I arrived at the airport with my husband and 4 month old son.We wait on line (45 mins) and check in our luggage.They did not have a bag to put our car seat in, so we knew right there it was going to be a rough day.

We get to our gate at 2:00 and wait patiently.Our flt is delayed 2-3 times before it's canceled.We immediately ask when the next flt is.The man at the boarding gate reserves us 2 seats on the 12:45 Mon flt (writing the confirmation #'s on our boarding pass)stating there are no other flts Sun & then sends us to baggage to get our bags.

Along the way I stop at the courtesy phone & ask if there are any other flts either to LaGuardia, or JFK in which Brad (reservation rep)tells me there is a flt at 10:05PM Sunday to EWR which has not been canceled. He reserves 2 seats for me & states no confirmation # is needed, just my boarding pass and ID.

We get to baggage & wait an hour online, & find out that our baggage won't be down for another hr. It's now almost 6 I've finished all the extra formula I brought in my carry on & my son is crying from hunger. My husband informs them that it's very important we get our luggage since all his food is in our suitcase. The woman says she'll send security to get it & to wait patiently. The people at the counter said that all the luggage from our flight went out already and would be waiting for us at EWR.

The 800 rep on the cell phone told us that was impossible since all the flts were canceled. We kept calm and watched as a man throws a fit about his luggage and the baggage reps find it for him immediately. We continue to wait patiently with a crying baby, & are informed that our luggage is in lock down and we won't be receiving it.

It's past 7 & flts are still being canceled. I was worried about our 10:05 flight being canceled and asked how I would go about getting a hotel room. The Amer rep stated I had to write a letter to customer service in order to get my room paid for. I decided with all the commotion, I had better reserve a room before there weren't any left. We get to the hotel, and call the 800 number to find out if our flt would leave ontime and for some reason my husband was not scheduled on that flight. The flt was full & they could not get him on that flt, so they scheduled us to be on the 12:45 flt Monday again.

They then transferred us to luggage in which the wait was 105 minutes!!! We waited and when we finally got through and gave them our baggage claim number, we were told they have no records of us even checking our bags in. I am livid at this point. What is the point of baggage claim tickets? When we get to the airport on Monday, it only took 30 minutes to find our that our flight was ontime my husband and I were not seated together, because somehow he did not have a reservation (even though we had the confirmation number)and our luggage was at Newark being held in a secure spot by Baggage Claim.

After switching gates 4-5 times we finally got on the plane which was delayed more than 2 hours. The stewardess informed me that she could not help us to sit together, and that we would have to work it out on our own. We did, when we finally arrived at Newark it was almost 5, the pilot made great time, but when we get to baggage claim, there were hundreds of bags just thrown all around the place, no security, noone checking claim tickets, it was awful.

When we finally found our luggage, and opened it up, there were all sorts of things missing. When we tried to talk to someone about it they told us to write to customer service. By this point we were so tired, we just wanted to get home. I know not all of this was American Airlines fault, although I do think they handled the situation very poorly, and I do not think I will be flying with them again.

Click Here to read other Ripoff Reports on American Airlines

6 Updates & Rebuttals

Frank

Ontario,
California,
U.S.A.

Frequent Flyer on American Airlines

#2Consumer Comment

Thu, July 22, 2004

AA flight 2283 IND to DFW 19 July Seat 4E Flight attendants: Mitzi and Connie Currently I am en-route on the above flight and writing this in wordpad to cut and paste later on www.aa.com. Flight attendants, and frequent fliers, have a thankless job and both need to be rewarded for a job well done. First class passengers are usually treated with a little extra courtesy and professionalism and I've grown to expect that. It's a short flight but today's MD-80 (MD-80, that's the surprising part) crew has gone that extra step to see this is a pleasant flight for all passengers in the forward cabin. They are very attentive, friendly and want to see that everyone enjoys the flight and their needs addressed. Flight attendants always say: We know you have a choice, thank you for choosing American Airlines. For most flight attendants it's only a jingle written by an ad agency. Both Mitzi and Connie are aware there is a choice and are a credit to AA. I just wanted to share that.

Carmen

Ft Worth,
Texas,
U.S.A.

American Airlines Difficulty - Please don't kill me, I'm only the passanger

#3REBUTTAL Individual responds

Sun, April 18, 2004

I've been reading through the ripoff reports and have noticed company employees write two types of letters. The Polite Apology or the Up Yours, Peon reply. The Polite Apology letters are always impressive and make you think you should try their airline again. It's very sad to read about such incredible animosity some airline employees show towards their customers. I've seen Brit Air employees literally laughing and sneering at a heavy set woman waiting to board a plane. I've had an attendant on a (now defunct) TWA flight say, EWWW, I'ld never drink that (baileys) with ice when I asked for some. I just said, "Good thing you're not drinking it, then." I hate problems and delays but most upsetting for me was when I bought a Honeymoon vacation package through American Airlines. The counter help was no help at all. He was already angry and surly. I don't know who pissed on his cherios but we got to pay for it. He sat me and my new husband across the aisle from each other. The Flight Attendant didn't want to help out when we asked to sit together. She just grunted and said she would try but she never bothered and went about her business. So we had to just take it. After about a dozen transatlantic flights, I've never flown American Airlines. Screwing over a meek young couple can cost a great deal of money. Please save the "we are right and the customer is always wrong" rhetoric. I've already read tons of it on this site. I agree with Kate on saying Delta is good. They are the nicest airlines to fly in the USA and I've also had great luck with Southwest Airlines. For international flights, Lufthansa and FinnAir have always had the best service. They are kind and helpful even on the longest flights. Sorry but Brit Air is hit and miss. Either they are wonderfully nice or you swear you've just encountered Rosemary's Baby. I've seen the Exorcist 4 times and I still wouldn't know how to rid some of those women of their demons.

kate

Dallas,
Texas,

I wouldn't fly these jokers Either

#4UPDATE Employee

Tue, December 03, 2002

The truth be known is that AA is the WORST in the business. I worked in res for them as an agent and instructor and know how bad they can truly be.They do not care about anyone or anything EXCEPT the bottom line, folks. They are famous for delays, cancellations and treating you like they are doing you a favor to fly on them. The flight attendants are the rudest in the sky. Folks, trust me. They deserve to go out of business. Take your money, your family and your peace of mind and fly Delta, Continental -ANYONE BUT AMERICAN AIRLINES.

mitzi

ft worth,
Texas,

American Airlines

#5UPDATE EX-employee responds

Thu, September 05, 2002

I am sorry to hear that you had difficulty with your reservations. A few things, though, about your complaint might need to be explained.... First, if ALL flights out of JGA, JFK, and EWR were cancelled, chances are ( although your complaint didnt state this, and if it is inaccurate, I apologize ) it was due to inclement weather. This is a call made by the FAA, NOT the airline. In severe weather, it is NOT safe for planes to fly, due to ice on the wings, etc. In this case, AA ( or any OTHER airline )is NOT going to provide hotel accomodations are a rule. THey are not responsible for, nor do they have any control over, the weather. Secondly, the "confirmation number" you speak of is merely a record locator, made up of most likely 6 letters that enable your reservation to be located more quickly. You did in fact have a reservation on the monday flt, however, since you were in fact being REACCOMODATED due to circumstances beyond AA's control, you were NOT guaranteed 2 seats together.An airline cannot be expected to inconvenience passengers on one flt to accomodate those rebooked because of wx delays/cancellations. As far as the baggage is concerned, when EVERY flight out of the New York/Newark area is cancelled due to weather, you would almost HAVE to expect a delay in getting thru to the baggage dept representatives. Although it IS an inconvenience, the rep that does FINALLY answer you call has spoken to most likely 50 more irate passengers, who want the airline to move the earth and sun, stop the snow, and get their planes out, no matter what the consequence to the travelers. So when your flight is delayed or cancelled because of weather concerns, although it IS irritating, try to remember that this is for safety reasons.

Michael

Meridian,
Mississippi,

Customer service at its worst

#6UPDATE EX-employee responds

Wed, April 10, 2002

How can these people who fly American Airlines expect to receive good customer service when the Airlines treat their employees like crap. American has to be the worst company to ever work for. They treat their reservation agents like we are the scum of the earth. But the management will walk around with their heads in the air making the big bucks, drinking the cafeteria cappacino, and smoking the name brand cigarettes and harrassing the employees. I worked for AA for 11 years and I was their thru the good times and all the bad times. I was harrassed by my manager and by their manager. This put me in a bad mood on a daily basis. I worried constantly and this kept me from given the kind of customer service that customers deserve. My problems are over now, after 11 years they asked for my resignation...why because I was going from 16 bucks and hour to 22 bucks an hour. I was maxed out in salary. So my main point is to give your business to Delta as they know how to treat their employees and customers. American wont be around very much longer so give Delta a try. I know you will be glad you did.

If hell freezes over

#70

Sat, September 23, 2000

Subject: Rebuttal to RipOffReport
Sent: 9/23/00 12:54 AM

This email is a rebuttal to RipOff #2793.
It was sent by patricia Spires at [email protected]

......................
American Airlines no customer consideration no customer service (#2793)

......................
American Airlines (Airline Companies)
7/30/00 (Last Modified: 7/30/00)

.................
They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their relationship to the company: Advocate

Rebuttal:
I am not a supporter of American Air Lines But I raised H&D that they gave me a coupon for 160.00 My flight with them was a nigtmare round trip.

I never felt more sorry for a handicapped man in all my life during my ordeal with them. I was in tears. It would take ten pages to tell all that happened to me.

DO I still have the 160.00, you betcha, am I going to use it?

If hell freezes over and then I am not sure. I would have to see if the Devil was on my side or American Airlines side first.