American Airlines Bust Planes, Bust Consumer Relations Indianapolis Indiana
Dec. 19th, 2005 there was to be a flight out of Indianapolis to Miami and leaving at 8:10am. Family members were on that flight and were to catch a cruise ship that afternoon.
As it turned out, the flight did not leave until after 12:00pm. Almost 4 hours late. No other accommodations were made and the AA 1-800 number was extremely rude.. Family members did make it to Miami and was lucky enough to make the ship before it sailed. ( Only because there was a seaplane crash in the harbor that held up it's departure otherwise they would have been stuck in Miami. )
The return flight on Dec 24th was no better. Was to leave Miami at 6:30pm but was delayed because of "tire problems" on the front landing gear. 2 hours later they left. Again, rude customer service and no other accommodations made.
This morning, Dec. 26th, a call was placed American Airlines customer service. Was promptly told they WILL NOT handle customer concerns over the phone. You must e-mail, fax, or write a letter. This is a *^&$ poor way to conduct business. It's no wonder the airline industry is in trouble.
I did fail to mention that all reservation paperwork showed that everybody was seated together on the aircraft. Guess what!? They were split up contrary to the written paperwork that was sent to our home.
American Airlines have cost themselves on this one. Not only the rude behavior of the clerks at the 1-800 number, the customer service people at the end of a phone line as well as what seems to be poor maintainance on the aircraft they fly.
Since when has the airline business NOT been consumer driven. I really don't think they can survive on cargo alone ( though that's they way they treat their travelers).
I do promise that there will be an update to this, if and when American Airlines decides to respond.
Kurt
Clinton, Indiana
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Karl
Clovis,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
NEVER fly on the day you cruise
#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, December 31, 2008
If you are flying to a cruise port ALWAYS plan to arrive the day before and spend the night there. Planes are frequently delayed and flights are cancelled. Always allow yourself leeway. The ship isn't going to wait and unless the cruise line arranged for the flight you are simply a no show and will lose the cruise fare -all of it. You were extremely lucky this time.
Kurt
Clinton,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Wife's Letter to American Airlines
#3Author of original report
Thu, December 29, 2005
American Airlines December 27, 2005
Complaint:
Booking # MZIEXX & FLZIGY
Dates: Dec 19th 24th 2005
Departing Flight: 1861 - 12/19/05 8:10am Indianapolis, Indiana
Arriving: 10:48am Miami, Florida
Seats: 12A,B,C
Returning Flight: 1682 12/24/05 6:30pm Miami, Florida
Arriving: 9:19pm Indianapolis, Indiana
Seats: 15A,B,C
Problems:
We arrived at the Indianapolis airport at 6:00am on Dec 19th, 2005 to catch our American Airlines flight. We already had a problem, at check-in, with seating on the return flight. We found out that our return seats were different then what we booked months ago. We were told to check at the Miami terminal when we got there since we had plenty of time. We boarded the plane around 7:45am. Everyone was on the plane when they announced that there was a problem. We waited a few minutes and they then told us that we would have to exit the plane. One of the computer systems was bad and they could not fly without it. They claimed that they were trying to fix it but that we should get other flights to our destinations. They had us line up at their boarding counter and wait our turn to get another flight. While in line they passed out papers that had your 800 phone number on it. We were to call and see if they could book us on another flight. My daughter and I began calling. I got a woman that answered and I explained to her the situation. She told me that there would be no flights that could get us to Miami before 5:30pm. I explained to her that this was unacceptable because we had to be on a cruise ship before 4:00pm or they would leave without us. She then told me that I should have planned better and traveled the day before. That things happen and she could not help us. It was up to us to figure it out. My daughter did not have any better luck with someone else. She was told that the AA counter people would have to help us. I was upset and angry. We needed to get to Miami to catch a cruise ship. We were told if we got another flight that we would not be able to get our luggage. If we did have a flight to Miami our luggage would stay on this plane and be delivered later. This was unacceptable because we would not be there; we were to leave on a cruise.
We sat around for hours, waiting to see if they could get the part. The part was located but had to be flown in from Chicago. Our flight was more then 4 hour's late leaving Indianapolis. We had no idea if the ship would leave without us! I couldn't eat or sit still. This was our Christmas present and now it was in jeopardy. We left Indy after 12:00pm. We finally got to Miami and the luggage was a mess too. The airport had two planes worth of luggage on the same claim carousel. We almost cried when we saw a cruise agent there for us. There were several passengers on this flight. I told the agent that I wanted to hug her. We have never been so stressed. We got to the cruise ship right at 4:00pm!
On Dec 24th, we returned to the airport after the cruise from We were told that we would be able to store our luggage, since our flight wasn't until 6:30pm. We found the storage counter. And was shocked to find out that it would cost more then $100 to check it into storage. We wondered around the airport for hours with all our bags until we could do check-in with AA, after 2:30pm. We went to the counter to find out several things..and not good things! At check-in we found out that our seats had changed again and we were not together. We checked our two bags a piece that we had checked on the first flight. We went to check two small bags and the guy at the counter told us that it would cost us $80 more. He told us that we were only allowed two bags a piece and one personal and one carry-on. He informed us that everyone knows this. Well we don't fly much and we were offended and felt he was trying to make us look stupid. He also told us that security would take our extra bags and we needed to get rid of some of our stuff. We were shocked! I went to an airport store and purchased two large size carry-on bags. We spent an hour trying to rearrange our bags so no one took our stuff. The ship said the airport was use to extra bags due to the duty-free shopping and cruiser terminal. We were stressed all afternoon.
We decided to go thru security early just in case something happened. We went to our terminal (E5) and sat for a couple hours. The flight before us was getting ready to board. They did board but as they did we sat and watched, you know because of the luggage. We watched passengers with two and three large carry-on bags board and no one did anything. We did see some passengers try to board with large bags and they stopped them and checked them to the lower luggage, at no additional cost. A passenger even said that he had check more then the limit of two but they still checked the bag to the lower luggage. What is up with this? They were all on board but could not leave. They did not have enough flight attendants. They were now delayed. They finally got an attendant and left. They left 30 minutes late which meant we were now late. Our flight got to pull up to the gate and unload. We got to board with our carry-on bags after stressing all day but our seats had changed again. This was the third time but we were going home, so we thought. The flight was loaded when the pilot told us that AA had decided to change our planes front two tires on the landing gear. Maintenance came and changed the tires. Why couldn't they change them while they were unloading and loading? Why did they wait until we were ready to leave? We are even later now. We finally arrived in Indianapolis at 10:00pm.
We do not believe the service was appropriate on any level. We do not have a problem sharing the treatment we received from your company with anyone. We do not wish to use your airline in the future. We have been emotional and sick to our stomach since the stress of the trip. I am even having trouble reliving this mess as I am writing this letter for all of us.. I paid for these tickets for me and my daughter as our gift. This is not the gift I wanted to give. It was supposed to be fun and exciting, not stressful and upsetting. Our friend trusted me to make travel plans that worked, not a fight ever step of the way.