American airline troubles

[DivingChipmunk]

Just want to weigh in with our most recent experience. We flew AA November 8-16 with no cancellations and no delays.

I can't remember if it was here that I read it is good to schedule travel so that it is NOT at the beginning/end of the month, but perhaps that is what accounts for our trouble-free flying?

We were on AA yesterday EWR to MIA to CZM. The first leg was delayed over 5 hours due to AAs mechanical problem which only announced after we sat on the runway for an hour. The rebooking process at EWR was total chaos, while the waiting time on the customer service phone line was hours long and website rebooking not available for that flight.

We missed our connection and had to spend a night in Miami. It was quite a stressful situation, especially after having to get up at 3am, not the way you want to start a vacation.

Now I am wondering if it’s better to deal with the bag drag than the connection mess.

 

[FishWatcher747]

Now I am wondering if it’s better to deal with the bag drag than the connection mess.

Did you consider rebooking to Cancun and doing the bag drag same day when you missed your connection?

I got delayed at Reagan National with AA in May. Was supposed to go to Dallas then Coz. No way to make connection in Dallas for Coz because of thunderstorms in Dallas.

Instead I asked the agent to somehow get me to CUN. She put me on a plane to Miami then CUN. She personally went downstairs to find my bag and retag it which I thought was tremendous.

Wound up on the 7 pm ferry to Coz and arrived in Cozumel tired but got to dive the next day.

 

[DandyDon]

Now I am wondering if it’s better to deal with the bag drag than the connection mess.

OMG, look at how cheap it is for you!

I used to fly into the Caribbean back in the 1990s to go on Windjammer cruises before I got into scuba and have hated connecting in Miami since. I'd much rather connect in DFW or Houston even tho it's been so long that I can't remember why. However, if I could fly non-stop to/from Cancun, I'd certainly go that way. Weather and mechanicals issues are just too common along with misconnections.

 

[DivingChipmunk]

Did you consider rebooking to Cancun and doing the bag drag same day when you missed your connection?

I got delayed at Reagan National with AA in May. Was supposed to go to Dallas then Coz. No way to make connection in Dallas for Coz because of thunderstorms in Dallas.

Instead I asked the agent to somehow get me to CUN. She put me on a plane to Miami then CUN. She personally went downstairs to find my bag and retag it which I thought was tremendous.

Wound up on the 7 pm ferry to Coz and arrived in Cozumel tired but got to dive the next day.

Yes we looked into the option of getting to Cancun instead it will be 9:45pm, making it hardto get to coz the same night

 

[DivingChipmunk]

OMG, look at how cheap it is for you!

I used to fly into the Caribbean back in the 1990s to go on Windjammer cruises before I got into scuba and have hated connecting in Miami since. I'd much rather connect in DFW or Houston even tho it's been so long that I can't remember why. However, if I could fly non-stop to/from Cancun, I'd certainly go that way. Weather and mechanicals issues are just too common along with misconnections.

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Yes united has direct flight to cun and at much better price. May change our plan for next time!

 

[NCBusguy]

We left Cozumel on Monday, the 18th bound for Miami, three hours late due to a maintenance issue (flat tire in Miami). We were lucky because of a scheduled 5 hour layover at MIA, we didn't miss a connection but over half of the other travelers would have missed their connections if it wasn't for the efforts of the gate agents at CZM. They worked their butts off to change it for people before we left.

 

[gopbroek]

Yes we looked into the option of getting to Cancun instead it will be 9:45pm, making it hardto get to coz the same night

The ADO buses at CUN end around 22:15 and the last ferry leaves Playa at 22:00 making it not so much hard as impossible. Neither ferry company is running the 7AM departure so provided you can get on the 8AM you would not get to Cozumel till 8:45 AM (after most operators morning dive boats have departed).

 

[gopbroek]

We left Cozumel on Monday, the 18th bound for Miami, three hours late due to a maintenance issue (flat tire in Miami). We were lucky because of a scheduled 5 hour layover at MIA, we didn't miss a connection but over half of the other travelers would have missed their connections if it wasn't for the efforts of the gate agents at CZM. They worked their butts off to change it for people before we left.

And the local computer network crashed and for a time on Monday they had to go to the back office and do the baggage tags. The local staff did a great job working through it.

 

[DandyDon]

Yes united has direct flight to cun and at much better price. May change our plan for next time!

Oh, the prices are too similar to go to Cancun instead of Cozumel, but non-stop to Cancun beats connecting anywhere. Lubbock and Amarillo don't get many non-stop flights.

 

[ggunn]

We were on AA yesterday EWR to MIA to CZM. The first leg was delayed over 5 hours due to AAs mechanical problem...

I think that "mechanical problem" is a catchall term that could mean just about anything. I think it's spin doctoring to make the delay more palatable to inconvenienced passengers; no one wants to fly in a broken plane.