Open Letter to American Airlines
American Airlines Customer Relations
P.O. Box 619612 MD 2400
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612
To whom it may concern:
I recently booked a flight online and flew American Airlines and one of its regional partners American Eagle to and from my vacation destination in Dayton, Ohio. My stay in Dayton was fine, but the actual travel was appalling.
I would consider myself a fairly regular traveler, flying an average of six to ten times a year, and this was by far the worst trip I have ever had.
My wife and I arrived at the airport in Minneapolis at 3:30pm, on December 15th, to be an hour and a half early for our scheduled 4:59 departure on Flight #1975. We checked in and arrived at our gate to hear that the plane was being delayed due to a backup at O’Hare for poor weather conditions. We boarded our plane about an hour late, were de-iced and anti-iced, then took off.
We were in a holding pattern above O’Hare for a half-hour. Upon landing, we rushed to our next flight, Flight #4193 (American Eagle), which was scheduled to depart at 8:39pm. We had anticipated a nearly two hour layover, but instead landed after our next plane was supposed to have been boarded. After running through the airport, the greeter at the gate told us that the connecting flight had not even arrived yet and to standby for further instructions.
An hour later we boarded Flight #4193 and flew to Dayton. That flight went smoothly, until we landed. Because of the delays, the baggage of all the customers connecting to Dayton did not make it onto the new plane. Losing luggage in not terribly uncommon, but your baggage claims employee utterly failed to offer acceptable customer service.
He complained about the fact that he had to stay late, and when I asked him a few questions regarding when my bags would be arriving, he said that if he was asked a “single additional question” he was going to walk out. At this point, I quit asking questions because I just wanted to get my destination (as it was nearly midnight), but he continued to push the issue with me saying that it was my fault that the bags were lost because I was late. When another passenger and I pointed out that the flights were delayed, he continued to berate us for our tardiness.
After waiting for nearly an hour, he ranted and raved a few minutes then completed my paper work and I finally left the airport around 1:00am. It takes about 12 hours to drive from Minneapolis to Dayton and, between driving to and from the airport, the flight delays (which are understandable), and your belligerent customer (non-)service representative (which is not
understandable), it took us 11 ½ hours to fly.
Our flights home to Minneapolis on Sunday, the 18th, were also fraught with complications. We were delayed several times, both for late arriving planes and an unscheduled maintenance problem. My wife’s Samsonite suitcase was severely broken and some of its contents were destroyed.
I fully understand that delays and lost luggage are common problems facing all airlines, but poor customer service should not be included in that list. American Airlines and its partner American
Eagle offered me a service that I would be hesitant to pay for again.
As I disembarked the plane in Chicago, the pilot addressed us over the loudspeaker thanking us for flying one of the only major carriers to avoid bankruptcy thus far and I could not help but wonder if the bankruptcy had been avoided at the cost of quality.
Sincerely,
Eddy Zakes
P.O. Box 619612 MD 2400
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612
To whom it may concern:
I recently booked a flight online and flew American Airlines and one of its regional partners American Eagle to and from my vacation destination in Dayton, Ohio. My stay in Dayton was fine, but the actual travel was appalling.
I would consider myself a fairly regular traveler, flying an average of six to ten times a year, and this was by far the worst trip I have ever had.
My wife and I arrived at the airport in Minneapolis at 3:30pm, on December 15th, to be an hour and a half early for our scheduled 4:59 departure on Flight #1975. We checked in and arrived at our gate to hear that the plane was being delayed due to a backup at O’Hare for poor weather conditions. We boarded our plane about an hour late, were de-iced and anti-iced, then took off.
We were in a holding pattern above O’Hare for a half-hour. Upon landing, we rushed to our next flight, Flight #4193 (American Eagle), which was scheduled to depart at 8:39pm. We had anticipated a nearly two hour layover, but instead landed after our next plane was supposed to have been boarded. After running through the airport, the greeter at the gate told us that the connecting flight had not even arrived yet and to standby for further instructions.
An hour later we boarded Flight #4193 and flew to Dayton. That flight went smoothly, until we landed. Because of the delays, the baggage of all the customers connecting to Dayton did not make it onto the new plane. Losing luggage in not terribly uncommon, but your baggage claims employee utterly failed to offer acceptable customer service.
He complained about the fact that he had to stay late, and when I asked him a few questions regarding when my bags would be arriving, he said that if he was asked a “single additional question” he was going to walk out. At this point, I quit asking questions because I just wanted to get my destination (as it was nearly midnight), but he continued to push the issue with me saying that it was my fault that the bags were lost because I was late. When another passenger and I pointed out that the flights were delayed, he continued to berate us for our tardiness.
After waiting for nearly an hour, he ranted and raved a few minutes then completed my paper work and I finally left the airport around 1:00am. It takes about 12 hours to drive from Minneapolis to Dayton and, between driving to and from the airport, the flight delays (which are understandable), and your belligerent customer (non-)service representative (which is not
understandable), it took us 11 ½ hours to fly.
Our flights home to Minneapolis on Sunday, the 18th, were also fraught with complications. We were delayed several times, both for late arriving planes and an unscheduled maintenance problem. My wife’s Samsonite suitcase was severely broken and some of its contents were destroyed.
I fully understand that delays and lost luggage are common problems facing all airlines, but poor customer service should not be included in that list. American Airlines and its partner American
Eagle offered me a service that I would be hesitant to pay for again.
As I disembarked the plane in Chicago, the pilot addressed us over the loudspeaker thanking us for flying one of the only major carriers to avoid bankruptcy thus far and I could not help but wonder if the bankruptcy had been avoided at the cost of quality.
Sincerely,
Eddy Zakes
posted by Eddy Zakes at 3:05 PM
2 Comments:
Well written my friend. I hope that they get you something for your inconvenience
Aaron
I completely agree. American Airlines left me, my husband and our 1 year old daughter inside their plane for a 3 hour delay. Many of the passangers ended up missing their cruise ship at the end destination. No compensation or food was offered during this noon flight. Did I mention that our daughter was cutting her 1 year molars :)Thankfully our vacation was wonderful once we landed.
Post a Comment
<< Home