At Least They Weren't "Reaccommodated"

[legion]

Between the total loss of civil rights at airports and on airplanes, and the fact that airlines treat passengers like mindless cattle, I quit flying 5 years ago. Every time I read something like this, it reinforces my decision. And the fact is, that it takes me the same amount of time to drive or fly to places like Atlanta (which is an 11 hour drive).

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-american-flight-that-wouldnt-take-off-11569403806

Flight 988, a seven-hour trip from Lima to Dallas-Fort Worth on an 18-year-old Boeing 757, suffered four different mechanical problems that kept it grounded three days in a row starting on Sept. 9. Each day passengers boarded and taxied out, only to end up back in the terminal standing in lines to re-enter Peru, collect luggage and ride shuttles to hotels.

It’s a case study of the choices airlines make when flights go badly wrong, and how that impacts travelers. In this case, American didn’t take extra steps to resolve a bad situation, and it went worse fast.

“It was lather, rinse and repeat. It was the same response every time,” says Angie Thomas, a passenger on the flight and program manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
…
American says it didn’t switch the regular 757 it flies to Lima from Dallas to a larger 767 to help get stranded passengers out. It also decided not to ferry in a replacement 757 because it kept believing, Mr. Freig says, that each of the four different mechanical problems would get fixed and the plane would be on its way faster than a replacement jet could fly them home.

American didn’t set up a separate check-in line for the 171 passengers of Flight 988, so each day they had to wait in long lines. It didn’t send in extra ground workers to help, and travelers say communication from the crew and the ground staff was sparse.

“We were literally prisoners,” says Andrew Perez, a mediator from McAllen, Texas.

The problems began Sept. 9, when the 11:47 p.m. departure had a glitch in the intercom system pilots and flight attendants use to communicate, a necessary safety item. Maintenance workers determined a replacement part would have to be shipped in from Miami. The flight was, in effect, delayed 24 hours.

Passengers lined up to re-enter Peru through passport control. It was about 2 a.m. and only two officers were on duty. Passenger Ryan Kost, a mountain guide based in Colorado, says he was the end of the line and he stood for close to two hours. Then passengers had to retrieve luggage and shuttle to a hotel, paid for by American. It was 5:15 a.m. when he got to his hotel room.

The next try to leave, scheduled that Tuesday at 11:47 p.m., experienced the next breakdown: An indicator showed a problem with a door and its emergency slide, which was repaired with passengers on board. At about 12:40 a.m., passengers say, the plane taxied out for takeoff. Spirits lifted.

And then they didn’t go anywhere. At about 1:30 a.m., the captain told passengers that “paperwork” wasn’t completed before the airport closed at 1:30 a.m. for planned runway repair work. American’s Mr. Freig says the captain was waiting for final weight-and-balance numbers from dispatchers, usually a routine and quick calculation. American says it’s looking into what happened.

The aborted departure meant another night in Lima so the crew could get required rest. Many passengers didn’t get to hotels that night until 4 a.m.

Wednesday’s attempt was no smoother. The crew didn’t show up for the 10:30 p.m. departure until 10:15—ground staff said they were stuck in traffic. American says that’s not all that unusual in Lima.

Before boarding, a battery failure was discovered on the plane. Given another delay, American says it moved 35 passengers to United and Delta flights. With a repair made, the aircraft began its taxi at 2:14 a.m. Then an engine problem. American finally said after 4 a.m. it would rebook all passengers on other flights.

Passengers and American tell conflicting stories about how hard the airline tried to rebook them during the three days. American started rebooking right away, says Mr. Freig, but other airlines didn’t have many available seats. American says it moved a couple of customers the first night—business-class and top-level frequent fliers typically go first—and 25 after the second. Some took “their own destiny in their own hands,” Mr. Freig says, and found seats when the airline didn’t. About 115 remained.

Yet American was able to rebook all passengers on other flights Thursday after the third cancellation, many to Miami. By the time they got to their destinations, it was well into Friday.

Some passengers who tried to get out earlier say they were told by American’s ground staff they weren’t going to rebook them because the plane would be repaired and on its way.

Allan Dumlao, a biotechnology expert from San Francisco, called American’s reservation line the first night and an agent rebooked him on LATAM to New York, connecting to San Francisco on American. When he got a confirmation, it was instead back on the Dallas flight. Members of the Kansas church group say they had a similar experience—rebooked on LATAM through Miami by their travel agent only to find American didn’t move their tickets to LATAM.

Ms. Thomas, trying to get to New Mexico, was told that if she wanted to fly another airline, she’d have to pay for it herself. She did, purchasing a $1,100 for a ticket to Cancún, Mexico, then on to Albuquerque on United through Houston.

American says it will look into how rebooking was handled, and the company is reaching out to passengers to apologize. Yet two weeks after the three-day nightmare ended, four of the eight passengers I talked to said they hadn’t heard from the airline.

Ms. Thomas says she did get a call in response to the complaint she filed and request for reimbursement of the $1,100 ticket home. At first American offered a voucher, then sent an email offering to refund $620 from her original $1,500 ticket for the two flights she didn’t use, plus 40,000 frequent-flier miles, but refused to reimburse the ticket she bought to get home on United.

[Baz]

There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I try to avoid flying as much as possible. Unfortunately with kids scattered in other far flung cities and our occasional desire to travel it can't really be avoided. Like you, I drive as much as possible. This story is reprehensible but not surprising.

[sammyg2]

That settles it, I'm never going to Lima, Peru

[LWJ]

I think my exceptional travel record balances nicely with above. Meaning, add my experience with this story and you get a reasonable average.

I'm still flying. Yes, it can be awful. But I'm not driving or sailing to Peru.

[Arizona_928]

my last flight out of newark was stupid. No ac in the terminal. bathrooms overcorwded/temp bathrooms in the isles. No ac on the plane. two hours on the tarmac just to go back to the gate and sit in the terminal for a couple more hours... No mechanical. Just traffic to leave the damn place. Everyone missed their connections, and people were *****ing to high heaven...

It was at that time I realized... Not only does New Jersey smell bad, (and not from the trash and political corruption), but it's a place where people go to die early...

[red-beard]

I flew to Boise last week. On our way back, we had the issues with Tropical Storm Imelda. I asked if this was going to be a problem. No sir, the airport is open with no delays.

By the time the return flight was inside Texas, we saw the flight path was heading towards San Antonio. With inflight WiFi, I was able to both follow the news and see the traffic conditions around the Airport. Part of the airport road had flooded.

It looked like we would be diverted to San Antonio. Nope, Oklahoma City. And the Airport was closed until the next day. We decided, even before trying to rebook, to just rent a car and drive.

[onewhippedpuppy]

This is why I hate flying American. Had way too many of these experiences.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

I enjoy flying, only because I know I'm going to somewhere nice or on my way back home

[john70t]

Originally Posted by red-beard

With inflight WiFi, I was able to both follow the news and see the traffic conditions around the Airport.

For the average traveler, the lack of updated information equates to a lot of stress.

Burritos and charge ports nearby help the slackers, but it really doesn't solve the problem.

I wish the airports had that information readily available on their screens and website.

[HardDrive]

Hmmmmm.....I travel quite a bit internationally. I don't like American, but I have to say, once you are outside the USA, all airlines are subject to the expected level of professionalism in the country. The fact is, the airports are staffed by locals, and if ideas of customer service in the country are low, that is going to be the people staffing on every airline flying in there.

Dear Lord...some of the BS that has occured on our flights from India boggles the mind. Like a flight cancelled after 3 hours of sitting on the jetway while the baggage staff tried to calculate the weight numbers. They literally brought out a baggage conveyor, and were rummaging around in the cargo bay while were were away from the gate on the jetway. At the 3 hours mark, the VERY pissed off Captain came on and said that the crew could no longer take off because it would violate their work rules on hours in the air.

[Jeff Higgins]

I think too many have lost all perspective on the sheer marvel of going to places like, say, Lima, Peru in somewhat less than a full day's travel. We have been well and truly spoiled by the sheer convenience, reliability, and low cost of modern day travel. Just before our time, traveling to such distant lands was a far, far more strenuous, arduous, and downright dangerous endeavor. We have well and truly lost sight of that.

The traveling public refuses to pay what the caliber of air travel they demand should really cost. I wonder how many of those travelers bought some cut-rate $800 round trip airfare to get to Lima. Just imagine the real cost of going overland, or by sea, both in monetary expenditures and in sheer time. Thousands and thousands of dollars and several weeks of one's time. And yet for the most convenient, advanced, safest, fastest way to get to places like that, we insist on doing so for the least possible cost.

The airlines are simply meeting market demands. People would rather fly cheap and complain than pay a realistic price for a pleasant experience. Coach seats should, realistically, cost what first class costs today, and first class should be double what it is. Trips to Lima should be a very big deal, but the flying public now demands such service accommodate their cheap weekend travel whims. As such, they get what they deserve, and exactly what they paid for.

[red-beard]

Most of the time, round trip to Boise is around $600-700, since it is a direct flight. I remember we used to pay similar fares back in the late 1970's/Early 1980's for coach. Air Travel is on par both cost and service with Greyhound busses.

MOST of the time I'm upgraded to 1st class. And thank god. I'm Platinum so far this year and have not yet set foot outside the country. And we have 3 months to go.

[Neilk]

Agree with Jeff. Air travel, despite the occasional inconvenience is amazing. Dallas to western Europe, a bit under 10 hours, Hawaii in 9.

Father in law was in poor health so we decided to go visit him in Detroit for Labor Day weekend. We had some storms in Dallas that resulted in canceled flights. American couldn't get us there directly until Sunday, but looking at Google flights we were able to find American flights from DFW to Bentonville- Charlotte- Detroit on Saturday. Sure we lost an entire day, but we were still able to see him for a day and half. Sometimes you have to take control of the circumstances and make the best of it. But it does sound like AA botched that one pretty bad. Sure helps to have status!

[wdfifteen]

I'm glad I don't have to fly anymore. We decide where we want to go, factor in the pain and suffering of air travel, and often decide to stay home. Been there (air travel) and done that too many times.
When people hear that we are retired they ask if where we are planning to go. After 30 years of going, going, going, our answer is HOME! We do get tempted by deals to Europe, but we consider the travel experience and fluff up the pillows at home.

[Sooner or later]

My best ever flight was the Sat after 9/11. Empty airports and empty planes.

[KevinTodd]

Originally Posted by jeff higgins

i think too many have lost all perspective on the sheer marvel of going to places like, say, lima, peru in somewhat less than a full day's travel. We have been well and truly spoiled by the sheer convenience, reliability, and low cost of modern day travel. Just before our time, traveling to such distant lands was a far, far more strenuous, arduous, and downright dangerous endeavor. We have well and truly lost sight of that.

The traveling public refuses to pay what the caliber of air travel they demand should really cost. I wonder how many of those travelers bought some cut-rate $800 round trip airfare to get to lima. Just imagine the real cost of going overland, or by sea, both in monetary expenditures and in sheer time. Thousands and thousands of dollars and several weeks of one's time. And yet for the most convenient, advanced, safest, fastest way to get to places like that, we insist on doing so for the least possible cost.

The airlines are simply meeting market demands. People would rather fly cheap and complain than pay a realistic price for a pleasant experience. Coach seats should, realistically, cost what first class costs today, and first class should be double what it is. Trips to lima should be a very big deal, but the flying public now demands such service accommodate their cheap weekend travel whims. As such, they get what they deserve, and exactly what they paid for.

+1

[GH85Carrera]

My last airline trip was from OKC to Dulles in DC.

Of course in this part of the world, almost everything first goes to DFW. for the connecting flight. We left the ground late, landed even later, and of course my connecting flight on the same airline was on the other side of DFW. I am a healthy adult man, and I hustled, but it is impossible to run through that overcrowded terminal.

Lots of people walking side by side at a snails pace, right in the middle of the aisle, even one moron walking along with his toddler hand in hand at a toddler pace in the middle of the walkway. I had to pee, but that does not take more than 60 seconds. By the time the tram arrived to the other side of the world, my airplane was in the air. They gave me $10 for food (airport food for 10 bucks, yea, right) and I had to wait for 6 hours.

I got up at 4:00 AM to be at the airport in time to go through the security, and get on a 7:00 am flight. I finally got to my motel room at midnight. Of course I had a 6:00 AM car ride to my meeting the next morning.

The rid back home was always next to guys that should be NFL linebackers. No fault of their own that were over 6 foot and had shoulders like Too Tall Jones.

[Dantilla]

A modern airliner is a complex piece of machinery, whose maintenance is heavily regulated, and documented to the smallest detail.

If there are any mechanical deficiencies, I'd rather be stuck in the terminal than 35,000 feet in the air.
As a pilot (weekend warrior in little airplanes) I'm aware of the importance of weight & balance.
Mess that up, and the airlines lose their stellar safety record.

Delays are frustrating, but they sure beat the alternative.

I forget what comic had a bit about grumbling passengers: "You are sitting in a chair. UP IN THE SKY! Going 500 MILES AN HOUR!"

[legion]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

A modern airliner is a complex piece of machinery, whose maintenance is heavily regulated, and documented to the smallest detail.

If there are any mechanical deficiencies, I'd rather be stuck in the terminal than 35,000 feet in the air.
As a pilot (weekend warrior in little airplanes) I'm aware of the importance of weight & balance.
Mess that up, and the airlines lose their stellar safety record.

Delays are frustrating, but they sure beat the alternative.

I forget what comic had a bit about grumbling passengers: "You are sitting in a chair. UP IN THE SKY! Going 500 MILES AN HOUR!"

That's fine, my issue is with how airlines treat passengers when there are delays, not that there are delays.

It used to be that airlines would go out of their way to get people home on time and treat them with dignity and respect throughout the process. Heck, they used to often solve the problem for you before you even knew there was a problem! I remember times when I landed for a connection to find out I'd been rebooked on a different airline because the original plane had mechanical problems. I haven't seen that happen in over 20 years.

Now they dump you in the terminal, make you wait for hours, and don't give you enough information to make informed decisions, and get angry and threaten you (remember, your civil rights are suspended at airports) if you bother them. If they know the 45 minute delay is really going to take 4 hours, they just keep pushing the flight back by another 45 minutes every 45 minutes.