Consequences
There's no doubt that the consequences of American Airline's management "team" and their drastic decisions have been devastating for passengers. According to the Wall Street Journal, this past year has set new lows for airline service, and new highs for passenger dissatisfaction. Nonetheless, if you're a senior AMR exec, your poor performance netted you yet another multi-million dollar bonus. The pain and suffering was left to the passengers and employees.
To read passenger stories, please scroll down. To share yours, click here.
The year has been equally frustrating, and financially devastating, for American Airlines employees, who must apologize to passengers for the inadequate staffing and support levels, while surviving on drastically cut pay. To contribute your employee story, click here.
By contrast, American Airlines' top 100 executives split between themselves nearly $300 million since April, 2007, awarding themselves cash "retention" bonuses - despite all of the above. To send AMR senior executives an email, click here.
Meanwhile, here's a sample of the emails we've received from American's recently disappointed customers:
My AA Story:
I am a corporate travel director. Our company also provides air scheduling for the companies they work with. I was with a group of 400 people in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico when American announced their cancelled flights on April 8. Needless to say, they were still shut down on departure day 4/10/08. From Mexico, American is one of the main airlines we were using. Needless to say, when all the flights were cancelled into DFW and other locations, the majority of our attendees were unable to get home. It didn't matter that they didn't have childcare lined up, didn't have hotel rooms any longer, or any of the other things that American Airlines didn't think it important to consider. Even though it was not our fault, several attendees looked at us as incompetent because we couldn't get them home. Our reputation was on the line even more than American's was. My flights to both Dallas Fort Worth and St. Louis were both cancelled. We were able to get a flight on Delta, but after missing a day of work waiting for alternate flights. How did American think that they were going to get away with not properly maintaining their planes and think that was okay?
I was traveling on: Pleasure
Your Message:
Got a call from American that flight 28 out of Honolulu was canceled. I called them back and because it was Sunday and Spring break, all flights were full on all airlines going anywhere to the west coast for that day. American did nothing. Not willing to pay for hotel, meals or extra day on rental car. I was told if I wanted a hotel "chit" I needed to go to the honolulu airport, stand in line with 300 other very angry customers to get my coupon and then go back to who knows where. Did they have a new flight booked? Hell no. Even though I am platinum, they had made zero attempt to book me on another flight. So I spent 30 minutes on the phone with an agent going from one carrier to another looking for seats. Of course I had orbitz up to insure she was telling me the truth because they do not want to pay to put you on another airline, rather to force you to wait until one of their flights open. In the end we left 28 hours later, forced to go thru LA and too late to get into SFO. So we have to buy another hotel stay at LAX. The agent was again totally worthless about how to seek reimbursement. This airline deserves to go out of business. I feel for the the employees - but Leadership SUCKS
From Joan S., flight canceled - with hundreds of others - when AA shut down due to "weather," although 8 miles away, Southwest canceled only 5 flights.
Cost to You: More than money.
Bought tickets on AA to Orlando with a loan from my parents for one last trip before hubby leaves for Iraq for 15 months. Scrimped for 5 Disney passes; at DFW Tuesday, AA cancels our flight. We become standby, sleep on floor for two nights, finally reach Orlando Thursday night, have one day, come home as reserved Saturday. Hubby's gone till next year, kids are heartbroken, vacation was agony. The Disney passes don't expire, so maybe we can go back next year when he gets home - but not on American ever again.
Scott S., stranded in Salt Lake City:
Cost to You: $725
That's what it cost to walk up to SWA and pay cash for a seat on the spot - had to get to a wedding, AA cancels, puts you on standby with a mob, no agents, can't rely on American and I won't again.
Carlos V., flight canceled in Miami due to improper MD80 inspections systemwide:
Cost to You: $1,256
Flight canceled in the Miami mess, then mine combined with another at 8pm, and I wasn't included. Lost my meetings.
CJ, stuck in DFW due to improper AA inspections and repairs on MD80 aircraft:
Cost to You: $450
The price of my dress and shoes, never mind food, heartache and stress. Missing my sister's wedding? You figure it out. Why AA couldn't have told me that my airliner was grounded for inspections BEFORE I flew in on their commuter is beyond me. Stuck at DFW with everyone else. Idiots.
JC, AA Pilot, paycheck threatened by yet another grounding of MD80 aircraft due to improper inspections:
Cost to You: at least three days of pay.
Contrary to AA spokespeople, the grounding IS about safety: as APA says, it's about wiring - and potential fires - in the wheel wells near the fuel tanks. That's safety, period, despite the CorpComm spin.
I want: A Reply, Compensation
Here's my AA story:
With over 3 million miles on AA and Executive Platinum for the last 12 years, you can be assured that the last 12 months were your worst ever for cancellations and on-time performance. I did not write when my flight was canceled in late March during the FIRST round of unplanned MD-80 inspections, but on April 10 when you stranded me in Medford, OR, I was forced to make my own arrangements to get home. Your Exec Plat phone line was busy and/or kept disconnecting me. I finally got through and got a return flight (with a 5 hr layover) through LAX, but that flight was later cancelled. I finally booked my own travel on Delta at an additional ticket cost of $400. I saw on CNN that inconvenienced travelers were offered $500 vouchers but I was never offered anything.
Although you dont have much competitiom at DFW. the Delta/Northwest merger will give us more choices. Continued poor service without apology might just hit your top line as badly as fuel prices are hitting your bottom line. I'm guessing your stockholders will react poorly and a management change is a real possibility.
I want: A Reply, Compensation
Here's my AA story:
Here's our issue with AA:
Consistently overbooking to the point where even in a perfect world you know the passengers with "reserved seats" will not get on the plane.
Example: We were stuck for 2 days with children in Miami,along with app. 277 others whose flights had been cancelled, trying to get back home to Chicago. This was during spring break, a busy travel time, as I'm sure AA knows. Why do you overbook so much???!!
It is amazing to me that you can accept payment from people for a service that you know up front that they may not receive. We are "gold members" - big deal! We fly AA regularly but are looking into alternative airlines whenever possible at this point.You have no respect for passengers or your poor employees who bear the brunt of angry and frustrated travelers. They all claim not to know why you do this!!
So tell me, given the danger, the millions in lost revenue, and the passenger and employee upheaval, why is Bob Reding still the VP-Ops? Why is Mark Hettermann still VP-Flight? And RD Johnson still MD80 Fleet Manager? How come no one answers for this, Mr. Arpey?