AA is such a poorly run airline. I’m near the Scranton area and we’ve got a small airport with only 3 airlines where you’ll always have a transfer. Delta is the best but more expensive than American or United.

Last summer I was going to FL and had a later flight around 5PM getting me into MCO around midnight with a layover in Charlotte where the AA hub is. My mom even surprised me and was able to come for a few days on the same flights sitting together.

So we dropped the dog off at the kennel and made our 1 hr trip to the airport. On the way, my phone notified me that the plane was delayed by 30 mins so I figured no worries. Once we got to the check-in counter the rep said it was now cancelled and no flights were going into Charlotte due to storms. I was bummed but it’s not like I’d have a lot of time in FL the first night anyway. He said no worries I can get you on the first flight out of here at 5:30 tomorrow morning getting me into Orlando at roughly 9am. I took the new flight and instead of driving back home we stayed in a hotel nearby and I called the hotel to bump my date which they were more than happy to do.

The following morning is where the real drama ensues. We checked our bags and went through security but something didn’t look right to me at the gate. People were talking and looking confused. All of a sudden all these phones went off including mine saying our plane was delayed by 2 hours due to more weather issues. I couldn’t believe it because a Delta plane just left. They finally updated the screen and changed the time. The time was 6am and I would definitely be missing my layover. There was not a lot I could do and reps were not even available to book new connecting flights. 2 hours went by and there was no activity. The flight was then bumped another hour to roughly 9:30-10 am. It was then announced that the flight was then cancelled because ithe crew needed rest. What the heck have they been doing the last 4 hours? Meanwhile the plane is sitting there. Everyone scrambled at this point and no one could get through to customer support and it was going on 11 at this point. I was thinking should I just drive to philly? They made another announcement that they were trying to get a new crew to fly the plane. It wasn’t until roughly 1PM that we were finally on the plane.

So so we finally get into philly and even though I lost the entire morning, I was looking forward to finally getting on board and en route to Orlando. We were on the plane for what felt like forever and nothing was happening. All of a sudden the pilot came on board saying they needed a part and it was on the way but the plane needed to shut down so we wouldn’t have AC and rather than everyone getting off and on again they would bring some special machine over to pump AC into the cabin. The AC option failed and another 45 mins went by and men in mechanical uniforms came on board and it just didn’t look good at this point. After about 90 mins the pilot came on and said everyone needed to deplane to be more comfortable but to please leave our belongings as this was only a "short" delay.

So we got off the plane and charged our devices, used restrooms etc. and waited. A good hour went by and we had no updates except that "they were working on it." We then got an official announcement that the flight was now delayed for an additional 2 hours. It was now going on 5PM and I saw people wheeling carts near our gate. They were feeding us! It's never a good thing when they feed you. This is a 4 hour delay now on top of my earlier flight from Scranton that was delayed for 5 hours. A guy got on the loudspeaker as people were getting food and said the flight was now cancelled and there would be no flights to Orlando until tomorrow and people went nuts. I was in shock at this point and could not believe it. The guy also stated that everyone would be getting their money back and booked on new flights for tomorrow and to proceed to the customer service desk. I told my mom we need to get there quickly because 200 people will be going there too but she wanted to get back onto the plane and get her bag. We then had to spend 2 hours waiting in line while 3 reps from AA rebooked each customer. I got some special hotel voucher and was told to keep all receipts to get reimbursed. We stayed at their "recommended hotel"- which was a complete dump reeking of cigarette smoke and not updated since the 90s except for a flat screen tv.

Once we got to the hotel it was already 8PM. Our flight was leaving at 6AM the next morning but we were hungry and just got some burgers at their on-site restaurant. I once again had to call the hotel in Orlando and tell them I would not be staying that night.

The following morning we didn't have any delays and I finally got to Orlando 2 days late. I felt sorry for my mom because she was only planning on staying for 5 days so she already lost 2.

I sent American Airlines a lengthy email with all the details of our trip including flight numbers and receipts. They told me they would not be issuing any refunds but apologized and suggested I purchase trip insurance in the future. YUP..that's how they treat their customers. I plan on cutting up their credit card this year and sending them the copy of the letter but I don't expect a response.