American Airlines

[teamheatwave]

Nope, AA told us tough luck. They are not flying us in and the best they could do is give us a voucher not a refund. As for the insurance, that would have run 69.99 and the cancellation is $100 so that'a only a $30 difference. I wanted to apply that credit towards a vacation in a different location. What they offered us were bottom of the barrel hotels. When we asked if we could use them for flight only and we can select our own hotels elsewhere they refused.

As for Allison - That is their business. American Airlines is not the ones worrying about damaged runways or airports. They won't give those countries a dime to fix them. They'll be sitting back counting all the money they made off of people like us for doing absolutely nothing. Maybe they are busy booking or re-booking, but that is the business they are in and if they can't do it right, they should get out. I know the island doesn't need sightsee-ers. I am the first one willing to pick an alternate location but then they should be willing to not screw you if you try to work it out and go elsewhere. What they are doing is capitalizing on a truly horrible situation and turning a profit by screwing their passengers. And like I said, that is just plain wrong. What they should be doing is digging into their pockets and trying to help these locations out. But they won't.

Dandy Don - THW did NOT get off easily and they would NOT fly me there. Check your facts. They are the ones that pulled the plug, NOT me.

 

[CaptSaaz]

As for Allison - That is their business. American Airlines is not the ones worrying about damaged runways or airports. They won't give those countries a dime to fix them. They'll be sitting back counting all the money they made off of people like us for doing absolutely nothing. Maybe they are busy booking or re-booking, but that is the business they are in and if they can't do it right, they should get out. I know the island doesn't need sightsee-ers. I am the first one willing to pick an alternate location but then they should be willing to not screw you if you try to work it out and go elsewhere. What they are doing is capitalizing on a truly horrible situation and turning a profit by screwing their passengers. And like I said, that is just plain wrong. What they should be doing is digging into their pockets and trying to help these locations out. But they won't.

Not to defend American Airlines as I have had the same problems coming through Miami but they are not sitting back counting the money they made... a plane sitting on the ground not being used and flight crews sitting at home... AA is losing money too. They only make money when they have a plane at least half full with passengers flying places. Though they don't pay for the runway/infrastructure, they do bring money in for the country via port charges, tourism and employment. All these islands want to get back up and running as soon as possible also. Travel insurance is a good thing to carry especially during hurricane season.

I tend not to fly down south this time of year. I'll wait until hurricane season is done and see what islands are still intact before I book anything. One group I know is planning Grenada in May. If they saw what Grenada looked like after Hurricane Ivan they would be going somewhere else. I feel sorry for the people of the island and have donated to the relief efforts but I think Cozumenl is looking good for next year.

Disclaimer: I don't work for the AA or the airlines.. I just tell their pilots where to go.

 

[teamheatwave]

Actually the trip is planned for the last 3 days of October and 1st week of November which is a safe bet most hurricanes are gone by then. But the deal went through American Airlines who brokered the hotel & air. The hotels are closed until the first week of October so we were told the trip is off. Not that we decided we didn't want to go. It wasn't an option we were given.

 

[DandyDon]

Actually the trip is planned for the last 3 days of October and 1st week of November which is a safe bet most hurricanes are gone by then. But the deal went through American Airlines who brokered the hotel & air. The hotels are closed until the first week of October so we were told the trip is off. Not that we decided we didn't want to go. It wasn't an option we were given.

AmAir booked the hotel? That's different; woulda' helped if this had been in the first post. If this is correct, and the air and hotel are part of the same contract, then you would have a legal stand to demand that AA deliver on the complete contract or refund in full. And if this is the case, take that stand with their cosumer affairs, via Certified Mail.

I don't know if you'd want to go there for several months, though, with island wide devastation. What if AA decides they can fly you and house you?

And I wouldn't bet on the Caymans being clear of hurrincanes by Nov 1. H.seson runs thru November, with the trend being in the south by then. They can swerve anywhere in the belt throughout the season, as we've seen, and even happen in Dec, but that's the trend as I understand it. rofile:

 

[ajmataz]

On the same note with AA - my girlfriend and I were already in Miami when we got the call from Blackbeard that they were cancelling last week's trip too (Sept 11-17).

AA quickly recheduled our flight a week early to avoid the hurricane.

Note: Sorry for all the blackbeard-ers that got cancelled out. I can't wait to finally be able to make it down there.

We just had our black beard cruise supposed to depart today, cancelled and they rescheduled for October. I had a flight on AA and they rescheduled it for October with no charge. It was one of the non changeable tickets but they said they were making exceptions because of the 3 hurricanes. Ivan, Frances and now the new one. I was very surprised because I figured I'd just be out the airfare.

 

[Otter]

AA gave me bad taste last year. we were booked on a cruise out of Canaveral w/ flight into Orlando the night before the cruise. The flight was booked through credit cart "air miles".
we had a flight at 8pm out of LGA to MCO. We got to the airport two hours early. It seemed little funny not much if any line. We get to the counter and they say there is no 8pm flight. they check computer and say, OH1 you were supposed to be on a 4pm flight to Chicago w/ connection to Orlando.
No one ever informed us. They said they informed the "travel agent".
So they don't have the courtesy to contact the customer directly.
Then they say they can't do anything for us. Two hours later and three supervisors later, (and two near cardiac arrests) they said they say they can get us on flight next morning.
Also, AA limits you to 50lb in your luggage. And I believe it was only two bags per person.
I'll stick w/Southwest... 70lb /bag- 3 bag /pp

I am a fan of SWA, however, they regulary over book by 50%. The series is a real world behind the scenes view of SWA. The last episode I watched had a family of 6 trying to get to Orlando for vacation....they had made reservations and paid months in advance but chose to arrive after there were already enough other 'confirmed' passengers who had received their boarding passes....SWA basically told them 'sorry' but after 9 hours finally found them another flight.

The problem is endemic to all of the airlines.

 

[Otter]

Hi All,

We had a dive trip planned to Grand Cayman the end of October. As did many areas, Grand Cayman got hit very hard from the storm. Our hotel suffered sever damage and is closed at least until November. I think the roof is on its way to Cuba somewhere and the Jamaican Bobsled team is riding their sleds like they're jetskis. The damage was not limited to our hotel, but many other businesses experienced major damage. We were told we cannot go to the island and would have to find an alternate destination.

This late in the game we looked around at some other areas and either the alternate choices were already full as other travelers are in the same predicament or the choice of location, flight or hotel does not appeal to us.

We were given two choices - take a credit and come back in a few months or get hit with a $100 per person penalty.

Since we have no idea when the island will re-open or if we can all get off the same time again, we had no choice BUT to take the $100 per person penalty.

When our travel agent (who we have used for years and know very well) tried to work things out, American Airlines stance was "Tough $h!T".

I have a letter into their customer service department - still awaiting a reply. I will keep you posted on how I make out but I wanted to let you know how American Airlines values its customers.

While my heart goes out to those who lost homes, businesses and even loved ones, it really gets me mad when a company like American Airlines uses an opportunity like this to capitalize on people's misfortunes. That's just wrong. So those of you looking at flights please keep this in mind when selecting your airline.

As has been said this is exactly what Travel Insurance is all about. Right or wrong, every airlines operates this way. It really not much different than the clauses that are in most contracts stating they are not liable for 'acts of God'. Its a bummer for you and for that I am sorry. My experience, having flown nearly a million miles, with airlines is that they will try to work with you, but something this dramatic that is going to affect hundreds to thousands of travelers is not gong to be something that they can just absorb.

 

[Allison Finch]

[As for Allison - That is their business. American Airlines is not the ones worrying about damaged runways or airports. They won't give those countries a dime to fix them. They'll be sitting back counting all the money they made off of people like us for doing absolutely nothing]

They don't worry about damaged runways??? Kinda hard to land an expensive plane without a runway...Counting all the money? You, obviously, have not seen the financial sheets on the airline industry lately.


[What they should be doing is digging into their pockets and trying to help these locations out. But they won't. ]


Digging into pockets to find WHAT money? My family is involved in the airline industry as pilots. I can assure you that no airline is making money these days. They are all operating in or just above bankruptcy these days.

Yes, I do feel for you.