Horrible encounter with American Airlines

I'm sure American won't miss you, as you obviously don't fly very
much. Weather delays are common, and as much of a pain as it is it is
not the airlines fault.

One thing that I *do* do is to check the faa.gov page for the weather
delay information to verify that the airline is not just trying to
cover some mechanical issue with a weather excuse.

I'll say this about American: they have a really high rate of
mechanical problems that cause delays. I was stranded at Gatwick
overnight by them. They got everyone a room and got us out the next
day... to Dallas... where there were weather delays...

Ok. So your plane was cancelled, and they put you on another flight,
even another airline? Sounds like pretty good service to me!

Weather delays happen, it's too bad, but American can't control what
happens in the sky. Would you rather be flying through a storm in a
metal tube, or be safe until the weather passes? I'd rather not die to
save a couple of hours of time...

And lastly, what is so bad about going down the stairs and walking
back to the building? At least they didn't keep you on board for
hours.

Um, yeah, that IS typical--of every major American airline. You
expected something different?

Is this the first time you've ever been on an airplane? It is a fact
of life that there will be delays and you should anticipate them.
Pack a book you've been wanting to read. Relax with some good music
on an i-pod or MP3. Catch up on what's going on in the world by
reading the newspaper (sounds like you actually would have been able
to read every section, something that for me at least doesn't happen
very often), grab a Sudoku book and exercise your brain. Sit back and
watch the people around you. Laugh at the people in the outlandish
outfits (that you secretly wish you had the confidence to wear in
public), smile at the Grandmother as she gets off the plane and sees
her grandchild for the very first time. My kids and I concoct funny,
imaginative stories about the people we see (the spy, movie star,
famous actress, etc.).
In short (I know, too late), it's all in your attitude. But if you
can't change yours, please do us all a favor and keep your promise to
drive to your destination next time.

You can't claim compensation for every little inconvenience. It's
called life, you're bound to be inconvenienced at some point.

This is your worst flight experience? Man you are lucky.

You do not get any sort of compensation for weather delays since the
airlines do not control the weather.

this is the paradox of air travel.

airlines have a ton of delays and technical problems, due to both the
weather (which they can't control) and the aging equipment that they
can't replace because customers refuse to pay higher ticket prices
even though the cost of fuel has skyrocketed. when these delays
happen, customers then demand compensation, which is an additional
cost for the airline. that cost would have to be reflected in ticket
prices, which (again) customers refuse to pay.

it's a no-win situation; you either get delays and crappy service or
higher ticket prices, and that's a fact of life. progress isn't
free!

ps. ask them to send me a pony and a rollercoaster while you're at
it.

Delays and cancellations due to weather aren't usually compensated.
The airlines aren't required to do it and they're doing everything
they can to keep costs down. In this case, it seems as if everything
other than a 10-minute delay while they dealt with technical problems
on the ground was due to the weather in Dallas.

Exactly the same thing could happen with any other carrier. I hope
this is the worst experience you ever have with air travel, but if you
fly regularly it probably won't be.

Everyone is asking to have stuff for free
So I thought what the heck, give some to me

The plane was late, two times and then more
I can't breath, I'm mad, please show me the door!

I've asked all the reps to give me compensation
But no one agreed, much to my consternation

Now I ask once more, gimmee gimmee gimmee
I want stuff now, darnit, I want stuff for free

had a domino effect. You must know that they offer no compensation
for weather related problems. I suspect their refusal to honor your
request soured you for the rest of the trip. Delays happen in travel.
They are an unfortunate reality. Sometimes weather, sometimes
equipment, but they both are usually because of safety.
I would rather be safe than on time.

Greg G.,

It appears that the first domino to tip was weather related.

The rest were just frosting on the cake.

Your request for a free flight, a lot of sky miles or some type of big
discount should not come to fruition.

BillR.