Re: Your Response From American Airlines

Posted Wed February 8, 2012 6:33 pm, by Diego N. written to American Airlines, Inc.

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To: Stephen J. Lasner

From: Diego N.

Re: AA Ref#1-409717561


Thanks for your reply. I have to say that the compensation you propose does not feel adequate given the hardships we endured during this family trip. The word limit you impose on the feedback form makes it very difficult to explain in detail what happened. Below is the whole, uninterrupted acount of our experience during our trip. I think you'll agree that 20,000 miles per person is not enough after reading this in detail. At a minimum, I'd expect you to do the following:


1) That you increase the amount of miles awarded to us so that at the very minimum, we can book a one-way trip to the destination we went to. This experience absolutely ruined our trip! Please keep in mind that booking a one-way trip to Buenos Aires with miles is virtually impossible for under 50,000 miles

2) That any miles that are awarded to us collectively (e.g. 50,000 miles per person = 150,000 miles), be split between Robin and I. We will not be able to use any miles that you award to our 3 year old son Max. Those will expire before they can be accumulated into any meaningful amounts

3) That you honor the word of your customer service representatives in DFW and MIA who assured me that American would reimburse us for any legitimate out of pocket expenses that took place as a result of the extensive delay - for example, to eat while all voucher-accepting-restaurants were closed. These come out to $108.38. I have the receipts to substantiate these expenses and would be happy to share them with you.


I ask that you consider the lifestyle value I provide to your company before making any final determinations.


Below is the account of our experience...




Dear Sir/Madam:

I'm writing to you regarding our trip that took place between Dec 14 and Dec 29, 2011. I hardly ever complain about anything, and this is the first time in my life that I take the time to do so formally.

I bought our tickets for our December trip to Buenos Aires on May 27, 2011. The reason I bought them so early is that I know this is a busy time of year and I wanted a good itinerary since I'd be traveling with my wife and 3 year old son. I paid a significant premium at that time over other available options to fly your airline and to get the selected route and seats. One of the main reasons for this trip was to attend my brother's graduation party on December 15, 2011 - which as you'll read below I was not able to attend as planned.

Unfortunately, after going through security at LAX on December 14, we learned that flight 2446 was delayed due to mechanical issues with the plane. The flight ended up leaving almost 3 hours late, which got us into DFW after our connecting flight to EZE had already left. This meant we had to spend the night in Dallas. At that time they gave us a hotel room and some meal vouchers and instructed us to head outside so that we could catch the courtesy shuttle to the hotel. Since it was late in Dallas, none of the restaurants that accepted these vouchers were open - the staff was aware of this and told us to just buy something with our own money if we were hungry - which we did at a cost of $13.27.

We went outside as instructed and waited for over 45 minutes for the courtesy shuttle to arrive. When it finally did, it was full and was not collecting any more passengers. With a 3 year old in tow, we decided to take a taxi to the hotel at a cost of $26 + tip. When we arrived at the hotel around 12:30 AM, there was a long line of passengers waiting to be checked-in, so it took us another 45 minutes to check in.

We finally went to bed around 1:30 AM. Problem was that the only available tickets to EZE had us leaving DFW at 7:15 AM, so we were only able to sleep a few hours before having to head over to the airport at 5:00 AM - please keep in mind we had a 3 year old in tow. At that time in the morning, the courtesy hotel shuttle was not running, so we had to take a second taxi which costs us an additional $26 + tip.

Here's where things got fun. Here's the itinerary that we got: Dallas to Orlando (flight 1434, leaving 7:15 AM), Orlando to Miami (flight 1593, leaving 12:05 PM), and finally Miami to Buenos Aires (flight 909, leaving 8:30 PM). This meant having to travel for an entire day with our poor son in tow. To make matters worse, they were not able to put us in adjacent seats. During the flight to Orlando, our son started throwing up as a result of stress and lack of sleep. He threw up about twelve times that day. While we waited for our final flight in Miami, we bought some additional food at a cost of $39.11

We finally arrived to Buenos Aires on December 16. Having endured a nearly 48 hours long trip and having missed my brother's graduation party - one of the main purposes of our trip. But there's more... they also lost my luggage in the process. My bag was later recovered, but not before I had to attend a business meeting using the same clothes I had been wearing for 48 hours. A disaster.

I wish I could tell you this was the end of it. It was not. On our return flight, our assigned seats were removed from our itinerary hours before the flight which also meant we had to fly separately on the way back.

Now, let me ask you... is this reasonable? How can anybody, not matter how patient or well mannered be expected to endure this type of treatment. I fly American a lot and have always been loyal to this company. Why is it then that I get treated this poorly after years of consistently picking you over others for my domestic and international flights? I plan ahead when I travel and I pay extra to have a pleasant experience when I fly. There are other airlines out there where this sort of experience is expected, but not with American Airlines.

Sincerely,

Diego N.

_________________________________________________



January 20, 2012


Dear Mr. Norris:


Thank you for contacting us. After reading your comments, it is clear that we let you and your family down -- we apologize. Your comments about the problems you and your family experienced on your trip to and from Buenos Aires serve as a reminder that we cannot afford to overlook our commitment to consistently provide quality service to our customers. I am truly sorry we disappointed you -- especially since you were traveling to attend your brother's graduation party!

At the same time, we very much appreciate your honest feedback. Your comments represent areas of our service that receive our continual review and we are renewing our focus on key service areas -- "on time" flights, efficient and courteous assistance, timely information -- and all other products and services important to our customers. The details you provided give us an opportunity to improve, and you have my pledge that we are working hard to make your next overall travel experience with us the best it can be.

Although full refunds on tickets are not provided as the transportation was used, in the spirit of goodwill and appreciation, we've made arrangements to credit each of you and your family members with 20,000 bonus miles. You should see the miles reflected in your accounts very shortly.

Again, thank you for keeping us informed, Mr. Norris. We look forward to the privilege of welcoming you and your family aboard American Airlines very soon.


Sincerely,


Stephen J. Lasner
Customer Relations
American Airlines


AA Ref#1-409717561