Complaint Review: AMERICAN AIRLINES - Nationwide

You people are ridiculous... The airlines, boats, trains, have nothing to do with travel agents!! You....the individual pays the agent.. How do you people think they get paid??? Travel agents aren't bookies or kick-back artists.. They get paid commission from the consumer. Which would be us!!! Sincerely,

Starting from the top, seats are never guaranteed. American does its best to give people traveling together seats together but they do not guarantee them. Usually when you book in advance your seats do not change but if you havent had that happen to you before you are one of the lucky ones. When you buy a airline ticket you are buying "A" seat on the plane. You are not buy seat 12a. Secondly, how did you find out that the travel agency didnt verify the tickets as good, did you ask them directly? And if you did, do you think that after the fact they are going to tell you that it was their fault? Airlines dont send anything to travel agents. Travel agents issue tickets by themselves. As far as for your return trip. Was there a schedule change involved and you travel didnt let you know? Airlines have a group of people who specifically call in advance and advise passengers of schedule changes when they happen. And what they run into a lot of times, is travel agencys not putting phone numbers in reservations, or they only put the agency number for a contact. Since you were flying on another airline for the return they could have had the schedule change in which AA would have no control over. Now about the compensation, in the state that the airlines are in did you really think that they were going to give you free tickets to anywhere in the U.S.? As far as AA not extending the validity of the coupons you are really complaining about a mistake that was made on your mothers part. And are upset because an exception wasnt made for you. Had in fact your mother looked at the coupons when she'd gotten them you would have had a year to plan for a trip and could have used them.

Starting from the top, seats are never guaranteed. American does its best to give people traveling together seats together but they do not guarantee them. Usually when you book in advance your seats do not change but if you havent had that happen to you before you are one of the lucky ones. When you buy a airline ticket you are buying "A" seat on the plane. You are not buy seat 12a. Secondly, how did you find out that the travel agency didnt verify the tickets as good, did you ask them directly? And if you did, do you think that after the fact they are going to tell you that it was their fault? Airlines dont send anything to travel agents. Travel agents issue tickets by themselves. As far as for your return trip. Was there a schedule change involved and you travel didnt let you know? Airlines have a group of people who specifically call in advance and advise passengers of schedule changes when they happen. And what they run into a lot of times, is travel agencys not putting phone numbers in reservations, or they only put the agency number for a contact. Since you were flying on another airline for the return they could have had the schedule change in which AA would have no control over. Now about the compensation, in the state that the airlines are in did you really think that they were going to give you free tickets to anywhere in the U.S.? As far as AA not extending the validity of the coupons you are really complaining about a mistake that was made on your mothers part. And are upset because an exception wasnt made for you. Had in fact your mother looked at the coupons when she'd gotten them you would have had a year to plan for a trip and could have used them.

I have to agree most Airlines today could care less about how the consumer feels or if they are satisfied with their experience as long as they buy a ticket! That is the real reason most Airlines are in financial difficulty. I fly in excess of 100,000 miles per year and there are olny a very limited number of airlines I prefer to use. American is deffinently NOT on that short list. They have a tendance to tell you what ever will get you to go away and leave them alone at that moment. In addition if you read the original post the travel agent wouldn't have have anything to do sith some of the tickets as they were from frequent flyer miles and those MUST be booked directly with the airline so let's not go blaiming some poor travel agent for something they have no control over. Ultimately DO NOT FLY AMERICAN AIRLINES.

Mark- let's think about this-- if travel agents no longer work for the airlines because they are not paid a commission, then who do they work for? Their customers, that's who! If American Airlines Ripoff had contacted the travel agent who booked this, they would have been glad to assist them with the situation and fully explain the rights of the traveling public. Airlines, hotels, and car rental companies often take the easy way out and blame the travel agent to redirect the anger and frustration that the customer is experiencing from them to another party. Next time, call the agent who booked the tickets and they will be able to look in the history of the booking to see exactly who made the mistake and when it occurred. If tickets are booked directly with the carrier, who do you have to stand up for you? The same people who are telling you that the flight is delayed due to Air Traffic Control, when it is actually because the aircraft has been sitting in the hangar all day with a broken air conditioner and they waited until 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure to even think about repairing it??? One more thing, American Airlines Ripoff: When asking for compensation from an airline, it is important to document absolutely everything you experienced and the name, location, and agent sine of each person you speak with. Also, you need to be very specific and tell them exactly what they need to do to make the situation right. When traveling internationally, ask for a Business Class upgrade, etc. Believe me, they are definetly not going to give it to you if you don't ask! Obviously a coupon is not an acceptable compensation for what was experienced. Return the coupon stating that and tell them what would be acceptable. They will do the right thing, but you won't get it if you don't ask.

Well it sounds like your PROBLEM was with your Travel Agent. A lot of times Travel Agents will create a RESERVATION but they wont TICKET it until you PAY in full. Also sometimes they will hold off ticketing you so they can sit on your money for awhile. Remember Airlines dont pay TRAVEL AGENTS any commision any more. Travel Agents have no incentive to do anything for you with airlines. If you have a problem with a Airline, deal with them directly. Book you tickets with them Directly, that way if there is a problem everything is with them, NO MIDDLE MAN.

Well it sounds like your PROBLEM was with your Travel Agent. A lot of times Travel Agents will create a RESERVATION but they wont TICKET it until you PAY in full. Also sometimes they will hold off ticketing you so they can sit on your money for awhile. Remember Airlines dont pay TRAVEL AGENTS any commision any more. Travel Agents have no incentive to do anything for you with airlines. If you have a problem with a Airline, deal with them directly. Book you tickets with them Directly, that way if there is a problem everything is with them, NO MIDDLE MAN.

Well it sounds like your PROBLEM was with your Travel Agent. A lot of times Travel Agents will create a RESERVATION but they wont TICKET it until you PAY in full. Also sometimes they will hold off ticketing you so they can sit on your money for awhile. Remember Airlines dont pay TRAVEL AGENTS any commision any more. Travel Agents have no incentive to do anything for you with airlines. If you have a problem with a Airline, deal with them directly. Book you tickets with them Directly, that way if there is a problem everything is with them, NO MIDDLE MAN.

Re-word your complaint using lower case, and somebody may actually read it. I got as far as "MY 80" before giving up. Thanks, James.