American Airlines
07-23-2018, 06:21 PM
#1
Thread Starter
American Airlines
There are some companies that simply don’t deserve to be in business, and if they disappeared the marketplace might very well be better off. Some companies suffer from poor quality of product and/or services. Some companies have terrible customer support/relations. Some companies suffer from both. American Airlines is one of those companies.
The story begins about 3 months ago. My older son Andrew, who now lives in Reno, Nevada, received a wedding invitation from one of his college friends. The wedding was scheduled for Friday evening. Knowing that he was coming back for the wedding, he decided to schedule a few extra days to visit with some of the friends that he went to school with and some of the friends that he worked with when he lived with us in New Jersey. He even scheduled a couple of hours to spend with Liz and me. We were thrilled. We haven’t seen him since January, and texting and phone calls just don’t take the place of seeing him in person.
Reno, NV is not a hub to any airline and as a result you cannot fly directly from Reno to Newark (or Kennedy or LaGuardia). Depending on the airline you have to transfer in places like Phoenix, Denver, San Francisco and perhaps a few other cities. Typically there is a 2 to 3 hour layover as a result of the transfer. Knowing all of this Andrew opted to fly out of Reno late on Wednesday night, transfer in Phoenix and arrive at 5:33 am (EST) in Newark. Liz and I took a quick nap on Wednesday night and were prepared to leave for the airport at 4:30 am to pick him up. At about 2:00 am Andrew called to tell us his plane out of Reno had been delayed. He wouldn’t be in Phoenix in time for the connecting plane but American rescheduled him onto a flight in Charlotte and another flight into Newark. He ended up landing at 9:30 am, 4 hours after he was scheduled. All along he was worried that his suitcase with his suit and clothes for the wedding wouldn’t follow him. Luckily it did.
Bad enough so far, but the story only begins here.
We got his suitcase, got in the car, and Andrew slept a few hours. Once he woke up on Thursday he visited with some of his friends, came home late, slept late on Friday and went to the wedding on Friday night. He spent Saturday with his friends, part of Sunday with us, part with some of his friends. By Sunday night he more or less forgot about the problem with American Airlines and decided that this had been a great weekend.
His flight back home was in two steps. He would get on American Airlines flight 2637 at 4:30 pm for Phoenix. Lay over in Phoenix for an hour and a half, and get on a plane for Reno. He’d land in Reno at about 11:00 pm, have a friend pick him up at the airport, get home by midnight and go to work the next day. That was the plan.
We decided to leave for Newark at 1:00 pm so that we could get there by 2:00, check his baggage, take him to lunch, watch as he went though security at 3:00 and leave the airport after the plane took off at 4:30. Great plan, too bad it was American Airlines.
At about 2:30 Andrew was notified that his plane was delayed until 6:00 pm. As a result he wouldn’t make his connecting flight. Worse still, American Airlines rescheduled his flight from Phoenix to Reno for the next morning. If he got on the plane at 6:00 he would have a 10 hour layover in Phoenix.
We got back on the ticketing/customer service line. Because there were so many delays, the snaking line was pretty much to the door of the terminal. It took us the better part of 45 minutes to get to the service representative. There were only two service reps at the counter and they wouldn’t move very fast. Once we finally got there, we offered a number of alternatives. The service rep, without checking, told us that there weren’t any seats on any other airline that could get Andrew from Phoenix to Reno. Nor were there any seats on any other airline that could take him to another hub that could get him there. All of this without looking it up. When I asked, I was told that she checked before. When I asked to see a supervisor, there was none to be found. We Andrew asked for his money back so he could buy a ticket on another airline, he was told that they can’t do it at the counter, he’d have to go home and do it on the internet. This didn’t make any sense to us as she was able to take money for the payment of his baggage. Finally when I asked if they would provide a hotel room for the layover in Phoenix, we were told that the airline is not responsible for he weather. I wonder if they’re responsible for anything. As bad as their flights and scheduling is, their customer service is even worse.
With no choice but to take the plane, Andrew went through security at 4:45 pm. Liz and I stayed at the airport until the plane finally took off at 6:30.
Andrew is in the air right now, looking forward to a bad night’s sleep in an uncomfortable chair at Phoenix airport. He called his employer, apologized and told them he’d be in to work in the afternoon. They are a very progressive company and understood. Still, Andrew is livid. So are Liz and myself. If this happened once, we’d try to understand, but twice on the same trip say a lot about the airline.
As I said at the beginning, there are some companies that don’t deserve to be in business, and if they disappeared the marketplace might very well be better off. American Airlines is one of these companies.
The story begins about 3 months ago. My older son Andrew, who now lives in Reno, Nevada, received a wedding invitation from one of his college friends. The wedding was scheduled for Friday evening. Knowing that he was coming back for the wedding, he decided to schedule a few extra days to visit with some of the friends that he went to school with and some of the friends that he worked with when he lived with us in New Jersey. He even scheduled a couple of hours to spend with Liz and me. We were thrilled. We haven’t seen him since January, and texting and phone calls just don’t take the place of seeing him in person.
Reno, NV is not a hub to any airline and as a result you cannot fly directly from Reno to Newark (or Kennedy or LaGuardia). Depending on the airline you have to transfer in places like Phoenix, Denver, San Francisco and perhaps a few other cities. Typically there is a 2 to 3 hour layover as a result of the transfer. Knowing all of this Andrew opted to fly out of Reno late on Wednesday night, transfer in Phoenix and arrive at 5:33 am (EST) in Newark. Liz and I took a quick nap on Wednesday night and were prepared to leave for the airport at 4:30 am to pick him up. At about 2:00 am Andrew called to tell us his plane out of Reno had been delayed. He wouldn’t be in Phoenix in time for the connecting plane but American rescheduled him onto a flight in Charlotte and another flight into Newark. He ended up landing at 9:30 am, 4 hours after he was scheduled. All along he was worried that his suitcase with his suit and clothes for the wedding wouldn’t follow him. Luckily it did.
Bad enough so far, but the story only begins here.
We got his suitcase, got in the car, and Andrew slept a few hours. Once he woke up on Thursday he visited with some of his friends, came home late, slept late on Friday and went to the wedding on Friday night. He spent Saturday with his friends, part of Sunday with us, part with some of his friends. By Sunday night he more or less forgot about the problem with American Airlines and decided that this had been a great weekend.
His flight back home was in two steps. He would get on American Airlines flight 2637 at 4:30 pm for Phoenix. Lay over in Phoenix for an hour and a half, and get on a plane for Reno. He’d land in Reno at about 11:00 pm, have a friend pick him up at the airport, get home by midnight and go to work the next day. That was the plan.
We decided to leave for Newark at 1:00 pm so that we could get there by 2:00, check his baggage, take him to lunch, watch as he went though security at 3:00 and leave the airport after the plane took off at 4:30. Great plan, too bad it was American Airlines.
At about 2:30 Andrew was notified that his plane was delayed until 6:00 pm. As a result he wouldn’t make his connecting flight. Worse still, American Airlines rescheduled his flight from Phoenix to Reno for the next morning. If he got on the plane at 6:00 he would have a 10 hour layover in Phoenix.
We got back on the ticketing/customer service line. Because there were so many delays, the snaking line was pretty much to the door of the terminal. It took us the better part of 45 minutes to get to the service representative. There were only two service reps at the counter and they wouldn’t move very fast. Once we finally got there, we offered a number of alternatives. The service rep, without checking, told us that there weren’t any seats on any other airline that could get Andrew from Phoenix to Reno. Nor were there any seats on any other airline that could take him to another hub that could get him there. All of this without looking it up. When I asked, I was told that she checked before. When I asked to see a supervisor, there was none to be found. We Andrew asked for his money back so he could buy a ticket on another airline, he was told that they can’t do it at the counter, he’d have to go home and do it on the internet. This didn’t make any sense to us as she was able to take money for the payment of his baggage. Finally when I asked if they would provide a hotel room for the layover in Phoenix, we were told that the airline is not responsible for he weather. I wonder if they’re responsible for anything. As bad as their flights and scheduling is, their customer service is even worse.
With no choice but to take the plane, Andrew went through security at 4:45 pm. Liz and I stayed at the airport until the plane finally took off at 6:30.
Andrew is in the air right now, looking forward to a bad night’s sleep in an uncomfortable chair at Phoenix airport. He called his employer, apologized and told them he’d be in to work in the afternoon. They are a very progressive company and understood. Still, Andrew is livid. So are Liz and myself. If this happened once, we’d try to understand, but twice on the same trip say a lot about the airline.
As I said at the beginning, there are some companies that don’t deserve to be in business, and if they disappeared the marketplace might very well be better off. American Airlines is one of these companies.
07-24-2018, 02:40 AM
#4
Are they worse than United? Ken would know for sure. We do fly them pretty much whenever we fly. So far we've not really had any big issues that I can think of. I'm sure if we were flying more, something would happen sooner or later. The change fee does really bug me. We do fly out of National, which is probably one of the more reliable airports due to the VIPs that fly in/out of there. Having direct flights helps. We have changed at Charlotte some. Our next trip is Nov to Chicago for my nephew's wedding. I think the chances of flights being late/cancelled happens more in smaller places. No??
BTW - We are flying Air France to De Gaulle. I hear it is good. Last time I flew Air France was in 1963 when we returned to the US from France after living there for three years.
BTW - We are flying Air France to De Gaulle. I hear it is good. Last time I flew Air France was in 1963 when we returned to the US from France after living there for three years.
Last edited by MsPerky; 07-24-2018 at 02:43 AM.
07-24-2018, 04:15 AM
#5
I did 300K miles on American Last year. With my status I get better service.... but I'll tell you it's light years better than United or Southwest. Delta is the best without having status but I live near a major AA Hub. I do miss US Airways....
To say companies like this should go away is short sighted.... less competition means more control, less flight options and less reason to try harder.
To say companies like this should go away is short sighted.... less competition means more control, less flight options and less reason to try harder.
07-24-2018, 04:18 AM
#6
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Six Metro stops short of insanity.
Posts: 29,139
Received 973 Likes
on
666 Posts
in a word, yes. On the last AA flight I took, the deoartyre gate changed 5 times. And of course every time it changed, it was in a different terminal or section of the airport (think DFW). At the last change the poor gate agent was apologizing over and over about all of the changes which was nice but didn't make it any better.
IAD to CDG? Air France is wonderful. Last flight I had with them, I couldn't get an upgrade but they put me in the first row just behind Business Class. Every time something went to business class, a steward made sure he "accidentally" gave me the same thing. It was terrible 
. (I think I had even better service because the Business Class and First Class galley was just in front of my seat row.)
. (I think I had even better service because the Business Class and First Class galley was just in front of my seat row.)
07-24-2018, 04:20 AM
#7
in a word, yes. On the last AA flight I took the gate changed 5 times. And of course every time it changed, it was in a different terminal or section of the airport (think DFW). At the last change the poor gate agent was apologizing over and over about all of the changes which was nice but didn't make it any better.
IAD to CDG? Air France is wonderful. Last flight I had with them, I couldn't get an upgrade but they put me in the first row just behind Business Class. Every time something went to business class, a steward made sure he "accidentally" gave me the same thing. It was terrible. (I think I had even better service because the Business Class and First Class galley was just in front of my seat row.)
IAD to CDG? Air France is wonderful. Last flight I had with them, I couldn't get an upgrade but they put me in the first row just behind Business Class. Every time something went to business class, a steward made sure he "accidentally" gave me the same thing. It was terrible
. (I think I had even better service because the Business Class and First Class galley was just in front of my seat row.)Trending Topics
07-24-2018, 04:23 AM
#8
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Six Metro stops short of insanity.
Posts: 29,139
Received 973 Likes
on
666 Posts
)
07-24-2018, 04:40 AM
#9
Not sure what the problem was here nor the expectations. Sounds like a typical flight based on several of my last few regardless of the airline. Try flying in or out of places like Watertown NY or even Syracuse to Cleveland or Richmond. All flights depend on the last flight before the one you're scheduled to take and that one on the one before that and that one... There are rarely airplanes sitting anywhere just waiting for a flight. Ticket prices are so low that only a few empty seats on a plane can make the flight lose money so all the airlines have to run very tight schedules. Throw weather and/or mechanical problems (as simple as a light bulb in a cockpit instrument) into the mix and the chaos results.
Airlines run many flights as shuttles. The plane returns to the departure city and repeats seemingly endlessly. A delay in any leg can slide the whole schedule back and mess up connections from minor cities. I got so tired of airports, flying, and TSA that I took Amtrak from Richmond to Tampa last month. More expensive with the lil' roomette but my awake time wasn't much more than flying and had none of the hassles. Something nice about sitting in my PJs drinking morning coffee watching northern Florida run past the big window. No smelly seat mates, etc. Returned by sail via the Gulf Stream.
-- Chuck
Airlines run many flights as shuttles. The plane returns to the departure city and repeats seemingly endlessly. A delay in any leg can slide the whole schedule back and mess up connections from minor cities. I got so tired of airports, flying, and TSA that I took Amtrak from Richmond to Tampa last month. More expensive with the lil' roomette but my awake time wasn't much more than flying and had none of the hassles. Something nice about sitting in my PJs drinking morning coffee watching northern Florida run past the big window. No smelly seat mates, etc. Returned by sail via the Gulf Stream.
-- Chuck
Last edited by Chuck S; 07-24-2018 at 04:43 AM.
07-24-2018, 04:51 AM
#10
Good to know about Air France...friends of mine who fly to France a lot love it. We are in Row 10. I paid extra for it because it is one of the very few rows with two seats rather than three. I think it's right behind a galley or first/business class. Not sure. It's an Airbus A380-800, which can have different configurations. I looked at SeatGuru to see which ones were the best. So I hope they are good, since I got the same ones for the trip back.
Yes, Ken - IAD to CDG.
Yes, Ken - IAD to CDG.
Last edited by MsPerky; 07-24-2018 at 04:53 AM.