American Airlines responds. Well, sort of.

I received a phone call from American Airlines corporate offices on Tuesday, and this subsequent follow-up email. During our conversation, I kept asking if she/they were at all concerned about what was clearly a company-wide, systemic, epic failure at customer communication and service across every airport in every country in the world, and noting multiple specific instances of AA employee failure. She kept trying to explain away everything. Clearly, in the world of American Airlines, blame it on the weather even if you can’t blame it on the weather.

I remain an unsatisfied former customer. They won’t change because ultimately they don’t care if their service is good or bad. They care about the bottom line. Here’s my bottom line: Never again American Airlines. That’s a promise I intend to keep.

August 16, 2016

Dear Ms. Bass:

Thank you so much for taking the time to write about the difficulties you and your mother encountered when you flew with us. It was disheartening to learn about the situation and the inconveniences you experienced when we spoke.

On-time performance is very important to us and when we can’t get our customers to their destinations as planned, it’s disappointing to all of us. There is no question that the delays were frustrating — bad weather can really cause difficulties for everyone concerned. When the weather is inclement, we just don’t have very many options to make the situation better.

As discussed, our sophisticated computer system receives information regarding flight arrivals and departures from throughout our system. Changing details, of course, must be updated in the computer, and there are times when these updates are not processed as quickly as we would prefer. We are sorry that this was your experience. Still, your comments help us understand how we could have made this experience a little less frustrating, and we have sent a copy of your letter to the appropriate management staff. I hope these efforts will be noticeable the next time you travel with us.

While we do all possible to avoid disruptions to our schedules, sometimes changes are unavoidable — especially when bad weather affects our operation. When disruptions do occur, we will do our best to minimize your inconvenience. Still, since such situations are largely out of our control, it is not our practice to reimburse for unexpected expenses or offer compensation. Still, we wanted you to know that we care about the negative impact this had on your trip and had sent eVouchers (previously) to use toward the purchase of tickets to travel with us.

Furthermore, I’m sorry wheelchair service was not waiting for your mother in Chicago when you arrived off delayed flight 324. According to 14 CFR, Part 382, airlines are required to provide prompt assistance requested by or on behalf of a qualified individual with a disability. However, we must rely on each passenger to self-identify any special service request to our employees at the time of travel. American Airlines was not in violation of Part 382 because our investigation confirms transport assistance arrived at the gate 4 minutes after it landed. Please accept my sincere apology for any confusion about our customer service policies and procedures, any misinformation you received and any discomfort or inconvenience this caused.

Lastly, I am sorry you became concerned when you were not able to obtain reserved seating on your return flights. At the time, all seats on your flights were reserved for other passengers or “blocked” to allow our airport personnel to handle unexpected seating issues that may arise on the day of departure. The availability of specific seats may change daily, even hourly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may caused but glad it was resolved prior to your flights.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to you about your recent experience. While you are always free to contact the Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division about the difficulties that occurred, I hope that I was able to resolve the issue for you. We would appreciate the opportunity of having you on another American Airlines flight in the future.

Sincerely,

Barbara Kayme
Customer Relations
American Airlines