American Airlines Customer Relations
P.O. Box 619612 MD 2400
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612
Dear Sir or Madam:
While we have often
travelled on American Airlines, usually without too many problems, my latest
trip – Flights 111 and 2378 on August 26, 2011 from Rome to Chicago to Miami –
was a major fiasco.
We left our cruise ship at
7:15 am to get to the airport three hours before departure for Flight 111,
which was to leave at 11:30 am. When we arrived and checked in, we were told
our flight would be delayed until 2:30 pm because of late incoming aircraft. Since the flight would arrive long after
our connection was to take off at 4:50 pm, we asked for boarding passes for a
later connection, but were told they were not authorized to do that, and we
would have to do it in Chicago. We were issued boarding passes for the
connection we were certain to miss, but were told our luggage would be checked
through to Miami.
We asked several others who
were waiting for the flight if they had been notified of the delay. None had
and none were issued new ongoing connections.
We then asked again at the gate
if we could get new boarding passes for a later connecting flight. Again, we
were told it was impossible. We were told, however, that there was an 8 pm
connecting flight we could make and, if we missed that, another at midnight.
Since we knew we would not receive
anything to eat until late afternoon, early evening, we purchased lunch at the
airport at a cost of 28 Euros (US$42).
When our flight finally took
off – at least another half-hour late, we asked several flight attendants if
the pilot could call ahead and make certain we and other connecting passengers
would be expedited. We were then told that the connecting Flight was at 7 pm,
not 8, and that the problem with boarding passes was because AA had contracted
the service out. This is not an
excuse passengers should hear.
When we finally arrived in
Chicago, we quickly went through customs and immigration, but there was nobody
to expedite the transfer. We found someone to recheck our bags, then ran to the
next terminal.
When we arrived, panting, we
were refused boarding passes because it was "too late." Had we
already had those passes, we could have made the flight.
The next flight to Miami was
not at midnight, but at 5:40 am the next morning. We asked for a supervisor and
requested a hotel room, dinner, breakfast, and an upgrade. The first thing the
supervisor told us was that we were not getting an upgrade.
The second thing was that
the entire episode was caused because AA had contracted out their service in
Rome and it wasn't their fault. Again, a problem for the company that should
not be passed on to customers.
We finally arrived in Miami
a day late, exhausted, and upset. Our baggage, by the way, made the 7PM flight
the night before.
In light of these
circumstances, we would like AA to reimburse us for our lunch in Rome (receipt copy attached) and think that,
at the very least, we should receive 25,000 frequent flyer miles each (accounts
KT69642 for Nathan Bodner and 2A49K72 for Meryl Bodner). This would do much to
calm us down and reassure us that American Airlines stands up for its
customers.
We eagerly await your rapid
reply regarding this matter.
NATHAN BODNER
MERYL BODNER
