Complaint Review: American Airlines - Texas

Mathew, you sound as ignorant as the twit that dragged two cats around with her on her honeymoon. Instead of ranting about how much you love your kitties online, why not spend some time with them so you can "feel love." You're sure not going to "feel love" any other way.

Bollivar, I am offended that you would respond to a 5 year old post for the sole purpose of displaying your hatred for cats. Obviously you must be a sad individual to have such thoughts. If all you want to do is tell you hate cats dont bother posting. as a cat lover I wouldnt mind seeing you get your worthless hatefilled hide ran over. Atleast cats can give people affection and make them feel good and loved where as you simply seem to be an angry bitter person with no better use than to spread your bitterness and anger. Please, take your cat hating comments else where where they are wanted you forum troll. This is a forum to help people, not tell us that you are cruel to animals. Get a life.

American really dropped the ball on this one. The correct course of action would have been to accept the cats, make sure they were in approved carriers and had adequate food and drink, then turn them over to highly-trained baggage engineers for safekeeping. At that point, the highly-trained baggage engineers should have followed policy by removing the cats from the carriers prior to boarding, placing them on the tarmac to watch intently while a baggage tug ran over their worthless cat hides repeatedly. Problem solved.

I have read your post and to be honest with you guys, you sound if you don't have any ounce of common sense in you. Common sense -- if you knew that many places would not accommodate pets, then you should have made a decision to leave them at home with somebody who is willing to take care of them. Second, you are brought them on the plane?! Then you should have notified the people at the airport days in advance, but problems had already been created otherwise. I mean, what were you thinking of bringing them 2 cats on the plane?? Have you ever thought that some people might be allergic to cats or have cat phobia on the plane? Then that plane is obviously no place for pets to be on. You should have tried other options for your pets and use your judgement before you do anything so trifling and nonsensical. Now I can see why you have problems--you are going from place to place to place and that make sense why the people at the AA won't give you compensation for that. That's because you didn't have enough common sense to do so--use it next time when you travel with your cats!

I have flown with my little dog. I took her in the cabin. I had to pay extra and it was a big pain in the behind, but I would NEVER fly her in cargo. I've been told by a former airline pilot and others that even though it is supposed to be safe, it really isn't. If I'm not allowed to fly in there then it's obviously not safe enough for my dog.

TRY DELTA "DASH" SERVICE OR , PREFERABLY CAREFUL RESEARCH Unless you are traveling/shipping with one of the three US airlines worth doing business with--Air Tran, Jet Blue or Southwest--your travel and/or shipping plans are truly a roll of the dice. There should be a law permitting public flogging of airline employees, like the one from Kent, Washington, who want you to think that, with enough phone calls, somehow (with the intervention of the tooth fairy perhaps) you and/or your shipment will travel from "point A" to "point B" in a span of time that is shorter than driving. This same person probably would have us believe that the only source of delay/cancellations to American, United, et al, is the weather. Having said that--I will, with a straight face, actually suggest one consider using a particular freight service of Delta Air Lines--"DASH--Delta Air Lines Special Handling"--http://www.delta.com/prog_serv/cargo/dash/index.jsp On the one hand, same-day airport-to-airport delivery is promised (lie??) with a 50% refund of the shipping charge if the commitment is not met. On the other hand, Delta's "hubs" include two airports--Atlanta and Dallas--which were identified, on another web site, as airports to avoid if you are shipping a pet--http://www.fuzzyfaces.com/ldogtrv2.html This appears to leave Delta's Cincinatti "hub" as the only reasonable "safe" connecting point. Finding a company willing to accept a household pet for shipping is quite an undertaking. Fedex expressly prohibits shipment of household pets--unless you have something large enough that can pass for a zoo animal! I suspect that UPS probably follows suit and, likewise, bans household pets. Good luck!

As an employee of American Airline, and in particular, in cargo, I can only agree with Javier. It is American's policy to provide the utmost safety for your pet. Again, having a pet exposed to inclimate weather is not a situation that a person who loves their cats enough to take on their honeymoon, would want. Would you prefer that American Airline accepted your pets and God forbid they showed up at the destination sick or worse? The only real reason to ship a pet is if you are moving, or if the pet was sold. American transports millions of animals safely, and these safety measures are there for a reason. I have personally witnessed our cargo operations people talking lovingly with the pets before their new or old owners retrieve them. I myself always look in on the animals. They are already stressed by the ordeal and the last thing they need is to be dehydrated, or suffer hypothermia. Unfortunately, it is impossible to contact every person during a pet embargo. As with all travel arrangements, it is your responsibility to verify all information prior to travel. I must say that I find it difficult to believe the report that American had changed a flight departure to two hours earlier. That flies in the face (no pun intended) of any good business. If there was a flight change, there certainly could not be a penalty for missing the flight. However, check your tickets folks... You are advised to arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to your scheduled departure. And again, please verify all flight arrangements!

I am an employee of American Airlines and I can assure you, I am not happy with the way AA treats a lot of passengers, however, you people out there have NO IDEA of the type of situations we are forced to deal with from passengers who are ignorant of the way airlines operate (Not your fault) or sometimes unreasonable. This case comes down to unreasonable. I own several cats and I have transported animals via air ONLY when absoutly necessary! Air travel is VERY distressing to animals and to take your cats on a honeymoon shows lack of judgement. Embargos are in place when either the tempature is too high or too low at the orginating, connecting or terminating station. This is for the SAFETY of the animal. Also certain flights can embargo animals due to HazMat (Dry Ice) on board. Dry ice is used to protect human organs enroute for transplant. I fail to see how American Airlines can be the bad guy here when we refused to transport your cats to ensure their SAFETY! I am sure your two cats enjoyed looking at your honeymoon pictures almost as much as if they went with you to enjoy the scenery.

I am an employee of American Airlines and I can assure you, I am not happy with the way AA treats a lot of passengers, however, you people out there have NO IDEA of the type of situations we are forced to deal with from passengers who are ignorant of the way airlines operate (Not your fault) or sometimes unreasonable. This case comes down to unreasonable. I own several cats and I have transported animals via air ONLY when absoutly necessary! Air travel is VERY distressing to animals and to take your cats on a honeymoon shows lack of judgement. Embargos are in place when either the tempature is too high or too low at the orginating, connecting or terminating station. This is for the SAFETY of the animal. Also certain flights can embargo animals due to HazMat (Dry Ice) on board. Dry ice is used to protect human organs enroute for transplant. I fail to see how American Airlines can be the bad guy here when we refused to transport your cats to ensure their SAFETY! I am sure your two cats enjoyed looking at your honeymoon pictures almost as much as if they went with you to enjoy the scenery.

I am an employee of American Airlines and I can assure you, I am not happy with the way AA treats a lot of passengers, however, you people out there have NO IDEA of the type of situations we are forced to deal with from passengers who are ignorant of the way airlines operate (Not your fault) or sometimes unreasonable. This case comes down to unreasonable. I own several cats and I have transported animals via air ONLY when absoutly necessary! Air travel is VERY distressing to animals and to take your cats on a honeymoon shows lack of judgement. Embargos are in place when either the tempature is too high or too low at the orginating, connecting or terminating station. This is for the SAFETY of the animal. Also certain flights can embargo animals due to HazMat (Dry Ice) on board. Dry ice is used to protect human organs enroute for transplant. I fail to see how American Airlines can be the bad guy here when we refused to transport your cats to ensure their SAFETY! I am sure your two cats enjoyed looking at your honeymoon pictures almost as much as if they went with you to enjoy the scenery.

I am an employee of American Airlines and I can assure you, I am not happy with the way AA treats a lot of passengers, however, you people out there have NO IDEA of the type of situations we are forced to deal with from passengers who are ignorant of the way airlines operate (Not your fault) or sometimes unreasonable. This case comes down to unreasonable. I own several cats and I have transported animals via air ONLY when absoutly necessary! Air travel is VERY distressing to animals and to take your cats on a honeymoon shows lack of judgement. Embargos are in place when either the tempature is too high or too low at the orginating, connecting or terminating station. This is for the SAFETY of the animal. Also certain flights can embargo animals due to HazMat (Dry Ice) on board. Dry ice is used to protect human organs enroute for transplant. I fail to see how American Airlines can be the bad guy here when we refused to transport your cats to ensure their SAFETY! I am sure your two cats enjoyed looking at your honeymoon pictures almost as much as if they went with you to enjoy the scenery.

My mini dachsund is about to make his 25th cross country flight on American Airlines. We have never had a problem transporting him, although he does ride under the seat in the cabin with me, and we pay a hefty fee for this privilige. He has never made a peep, and when I deplane, sometimes those sitting next to me are surprised to notice they were sitting next to a dog the whole flight. The cargo hold is no place for a treasured pet unless there is no other option, and the climate and time of the year must be taken into consideration. Also, most airlines require a health certificate that is given by your veterinarian one week before the flight. Only once I have been asked for this, but you have to be prepared. You also must make your reservations well in advance, as most airlines only allow 2 pets per cabin on a flight. Flying with your pet can be a pleasant experience, and I am sorry the gal with the two cats had such problems with an airline that has provided us with excellent service for 10 years. I don't believe it is the norm, and encourage her the next time she needs to travel with her two cats, to pay the fee and bring them inside the cabin. She will be happier being able to tend to her babies if they need tending, and they will be more content knowing she is there. My Bubba has never required any kind of tranquilizer, and is perfectly happy as long as he can see my feet. But naps are out of the question. Off to Grandma's!

As an employee of an airline, I would never, ever recommend flying any of your furry friends in the cargo. The embargo is there for a purpose, it is either too hot, or too cold. Too hot meaning the aircraft may be sitting on the ramp too long in temperatures in excess of 120 degrees and your pet is in there along with your luggage baking or too cold meaing that there is no heating capabilites of the cargo in some situations and they could freeze to death. Recently the government inquired on figures of deaths and lost pets and could you believe, that information is not available. The government is currently trying to get a law passed to where the airlines have to report this information, and a majority of the airlines have said it this passes there will be permanent embargo. What does this tell you? I can only recommend that you fly your pets with you in your lap if they meets weight requirements, and if you really love your pet and cannot fly with them on your lap, at least find some other source of transportion.

First of all, to the person who had trouble with AA regarding the 2 cats traveling on AA: I really feal for you. As the former owner of 1 nervous cat, I would have felt the same way you did when it came to your cat traveling with you. I believe since AA scheduled the flight for you and your pets, they should have contacted you (as many airlines claim they're supposed to do) of any changes in flight plan. I have a cousin that stated she was scheduled to fly to NJ from NC, the flight time being 3:30pm. My cousin happened to arrive at the airport at about 1pm, and went to check her bags. That is when she was informed by the ticket agent that the flight had been changed to 1:30pm as opposed to 3:30pm. It was a good thing that she did arrive when she did, otherwise, she would have missed her flight and would be charged an additional $75 - $100 due to the airline changing her flight. The airline didn't bother to call her and inform her of the change. She happened to show up earlier, thinking she was going to have time to kill. The airline has some responsibility in informing customers of changes in flight schedules and plans. And to Cathy, of Rialto, California: what's the purpose of your immature response? You just came on like a sledge hammer. Were you experiencing a bad day or something? If you don't have any thing constructive to say, say nothing at all. What seems a small mole hill to one person, may be someone else's mountain. I'd like to put myself in someone else's place when they have any type of problem, big or small, and then I'd ask myself, "How would I like someone to respond to me when I have a gripe against a business that I feel that has defrauded me?" Because how you treat others will always come back to you. Peace, in Jesus' Precious Name!

I am definitely sorry to hear that your honeymoon was not what it was planned to be and I symphathize with you and your pets. As a pet owner myself, I travel a good bit and sometimes have to send my dog on an earlier flight than myself. American has rules for pets traveling in extreme heat and cold, however American poorly trains their reservation personell to note these thing. Instead of classroom training they put the information our in "stars" and expects everyone to read and learn from them and with the quality of people that AA has hired recently, I am afraid they are not capable of handling tough situations such as pet embargoes, and no, AA will not call you even when it states that they should. I suggest that maybe you try another airline in the future such as Delta or even United. I have flown with both of them recently and the experience was exeptional and I was even called one morning to tell me my Delta flight was going to be delayed but would have enough time to make my connection in Salt Lake. Delta has taken extremely care of my dog and once when I was flying with him I looked out the window as they were loading him (last) and the baggage handlers were down on their knees talking to him and petting him through the cage (so a little human compassion goes a long way). Changing to a more reliable airline makes a difference. I did as an employee and customer.

Can't believe you didn't know there might be problems taking two cats with you on an airline/hotel honeymoon vacation. This falls into the category of extremely stupid and frivolous complaint territory. C.L.