They Know Why I Fly and Do Not Care: American Airlines, You Are The Years Biggest Loser!
Let Us Start With Some Links:
Rats and Rat Feces on American Airlines
There were simply too may links to include them all!
I HATE AMERICAN AIRLINES!!!
Okay, I have vented and it feels good. Now I will tell you why I hate them, picture this:
You are traveling home from beautiful Cabo San Lucas. You have a stop over in Dallas that is delayed about an hour. Recognizing the turmoil occurring in the US skies you say to yourself, “no big deal, there is nothing American Airlines can do about it”.
After arriving in Manhattan an hour and a half later than expected you approach “the carnival of luggage” (as I like to call it). Your first stop is the merry go round where you get to watch all of your personal belongings flung about like so many slabs of meat in a slaughterhouse (that is what I call a sloppy metaphor, it does not quite make sense but you get the point).
You wait for the luggage to descend from the heavens…you wait…wait for it now….an hour passes…2 hours…hmmm, where is all the luggage from my flight?
People are getting mad and want blood but you know that that yelling will do no good and it probably will not be the person’s fault you are yelling at so you wait…wait…waiting. Eyes closing slowly and as you begin to dream of your bed you suddenly have the urge to get up and seek out a representative from the airline but wait, there are no representatives around. In fact, there is no one expect the tired travelers, some of who have not been able to remain as calm as you have.
One second, is that someone from American Airlines? Why is she running away?
We are now at 3 hours. I could not be more tired. 3AM and we were told we would get our bags in 5 minutes 2 hours ago. I hate being lied to more than anything in the world. Well, at this point I hate American Airlines more than anything in the world.
So why I am writing this on my blog? Does this have to do with marketing, media or advertising. Of course it does!
- The one representative we saw from the airline blamed the long wait on the “ramp people” (what does that even mean?)
- If American Airlines has hired these said “ramp people” and trusted them to operate under their brand umbrella, they too represent the brand.
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- This reminds me of calling Dell and having them blame Microsoft for my ailing computer
NOTE TO BRANDS, TAKE RESPONSIBLY FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND THE ACTIONS OF YOUR PARTNERS. WE DO NOT CARE ABOUT WHOSE FAULT IT IS, WE JUST WANT THINGS TO WORK.
- I heard three people say, “I am going to tell 20 of my friends the story of this evening”
- I don’t think they are going to say, “it was not American Airlines fault, it was their ramp people”
I hereby vow to do everything in my power to never fly American Airlines, never let any of my co-workers, friends or family fly American.
I am also issuing the second amediacirc.us challenge. This is an official challenge to American Airlines. Are you out there in blogosphere? Are you practicing new marketing? Do you care at all?
After last night my guess is no.
AMERICAN AIRLINES YOU ARE MY BIG LOSER OF 2006!
Tags: American Airlines, Losers of 2006
Dec 23, 2006
[...] Contact The Ringleader (Adam Broitman) « I got to thinking today… They Know Why I Fly and Do Not Care: American Airlines, Your Are The Years Biggest Loser! » [...]
Dec 24, 2006
I had something like this happen to me once arriving in Las Vegas. We waited forever for our bags and finally found them off in a corner after they told us to look at the wrong carousel.
The guy I complained to said it wasn’t their fault (the airline), it was the airport’s fault. This is NOT what I wanted to hear when I was ticked about the service. All I knew is that I entrusted my baggage to the airline and it didn’t get to me the way I expected.
That kind of blame game is just poor, poor business. Your “note to brands” is much needed. Unfortunately the ones who need to hear it are not listening to what people like us are saying about them online.
Dec 24, 2006
Jason
I am going to try and perpretuate this blog post until they do hear!
Feb 24, 2008
what about being delayed for 3 days in Argentina and being “authorized” to book forwarding travel at the expense of AA…not being given an authorization number or validation number by that agent, even though explicitly requested…and now being told I have, according to AA, never been authorized for those extra expenses. And thus I am out of pocket about $1000 due to their screw ups?
Man, I hate AA. They’ve sent me, as a token of their “goodwill,” travel vouchers. Gee whiz, Mister! I sure am glad my bank accepts travel vouchers for the mortgage!
Thanks for listening to the rant.
Apr 04, 2008
I took the trouble of googling “hate AA” to see if there were some like-minded people around. And I was not surprised to read this story and about the way AA handled it.
I was recently flying with (god forbid) AA from Zurich to NYC for Easter. A long trip for three days I thought, but would be nice to catch up with some friends and do some shopping.
Well, not so nice, thanks to AA. Arrived at the airport in the morning. Flight delayed. No timing. Then: 90 minutes. Ok, I can live live with that. Departure now 11am. Then it said 12.45. Then it became 13.45… Then they said “we promise this is the last and definite change of schedule, the flight will depart at 14.15″… About 20 minutes later, new announcement: “The flight is canceled!” So they kept us waiting for a good six hours while continuously lying to us! Hoping for the best but creating no contingency plan for the worst.
Of course I complained to AA after my butchered trip which left me with a stressful 48 hours on NYC instead of three days as scheduled… Oh – thank you great Eagle of the American Airline – they offered me a travel voucher for 250 USD. On a ticket that cost me 1000 USD. A voucher which, if used, will again put me at the mercy of their incompetent people… And they even had the nerve to write “Please do not allow this single incident keep you from choosing us in the future.” Single incidents!? The same flight the day after was 5 hours delayed, our replacement flight the day after was delayed. And my return flight two days later was delayed as well.
Well – the conclusion is simple… I will NEVER fly AA ever again. And I encourage whoever reads this to try their best to select other airlines. I don’t think it can get worse than AA, but with a bit of luck, they just might soon be out of business.
Apr 04, 2008
Felix
Thanks for the note!
It is amazing that I wrote this post over a year ago and I still get comments (and bad service from AA). Just recently I had a bad experience with AA, but I won’t get into that now.
When is AA going to start listening to us? Don’t they know about the internet!@
May 02, 2008
I echo these sentiments as I sit in San Juan waiting for my connection which will result in a total of 15 hours to reach my final destination. The normal travel time is 3 hours. American Airlines has reached an all time low. Staff morale is the worst I have seen, you are basically ignored and provided very little information or assistance. The old days of flying where you were greeted by professionals who had a true desire to work in this industry are gone. Since I had so much time on my hands, I spent my time observing the workers and have determined that it takes at least TWO people to serve on customer due to their lack of training and lack of computer skills. This results in long waiting times in line for customers since 1/2 of the work force is helping the other half. American Airlines is not alone, the work force in this country is terrible and corporations need a wake up call. Stop flying and try the trains is available or vacation closer to home.
May 05, 2008
DLC
I feel for you and am flying American tomorrow…wish me luck!!!
Morale is certainly an HUGE issue.
May 06, 2008
[...] I have said this before but, I hate American Airlines. Not just for wasting my time though. American Airlines represents everything I hate about the state of air travel and service businesses at large in America. [...]
May 22, 2008
Well now the looser airline (AA) is charging passengers for checking the fist piece of luggage. This is even more reason to BOYCOTT AA. Do not fly American; do not give them your money.
TT
May 22, 2008
It is amazing how this post keeps getting comments and AA has not noticed!!!
Jul 18, 2008
We booked a week long vacation in Jamaica (flying from San Diego). The flight leaving San Diego (6:30 am) was late getting into LAX. We missed our connection to Miami. The plane was still at the gate when we arrived, and seats were available, but they said sorry. The gate agent basically told us it was our fault for missing the connection. There was no way to get to Jamaica that day. It took 32 hours to get from San Diego to Jamaica. Every flight we took (6 total) was late. They finished our vacation by not getting our bags back to San Diego with us. We will not fly American again!
Sep 02, 2008
I also hate AA. I flew them in February and my plane cought on fire! After waiting almost 3 hours for the bags we had missed all other flights out of Baltimore (where we did the emergency landing). I was sent to DC just in time to find out they gave away my seets 20 min. ago because I was late (due to waiting for my bags!) All this after being told they would hold the seats. Lies, Lies, Lies for the whole day. No comment from customer service except frequent flyer miles! Not even a voucher!
Made the mistake and flew them again (only airline to my destination) and was 90 min late coming home, and they lost ALL my families luggage (5 pieces). Received no compensation whatsoever because they said we were “home” and therefore not inconvenienced. All this after waiting till 3 am at the airport to report lost bags! They turned up 24 hours later with a broken handle!
Their staff is nasty and lies all the time. I would rather never travel again then travel this airline.
Tell everyone; stay away from American Airlines,
S
Sep 02, 2008
the responses keep coming in on both this blog post and my other posts about American Airlines. Phew!
Dec 03, 2008
Yes I too now hate American Airlines and will never fly with them again.
My story goes like this: I was trying to get back to Seatte from Baltimore with my connection at J.F.K.
My flight last Sunday, November 30 at 1:40pm from Baltimore Washington International was delayed and delayed until it was clear I was not going to make it in time to J.F.K. The American airlines agent,Diane, said there were no more seats on any flight on any airlines out that night. Just my tough luck. She booked me on United to get me to Seattle for the next day.
OK being naive, I thought when she said no other flights out B.W.I she meant no other flights. My Bad.
The next day the United flight was cancelled, I went back to Diane ( she was working the next day)at American Airlines. Again she said there were no other
flights on any airline that day that weren’t full. I would have to wait another day or risk my fate with stand by.
Called my sister who Check the SouthWest website and found two flights open. Yay!
I booked with SouthWest and promptly went to American and Diane again to get a refund. They only partially paid the Southwest Ticket. But when I asked why she had not directed me to SouthWest before, she just said she does’t see those flights on her computer. Well
Why coudldn’t she have said that and sent me walking over there!!!! Instead she lied and I could have been stuck another day just because she did not want to recommed SouthWest! I hate American Airlines
Apr 03, 2009
I hate AA. I try very hard never to fly them but sometimes it can’t be avoided. My last trip was the trip from hell. There were numerous delays caused by weather which I understand. What I don’t understand is the total lack of customer service or desire to help the customers. My story of that trip is long with many instances of horrible customer service but the best example happens after I finally boarded my plane from Dallas to home (five hours late). I was on the plane settling in and an attendant approached me and told me I needed to leave the plane. I very nicely asked why (nice was hard at this point – it was about 1:00 am and I had been at the Miami and Dallas airports for most of the day ) and was told I no longer had a seat on the plane. I got off the plane because I know better than to argue. Once off the plane I found out that some how they had given my seat to someone on standby. Never mind I had bought my ticket a month prior and this person did not have a ticket for that specific flight. Do not argue or they will call TSA and you won’t be going anywhere. I eventually got home the next day at 9:00 pm. Oh, and they wouldn’t pay for my hotel.
Jun 01, 2009
AA is the next GM. It’s coming for sure. You can’t treat people like this and expect to gain customers
Sep 06, 2009
Adam,
A very similar thing happened to me just last night. Was looking for a place to vent and found this – as relevant today as it was three years ago. They haven’t improved one bit. I was stuck in Grand Cayman airport for seven hours yesterday (while other airlines had no problem getting in and out), and after an insane amount of hassle finially wound up at JFK at 2 am. Our connecting flight was delayed and we were told that our luggage would make it on the flight. That was about the 20th lie I heard that day from the mouth of an AA employee. They left us waiting at the carousel for nearly an hour without the basic common decency of letting us know that our bags did not arrive. Oh wait – there would actually have to BE someone there to tell us! Then the stupid bag claim people misinformed me for about the tenth time by telling me my luggage would be at my home approx. four hours after it got it (it got in at 10 am). I am still waiting for it. What the idiot neglected to say, at three am, after fully knowing where I lived, was that because I lived outside the boroughs my luggage would be arriving at some ungodly hour. I explained during my third phone call, which was when they finally told me this, that I had medication in my bag and hadn’t taken it in two days becuase they’ve had my bag. They couldn’t have cared less. If they’d been honest in Miami about our luggage, I would have taken the opportunity to remove some things from my checked baggage. They never gave me the opportunity to try and help myself make the situation better. And that has continued for the duration of the 36 hours of this nightmare. Let your readers be warned – travel AA at your mental and physical peril.
Sep 07, 2009
Wow, I am sorry to hear that Julie–as you can see, you are not alone!
Nov 16, 2009
I hate American Airlines like there is no tomorrow. I used to be a hardcore fan of the airline and would fly them exclusively, but for the past few years their level of service has plummeted dramatically. I have been subjected to delays, cancellations and horrible customer service, both in person and over the phone.
Flight delays and cancellations are sometimes not the airline’s fault. Weather and mechanical issues happen frequently and it’s understandable. It’s what they make out of it what matters. My first incident with them a few years ago happened when I had booked a flight with them and they all of a sudden change the flight number but kept the same schedule. During this change the price for the flight had increased. Instead of keeping me in the same flight I had booked, the airline decides to put me on an earlier flight (a rather inconvenient schedule). When I called the airline to inquire about the situation the agent wanted to charge me $150 to change my flight! Even after explaining her what had happened, she said there was nothing she could do. I had to stick with the flight they chose to put me in.
During that same trip, but in another flight, the flight I was on was delayed for over an hour, supposedly because they were servicing the aircraft. When boarding time finally came, I wondered what type of servicing the aircraft had had. The plane was filthy, with gum stuck on the seats and tray tables, and the air conditioner was malfunctioning (under Miami’s scorching hot temperature that is an issue). After returning home, I sent them an e-mail addressing both issues. Their reply covered the “tidiness of their aircraft” and said they were sorry since that is something unheard of.
My next few flights with the airline were either canceled or delayed by more than two hours. I promised not to fly the airline again, but unfortunately, I had to due to conferences at my job and being unable to choose what airline I’m flying with. Fearing the worst, I was stuck with another flight a few months ago. This last trip was, by far, the worst I have ever had. Ever!
Heading out, my flight was canceled, according to them, due to weather. When I arrive at the airport, I wonder what weather they were referring to since it was overcast but no rain. It never rained. As a matter of fact, when I asked the agent as to why the flight was canceled, she said it was due to crew allocation. I don’t check bags but rather bring my carry-on precisely so I don’t have to pay the ridiculous baggage fee and because I hate waiting at the carousel. One of my coworkers brought his bag and was charged the stupid fee, even though the flight was canceled. We ended up arriving in Chicago almost five hours later than originally planned, almost at midnight, and we had to be up early to be at the conference.
The return flight was pretty uneventful–until I am boarding the plane. Check in was fine. Security was fine. Boarding the plane, however, the gate agent stops me dead on my feet and demands that I gate check my carry on bag because, according to her, it was too big. Mind you, this is a small, standard wheeled duffel bag, which I always bring with me and no one had ever complained about its size before. I ask her why. She wails at me that either I plane check the damn bag (those were exactly her words) or she would not allow me to board and instead book me on the next flight. I was outraged and told her it made no difference as the next flight was being operated by the same type of aircraft (an MD-82). My coworkers had already boarded so I had no choice but to give the bag up. To add to my dismay and shock, I spot several people inside the aircraft with luggage, not carry on bags, and trying to force them into the overhead bins when obviously they didn’t fit. So, this agent had the nerve to tell me my bag was too big, yet she let nine passengers walk into the plane with oversized luggage?
Finally, after arriving in New York, I had to wait for over an hour to wait for my bag. So did my coworkers.
When I arrived home I sent the airline an e-mail, to which they replied a few days later. Their reply basically said they were sorry (sure they were) and saying that the airline has to follow procedures, therefore my bag had to be checked and since there was no one to contest the agent’s words I had to comply with what she said.
After all these incident with the airline, I have no sympathy for it. I can’t believe they are still operating and that people are still flying them. I have stopped flying them and I am glad I have convinced my supervisors at work to stop booking us on American. Instead, I give my business to either JetBlue or Continental. They DO know how to please the customer. Yes, cancellations and delays are sometimes unavoidable, but again it’s how the airline handles the situation rather than what actually happens.
American Airlines, I don’t forecast a bright future ahead of you. As far as I am concerned, the airline’s name should be American’t.
Jan 04, 2010
I fly AA in 10 days. Pray for me!
Feb 05, 2010
Just got off the phone with a *cough* “supervisor” at AA, within 30 seconds he was yelling and making sarcastic remarks. The worst part: I still have three flights with them scheduled for March. Fly Southwest and Virgin!