Complaint Review: American Airlines

On May 11, 2015, I was flying from Nashville, Tennessee, home to Florida on the US Air division of American Airlines with a plane change in Charlotte, North Carolina.  As I was checking in, "Preferred Access" was offered for this entire trip for $20 which allowed boarding before the masses on both flights.  I was traveling with one carry-on with some very important papers in it, and as US Air often seems to run out of overhead space and starts checking carry-ons at the gate, I felt this would be a good investment in that I could get on the plane and stow my bag without worry.  I charged the $20 fee to my credit card and both boarding passes stated "Preferred Access" in capital letters under my frequent flyer number.  In Nashville, the gate agent called for Preferred Access flyers to board with the Citi Credit Card premium members and all worked fine.  In Charlotte, the flight was delayed.  When boarding started, the gate agent never mentioned Preferred Access and when the Citi customers were called, no mention was made of Preferred Access.  I assumed Preferred Access would be called next; however, since the flight was late, the agent simply called Zones 1 and 2 and a crowd of people descended on the gate from all directions.  When I handed by boarding pass to the agent, I mentioned Preferred Access had never been called and she had no idea what I was talking about.  I do not appreciate paying for a service sold by the merchant, but then not offered.

On May 12, I emailed American Airlines Customer Relations and related my experience.  Since I paid $20 for Preferred Access for the entire trip, I felt I was owed $10 for the flight for which Preferred Access was not offered. On May 15, I received a reply from Dalila Reade at American Airlines which stated they appreciated my feedback but could not offer a refund.  She then had a paragraph consisting of one sentence which read, "Please use it to fly with us again soon."  There was nothing offered in the letter to be used to fly with them again soon!

I wrote a polite response again explaining my situation, and on May 28, I received an email from Robert Vaseg providing a thorough explanation of what Preferred Access is and stating "the service is non-refundable if you change or cancel any of your flights."  I had not changed or canceled either flight for which I purchased Preferred Access.  He concluded by saying, "We have a responsibility to decline compensation requests when we feel it is not appropriate." 

I next wrote an old-fashioned letter to Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines.  My next contact was a phone call on June 10 from Siegfried Leal explaining what Preferred Access is and that they would not process my request for a $10 refund.  I again stated my case, and he said he was merely calling as a courtesy to let me know they would not be refunding my money.  Later that day, I received an email from Mr. Leal explaining the same thing even stating if I bought Preferred Access on a flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia with a plane change in Charlotte, I could enjoy Preferred Access on both flights for one fee.  He seemingly disregarded the whole notion that that was the basis of my refund request - I paid for Preferred Access for both flights and they did not offer it on the second one.

On June 18, I called the bank issuing my credit card to dispute the charge. The representative said since it was a service rather than an actual physical item, they would have a hard time disputing the charge with American Airlines' bank; however, my bank offered me a courtesy refund of the $10 because of my many years as a customer.  I took it, but urged them to try and get it from American.  I realize this may sound petty over $10; however, I do not appreciate being sold a service that is not delivered and I do not choose to make a $10 contribution to American Airlines.