80 total). The need to make this change was totally out of our control.
I feel like this was a total rip off and we will never fly American Airlines again or recommend it to anyone. Our hotel and rental car reservations were also changed with no additional charge. This additional fee added a financial burden on us. With the cost of airfare these days plus the charge for luggage it is financially difficult to travel even once a year. Then to be charged for the weather. This is just not right.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2010
I had a ticket that I used Advantage miles for from my sister. My ticket needed to be changed due to my daughter having an early delivery of her baby. I got nothing but a run-around, and was told by Chuck at American Airlines that I needed to purchase an additional 3,000 miles on top of my sister’s 45,000 miles more to get to Milwaukee. Not to mention that I could not even get the ticket until the miles were in the account. This was told to me by Chuck over the phone, the miles had to be bought online, and they cost $118.69. I come to find out today I didn't need to buy the miles, and the flight for Monday was not available, (because I could not reserve it even), and was out the money, and had to take an overnight flight on Tuesday.
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2010
We were supposed to fly out of Fort Myers, FL to Charlotte, NC on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 at approximately 10:06AM. We arrived at 7:30AM to make sure we would not have any problems with customs. When we checked in, we found out the flight had been cancelled and even though the next scheduled flight was noon, we got bumped until the 5:00PM flight. Having already turned in our car, we had nowhere to go. We inquired if we could travel with another airlines and was told no, so we waited the 9+ hours until the flight.
When we arrived in Charlotte, NC, we were stuck on the plane for at least 15 minutes because they couldn't open the door. Good thing it wasn't an emergency. Our connecting flight didn't board until 9:36PM and it started to depart then sat there. The captain came on the speaker and said we had to wait for a part before taking off. We sat there cramped in the seats until 11:00PM until we finally took off. We landed in Toronto some time around 1:00AM. By this time, we were dragging. We went through customs and went to retrieve our luggage which didn't come for about 15 to 20 minutes. They apparently had trouble getting the luggage off the plane. Fortunately, the flight was smooth and pleasant. That was the only thing that went well that day.
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2010
It's very unfair that airlines are getting away with the baggage charges scam. A normal suitcase checked bag should be included in the ticket price like it always has been. I believe it's unconstitutional that airlines are making dirty money out of good customers like me.
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2010
My $200 "reward" ticket. My husband and I decided to take the family to New York for the holidays. I had enough miles for a reward ticket for myself and I was just 4,000 miles shy of a reward ticket for my son. I purchased the additional miles which cost me $85 when you added the ridiculous $35 processing fee. Why they would charge me $35 for taking my money without any effort on their part is beyond me. Still, $85 is better than what the normal airfare would be or so I thought. When I went to book his ticket online, I was prepared to be charged another $35 fee for booking "reward" travel. What I was not prepared for was the additional $75 fee for booking my reward flight 13 days out instead of 14, which seems to be the cut-off for "reward" flights!
When I went online to view the actual fare, I would only be paying $10 less using my miles than if I had just bought him a ticket! I was beside myself with disgust. I called US Air Customer Service and asked if the miles I had purchased not just 30 minutes ago could be refunded and I was told flatly, no. So there I was paying close to $200 for a "reward" flight and feeling like a total chump because not only was I out $200, I was out 25,000 miles. The nail in the coffin was that my son could not fly on the same flight as me as they were out of "reward" seats. However, had I just purchased his tickets outright, he could have. Another lovely side note, if you try to cancel or reschedule your "reward" flight, they hit you with a $150 penalty.
To add insult to injury, the half of the family who flew US Air (me, my daughter and oldest son), my husband and other son flew Southwest, became stranded in DC due to fog for over 24 hours. We were shuffled from gate to gate, kicked out of the terminal, slept in the chapel and then were shuffled again from gate to gate, got on a plane only to get off again until we finally departed for home. Us Air never gave any of their passengers any consideration for food or shelter, just a slip of paper with a number on it to get a "discount" hotel room. But with our flights constantly being cancelled and rescheduled, it was impossible to leave.
My older son and I both lost a day's work as neither of us had any vacation time left. Even worse, my son's hours were cut because he had to call off because he was stuck with me in DC. Yet my husband and younger son were home safe because they flew Southwest. US Air is truly the worst airline ever.
Reviewed Feb. 8, 2010
On Feb. 1, 2010, I flew UsAir out of Laguardia with flight #1015. Upon boarding, I told the female flight attendant, with a male standing next to her, that I would need some help placing my bag in the overhead. I was told to ask a passenger! I am a 69 & 1/2 year old woman of reasonable sound mind, but this was a mind boggler! What terrible service. How could she know the state of my physical capabilities or any health issues I may have? I was taken aback and proceeded up the aisle in kind of a mild shock. After looking somewhat confused, a lovely young man put my bag in the overhead.
My return flight was on Delta, and they make UsAir look horrific. Not only was I helped, I was asked more than once if I needed anything else. My bag was taken down by the flight attendant upon arrival without having to ask. I did not note the attendants name in question on UsAir Flight 1015 but I am sure the company have it on their records. It was unacceptable, unreasonable and downright beyond rude. I will never take UsAir again nor will any of my family and friends.
Reviewed Feb. 7, 2010
learnt that our connecting flight to New York had been cancelled due to weather conditions. We were re-accommodated to the next flight to New York at 7 am, the next day, January 31.
The agents at the airport gave us the new tickets and told us that we could stay at an airport hotel for $77. They said that was the best they could do, and they weren't liable when a flight is cancelled due to weather. (However, the flight to Newark was not cancelled, and there was no snow in NYC at all, only 1-2 inches in Philadelphia.)
Train from Philadelphia to New York takes only two hours, and it costs $45, which is much cheaper than staying at the hotel they arranged and a faster way to get home. So, we told the agent that we did not want to wait till next morning to go home but preferred taking the train. They said that we need to callthe number to cancel our flight. They didn't even mention that it was mandatory to receive any sorts of refund for the flight that we didn't want to take. When we asked for refund for the ground transportation we were about to take, they said that we could email the Customer Relations.
Since they had already taken our baggage for transfer to LaGuardia (before we learnt that the flight was cancelled), we thought that it would be safer to call an agent and tell them that we were not taking the 7 am flight, but our baggage could at least come home safely. So, I called the number they had given us and told the agent that I would like to cancel this flight and asked if they could reimburse me for my cancelled flight and ground transportation. The agent told me that he cannot do anything about ground transportation, but he could work on reimbursing our cancelled flight.
When I gave my confirmation number to him, he said that I needed to talk to another agent, since my flight was international, and he transferred me to another agent. The operator calculated 65 minutes of waiting time to be helped by the next available agent. My train (which was the last one to NewYork) was leaving in 15 minutes, and I couldn't wait 65 minutes on the phone. Since I thought that I needed to call again for reimbursement purposes only, I thought I could do that next day, hoping that the lines wouldn't be that busy.
So, on January 31, around 11 pm, I called the US Airways again and explained the situation to them. When I talked to the international flights agent, she said that she cannot reimburse my flight, since it was marked as "no value" due to the fact that we had not showed up. I told her a million times that I assumed that I had already cancelled my flight by talking to the agent on January 30, and I didn't even know that it was necessary to be reimbursed. She said that only international flights agents could cancel my flight, and the agent I spoke to had not done anything. But I didn't know any of that! How would I know?
I had told 3 different representatives at the airport that I wasn't taking the flight, and I also called the number they gave me and told that representative as well that I was not taking the next flight. I even asked the personnel at the airport how I could get to the train station. But nobody even mentioned that cancellation was mandatory for reimbursement and hadn't been done by any of them or that only international flights agents could cancel it.
The agent that I spoke to on January 31 also told me that I had the chance not to accept the next arranged flight ticket at the airport, which would mean cancellation automatically. But I wasn't given any such option at all. They had already arranged and printed the 7 am flight when we were there and stapled hotel information and the US Airways phone number on it. So, they gave those to us and didn't explain anything at all! I told the representatives at the airport so many times that we were not taking the next flight, but they didn't say anything. Seriously, nothing!
So, after talking and explaining all these things to the international agent, she still didn't seem to understand my explanations and kept giving me excuses for not reimbursing us. She even blamed me for waiting till 11 pm on January 31 to call them. She said I could have called them when I got home. I told her that I got home about 2 am and was exhausted and thought that the lines would be busy. So, I preferred calling the next day for getting my reimbursement. Her answer was "Well, I was here around 3 am, and nobody called." which means that the lines were not busy at that time as if I would have known!
Plus, I had thought that I had already cancelled my flight by talking to the first agent. I told her a million times that I even did not know that I had to cancel myflight to get reimbursed. Nobody had told me that. So, my call purpose on January 31 was to work on the reimbursement procedures, since the first agent I talked to on the phone had told me that he could work on that.
After killing my self to explain the situation to her for 45 minutes, I asked her to transfer me to her supervisor whose name is Lanya. (She wouldn't give her last name due to regulations.) I have to accept that she was the only nice and reasonable person I talked to. She said that she would do an exception and reimburse our flights in 7 business days.
So, as a customer, who has been treated very rudely, who has not been given any explanation in time about procedures to cancel flights and receive reimbursements, and who almost had a heart attack due to the agents' inability to understand the situation and their expectations of their customers to know every single procedure to receive any sort of reimbursement for a cancelled flight (even when their own colleagues fail to provide such information), and who had go through all the problems at the airport to take the train to get home in time and to receive the lost baggage safely, I emailed the Customer Relations, hoping that they would take the customers more seriously and respectfully.
The agent at the Customer Relations office replied to my email by simply apologizing for the agents for not handling the issue better, but he said that there is nothing he can do about ground transportation. In 7 days, we received a ridiculous amount of reimbursement: $18! Even the buses from Chinatown cost $20.
I will never ever fly with US Airways again, and I think nobody should do so! They are very unreliable and irresponsible!
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2010
I was on an AA flight 109 on June 30th, 2009. Flying from Tel-Aviv to Boston and switched planes in London. I feel asleep on the plane, and when I woke up both me and the woman sitting next to me started being very sick with cold symptoms, runny nose and sneezing. When I landed, I went to my sister’s and took some Sudafed for my runny nose. The next day I stared having a very bad rash, so I took some antihistamine cold medication. After 3 days, I flew to MN, where the rash persisted with the cold symptoms gone.
I then flew to LAX, where again I still had the rash. Returning to MN for another week before flying back to Israel (in all 5 weeks in the US). I still to this day have the rash. I have been to skin doctors, allergists, dietitian and had blood works done. It is diagnosed as chronic Urticaria, which is a rash that comes and goes and has to pinpointed reason. I would like to know if there is a forum where I can check if other passengers in the same flight with the same symptoms, maybe the woman next to me. I have tried all medications. I have paid $150.00 for dietitian. I have been unable to concentrate with this persistent rash, and wake up in the nights very itchy. I take a pill which only kicks in after an hour.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2010
I booked a flight from Key West to New York for February 9th, and I got an email on January 27th saying that my flight was cancelled. I called to find out why and they said that my fie called at 9:54 am and cancelled the flight. We were together at the doctor getting a sonogram at that time; there is no way she could have called and even if she had, she didn't have any access on flight information to make those changes. They offered to rebook me at an additional cost of 175 dollars per seat which I refused.
They kept insisting that my wife had called and that she could have easily called from a call phone at the doctor's office. They are basically calling me a liar. I was able to get booked on an earlier flight out of Key West and a later one out of Miami, but only because I have a friend who works for AA in Key West.
Now, my pregnant wife has to sit in an airport for five and a half hours waiting for our next flight. I want to know how they cancelled a flight that my wife didn't pay for; it was my credit card. How can they let someone cancel without confirming their identity. I want to know who said that they have spoken to my wife but they didn't tell me.
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2010
I booked and paid for an R/T flight (AA confirmation KAIHKN, ticket no. **, AAdvantage no. **) on AA.com for Cathay ** on 7/25/09, MIA/SJU. Her daughter in SJU was to deliver C-section on 12/21/09. Pregnancy complications occurred, and on 12/02/09, her daughter Liselle was admitted to the emergency room at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital and her baby was taken by C-section that evening. I called American Airlines reservations on 12/02/09 at approximately 2 pm seeking assistance to get Cathay ** to SJU to aid her daughter as soon as possible.
I was told it would cost $275.00 ($150.00 change fee and $125.00 increase in air fare) to leave MIA/SJU that evening. I asked if there was a "compassion" allowance for family emergencies and she said yes, it would cost about $600.00! Sounding illogical to me, I found a one-way MIA/SJU fare on Priceline.com on AA flight 1567, 12/02/09 of $207.10, which I purchased (AA confirmation no. **, ticket no. **, Priceline itinerary no. **, AAdvantage no. **).
On 12/26/09, when Cathay ** tried to check-in online for the previously purchased flight (AA flight 2202, 12/26/09, SJU/MIA, KAIHKN, ticket no. **), she learned her itinerary was cancelled by American Airlines! After speaking with two AA reservations agents and a supervisor, I had to pay $132.90 for Cathay ** to be able to board the exact same flight that was already bought and paid for on 7/25/09! As a result, the total cost to me for the R/T flight on 12/02/09 - 12/26/09 MIA/SJU was $594.20.
Aside from the inconvenience of all this, I was overcharged between $132.90 and $340.00 by American Airlines, and a refund is due, and expected by me from American Airlines. I find it offensive that while other airlines allow "compassion" fares and flexibility for family emergencies, American Airlines looks upon this as a money-making opportunity.
Please note: After unsuccessfully trying to submit this complaint by e-mail on AA's customer relations website, I am submitting it by U.S. mail. The other Web links were successfully submitted on 1/05/2010.
Reviewed Jan. 20, 2010
In the Charlotte Airport, we were offered to sign up for a US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard, pay the $79.00 annual fee, use it at least 1 time and we would receive 1 free airfare anywhere in the US. The only blackout day was Christmas Day, plus a companion ticket for only $99.00. Needless to say, we did. When we went to book the travel, it was a 'point system'. The points that we earned from paying the fee and using the card did not amount enough to use it for a flight! Also, the companion ticket was only good when you purchased a ticket for more than $250.00, then could purchase an additional for $99. They would not refund the $79.00 fee, plus gave me the run-around for booking, repeating that I could book the travel and I was even flexible with my travel dates! After 2 hours and 45 minutes of dealing with them, I will earn 2,000 extra points, not the 25,000 that I need to travel on a Thursday!
Reviewed Jan. 17, 2010
My problem is that US Airways lost my luggage on December 30, 2009. I flew from Los Angeles (LAX) to Philadelphia (PHL) to New York (LGA) and apparently my luggage was scanned that it made it onto the flight to La Guardia but was never scanned again that it came off that flight. The real problem is that the service in trying to get my bag found and returned to me has been terrible. The ability to talk to someone when I need answers as well as updates as to what's being done to find my bag has been incredibly frustrating.
It is my opinion that most days little to nothing is being done to find my bag. I have asked a couple of people including Pam, and Catrina if I could have someone call me everyday and tell me the status of my bag and what's been done during the last 24 hours to find my bag, and they both have told me this is not possible. Instead, if I want any information I need to call this number which is the number for team 3 who is looking for my bag. I have called this number 12 times and never once has anyone answered the line. Most of the time my call is returned but the problem is that I teach full time and have missed many of these calls.
The frustration with not being able to talk to a live person has been incredible. Also, they don't return my phone call in the time frame that they say they will. On the message machine, they say if you call before 3 pm Pacific time, your phone call will be returned within two hours. This is not the case and I have urged them to change the recording because 4 different times I called before 3 pm and did not receive calls back within two hours. In fact, one time I was not called back for 48 hours.
The real problem is that it seems like very little is being done to find my bag. In my opinion, this is why I can't get daily updates from them as to what's been done. For example, on January 5th, I was told to fill out a claims form that lists all the contents in my bag. I was assured that having a list of all the items in my suitcase would really help them in their efforts to trace my bag. US Airways received my claims form on January 7, 2009. After talking to Catarina on January 15, I learned that this information (all of my items in my suitcase) had still not been entered into the computer for tracing. On January 16, Pam called and told me that she had just entered all of the items into the computer. Why did it take nine days to complete an assignment that probably took 15 minutes to do? Still, now that the information is entered it won't be traced until the designator tracer is working and gets to it. I was told that there will be a tracer person working today, January 17, but they could not assure me that the person would get to my bag today. In fact, they could not tell me when my bag would be traced at all.
This is the worst customer service I have ever received. I have student projects in my suitcase that are irreplaceable. The problem is not that the representatives are rude, it is the system that US Airways has in place. It's the inability to talk to a live person. I have spent over 4 hours on hold trying to talk to a real person. It's the fact that nobody can give me daily updates as to what's been done because as you can see from my previous paragraph very little to nothing is being done to find my suitcase. I would greatly appreciate if you could help me get the attention this matter deserves. What I'd love to see is proof that my bag is being searched for everyday. Thank you so much for your help!
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2010
I travelled from Karachi with my wife on Etihad Airways on 4th Jan, 2010 via Abu Dhabi to London (UK) and was transferred to AA from Heathrow. I got two bags at O'Hare, Chicago and the third was delivered to me at the above address the next day after midnight. The 4th bag which had mostly expensive ladies' clothes, some personal effects and some rare old family photographs and ornamental items, is still missing and has not been delivered to me. I have been contacting the American Airlines Baggage service daily but have a feeling that they are not doing enough to locate my lost bag . The locator Number the American Airlines gave me is TSVFFQ.
It is 11 days now and I have not received any positive response. Address and names( as mentioned above) are clearly written in bold letters at the top of the black bag. Can you help me or ask the Airlines to be a little extra swift and careful in their efforts? I have been travelling in Middle East and Europe for the last 40 years (I am a senior) but it never took so long anywhere to deliver the delayed baggage if the mishap took place sometime. This is the most advanced country and here I have suffered the most. I am leaving here by the end of the month and want your urgent attention to help me get my bag as soon as possible. May I trust your agency and hope that you will sincerely try to help? The bag's contents were not less than a couple of thousand dollars worth but the mental agony and inconvenience cannot be fully described. It is tremendous and has totally spoiled our vacation.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2010
My husband and I were First Class passengers on Flight #758 on 12/22/09 departing from Philadelphia at 10:34 am to Orlando, FL. The smell coming from the air filter system was disgusting and lasted throughout the entire flight. Every passenger entering the plane immediately held their nose and complained. We were told that the air would clear upon departure, but it never did. It's sad to pay any price, let alone a first class rate, and have to deal with such terrible conditions. The attendants do little to ensure a pleasant flight--a disgrace to the airline industry!
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2010
Philadelphia Airport. Had Reference code for Dog (DJNLB6) Had Kennel approved carry for Dog? Have Traveled with Dog on US AIR many Many Times. I have a home in Philadelphia area and in Jacksonville area. Travel once or twice a month also travels to Michigan on Reg Base. The Lady at travel counter refused my dog because she said she was too big and travel case was too small.
This is Vet approved for flight travel. Your agents have never had an issue with the dog and travel on all my past fights. Most recent flight was 2 1/2 weeks ago for Thanksgiving. (Other agents said she watches dogs for a fee and would take the dog so we could travel. (My dog cost $600) The Agents and Supervisor was extremely rude and said I was cruel to my dog.
Had Vet papers and the Vet approved the travel case for dog? The agent on the right of us allowed a much larger dog on flight? I asked the agent about these ladies, I was dealing with and she whispered they have been a (** mood all day. Talked with a Flight Crew member recognized us from our past travels with my dog. And talked with my children and could not believe they would not let us on flight. A captain in the Marriott hotel talked with us as we were very upset with our flight plans and played with the dog. His quote was that this is out problem with Customer Service and why it's hard to make money as an airline. A stewardess sees my daughter crying and asked if she could walk us back to the counter to help. By then we have missed the flight and needed to fly out to beat the pending snowstorm. That is why we paid extra to change flight and fly out on Friday instead of Saturday.
She made a comment to us that we should try southwest and that they can be a little friendlier. We got on line right an away explained what happened to the southwest agent and they got us on a delayed flight at 8pm to Jax FL. I asked for a Supervisor at Southwest and Air Trane to check my travel prep for dog and they laughed and said there should never have been an issue. They opened up pet travel as did your US Captain in the hotel lobby and played with the dog. By now, my children are in tears and my thought our travel and Christmas plans were over. Southwest was so good to us and got us on our flight to Jax and knew were very upset that they even brought my dog a treat and maid my two little girls feel so good.
I am requesting my refund for my family flight. I was good enough to pay for the extra fee to get a flight out before the snow storm. I have traveled on US Air for most of my business and leisure travel. I am so disappointed with your Airlines. I am asking for a refund and you may take back my Travel miles. I do not feel that I would fly with US Air ever again, knowing this is how they treat people. I also own and run a very travel extended business that my contract employees travel US AIR. I will be letting my travel assistant know not to use US AIR for our employees. I have offices in Richmond/Miami/ DC and Baltimore along with Allentown/ Philadelphia/Harrisburg. You can see the pain this will cause in my business travel as well. They are all US Air routes for my Business Team. Philly is my Hub.
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2010
American airlines bumped our flight 3 times due to the supposition they didn't have enough passengers. That is as far as I can see it. They used mechanical failure as their reason three times. I bought First class tickets. But was bumped to coach. If I hadn't pointed it out, they would not have even refunded that part. Because of their inept airline, I missed my other flights. AA doesn't care. Although 7 hour layover is not much to most people, it is to me when I have to drive 4 hours at night late in 0 degrees snowy weather. American airlines don't give a damn about putting peoples lives at risk. I would fly American if they would change their advertising commercials. They need to make a true commercial that states, hey! we don't give a damn about you as a customer, just fly with us anyway. At least we wouldn't be lied to and we would know what to expect
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2010
I booked and paid for a round trip flight on AA.com for Cathay on 7/25/09 - MIA/SJU. Her daughter in SJU was to deliver C-section on 12/21/09. Pregnancy complications occurred and on 12/02/09, her daughter was admitted to the emergency room at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital and her baby was taken by C-section that evening.
I called American Airlines reservations on 12/02/09 at approximately 2:00 PM seeking assistance to get Cathay ** to SJU to aid her daughter as soon as possible. I was told that it would cost $275.00 ($150.00 change fee and $125.00 increase in air fare) to leave MIA/SJU that evening. Asking if there was a "compassion" allowance for family emergencies, she said yes, it would cost about $600.00!
Sounding illogical to me, I found a one-way MIA/SJU fare on Priceline.com on AA flight 1567, 12/02/09 of $207.10, which I purchased. On 12/26/09, when Cathay tried to check-in online for the previously purchased flight, she learned that her itinerary was cancelled by American Airlines! After speaking with two AA reservations agents and a supervisor, I had to pay $132.90 for Cathay to be able to board the exact same flight that was already bought and paid for on 7/25/09!
As a result, the total cost to me for the round trip flight 12/02/09-12/26/09 MIA/SJU was $594.20. Aside from the inconvenience of all this, I was overcharged between $132.90 and $340.00 by American Airlines, and a refund is due, and expected by me from American Airlines. I find it offensive that while other airlines allow "compassion" fares and flexibility for family emergencies, American Airlines looks upon this as a money-making opportunity.
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2010
On the 19/12/2009 I was on the US Airways 723 flight depart from Dublin with a 10:55 stop to Philadelphia, and is scheduled to arrive to Las Vegas by 13:45 (18:25 local time). On boarding the flight in Dublin, we were already aware of a snow storm in Philadelphia, as the staff was talking about it, however we took off and landed as planned to Philadelphia. As we could see by the windows of the plane, the situation was pretty bad, and after few hours in the airport we were informed that all flights were canceled.
This is when the nightmare started. I tried to speak to some staff, and I was told to go to the customer service of US Airways. There was 3 desks located in the Terminal A, B and C, each one of them has queues with hundreds of people. Each one of their desks had 2 to 3 peoples. There was also queues on other gates, but I was told to queue on the US Airways customer service desk (Terminal B). After 2 hours on the queue, we were given a phone number to call. The voice was saying that my call would be answered in approximately 95 minutes.
So after being on queue for 7 hours, I was booked on the Las Vegas flight on Sunday, 20/12/2009 at 18:00 (I think). They refused to book any hotels for me, as they said that the weather condition was not their responsibility. So, I spent the night sleeping in the airport, without any luggage. I was not allowed to pickup my luggage, as Philadelphia was not my final destination. On 20/12/2009, my flight is canceled again, no reason was given to me (flights were taking off on Sunday afternoon from Philadelphia Airport).
At that stage, I'm about to explode. I'm dirty, I'm not given any support from any of the staff on duty, and the only option I'm given is to talk to customer service, which guess what had the same length of queues as the day before. I went on queue for another 5 hours (terminal A this time), and when I finally managed to talk to the staff, I'm told that I won't be able to fly before Wednesday. A long, and very difficult discussion took place. I asked to talk to one of the managers, who finally found me a seat in a flight on Monday at 3:50 PM (I think). I spent another night in Philadelphia airport, and at that stage, I felt homeless, I was offered a kit with a toothbrush and some soap by the airport staff. That's all they could do for me.
On Monday, I finally arrived to Las Vegas, my luggage were at Las Vegas Airport, and I finally managed to regain a bit of dignity. On my way back, I came very early at the airport (7:00 AM). I found out that my flight is delayed by an hour. I explained to your staff (at the luggage registration), that I may miss my connection. I'm told that I can't change my flight, but that I should be able to pickup my connection (the flight was arriving with delay at 20:25, and my connection was at 21:15). At the gate, I asked again, and the lady was very nice and helpful, and agreed to place me on the early flight. I was then able to pick up my connection, and fly to Dublin, I thought. The weather in Dublin was bad, so the flight was diverted to the Manchester airport. This time, US Airways booked us a hotel (The Radisson in Manchester Airport).
At the customer service desk, we were told to go to the hotel, and to call the number we were given. I called the number, and after 15 minutes on hold, the US Airways agent on the phone did not know what I was talking about, and transferred me. I was put on hold again, and the line got dropped. I called again, then the agent was aware of the situation, did a reservation on an Aer Lingus flight, early Monday morning, and told me to go back to the customer service desk, where I was earlier told to leave.
Once at the desk, I was told I could fly at night, if I wanted to, so I decided to take this option. I finally managed to arrive in Dublin on the Friday at 1:00 am with Aer Lingus. Never in my life I could I have imagined such situation, where so little support, help, and advice were available. The organization was disgraceful, the management was invisible, on the customer service desk, there was one staff doing nothing (supervising, I suppose). Some staff were leaving the desk, and there was then only 1 staff behind the US Airways counter, staff members were passing by the queues, without taking any action, that was a totally careless behavior.
How can they leave customers sleeping in an airport without their luggage, and without taking care of their condition for 48 hours (or even more)? How do they explain, that to get a seat in a plane, that I have already paid for, I have to get angry to one member of the staff, and finally get in touch with a manager, who like by magic, found me a seat? Were they trying to sell all these available seats to other people, although they should have assigned them to the customers, who had their flights cancelled? How can they be allowed to be in charge of thousands of people, and show so little competency and attention to them?
I can't find any word strong enough to describe my experience with US Airways. Even the flights itself were average, old planes, poor services and food. Everything was very poor. I can guarantee that they lost customers during these days, and that they will never recover them. I can only wish that they perform a deep change in their organization, otherwise, they will not last long in this difficult economic period, but in fairness, this is not my concern.I lost 2 days in a hotel, booked in Las Vegas, and 2 days of car rental. But more than that, I spent 48 hours in Philadelphia, with no luggage and place to sleep. I suffer from eczema, and it gets worse with the stress, and my skin was burning . I normally use a specific cream, but as my luggage were not given to me, I was unable to use it. It was a very humiliating experience, and I hope that US Airways is an exception in this business, as I do not want to live this kind of experience again. In any case, I will never travel with them again.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2010
My husband, toddler twins, and I were returning from a visit with a family in the Bahamas over the New Year on two US Airways flights (US1766 and US1052). The experience was the worst flying experience of my life, and I travel internationally 2-3 months of the year. With this letter, I hope you will ensure improved service by all of your staff, as they are the frontline of your business, and without good service, US Airways will cease to exist.
The day began with arriving 3 hours early for the flight, per recent guidance due to increased security to no staff at the check in counter. The check-in staff arrived an hour after our arrival, at which point, most people in line had used the computer check in, causing chaos in handing out the numerous checked baggage labels that had printed automatically.
Once we made it to the gate, we were boarded 20 minutes late and were greeted on board by the flight attendants urging all passengers to board quickly so we wouldn't miss our connections. After a relatively rapid boarding process, we waited on the runway for 2 hours, during which we were told not to get up and not to use any electronic equipment. No water was provided, and the crew treated us like cattle.
My toddler twins got restless about an hour into the wait, at which point, I opened the tray table to let them color and was told I was in violation of FAA safety regulations. I am unclear which FAA regulation mandates locking passengers on a plane with no water, unable to use the restroom, and not allowing children to entertain themselves. I would be surprised to find one that allows this.
After my son got sick on both flights during the landing, during which I was told by a US Airways flight attendant that we should request a larger bag in future flights to help them out, we arrived at the airport to find that our luggage did not make it. Our two car seats for our children were checked, and the attendant at the delayed luggage counter reluctantly found two car seat loaners after we reminded her that it is against the law to drive without car seats for 4-year-olds. It took her an hour to find these two seats.
The next day, today, we called to find out where our luggage was at 9am. We were told it was en route for delivery and should arrive within 4-6 hours. At 3pm, we called again, and again we're told it was en route, though this time when the call center representative attempted to contact the airport and the delivery service, they could not get in contact with either.
At 8pm, again we called, and again we're told it's en route. And again, there was no answer at the airport or the delivery service. This time the call center representative hung up on my husband. At this point we have no idea where our luggage is, we were treated poorly, and I would never fly US Airways again.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2010
On January 3rd, my children, daughters (16 and 12 years old), were left at the gate of their flight by the American Airline escort! The children are supposed to be with "an escort" at all times, until they are transferred to a stewardess on their flight to assist them in boarding the plane. The left San Diego and arrived at Dallas for a 1- 1/2 hour layover. They were left for over an hour before my daughter called me from her cell phone (with a dying battery) to tell me that their flight was cancelled. I asked where the escort was. She said that she left an hour ago. What! Oh my goodness! I called American Airline right away. I stayed on hold for 17 minutes. I got an agent and was put on hold for another 10 minutes. Then finally, I was transferred to a supervisor that simply stated that "they should be in an unaccompanied minor waiting room". Exactly! That is what I thought! Well, I didn't know that gate my girls were at, nor did they!
They dropped my daughters off at 11:45 and left them at the gate. And the flight was not due to depart until 1:30 pm. They would have been sitting there, without supervision for almost 2 hours before the flight would depart! I hardly think that leaving them at the gate would account for being "responsible for all paid unaccompanied minor". The supervisor thought it was okay to say that they would remain at the gate until their next departure, which was at 6:45 pm. What! I said, “So, it's okay to let them sit there at the gate for another 4 or 5 hours?” “Yes ma’am,” she said. I said, “You mean to tell me that you are not going to take them to the unaccompanied minor room?” She put me on hold and said, “Okay, somebody is going to the gate to pick them up now and take them to the room.” Thank you! And she said, “There are also several other children waiting.” Oh, now I am really worried, and so should the other parents be. Be wary of American Airlines’ unaccompanied minor program! They are not monitoring your children! I will follow up with their resolution.
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2010
We are passengers of American Airline Flight No. 2470 coming from Los Angels, CA airport coming to Dallas, TX. We waited at the airport 6 hours and every time asked a question from American Airline worker, they have an attitude. I paid $371 for each ticket and $20 for baggage charge each way for our flight to get to Dallas airport at 4 in the morning, and I missed work that day. I hope American Airline customer service supervisor or general manager would take care of us. Thank you.
Reviewed Jan. 2, 2010
I purchased two tickets for me and my son to fly from our home in Phoenix, AZ to my daughter's house in Tampa, FL in October. Our flights were scheduled to leave on December 17 as my daughter was pregnant and due around the 20th. As her pregnancy progressed, we soon found her going into labor earlier than expected. I tried to change my flight to December 13 as my daughter also has a 3-year old toddler and very limited help.
US Airways would not help me as they claimed my flight was through United but they fly under each other's flagship. United told me that I had to contact Orbitz who we originally purchased the tickets from. Orbitz again referred me to US Airways. By the time I had spoken to each company three times a day for three days, I found it cheaper to just buy a whole new ticket and keep our departure as planned. I also had to purchase another new ticket for my son as he is a minor and needed a direct flight. I paid $748 for the original tickets in October--$210 for my new ticket and $230 for my son's new ticket.
When we got to the airport this morning to return home, we found that US Airways had revoked our ticket and sold our seats. The flight was overbooked by seven people and they would not let us on nor allow us to stand-by or offer us another flight. The shift supervisor, Dena ** told me that she could not sell me another flight as everything was sold out and it was my fault that my tickets were revoked because we were not on the original inbound flight. I have not been able to find any information regarding revoked flights on US Air's website nor did anyone advise me of this when I purchased the two new tickets from US Air.
Dena told me that the discounted rate applied to us traveling physically on both flights to and from. She told me that I broke the contract and it was like me speeding but not wanting to pay the for the speeding ticket. She then directed me to Southwest Airlines where, in Dena's words, "they usually charge $500-$600 for a walk up reservation." So here I am at 5:30am at the Tampa airport with my 13-year old son unable to get home! United Airlines supervisor wouldn't even speak to me and Dena ended up asking me to just leave as I was "just trying anything to get on the flight."
I ended up having to pay $104 for a flight that does not leave until Tuesday night on January 5. I am supposed to be at work and my son is supposed to return to school on Monday but we won't return until Wednesday! To top it all off, when I got back to my daughter's house at 6:30am, I went online to see what other flights US Air had available and there was room for two adults on a flight that left at 7:30am--less than an hour from our original flight but no one offered it to us.
Worse yet, Dena told me everything was sold out but that's not true either. We could have been on the 7:30am flight and been home by now. Also, there is another flight that leaves tomorrow evening but only high level seats are available at $1,100 per person! I am missing two days of work without pay. My son is missing two additional days of school. I have paid a total of $1,292.18 in airline flights for two of us to go round trip from Phoenix to Tampa.
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2009
I am an active duty military and was returning from leave in Hawaii. My US Airways flight was scheduled to leave at 6:45pm but due to some incidents on the mainland, it was delayed until 10:05pm. Here I was offered a $10 meal voucher. The attendant at the counter said that I should still be able to make my connection in Charlotte, NC or they would try to hold the plane and as such didn't reissue me a ticket for a later flight. We arrived in Charlotte at the same time my connection was scheduled to take off. The attendant at the deboarding gate told me that, no, they had not tried to hold a flight. She also informed me that there were no other availabilities to Norfolk that day. I could try flying standby if I wished but the list was already long. I was told they could fly me into Richmond, but that was about it.
Seeing as I had no other choice, I accepted the ticket to Richmond that was scheduled to leave in three hours. Not only was I not offered a meal voucher or travel voucher, I was actually denied either when requested. US Airways not only couldn't get me anywhere on time, they couldn't get me where I had paid to go, period. Upon arrival in Richmond, lo and behold, my baggage did not arrive with me. So after waiting more than 30 minutes for the baggage from the flight to reach the deserted baggage claim, and another 10 to find out that my bag would not be showing up, I spent another 15 minutes filing a claim. Since I am only 20, renting a car to get from Richmond to Norfolk was not an option, and the airline made no attempt to meet my needs to reach my destination when I inquired if they could provide such a service. So I had someone I knew in Norfolk drive the hour and a half to Richmond, wait for me to go through my baggage crisis, with another hour and a half drive back to Norfolk.
Upon arriving home, I filed a complaint with US Airways online, seeing how they apparently aren't willing to speak with customers directly via phone. I was finally contacted four days later, with a vague apology that sounded more like a "Don't blame us for your flight being delayed," and a $150 ETV, which is less than the difference in the cost of the plane tickets. Other airlines, I later found, had offered $500 vouchers for the exact same scenario (drop at a different destination). It makes me so glad to see how US Airways treats our military.
Reviewed Dec. 29, 2009
My 18-year-old son, home for Christmas from the Marines, was booked on a 6:00 am flight from Houston to Phoenix with a connection to San Diego. We arrived at the airport at 4:50. It took about 15 minutes to get his bags checked and then he had a long wait to get through security. He arrived at the gate at 5:50. The door was closed and the plane was already gone. The airline knew he was checked in and knew he was in the airport, but he and four other passengers were told "Tough luck." I travel about 80,000 miles a year on business and have never had this kind of treatment from any other airline but US Airways. I told my son never allow the travel agent to book him on a US Airways flight again and I will continue to avoid them. They wonder why they are losing money.
Reviewed Dec. 29, 2009
My luggage was ripped. I would like to be reimbursed for the damage.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2009
My daughter and I had a 6am flight from BWI to PHIL on the 23rd of December 2009. However, we did not begin boarding until 6:01am. It was about another 20 minutes before all passengers were on board the plane. The plane then sat on the runway for several minutes before we took off. Needless to say by the time we got to the connecting city Philadelphia, it was about 7am. Our connecting flight to Atlanta was scheduled for 7:45am which meant that we had to race down to gate F, take a shuttle and race down to gate B14 before 7:30am if we were to make the flight. It was already bad enough that the initial flight was delayed, but now we had to wait for our carry-on bags to be removed from the plane because it was a smaller aircraft and all passengers had to check in their carry-ons because it would not fit into the overhead compartment.
After about another 10 minutes of waiting, the handlers threw our bags at us with no regards whatsoever as I stood there appalled and in total disbelief. This was the first taste of the bad experiences that I was going to receive that day. I picked up my bag, and my daughter and I began to race down to the gate. As frustrating as this process would be, the airport shuttle to the gate was another 15 minutes. Upon getting to gate C, which was where we were dropped off, we began to race down to the gate B-14 which was a good 10-15 minutes’ walk. I and my child were practically running through the terminal to get to the gate. We arrived at the gate panting and out of breath where we encountered two US Airways agents. One of them asked for our boarding passes, and I extended them to him. Upon receiving them from me, he decided to disrespectfully and abrasively make this comment "You know you are almost late and yet you're strolling down here!"
First, I was stunned that he would even make such an utterance to a customer; I mean that was not his place at all to address a customer in such a manner. I am either able to board the plane because the gates are still open or will be rebooked because the gates have been closed. So I told him that we may have had the opportunity to arrive at the gate earlier if their Baltimore flight was not delayed, and we didn't have to wait for our bags on top of all that. The agent took one look at me and said "Oh so you going to have an attitude right?” He then looked at the other agent and directed him to proceed in closing the gates.
Again, I stood there for about 30 seconds just dazed and flawed at what just happened. I couldn't believe that after all the trouble we just went through to get to the gate and luckily making it there before the gates were shut, we just got the door slammed in our faces because I dared to have an opinion. At this point, I was obviously upset and rightfully so. And so I faced him and began to tell him what I thought of the service that he provided and how unprofessional, disrespectful and disregarding he was. He didn't even show any concern or empathy towards me and instead summoned his supervisor to the kiosk. I was somewhat relieved to see another representative because I thought that she would at least bring some objectivity to the issue, resolve the matter and reprimand the agent for his behavior, but she didn't do any of such.
Instead, she just walked in there with the same attitude and demeanor as her fellow agent and proceeded to tell me that she will see to it that I do not get booked on any other flights if I did not shut up. I was enraged; I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I am a paying customer who has worked hard for my money, I put my sweat and blood into making sure that I was able to buy a ticket for me and my child (full price) hoping to get reasonable service for what I paid for, and this is what I have been subjected to in turn.
Needless to say, I told them exactly what I felt about the kind of shop they were running, how poorly their services are, and how much disdain I had for their attitude and manner at which they were treating and disrespecting me as a customer. I believe this supervisor lady was not too pleased with the fact that I had the nerve to even have an opinion, much less to confront her. So she made real her threats and called the airport security. This lady, Pamela **, was just a ** as far as I am concerned; and her actions were spiteful and malicious. I was being punished because I dared to speak my mind and air my opinions. I did not in any way abuse or disrupt or act violently towards any one. I have witnesses, other travelers who provided me with their names and contact information to confirm my story should I choose to file suit against them.
I simply told them what I felt about their service and how appalling and despicable their behavior was. She not only had me removed from the airport, but also saw to it that I wasn't re booked on any of US Airways outbound flights. Her actions were excessive and vindictive. My poor child and I were stranded at the airport for hours with no means of continuing our journey or returning home, not even a refund for my ticket fare. As you can imagine, a day before Christmas Eve, everything was fully booked and ridiculously expensive. I felt so sorry for my baby. She had been looking forward to this trip for months and just like that, it was shattered after all the trouble to get there.
These people forget that customers are the reason they even have a job to go to in the first place. There are so many good people out there on the streets jobless today. Yet people like Pamela ** and her co-employee get to keep their jobs and play God, abusing the authority and power of their office. I am currently filing a law suit in Philadelphia against US Airways. And I hope that other people who have suffered such fate in the hands of airlines like this will do the same to send a message that such behavior is not acceptable. Calling the authorities on me was excessive, outrageous and over the top. It was mean spirited and irresponsible. They should spend more time apprehending real threats instead of innocent single mothers with children who simply feel frustrated and upset by the poor level of service they are receiving.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2009
I packed my jewelry in a jewelry pouch that had separate pockets for the earring and my necklaces were in the large area at the bottom. I have used this a hundred times before and never had the earrings come out of the pouch as the pouch pulls tight at the top and keeps them secure. I figured something was strange when all earrings were in the middle with the necklaces when I opened my pouch upon unpacking at my destination (Richmond, VA). When I pulled everything out, I noticed one of my necklaces was in pieces. This is necklace with large beads and a large cross on a very, very sturdy wire. Not a wire that would break or come apart. This necklace was intentionally cut apart! In addition, the cross was damaged. It's very disappointing to think somebody employed by an airline I paid several hundred dollars to fly on intentionally damaged my property. I will avoid US Airways at all costs.
Reviewed Dec. 24, 2009
On Dec. 22, I was booked to fly from Denver to Charlotte to Philadelphia on US Airways. The flight from Denver at 9:30 was delayed for unexplained reasons, meaning it would arrive late in Charlotte. As my flight from Charlotte was booked for 11:35, I was sure to miss it. I asked in Denver at the US Airways counter what they could do for me. I was told that all of the other flights from Charlotte were oversold and that there was little chance of getting on them - even as standby. I asked what that meant. The answer was, "You will have to pay for a hotel yourself in Charlotte, and if you are lucky we can get you on stand-by the next day to Philadelphia." The delay was US Airways' fault. This is how you treat your passengers?
The flight from Denver arrived in Charlotte at 11:30. No attempt was made by the crew to get passengers with tight connections off first. No apology was made for the late flight. I ran through the airport hoping to get the Charlotte flight at 11:35. Fortunately, it was a few minutes delayed. I arrived at the check-in desk, to be told they had just given my seat away because I was late! Incredible! But the woman sheepishly said I should get on board anyway, and with luck I would find a seat. Again, no apology given.
I did get a seat by some miracle, only to be told the airplane would sit on the runway, away from the gate (they needed the gate open), for the next 1 1/2 hours! This turned out to be 4 hours in the end. If I had missed the plane for being "late", then I would have "missed" a plane that was actually there for 4 hours longer. Incredible!
During the 4 hours trapped on the runway, we were offered exactly 1 glass of water, nothing else and not one word of apology for the delay. As we took off, my seatmate wanted to buy one of the overpriced, tasteless boxed snacks. She was told there was no food (!) on the plane - 200+ people were trapped on this plane for 4 hours with not one food item on board! No complimentary beer or wine was offered as compensation, and again, no apology was given! Again, it was incredible!
US Airways should be ashamed of the terrible service it gives its clients. This is a scandal - it is abuse of the public to offer such incredibly bad service. Clearly, these people are incompetent to be running an airline. Why does the FAA not regulate these idiots? Save yourself money, time and headaches by boycotting US Airways. These people do not deserve your business.
Reviewed Dec. 23, 2009
American Airlines has been my first choice ever since I can remember, but I am very disappointed and just got over my anger. I went on an international flight with my 3-year-old daughter. Because I was flying alone with a child, I bought a stroller because I was afraid I would not make it. I had a child, a large carry-on and my bag. On the way back, as soon as I arrived in the US, they told me to dispatch the stroller as luggage. My child was sick. She had a fever and was very fussy. We waited for the luggage and stroller for over an hour at the DFW, and we still had to get another flight. The employees did not help at all. One tried but was rude. I was carrying this 32-lb. child plus my bag and carry-on.
Someone finally gave me a letter to show Immigration and Customs. They had lost my luggage so I went on to my other flight all the way across the airport. It was a nightmare. I finally arrived at my destination at 10 am, and there was no sign of my luggage or stroller. They sent me to an office where I waited for another hour. A lady tried to locate my stuff with some luck. She told me that they had misplaced them and they could either send my bags through UPS or I could pick them up after 5 pm because they were coming on a flight at 4:30 pm.
I live in a town 3 hrs. away from the airport so I decided to stay and wait. Due to my daughter being sick, we got a hotel room and stayed the night. They did not care about women traveling for 16 hrs. alone with a sick toddler at all. It was awful. They found my luggage, but to this day, I have not gotten my stroller. They called once to ask questions about how the stroller looked like, and I have not heard from them in a month. My arms are still sore from that trip.
Reviewed Dec. 23, 2009
We were unaware of baggage fee. My son had a small carry-on. He was told about $20 baggage fee at 3AM. AA told him to get the money via Western Union because he only had checks. He missed his flight. We got him the money at 7:25AM and there was no room on the 4:50 flight. He had to wait for 17 hours and go to a different airport! So angry! Why would you not put him in first class so he could get home? That would have been the logical thing to do or let him pay for his carry-on on his return flight. Thank you so much American Airlines for ruining our Christmas holiday!
Reviewed Dec. 22, 2009
In a flight leaving from Miami to Buenos Aires, there was a delay of 2 hours that affected my connections in Buenos Aires and caused significant monetary and moral damage. AA was expected to arrive at 615 AM and instead it did 2 hours later. As a consequence, I lost my connection with Pluna to go to Montevideo. Before the airplane arrived to Montevideo, I contacted the flight assistant to arrange some way to get to Montevideo in time, but the flight assistant could not find the telephone to call and make the arrangement or appropriate changes.
Once I arrived to Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, I quickly took a taxi to go from Ezeiza to Aeroparque, but I arrived 20 min. before the departure time (10 AM) and Pluna (another airline I had bought ticket from) said it was too late. I found that reasonable. Then, I took a new taxi to Ezeiza (average 1 hour trip) and asked 45 minutes before the departure time (12:00) of AA to Montevideo to get into the airplane as a compensation for the delay. They first requested me to pay for the ticket something, which I considered unacceptable but I had no other choice than do it. Then, due to a new delay in solving a problem they caused, they said it was too late and it was to my own risk to buy the ticket and not travel in case I did not reach the gate.
Summary: I could not travel with AA and went to Aeroparque again to ask Pluna to let me go in their next flight that was at 4 PM and they agreed. The reasons why I had to be in Montevideo before 5 PM were two. At noon I had an appointment that I lost (consequence of the delay of AA) at the USA embassy to request a J1 visa. I lost my money and it caused me to apply for a visa in England, losing money and time. Second, I had to give a conference at 5 PM and I could not do it, which can affect my career and reputation. All this can be well probed. I communicate this situation to American Airlines and they reply with an email saying that they cannot be blamed because of delay for weather, etc., and they would give me 2,000 miles as compensation. The weather was perfect on that day and the pilot said it was a maintenance problem. Maintenance, I understand, should be done before people get into the airplane and in a well-scheduled manner.
I am still speechless because of the indifference and ignorance that the flight assistant showed when I asked about some way to help me with the connection and then with the delay to solve my problem in Buenos Aires when I had to explain for 20 minutes my situation before they showed any kind of interest in my case. In any case, they never mentioned to let me go into their flight without paying a new ticket, given that my connection was with another airline (PLUNA). I call this complete insensitivity and irresponsibility.
Reviewed Dec. 22, 2009
We booked a family vacation to Ixtapa, Mexico for Christmas (12/21/09 - 12/28/09). The flight is from San Jose to Phoenix (flight 122), and then from Phoenix to Ixtapa (flight 313). On the morning of 12/21/09, we got to the airport at 5:00 and found out that flight 122 was delayed for 5 hours and wouldn't depart until 11:00 am. My connecting flight is departing at 11:30 so we cannot catch the connecting flight from Phoenix to Ixtapa. After waiting in line for 5 hours, the agent at first told us that she was able to book us on a Mexicana flight which is departing 2 days later, 11/22 at 10:50 pm and won't arrive until 12/23 11:30 am) which is 2 days later than my original arrival time.
After some consideration, we thought that it would be better a late vacation than never, so we said yes. Then the agent came back and told us that for some reasons, she cannot book the Mexicana flight. The next best alternative was for a flight going out 4 days later on Christmas day. That's 4 days delay for my 7 days vacation. The agent recommends that we cancel our trip. Upon inquiry on what the airline was going to compensate me, she said that she does not know and does not think the company will compensate us anything other than the refund of the airfare. She then looked at our fare and then said that we might not get a refund since it is a non-refundable fare.
Reviewed Dec. 21, 2009
This is an information about the behavior of one American Airline agent. On 12/21/2009, my husband (a senior citizen) and I flew from DCA to JFK (flight# 4440, departure 9:50 am, arrival 11:00) and from JFK to Cancun (flight# 1671, departure 11.45 am). When we arrived at DCA at 7:30am, there was huge line for checking in. We stood in line but after an hour, we became concerned if we have a chance to depart. We asked an agent for help and she sent us to ticketing/special service. When we approached, we were second in line to this service and still had an hour to check in. The agent pretended that she did not see people waiting for service. The young lady who was in front of me began to cry begging to help her because she was late for her flight to China. At last, this agent mercifully began to work.
When our turn came, she disappeared and returned with another papers. She continued to pretend that we do not exist. We asked her to help us. It was still about 45 minutes before our flight for checking in but she continued to ignore us. At last, she took our documents and returned it and said that we already lost our flight. We found a manager who sent us to another agent who tried to help us. She found a flight on 12/24/2009. The result is we lost our 3 days of vacation and we lost money for these 3 days. The name of the agent from the special service is Tiana (what she said). She refused to give her last name or ID. We are very disappointed and unhappy. We are going to file a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. We are going apply to court.
Reviewed Dec. 21, 2009
On December 19th, 2009, there was a severe snowstorm in Maryland Baltimore area. Maryland's governor, Martin O'Malley, declared a state of emergency already. The media was broadcasting BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport was closed and no planes were supposed to leave from or arrive at the airport. I was supposed to fly to Stockholm and my flight was scheduled to leave at 4:36 pm. I called the number above of US Airways and told Rebecca, the representative, that the BWI was supposed to be closed and if my flight was still not cancelled. She told me it was still on. I asked her if I do not fly, do I have to give any penalty. Her reply was as the flight involves some other airlines, I would have to pay the penalty. I again told her the airport was closed and the Maryland governor declared a state of emergency. She again told me the flight was still on. It was 3 pm and my flight was only one and half hours away.
Reviewed Dec. 18, 2009
Usairwaysmastercard.com sent me notice that they were going to raise my interest rate significantly (4.99% to 18.99%). They said I could opt out of this increase if I canceled my card, which I did. They acknowledge "this account is closed". So all I do is pay my monthly payments. My last statement increased my interest rate anyway. I called and they said I was right in that they could not raise my rate. but instead of fixing this, she said she would hand it over to "research." The real kicker is she said to still pay my minimum balance till this is resolved! I would like them to give me in writing that my interest rate hasn't been raised.
Reviewed Dec. 10, 2009
US Airways has always been our preferred airline for several wonderful reasons. However, after this episode, I'm extremely concerned about our future travel with this airline.
My husband and I flew from Los Angeles to Richmond last December 6, 2009 and one of our bags was lost in Philadelphia (PHL). There is no record of the bag past the PHL point (which was merely our connection). The information we received from the Richmond baggage claim office after seeing that our bags were not on the carousel: "The bags were checked in at LAX and were delivered to PHL but there is no record of the luggage after that." We arrived from LAX one hour earlier than scheduled so there should have been no problem with getting the bag onto the connecting Richmond flight. I have filed a claim with the airline (**); however, there has been no success. The Philadelphia airport seems to not have a record of the bag. The interesting piece to the story is that our bag is the only bag missing from that flight.
We were given multiple possibilities, bag weight, late connection, etc. However, we are priority customers and the bag was tagged as such. It was lighter than the other bags that actually made it with us. Another scenario included the possibility that a tag was removed from the bag and that's how it was lost. Interestingly enough, if that was the case, how was it identified upon arrival to Philadelphia but not scanned and placed on the connecting flight after that point? Another agent offered that maybe it was sent to another destination. Again, wouldn't it have to be scanned for that to occur? If a bag is missing a tag, and it was taken from the belly of the plane, I would suppose that it would go to a central office.
It was not left unattended in the terminal so I would think the handling procedures would be very different. Someone should have notified supervisory staff as soon as it was identified as missing appropriate labeling information to get it to the correct destination. At any rate, worst case scenario is that it should still be in Philadelphia. However, as stated earlier, they have no record of the bag in the airport at all now. The employees at the Philadelphia terminal have been rude and told me point blank that it's not their problem but my final destination's problem. That may be true if it actually left Philadelphia, but according to their records, it didn't.
I am very concerned that there has been foul play on the part of the airline staff in Philadelphia. This is just too suspicious for words. We are a military family and good US Airways customers. And for my husband's luggage, with very necessary medications and his personal items, to be mysteriously lost in Philadelphia is completely outrageous and egregious. Please advise on what should be done from this point. We are seeking any assistance on how to proceed from this point. I've been searching the Internet only to find hundreds, if not thousands, of the same types of complaints for this carrier but specifically for the Philadelphia airport.
If this is the case, why hasn't anyone done anything to this point? Are there cameras in the airport? According to the individual I spoke with in the Philadelphia airport police office, they can't assist me with this problem and their suspicion is that my bag was stolen from the ramp. The officer who said that took me off guard because he stated it with such confidence that I wondered, if this is such a common practice, how is it that this has been allowed to go on for so long?
I provided a description of the bag to the airline and I will reiterate here (this is not all-inclusive; these are just a few of the items that should be found in the bag). The bag itself is a black Under Armour rolling duffel (similar to the attached picture) that should have a neon-colored "Priority" tag and should contain:
a. Men's clothing including light brown timberland boots-size 13, brown Bostonian dress shoes-size 12, dress shirts (specifically a black dress shirt with purple embroidery), jeans, brown shirt with embroidery (thermal undergarment material)
b. Medication (possibly in a blue double-sided pill case for weekly dosing and pill bottles would have Michael ** on the label)
c. Toiletry bag (black) with men's toiletry items. He has also informed me that an I.D. card reader, a U.S. Military Gov't property, should have also been in the bag.
Thank you in advance for your assistance with resolving this matter as expeditiously as possible. I anxiously await your response. I now also have a corporate claim # (**). Thanks for your help.
Reviewed Dec. 8, 2009
We are very frustrated with AA. We use AA for all our trips, but this we believe will be the last time. Here is what happened to us:
My wife had planned a trip to Brazil with our baby. She booked 6 months before the time. She chose the right plane (she can't travel in small airplanes, she has claustrophobia) with the right times (baby naps and sleep time). All went wrong! We live in San Diego, so we asked a friend to give us a ride to LAX. We were supposed to leave LAX at 12:20PM. Since we have a baby, 22 months, we got there early to get good seats and make sure that everything will be smooth. It was the opposite. The AA attendant told us that our flight was late because the airplane has been fixed since the night before (why did no one called us and told us since they had a problem a night before?).
We got there at 9:30AM and we had to wait until 3:30PM (AA changed the departure time 4 times). We had a connection in Miami that we missed and AA sent us without our luggage to a hotel (we had to pay the internet and international phone calls). The worst part was the food vouchers because they gave us $20 for dinner ($10 for each person). The baby didn't get anything! $10 for breakfast ($5 for each) and $20 for lunch ($10 for each). The cheapest sandwich in our hotel was $12 and we ordered 2 of those with 2 Cokes and 1 warm milk for the baby. The first dinner at 2AM took all our hotel vouchers! We had our trip delayed for 1 day and we were treated very bad.
We complained with AA over the phone and the airport. They said that they couldn't do anything about it. I will probably sue AA to get my money back.
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I lost my baggage on May 20, 2009 in Orlando Airport. I had to leave for my ship on the 23rd of May to go working there. I got one bag back but not the other. I phoned them so many times and every time, they say they will send my bag to me in Port Canaveral where we are every Saturday. I have not received anything yet. It’s been 3months now. The stuff in the bag worth a lot to me and I don’t want to lose it. If they can send it to me in the following 5 weeks, that will be great, otherwise in South Africa where my home country is. In the bag are shoes and 3 months’ worth of toiletries, $200.00.
Reviewed Aug. 29, 2009
My 2-yr old daughter, fiance and I were traveling home on 8/24/2009 from an awesome family vacation and in order for us to have decent connection times, we had to fly US Airways back. Our flight was from Indy to Philly to San Francisco and up to Medford. We boarded in Indy and got ourselves situated, car seat and all, and as the plane taxied out, we stopped and sat on the runway for 30+ minutes which cut down our layover in Philly. We arrived there and went to one gate to only have it changed 3 times and each time, it was across the airport only to end up where we had originally arrived at.
Since it was so late leaving, I asked before leaving Philly to be rebooked and was told I would make it just fine. It was a 5-hour flight from Philly to San Francisco and there was a movie or TV, thank goodness for portable DVD players. Only one, maybe two drinks were serviced throughout the entire flight. We landed in San Francisco and we had to hike from term. 1 where we landed to term. 3 for our connection which is out of security, get boarding passes, then try to make it back through and make the flight on time.
What a joke? Needless to say, we didn't make the connection and no one was there at the US Airways counter for a hotel voucher but I was not staying in the terminal overnight with my two-year old daughter and got a hotel. I had 2 phone calls I made to customer service. One told me that I had to find a US Airways rep to give a voucher and the other told me that they had left for the night and I could possibly get a refund if I went to the counter in the morning. So, I did that and the lady at the counter told me that she could not issue it there and then rudely told me, "for the 5th time, I cannot do that." I lost it with her and wrote her name down and wanted the address and numbers because I was tired of being treated this way by them.
When we finally arrived home, I sat down and requested for a refund online and today, 8/29/2009, was denied reimbursement for my hotel but was given 3 $100 vouchers for future travels. This is really not fair to families to have to be treated like ** because their employees hate their jobs and it's not fair for my daughter to suffer with less than 5 hours of sleep because of someone else's stupidity. We are not traveling them again.
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2009
I had the ticket reserved on 08/28/2009 from Baltimore to New York (1:45pm EST), New York to Kuwait (9pm EST) and Kuwait to India. But the flight from Baltimore to New York got cancelled due to poor weather conditions. So, I lost all the flights subsequently. They have postponed my travel to September 1st. I lost 4 days in my life for nothing. It costs me extra for staying back in USA. The mental tension and pain is also indescribable.
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2009
Last week, I traveled with a friend from Orlando to New York, JFK, and he forgot his passport in the airplane, in the pocket in front of the seat. Arriving in the hotel as we had seen the loss, we tried to call American Airlines. In Terminal 8 of JFK, AA said we should call Port Authority Lost and Found. Port Authority said we should contact AA customer service 1-800 number. For our surprise, American Airlines’ Lost and Found is only available if we leave a message at their answering machine. And no surprise, no answer until today.
In the internet, their website has a lost and found contact page, but no link to contact. In some internet forum, I found one e-mail of the Dallas office for lost and found issues. I contacted them and in two days, had an answer that no passport was found. Then we went to our consulate to get a letter for traveling back. I tried again to contact American Airlines but was unsuccessful. The next day, at the airport, the passport was there, in the lost and found. Conclusion, they don’t care! We lost three days in New York calling the airline, consulate and the hotel to find a passport that they could just have answered our call and said, “don’t worry, we found it.”
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2009
I bought a ticket over the phone through American Airlines after I found out that my father had passed away. When it was the time for travel, the airline did not only leave me stranded, they cancelled my flight because I was on a Florida connection and the plane from NYC to there was delayed and I was not going to make it. They simply left me stranded in the airport and with no other solution. They credited the money to the account and it took a whole day to clear. I had to borrow money to be able to buy a ticket on another airline, LAN, at another airport. When I did, I found out that American had a deal with LAN and they could have bought a ticket within the system and could have solved my problem. I wanted to kill them. American Airlines is unreliable and unpredictable. I was left on a sea of tears and nobody could assist me.
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2009
I don't know who to talk about this. I am from Argentina, but I have lived in NYC for the last 7 years. Every year, I go to my country in October and come back in December. And every year, I pay for the trip through this airline less than $900. In the beginning, it was less than $700, but with the increase in the oil prices, all the airlines increased the fares to $200 more. So, I have been flying to and from Argentina with nonstop flights (AA955 and AA956) for less than $900. This year, they have increased the fare for the same period, for the same dates in $1,000 more. This means that this year, I have to pay $1,875 for the same product that last year was $800+/-. Is this okay? I don't think so.
Reviewed Aug. 26, 2009
Our suitcase was damaged beyond repair. It must have been run over by a vehicle because it was crushed and all the handles were broken. My belongings were damaged as well. My suitcase is not usable any longer. The gifts I had in my luggage were crushed as well. I would like to be reimbursed for those items especially my suitcase.
Reviewed Aug. 25, 2009
My new husband and I had an absolute nightmare experience dealing with US Airways. We left for Las Vegas for a short wedding weekend and flew out on American with no problems. They were wonderful. When returning, we unfortunately were flying US Airways. We had no clue how horrible of an experience we would be dealt, and the lack of respect or concern on the part of the airline was beyond appalling.
We arrived at the Las Vegas airport 3 hours prior to our flight and were the second and third persons to check in and get to the gate. We were told the flight was overbooked by several people and offered first class seats if we transferred to the later flight leaving at 7PM. Since the later flight was direct, we would have made it home sooner than the one with the layover. So we said we would be glad to do that and were told to confirm an hour prior to departure.
When we went to confirm, a very rude and snide male with dark, scruffy facial hair (I only give this description because I didn't get his name.) told us there was no way he would be putting us in first class on any flight and this one was not overbooked. He made it sound as though we had asked for the transfer when in fact they had asked us! Obviously, someone at US Air thought lying and misleading us was okay, and he felt comfortable treating us like second-class citizens.
When we finally boarded the plane, we walked to the back and the flight was full. My assigned seat was being occupied by another person, who did not budge or blink an eye when I told the flight attendant about the error. The flight attendant had no problem moving me to the last row and seating me next to strangers even though I had a reserved seat that was paid for next to my brand-new spouse. She did not even ask to check the man's ticket who was in my seat and did not give one single thought to honoring what we had paid for and purchased! Meanwhile, the man and his girlfriend made out the entire flight and relished in their new seats next to each other. The unprofessionalism on the part of the airline was over the top.
Now the story gets even better (insert sarcasm). We pulled out onto the runway (Each of us is seated apart.), when the pilot said, "We are number 45 in line to leave." What? It turned out there was only one lane open for the planes at the airport. The flight itself was horrendous with many passengers certain it was going to crash - an obviously untrained pilot who added physical terror to the emotional battering we were already experiencing.
By the time we landed in Phoenix, our connecting flight was in the final stages of the boarding call on the other side of the airport. Again, the attendants did not even consider rising to the occasion, and no priority was given to those on the plane to depart first if they had a connecting flight. They even commented on the overhead that many would be missing their connections. Of course, they did not offer an apology for this. We ran to the gate and got there just as they were closing the door. We were told we would be separated again and they were going to check our bags, and that's just how it was. We said no, because everything up to this point was at the fault and inconsideration of the airline and its staff. We were certainly not going to give them the opportunity to screw up another matter.
When we walked down the jetway leading to the plane, yet another rude staff member promptly told us our luggage had to be checked and began taking my husband's luggage out of his hand. I told her (an African/Jamaican woman with a thick accent) that we were not checking our luggage as it was the airline's fault we were late and mistreated up until this point. I got on the plane and was physically shaking with a red face and almost in tears because of the flight attendants we had already encountered.
At this point, I was offered a glass of water and the first decent gentleman attendant said he would make room for the bags, which he did. I was back on the jetway waiting with my spouse, when the woman took my husband's luggage from his hand, handed it to the man on the ground, and said, "It will be checked"! Right after, the male flight attendant came and asked for our luggage. We told him she had taken it anyway and had completely disregarded our wishes and his statement that he had made room. She did not care at all and continued giving an ugly look with a sense of satisfaction that her mission had been accomplished. And that was the last straw.
When I sat in my again newly appointed seat on the last row, I was placed next to a gentleman with horrible body odor and a woman, who was sick with the flu. The point again is that I was never to be in this seat placement anyway. When we finally arrived in DFW after midnight, my husband's luggage was the last bag off even though it was the last one put under the plane so abruptly. Not one apology was made during the entire course of our experience with US Airways and not one individual cared that we had been misled, given false information, had our money virtually stolen, and our honeymoon trip home absolutely ruined. These are experiences I wish upon no one.
From my note to US Airways: I am an avid flyer and have never witnessed anything of this magnitude. While you may think we do not matter and our business is small in comparison to how many customers you have, we will do our part in informing everyone we know not to ever utilize this airline. A response acknowledging the many errors and rude treatment given would be appreciated as well as a refund or something this airline deems appropriate for the situation. The response we receive will be taken into play as far as our next step goes. We will not stop here if nothing is done, and the company where we purchased our tickets from will also be notified.
You can contact us at the phone number or the address provided. We hope this matter will be given serious attention. Please note that with the state of our economy the way it is, one would think a company would be concerned with their reputation and ability to maintain customer care and retention. How sad it is that so many businesses operating under a model of integrity are failing while a company with such poor service and rude employees is still surviving. What a terrible shame.
Reviewed Aug. 24, 2009
I traveled from LAX to St. Lucia on American Airlines. It took me 12 hours to get there and 19.5 hours to get home. Why did I travel American? Because they have the market on traveling to St. Lucia. They offered the most flights. There were a few with Delta. Next time, I will choose Delta. First of all, I cannot even believe that they offer these types of flight arrangements. The trip from LAX to St. Lucia had a 5-hour layover in the middle of the night in Miami. To make it even worse, I landed in JFK last night for a 9.5 hour layover. It was a terrible experience. No one was helpful at the airport. Everything was shut down as we arrived at 10pm and the suggestion to all the people that were stranded there was to take a seat on a bench or sit on the floor. I thought I was in the subway station like you see people who live on the streets. It was cold and uncomfortable.
American Airlines does not allow you to go through the security area until 3:30 am and then you can sit around and wait until something opens up so you can get a bite to eat or a drink of water. This has to go down in history as the worst travel experience ever. I have not traveled American Airlines in probably 10 years and I am glad that I have stayed away. It is not what I remembered. This was at one time a premier airline. I am sorry to report to the American public that this is probably the worst airline I have traveled. The planes are uncomfortable, dirty and the staff is downright uncaring and rude. Recommendation, stay away from American Airlines. I will never travel American Airlines again and I hope other travelers beware!
Reviewed Aug. 19, 2009
Mr. James stopped me from departing on a scheduled flight on Friday evening, July 31, because he felt so. My originally scheduled flight (3:20pm) was delayed for several hours before being canceled, or so I thought. I did everything I could to get on another flight anywhere in the state I was traveling to. That's when I found the 12am flight into Charlotte Douglas Airport.
Being that I had been at LaGuardia for a few hours (2pm, it was now 5pm.), I went to the airport pub for a beer. After checking the flight status on an hourly basis, I returned to the gate around 9pm to find my flight now boarding. The stewardess told me to grab my stuff and pointed to the gate. That was until James asked me where I was going and held me from boarding. James later told me to sit down outside the gate, and he went as far as to guide me by grabbing my arm over to the seat he had in mind. I told James that I'd prefer to stand when we reached the seat he had asked me to sit in.
By no means during any of this exercise did he tell me what was going on, as I tried time and again to tell him this was my flight and attempted to find out what had upset this guy. He didn't speak to me until the gate had closed, and it was here that James told me I was a hazard to the passengers because I had been drinking and that I would not be flying until the morning. If I had 4 beers over the course of the 8-hour period I spent at LGA that day, it would be a lot. I asked James if I could see the supervisor, and he smirked, looked at me, and said, "I'm it." It wasn't until I explained to him that he had discriminated against me did he offer to reissue me a seat for the morning.
Reviewed Aug. 19, 2009
I booked a flight in December of 2008 on American Airlines. A representative left a message the night before the flight stating it had been cancelled. When I inquired about the cancellation, I was told that we had cancelled when we did not. The flight was rebooked and we left Charlotte to Chicago the next day while sitting on the runway waiting for them to de-ice a plane. Our connecting flight left so we were flown back to Charlotte. We received no apology and no refund. We were promised a refund and a voucher for a future flight. Then, they changed their mind and said they would only refund the unused portion of the ticket. It is now August and we haven't received anything.
Reviewed Aug. 15, 2009
I was flying from Seattle to Philadelphia on July 10, 2009, flight 1548. I was able to upgrade to 1st class seat 4A. Sitting next to me during the flight was a young lady. During the course of the flight, I had fallen asleep. As the captain announced we would be landing in 20 minutes, I woke up to see a man is now in the seat next to me. As we arrived at the jet way, the Philadelphia police escorted this man off the flight. He and another passenger were talking to the police as I exited the plane. I met up with this woman in her mid-seventies at the baggage claim. I asked her what was all that about and she proceeded to tell me that this man had grouped her twice and was acting irrational so she requested he be seated in another seat.
I believe he was put next to me because I was unaware of the altercation because I had been sleeping. I feel this was a poor decision as there were men also he could have been placed next to. I wonder if at any time I could have been violated by this individual. Thank you.
Reviewed Aug. 15, 2009
On August 6, 2009, we were to fly out of Punta Cana at 9:05 a.m.. Thus, we had to be at the airport before 7:00 a.m. The ticketing agents did not arrive until after 7:00 a.m., leaving those lined-up passengers in the mosquito-infested outdoor area of the airport, which, by the way, is where ticketing is located. So after waiting for ticketing, we went into the airport, much of which is also not air-conditioned and proceeded to the gate. At around 8:30 a.m. (boarding time), it was announced that our flight was delayed due to a broken windshield, but that repairs were underway.
At around 10:30, another announcement stated that the repair failed and we would have to wait for a new windshield to be installed. Now, my traveling partner and I were concerned that we would miss our connecting flight (which we did, plus two others before the day was over). Realizing we would be here for lunch, we went in search of food. Very expensive food was all that was available. At around 1:30, the airline representative announced that food vouchers would be distributed, not a good sign for someone wanting to fly back to the US.
By this time, the airline representatives were no longer speaking with passengers nor giving out any further information. At around 4:30 p.m, when another American flight was boarding for Miami (also our destination), they announced that we, too, would be boarding our flight and going home. We boarded finally and flew to Miami after the later flight had boarded and left. Once in Miami, we had to gather our bags, try to make connections at ticketing, and then make certain our bags got on the right plane to get home, 19 hours after arriving at the airport in Punta Cana for what should have been a 3.5 hour flight total.
We arrived in Tampa to retrieve our car and then drive 45 minutes home. How can it happen that a flight that is 2 hours from a major American Airline hub, cannot be replaced by a different plane or at least a new windshield in a faster amount of time than the over 8 hours it took? Why does American Airlines continue to not address people, facts, and circumstances as they occur in a straightforward manner instead of hiding behind a desk? I wonder!
Reviewed Aug. 13, 2009
We missed our flight out of Las Vegas due to security and was told we would be put on the next flight to LAX at 9:30 pm. That flight got postponed until 11:00 pm and then cancelled. Well, our luggage had gone on the 5:30 pm flight. Then, after all that, we were put on 9:35 pm to John Wayne airport in Orange County and onto a shuttle to LAX, which was another 45 minutes.
By that time, we got to LAX and found that our luggage was locked up. I was told that nobody had notified them or anyone that we were on this flight so we could get our luggage. I was informed that I was not going to be able to get the luggage until 4:30 am which was ** because of the mix up with Las Vegas and US Airways who were supposed to let them know we were coming in. There was not just us five, there were two more people who missed the same flight.
I believe that US airways was at fault for the way they handle things from when I first called them to being put on a different flight and not notifying anybody that we were shuttling to LAX. Finally, at around 1:00 am, a supervisor came and unlocked the locked baggage so we could get our luggage. This is not the first time US Airways had screwed up with our flights. I think there should be some compensation for me and my family.
Reviewed Aug. 12, 2009
My advice to anyone looking to book airline travel is to avoid U.S. Airways at all costs. On June 21st, 2009, following the unexpected death of my mother, I called to change my ticket to reflect a later departure date so that I could attend my mother’s funeral. At that time, I was informed that U.S. Airways would only provide a full refund in the event of the death of the actual ticket holder and that I would receive a credit for the ticket’s amount minus a $250.00 re-booking fee. Although this seemed to me extremely harsh, I had booked non-refundable events in Seville and was left with no choice but to accept those conditions. When I called to re-book my flight on June 25th, 2009, I was told the amount that would be charged to my credit card would be $1,089.10, yet the amount that appears on my statement is $1,893.10 (considerably more that the amount originally stated).
In addition, I am deeply disappointed with the customer service I received from US Airways. At every stage of the itinerary, from check-in to final arrival, customer service ranged from complete indifference to downright rudeness. On the return segment of the itinerary, the flight from Lisbon to Philadelphia was delayed three hours, resulting in a missed connection to Milwaukee and necessitating arrival into Chicago. Concerned about missing my connecting flight to Milwaukee and having had a similar negative experience with your airline five years ago, I requested assistance from gate agents in Lisbon, attendants on the flight and gate agents in Philadelphia. U.S. Airways agents at every stage, from pre-departure in Lisbon to arrival in Philadelphia, refused to consider calling ahead to the connecting flight (which in my experience other airlines are more than happy to do), re-booking a different flight to MKE, or alerting the party who was to meet me at the MKE airport. Instead, I was told you can make it if you hurry and other statements to this effect.
Upon check-in at the U.S. Airways desk in Philadelphia following customs, baggage claim, and another security check-in, I again requested that the ticket agent call to inform my connecting flight that I was checking in and only minutes away. Here is what I was told: “You better run.” Despite literally sprinting through the Philadelphia airport, I was four minutes late in making the connecting flight and was told by maintenance staff at the gate that the flight had actually left early! After considerable trouble and frustration, I was able to locate an agent who re-booked me into a flight to Chicago, which necessitated additional arrangements and expense for transportation to Milwaukee, which is my original destination city. As an experienced traveler, I understand that there are inevitable and unavoidable delays that are simply part of airline travel. What I don’t understand, however, is the complete and utter lack of concern on the part of U.S. Airways’ personnel. This lack of assistance resulted for me in considerable additional expense and time lost.
Reviewed Aug. 12, 2009
Well, I was traveling from Jamaica the 22nd of May to Miami and then to Granada. When I got to Granada, my suitcase was left in Miami and I did not have any clothes for three days which led me to buy some new clothes. And when I got my luggage back, it was damaged and I had to buy another suitcase which cost me $150 and also I had to go to the airport twice because I had one suitcase on the Sunday and I didn't get the other suitcase until the Tuesday. That's when I found out the suitcase was damaged and I am claiming for taxi fare to go to the airport twice and the cost of my suitcase.
When I went back to Jamaica, they told me American Airlines should have paid me back for the suitcase and also that when I reached my final destination, that's when I should have gotten my money and my final destination was the United Kingdom and I still haven't received that money. Now, I would like to know when or where should I go to collect this money or could you send the money to my home address?
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2009
American Airlines has become the next Harvard Business review on how to destroy a business by not listening to your customers. Recently, they did away with a flight that was always full, Austin to San Jose, stating it was for economic reasons. Well, that is partially true, but it was not because of that flight. The reason is the DFW; San Jose flight had problems. So, they now are forcing all Austin flyers to venture through the "your flight is delayed" DFW flight. Then, they went ahead and removed the leg room on planes that they always bragged about in national ad campaigns.
Add on top of that that even you do fly often with them (well over 100K miles a year as I do), they cannot even bother to respond to emails to the customer service department about issues. It has become a joke, and yet their CEO still gets his millions in salary. I guess American forgot it was us, the taxpayers and frequent flyers, who helped keep them afloat during the down days.
Reviewed Aug. 8, 2009
We were visiting Toronto from Tampa, FL. Then we were moving on to vacation in Ireland. On July 26, 2009, we were booked for a US Airways flight from Toronto (YYZ) to Philadelphia (PHL) then on from PHL to Shannon, Ireland (SNN). It had been raining in Toronto most of the day. We were told prior to boarding in YYZ that the plane's lavatory was not functioning and to use the restroom before boarding for what was to be a little over an 1-hour flight to PHL. Once we boarded the plane, we sat at the gate for some 30 minutes, while we waited for bags to be loaded and to get fueled up.
We finally pushed away from the gate, then we parked on the tarmac. The US Airways pilot announced after a short while that we would be taking off in approximately 25 minutes. 45 minutes later, he came back on and said it was going to be a bit longer. The weather in PHL was preventing us from taking off, as the PHL airport was closed. The pilot said they were aware that 16 of the 30 people on board were supposed to be catching connecting flights overseas from PHL and that they had a plan to put us all on a late flight to London if necessary and that they would get us to our final destinations from there.
After some more time, people started complaining, including small children, of needing to use a restroom. Finally, the flight attendant came on and asked for a show of hands of how many people had to use the restroom and said that we could return to the gate if needed. At least half the passengers raised their hands. US Airways pilots made the decision to return to the gate with the understanding that we could leave our carry-on bags on the plane and return after using the restrooms in the airport.
Once we returned to the gate and returned from the restroom visit, US Airways announced the flight had been cancelled due to weather in PHL. US Airways then insisted they weren't responsible for our expenses of staying in Toronto because the weather was out of their control. At the gate ticket counter for re-booking, we were told by US Airways that there were no other places they could send us, as it was too late to get to our final destination of Shannon. I asked about being sent to Chicago, Detroit, or anywhere else, but US Airways reps insisted it was too late in the day for us to catch any other outbound flight overseas no matter where they would try to send us.
We were booked on another US Airways flight to PHL the next day then from PHL to Dublin, because US Airways did not fly to Shannon on that day of the week. Dublin is a 3-hour drive from where we were to stay in Ireland. Our other choice was to fly to PHL, then to Paris, then to Shannon, which would have made us get into Shannon even later than if we went straight to Dublin then drove.
Once we got a hotel in the airport in Toronto, I got on the internet to research flight traffic to PHL. Guess what? Flights were landing in PHL from YYZ, from everywhere else, and even US Airways flights were landing there from other destinations. Armed with this information, I called US Airways reservations and spent 3 hours on the phone getting them to put me on other airlines so we could be flown directly to Shannon. They booked us on Air Canada from YYZ to Boston then Aer Lingus to Shannon from there.
When we arrived in Boston at the Aer Lingus baggage check (Air Canada no longer had any agreements with them, so they would not check our bags all the way through to Shannon), we were advised Aer Lingus had a different baggage policy than US Airways' international policy and that we would be required to pay $100 extra to get our additional bags on board. I asked for an exception, as we were originally booked on the US Airways flight; but they declined, saying they should have told us about the policy difference at the time of booking, allowing us to decide if we wanted to accept those conditions for flying them or not.
I again called US Airways and asked for some compensation, be it reimbursement or an upgrade to 1st class on our return flight from Shannon; and they refused, saying that I could file a complaint with them but that they would not do so over the phone. To top it all off, when we returned home to Tampa, only 3 of our 4 bags made it and US Airways had to deliver the other bag late the next day.
Reviewed Aug. 8, 2009
We were falsely accused of causing a disruption after being provoked and screamed at by the head flight attendant who would not give her name. We had been fast asleep and she accused me of stealing a blanket from the business class section. In fact, the blanket was given to me by the attendant in our cabin. We were met by federal, state and local authorities because she wrote up a report. No one on the plane tried to diffuse her or find out what the problem really was. We were kept at the terminal while being interviewed by all the authorities - no one had a card or gave us their name. The flight staff just left the plane with no explanation of what they had accused us of doing.
Reviewed Aug. 8, 2009
We approached Dallas after a three-hour flight, only to have the pilot announce that the plane was out of gas and would have to go to Abilene to get some more. We diverted to Abilene, filled up, but then were blocked in by several other AA planes apparently having the same problem. After 2 and 1/2 hours sweltering in the plane with no information, we took off and landed in Dallas. We didn't miss our connecting flight because by then, it had been postponed for three hours. We boarded that flight, then sat on the tarmac for another two hours for some belly problem.
One customer began complaining into her cell phone. AA's response was to send a menacing male flight attendant back to intimidate her and threaten her with a return to the terminal, a wildly disproportionate response given what the airline had put us through. I guess we've all become accepting of airline indifference, but this is the first episode of overt hostility I've witnessed from them, or at least from AA. Add me to the list of people who will never spend another dollar with these guys.
Reviewed Aug. 6, 2009
July 27th was to leave on FLT 803 7:40 to Cancun, Mexico. The flight was delayed until 2:40pm. I was put on another plane and had to wait for two more crews to board. It had too much fuel as this plane was to go to Italy. I waited for another two hours for the fuel truck to take arrive. Finally left after 7 hours, did not arrive in Cancun until 8:00 their time. My friend and I lost an entire day. This was not a good experience and I am not happy about this airline. I will not be using this airline again and think we should be compensated for this. Thank you. Consequence: complete exhaustion and almost froze on the plane, no food, only given voucher at airport so had no food until we arrived in Cancun at 9:00 that night.
Reviewed Aug. 5, 2009
Our horrible experience began the minute we called to purchase a roundtrip ticket for our 14-year old daughter to visit a family member in Texas. The fares quoted were not accurate and were misleading. We were informed it would cost an additional $100 round trip for an unaccompanied minor. Fine. We agreed to that and paid with a credit card for the ticket and this additional charge.
Upon arriving at the airport today, at 5:30 am, we were informed that it was $100 each way and that the $100 for the first part to TX had not been paid. Without a receipt, we were forced to pay the extra $200 as we were anxious to get out daughter on the flight. The check-in staff were arrogant and not helpful in the least to our concern over the misunderstanding. But whatever, we paid and proceeded through security which was a mess and made it to the gate just as the gate attendant came through the skywalk and closed the door.
We explained that we were tied up at the check in desk and security and that the electronic board indicated "Boarding" was still in progress. He said in no uncertain terms that "not through my door" will we go and that we "should have been there at 4:30" like he had been! While trying to plead with him to let our daughter on as he had just walked through the door, we heard a radio transmission from the flight attendants say that they were waiting for the unaccompanied minor, our daughter. He promptly told them that she was not getting on the plane! Things were becoming heated and he used a swear word and it was repeated back. Then, he threatened to call security. We had to go back to the check-in counter with a distraught 14-year old and see when the next flight was available.
By then, a supervisor was there and she was even less helpful than the first and more disagreeable. I was not allowed to speak as she held her hand up in front of my face and made it clear she was not listening. The next flight was standby and the one after that was at 6:15. We live an hour from the airport and to remain on standby with no guarantee of a seat and with the next flight until 6:00 was not possible. We are selling our home and had a showing scheduled for the afternoon. We were informed it would now cost another $150 for a flight change. We saw no choice to be made and paid the money, booked the flight and drove back home, only to have one of us turn around in 6 hours to go back. Our daughter is currently in the air and should land shortly.
We travel for work and pleasure and have never had such a horrendous experience. The staff were all unsympathetic, rude, did not communicate details as requested, disrespectful, arrogant and completely lacked any desire to make the customer feel at least appreciated for basically giving them a job! Never, ever will we fly American Airlines and we will do our best to spread the word to all our family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and anyone who cares to listen that there are better airlines who won't take such pleasure in screwing the customer.
Reviewed July 30, 2009
I missed my flight going to the Bahamas because of the airline's personnel and boarding procedures inefficiencies and incompetence. I was at the airport more than an hour prior to my departure. I used the self-check in but was advised to check with the customer counter for further assistance as the boarding pass cannot be printed via the self-check. I went to the counter which advised me to ask the agent's assistance. By the time it was my turn to use again the self-check machine, the 45-minute window had elapsed, thus auto boarding is no longer possible and was advised by the agent to go to the ticketing line and advised them it was because of the machine's technical difficulties. I went to the line explaining what happened and it's already running late and I might miss my flight. They didn't do anything about the situation.
When I finally reached the ticketing counter, the plane had already departed and the lady told me all the flights were fully booked and that the next flight available is August 4th (5 days layer!). I told her I was willing to pay extra charge. And guess what happened? She can give me a flight the following day if I pay $409.10! This is my vacation in the Bahamas! I have already scheduled everything so I do not have a choice but to pay the extra charge.
I felt ripped by this airline! This extra rebooking fee should've been avoided had they offered me a stand by option or had they accommodated me to make it on my original departure. I think they did this on purpose and sold my seat so they can get extra fee from me! This is so unfair!
Reviewed July 30, 2009
The return portion of a round trip flight from Phoenix to Spokane was cancelled. There was a $169.40 charge to do this, with the assumption that there was credit available to be applied to a future travel. However, it appears that there is no credit available for future travel and this charge was merely a US Airways fee that we incurred for being polite enough to cancel the reservation. This absurd charge is unwarranted and excessive, to say the least. Instead, my boss should have merely not shown up for the flight. I called US Airways customer service department (Audrey, whose ID number is **), and frankly, I would be hard-pressed to remember when I have been spoken to so rudely.
Reviewed July 30, 2009
I made a reservation for my daughter to travel on July 22, 2009 and purchased the ticket with that same date. When I got to the airport to travel, the travel date had been changed by American Airlines to July 24, 2009 with the same record locator number. They forced me to pay $300 plus extra to get my daughter and her grandchild to board the flight we originally paid for.
Reviewed July 30, 2009
I paid for my cousin to come and visit. His flight got cancelled. There were other flights, which were apparently booked. I was told there were no other flights but one going to a city 3 hours away. He did spend $100 in cab fare due to this mistake. His agent, by the name of Ellen ** was talking down to him and I highly doubt she is educated enough to talk down to a doctor. I was on the phone with him and heard her treat him this way, with no regard for anyone who could hear. This is embarrassing no matter who you are and I highly doubt anyone would enjoy this. I tried to work via the phone and get him out of there since he was having a hard time at the airport. I had no resolution, except let him catch Flight 3695 at 9AM the following morning.
I paid for a service on a specific day for a reason. I was unable to pick him up from the airport today. I am going to have to pay for cab fare again to drive him an hour away to my home. A $90 trip is becoming hugely expensive. For this price, I could have flown him on another airline first class. Business is about ethics and ethical practices, and I feel like I was treated unethically. No sympathy was ever expressed by anyone over the phone or in person. I am now very unhappy and will never use US Airways, and I will make it a point to tell everyone in my networks online and in person to spend the extra money to avoid US Airways.
If I was able to get someone who was seriously trying to help me, this would be a different story. Even if I had to spend more money, I wouldn't be this upset. I feel like a number and not a person. I hope there is an airline out there that can treat me like a human being and not a number. I hope I can save someone some unneeded emotional distress.
Reviewed July 30, 2009
I am writing due to what I believe was a significant mishandling of my recent flight reservation. On May 28th, 2009, I booked two flights for myself and my wife. The flights I booked were 1907 from PHL to DFW on July 16 and a return on flight 1274 from DFW to PHL on July 19. After attempting to book the flights through the US Air website, I phoned customer service as it appeared the website would not allow me to book 2 flights separately and at the same time provide any notification that there would be available seats for 2 tickets purchased/reserved using 2 separate methods, e.g., Dividend Miles and direct payment.
The very last thing I did not want to do was to book my flight using Dividend Miles and then return to the website to find there were no more seats for my wife's ticket. Conversely, I did not want to pay for my wife's ticket and then return to the website to find there were no seats available using my Dividend Miles. Ultimately, my primary objective was to book myself and my wife on the same flights to and from DFW as this was a vacation.
Our flight on July 16 from PHL to DFW was excellent. However, on the morning of July 19, I attempted to check-in online for our return to PHL but no record of my reservation appeared. Upon calling customer service, I was told that the reason I could not find my reservation is that I was booked on an earlier morning flight from DFW and that the flight had already left DFW for PHL.
I said to the customer service person that I booked flight 1274, not the flight she had in her information. As I spoke with her and checked my inbox on my laptop, I did not find a confirmation notice for the flight on or anytime after the date I originally booked my flight. However, I did find the confirmation for my wife's ticket which corresponded to the flight I had scheduled.
Ultimately, I was told that "I" booked the incorrect flight. I do not believe that was the case. I would have never booked a different flight requiring we fly separately just to wait 6 hours at the airport for my wife's arrival in PHL. We live over an hour from PHL airport. In the process of getting another flight home, I was charged $150 for a flight change that was not my error, however, at the time, I had no other options in order to get on the same flight as my wife. At the conclusion of my call with the US Air customer service person, I requested the original confirmation that I was told was sent to me on May 28th but it would be 24-48 hours before I would receive it. It has been over 48 hours since requesting the original confirmation and I have yet to receive it.
Again, I would never have booked 2 different return flights a few hours apart for my wife and myself, not only because of the necessity to wait at the airport, since we live a distance and especially since the reason for my booking this through one of your customer service agents was to insure the availability of two seats for my wife and myself on the same flight. Also, the express purpose of originally speaking with a US customer service agent was that the US Air website did not have the functionality to book the flights in the manner I needed based on using Dividend Miles and direct pay. The customer service agent understood this and there should have been no reason to book our tickets on different flights.
Your attention in this matter would be greatly appreciated so please contact me at your earliest. I can provide you with greater detail and answer any questions you may have that I did not address in this letter.
American Airlines Company Information
- Company Name:
- American Airlines
- Website:
- www.aa.com
