AA Pathetic

[CruisenOne]

Received a telephone call from our DS this A.M.

DS, DIL and GS were on their way to PIT to catch a AA flight to MCO.

 

AA called our DS on his cell phone.

Their Flight: PIT/LGA/MCO was cancelled due to Air Traffic Control problems at PIT.

Checked PIT website; only flight canceled at PIT was their flight.

All other outbound/inbound flights were operating.

 

AA advised that they were rebooked on another flight: PIT/DFW/MCO.

Checked AA website; only ONE seat open on PIT/DFW; three seats open,

DFW/MCO - not together.

 

When DS booked their flight, my DH advised against AA.

Hopefully, our DS will now listen.

[AirGorilla]

Pittsburgh to Orlando via New York City!! Silly routing!! Via Texas is nearly as silly!!

 

If they wanted to be cheap, and not pay for the non-stop on AirTran, they could connect at hubs which are a lot closer to a straight line routing, such as CLT, ATL, CVG, etc.

 

Was this "cruise air," or passenger-determined?

 

AG

[CruisenOne]

Was this "cruise air," or passenger-determined?

 

Passenger determined.

 

DIL won a $ 500.00 Gift Certificate for AA.

DH advised them to use the Certificate for a upcomming PIT/DFW flight.

But, DS used it for todays flight.

 

Checked LGA radar; thunder storms.

Checked PIT web site.

AA cancelled their flight.

BUT, U S Airways flight to LGA, 10 minutes after ther flight, left on time.

Jet Blue flight, to JFK left on time.

 

DS has since called AA concerning seats.

AA still shows only one seat open, PIT/LGA

Was told to check at PIT upon checking in to see if seats open up.

[greatam]

Passenger determined.

 

DIL won a $ 500.00 Gift Certificate for AA.

DH advised them to use the Certificate for a upcomming PIT/DFW flight.

But, DS used it for todays flight.

 

Checked LGA radar; thunder storms.

Checked PIT web site.

AA cancelled their flight.

BUT, U S Airways flight to LGA, 10 minutes after ther flight, left on time.

Jet Blue flight, to JFK left on time.

 

DS has since called AA concerning seats.

AA still shows only one seat open, PIT/LGA

Was told to check at PIT upon checking in to see if seats open up.

 

1. You have NO idea why the flight was canceled. Could have been any number of problems.

 

2. AA re-accommodated immediately to a flight that leaves within an hour of the original flight. AND the next gate over. Original flight into LGA was on a "Barbie" jet, flight to DFW is on a REAL plane. At least all the luggage will go on the same plane. Possibly NOT the situation on the Barbie jet.

 

3. Looking at airline seat maps to determine how many seats are available is a totally INACCURATE way to determine what seating is available. Airlines hold back seats for EVERY flight, to accommodate families, disabled and other special needs passengers.

 

I fly AA over 100,000 miles per year. I do this because of the fantastic service I get from AA when things go bottoms up. I could save a lot of money and time by flying US Air nonstop from PHX to NYC for my monthly meetings. I CHOOSE to fly AA because I KNOW if something happens to my flights, I will be well taken care of. Sure can't say that for US Air. They left me totally stranded in Reno one time, made me miss/reschedule almost as many meetings in Los Angeles as SW and have lost my luggage in PHL.

 

We also ship freight worldwide daily. US Air is so undependable at PHL, we pulled our entire freight business from them. IT is costing us quite a bit more to fly stuff out of the NYC airports, but at least we don't get phone calls telling us "sorry, we left your pallets of highly perishable cheese/chocolate/mushrooms on the tarmac. They will be on the next flight out (as they are RUINED waiting for the next flight)".

 

I'm sure your family will be just fine.

[FlyerTalker]

Remember, airline seat maps are notoriously WRONG for showing both loads and actual seat assignments.

[IPA region 30 member]

Like has been mentioned there are MANY reasons why a flight could be canceled. One could be that there is a crew change that is going to take place at the mid destination and the plane with the new crew is going to either be very late or canceled. The aircraft meeting them could also be down for maintenance. It is a shame that they don't do a show on an airlines operations center and show the dispatchers rerouting aircraft all the time for many, many different reasons. Weather is just one reason, as is crew availablity, maintenance and shifting of aircraft to more needed routes when one aircraft goes down for maint.

 

The folks who normally know the LEAST or at least appear to know the least about what is going on with an aircraft are the folks at the gate. They just know what the screen tells them, and it is usually NOT the whole story. Quite often they use the old, it's an ATC delay when it has NOTHING to do with ATC. It is just an easy scapegoat.

 

regards

 

Scott

[Globaliser]

AA called our DS on his cell phone.

Their Flight: PIT/LGA/MCO was cancelled due to Air Traffic Control problems at PIT.

Checked PIT website; only flight canceled at PIT was their flight.

All other outbound/inbound flights were operating.

This is often the way with ATC or weather problems. If there are ten flights in a period, and ATC or weather problems mean that 10% of the flights have to be shed, there will be one unlucky flight and all the others will operate.

[steve20832]

Remember, airline seat maps are notoriously WRONG for showing both loads and actual seat assignments.

 

I couldnt agree more. I have been on flights that show sold out and when I board, the plane is half empty. Also, the reverse, plane shows half empty and it's completely full.

Delta is horrible with time changes. My flight has changed time 4 times now since I booked it a month ago. I haven't received one email or phone call from them. (I booked it on Delta's website so they have my info.) As of now, it is scheduled to leave 50 minutes earlier than my original time so if I never checked it, I could easily miss the flight. But now I have a 2 hour layover instead of 1 hour. GRRRR! The flight back has changed to leave 5 minutes later so that isn't a big deal.

[frugaltravel]

Airlines often use "ATC" as an excuse - that way they are not responsible for meals/lodging/etc. for the delay or cancellation. Had one time when a flight into Newark was labeled "ATC delay" with a 1am arrival when in fact the real reason was that the original aircraft we were supposed to be on never arrived into our departure airport due to mechanical reasons. The whole "on time performance" statistics thing that is always touted in the US is fatally flawed. All airlines, including AA, lie about it all the time.

[FlyerTalker]

I have been on flights that show sold out and when I board, the plane is half empty. Also, the reverse, plane shows half empty and it's completely full.

Remember, what those seat maps show is what is currently available for seat reservation/assignment, NOT what is actually ticketed. And even to that extent, it isn't fully accurate, as "preferred seats" for elite/full-fare pax are often shown as "unavailable" online while being accessible to elite pax and res agents.

[Keith1010]

I fly American Airlines often and have been doing so for over 25 years. Of our 100's and 100's of flights with them most have been fine. Once in a while we have had a problem but that should be expected. I prefer them over most other USA based airlines.

 

We know that with American Airlines, if flights are canceled there are many alternatives particularly where we live.

 

I would not have booked a flight with the routing that was chosen for this flight in the first place.

 

Keith

[Hflors]

I couldnt agree more. I have been on flights that show sold out and when I board, the plane is half empty.

 

I wish this would happen on my upcoming BWI - Sju in Jan 10!

[kenish]

OP- I don't know why you assumed the delay was at PIT or why you say your flight was the only cxcl . On June 9 two out of 7 PIT-LGA flights before noon were cancelled, 2 were diverted, and the other 3 were 91-116 minutes late into LGA. This was on 3 different airlines, not just AA.

 

LGA and the entire New York City area was severly weathered-in and even had tornado warnings! Hundreds of flights in and out of the NYC area were cancelled or diverted. Yes, it was an ATC problem...ATC was not accepting flight plans into LGA. (Though I agree ATC is often a convenient but incorrect excuse the airlines use).

 

I'm not sure what AA could have done better in this situation:

 

- They called to advise of the cxcl. Most airlines will let you show up at the airport for the surprise. An even earlier "heads up" would be checking the weather for PIT, LGA, and MCO the night before. That would have put you on alert. The next line of defense is to check flight status before leaving the airport. FYI, the 10:55am flight was cancelled at 8:36am EDT, not sure how this fits with the trip to the airport.

 

- AA had already handled the situation by rebooking you proactively. Again, many airlines would let you fend for yourself at the airport. Also, AA did have several routings to get you to your destination. Other airlines may not have been able to provide a "same day" option and a low-cost carrier would not have booked you on another airline's flight.

 

- When a hub goes down, nowadays you should feel fortunate to get to your destination on the same day. The requirement to be seated together or even on the same flight was unrealistic under the circumstances. (If you're travelling with a child or disabled person that's different).

 

This post probably sounds a bit "shame shame" or snarky and isn't intended to be. I'm not making excuses for AA either, just defending them against the comments in the OP. It was excellent service under the circumstances and all the events listed in Post #1 were reasons for compliments, not criticism regadless of airline.

 

The post is a good example of what can go wrong and why to avoid flying in the morning of the cruise...and to choose an airline with multiple routings and flights to your destination, not a carrier with "one a day" service who will not endorse your ticket over to another airline. (Generally speaking, not necessarily in the OP's case).

 

Hope this helps.