The woes continue for American Airlines and some wounds are self-inflicted. It’s one thing for staffing shortages to crate a domino effect of delays and cancellations. But it’s quite another issue to threaten passengers who are rightfully angry their travel plans have been severely disrupted.
American Airlines CancelsFlights, Agent Threaten To Call Police When Passengers Complain
In multiple videos shared on social media, overworked and clearly-frazzled American Airlines agents threaten to call the police against passengers who raised their voice in a display of frustration over their inability to receive an update on the status of their flight.
@AmericanAir threatening to call the police after stranding folks and not taking responsibility for their bags @cnnbrk @CNN pic.twitter.com/04ZfWzgyFr
— Lisa Woods (@lisanwoods) November 1, 2021
Oh, you want your bags? You’re not getting your bags? Have a problem with that? Talk to the police!
Look at the lines at LAX:
When your flight gets cancelled to Nashville from @flyLAXairport on @AmericanAir … #travelchaos pic.twitter.com/dcaWJ5UzaP
— Aaron (@AaronMKrouse) October 31, 2021
Meanwhile in Dallas (DFW), another group of passengers were left without a crew or their baggage or even a meal voucher and found that every area hotel was full.
@AmericanAir me and a full flight of passengers were left stranded at DFW with no luggage, and one crew member. police said all the rest of the crew had gone home for the night. there are no more hotels in the area, and no vouchers were given out… pic.twitter.com/6uJ1EGTUyw
— cate ferraro (@cateeferraro) November 1, 2021
Similar incidents played out at Miami (MIA):
The @americanair rebooking center line at @iflymia 100s of flights #cancelled including mine to @vegas We will try again tomorrow morning! 🤞 pic.twitter.com/B7AH8wtN5p
— Javier Mota (@javiermota) November 1, 2021
And once again, we see that U.S. taxpayers were hoodwinked by U.S. airlines. Their generous corporate welfare was meant to preserve jobs so that when demand returned, the airlines would be ready to meet it.
At least at American Airlines, that is not what occurred. Instead, AA lost thousands of staff members due to voluntary separation packages and retirement during the pandemic and did not replace them, despite pocketing payroll support to reflect March 2020 staffing levels.
Thus, we’re in a position in which even the smallest of weather delays (hello Dallas, hello Charlotte, hello Miami) can unleash an avalanche of delays and cancellations because there simply is no room for error: there are not extra staff members able to step in when things go sideways.
Enjoy those 10-hour hold times (hint: try Skyping an overseas office to save time). Reservation agents also weren’t replaced…
CONCLUSION
American Airlines is a mess right now and all passengers should consider back-up options considering most airline tickets in the United Staes are currently changeable without fee. While I find American Airlines just fine when flights actually operate, the horrible operational performance of late should concern you. At least right now, we’re only a storm away from another meltdown.
(H/T: View From The Wing)
The good news is the stock is up the past 2 days.
The good news is the stock is up the past 2 days.
AA will give a half apology and then this will happen again.
A lot of this is created by people complaining. Yes the delays and cancelations were bad, but if you choose to stand in a line with 500 people it’s on you for not considering a better option. Shouting at airline staff won’t help them any and they should know that.
As for hotels being full at DFW, when I arrived last night from GDL, I had already missed my connection home to AUS. Upon landing, I pulled up the Hyatt app, and the Regency DFW still had rooms at 11:20 PM. Of course CC insurance was paying for my delay, so I took an Uber to the Thompson, but there were plenty of hotels around DFW available, people just seem to like to cry wolf.
Nonsense. It is all about Corporate ethics and integrity and threatening the Police on aggrieved Customers is coporate cowardice of the first order. Why? because these people are entitled to better service for their money and when a Corporation fails to deliver this, the Police are not there to bail out an inefficent dishonest Company. As for better options, there are none…. the US is a melting pot of travel scams, deceit and dishonesty, be they Airlines, Car Rental rip-offs or Hotel Resort Fees. At some point one of your Travel Operators should be banged up for fraud…. a criminal offence. One that applies to the Executives and certainly not to their Customers!
I don’t disagree with you at all. There was never a need to even consider calling the police. No doubt. But a lot of the passenger sob stories are not necessarily rooted in fact.
So because you were able to find a hotel after some effort in your specific circumstance, all flyers who have been unable to find hotels in their specific circumstances must be lying to curry sympathy with.. who? Twitter? Live and let’s fly? Sure, that’s solid reasoning there.
Maybe when people complain about something our default position should just be to roll our eyes and say “uh huh, sure. Liar. ” after all, as we all know, no self respecting airline would ever put their passengers in such a position. I mean, what are they going to do, put customer care monies into stock buy banks and executive bonuses? If tad were true our world would make no sense!
Maybe you should head up customer service at AA. unless… wait, where do you work?
At least Doug, Isom and Vasu are better than the others.
I you wonder why it seems to be only THEIR passengers behaving so badly. I can almost guarantee there’s more to most of the in-flight issues than is being reported. FA’s power-tripping, being reasonable, etc. the thing is, the mask mandate needs to end, and we’d see the number incidents drop. But since so many of the sheep in the USA won’t stand up for what’s right, the government will continue to make you follow their order.
I’m currently in Norway, no masks, and everybody is comfortable. It’s pathetic what our government in the US is continuing to do to citizens. Stand up for your freedoms, because when you don’t, the government will push even more.
*rolls eyes* what’s pathetic is that somehow the political right has decided to make wearing a mask their yardstick for whether or not they’re free. Setting aside that particular moral cowardice, it’s insane to suggest that somehow this is the root of the problems the airlines are facing. It’s so absurd on its face i honestly can’t believe someone would suggest it without immediately breaking into self deprecating laughter. The ONLY way that masks have contributed to problems in the industry is in the firm of out of control, entitled bullies driven so insane by their lemming like political indoctrination, that they threaten airline staff, other passengers and flight logistics in their selfish, self righteous need to disrupt everyone’s lives so they can get indignant about something which truly does not matter. It’s a section of America that has, quite frankly, lost its mind.
I see a mob in the making; maybe on the verge of violence. Though I don’t condone a sloppy or threatening answer to passengers, just make a loud announcement that NO HOTELS OR VOUCHERS WILL BE GIVEN and that any restitution will be done AFTER they call the airline directly. And WHY would anyone stand on line for hours only to reach a frazzled agent (of ONE) who has run out of options. Just leave. Get a hotel on your own. Battle it out tomorrow or the next day. Get another flight on another airline. Rent a car. Go back home and don’t take the trip.
What is becoming more and more frightening with these issues, and the entire industry is that they are, essentially, getting away with these messes. For as much as we scream “cancel!” or threaten to move our business, they are all the same. What’s really left? Not one of them offers anything so different. And with more devaluations coming in the loyalty department the race to the bottom continues. Soon, on every level, they will all be there.
The bottom line is that airlines are too big, are flush with taxpayer money, and laughing at us. The consumer is cornered and are not only getting the worst service and protections seen in history, but are also getting their pockets picked in the process for bailouts.
Enough. It’s time for more regulatory oversight, consumer protections, and, if needed, breaking them up and a roll back to the old days of complete airline regulation like we saw in the 70’s. Its very clear that airlines can’t handle their sizes, can’t make money without postal service level customer service, and are milking the system.
While I am not a Bernie fan, I do feel that this is exactly what he means when he says, Socialism for the Elite. The fact is, given all we are seeing now, and taxpayer money paying for it, we are just one step away from Aeroflot in the 1960’s. And the next to fall will be safety.
https://media.giphy.com/media/3ornk5jEEwcmMOu2OI/giphy.gif
We are not doing accountability in the US anymore. That ship has sailed, and every high profile politician (not just one party, both of them) and every executive level corporate leader got a cabin with a private balcony on the boat. They will all talk about what they will do, and ultimately it will be nothing. That’s because all the hand wringing and posturing is purely performative. And there will be no consequences, at least not for anyone that could have done something to prevent this.
I agree and feel your sentiments as well. And yes, It’s both parties. Bottom line is that these companies are about one thing only now, shareholders. And who are some of the shareholders? The very politicians that refuse to fix this mess. At some point the airline industry needs to be a model example as to why politics is broken. Sure, this has always been there, but never to this extent. Lobbyists, money, and greed though are far more driving policy now than ever before. And the American public is being fleeced at an alarming rate as it’s all being disguised by extremist rhetoric.
I long for the day again when it was country first and money second in politics. I’m just waiting for a moderate star to rise and begin to change the dangerous course we are on.
No, the problem is that people will choose cost over service every time, and then expect the service they didn’t pay for.
Air travel is underpriced because the ULCC gang (Spirit, Frontier, Southwest sometimes) have destroyed the market for full service. Same thing has happened in Europe (Ryanair & Easyjeybeing the main offenders).
Mind you this article was written for clicks. Take that “all the hotels were full” line… What does he think the airline should do? Build a new hotel in half an hour?
As to the headline point, if you’ve never been faced by a large group of angry people beginning to shout “in frustration”, you might choose to ask the cops to come by before things get out of hand…
That might be the case if the airlines had not received $25B in taxpayer money to avoid the very issues that are plaguing it now and creating these situations. No, instead of using it to keep on staff and ramp back operations smoothly, they bought new planes and rewarded shareholders.
Meanwhile Dougie and his corporate hench people will collect their mega bonuses while the rank and file are left hung out to dry. The dipshit seems more concerned about being woke than focusing on running the damn airline.
WOW, I walked by a long line at MIA last Thursday evening telling folks to call the 800 number and just wait to be called back. Both my flights were delayed but flew, got home 3 hours late Lucky me it seems
I do think the airlines are poorly run and taxpayer money was abused; unfortunately it is a financial hardship for many nonfrequent travelers. There should be compensation. Let the airlines buy the trip interruption insurance
Next AA Flight not till April 2020 on a nonstop fingers crossed Best Wishes for those who are flying now
Now imagine these types having the power to blacklist individuals without due process. Terrifying.
Why would anyone nowadays go through the security line only to be confronted with airline inefficiency as well as misbehavior by fellow passengers should they get a flight. I do not see how airlines can survive if these trends continue.
The airlines lost a lot of money during the shutdown of the economy. Employees were let go or the airlines would go under. Now everyone wants everything the same as it was before the pandemic. You can’t shut everything down for months and expect perfection.
We are lucky things are not worse. A lot of restaurants lost money and went broke. Now you have to wait in line for 30 minutes or more for fast food.
Think of the mess flying would be if one of the airlines went out of business. Americans have gotten away with cheap air fares due to airlines operating on slim margins and fully booked flights. Maybe we should all pay double for our flights to guarantee that there are plenty of extra empty flights and seats for when things go wrong.
You are clearly oblivious as to how much money each airline received from taxpayers so as to avoid JUST THIS. That’s why people are angry. The only winners? Shareholders. At the expense of the very people that saved them.
All of this will be forgotten by the time the next airline merger is given rubber-stamp approval.
Right, because yelling at a gate and or ticket agent always works out well. You know, because they are obviuosly the one that caused all these canceled flights. Seeing the author is from Los Angeles speaks volumes.
So what’s your solution given the $25B received by airlines so as to avoid just this? Do you have a better idea? Why don’t you let us know how to act when we are continoulsy made the victims of a problem that we actually paid in tax money to avoid? Let us hear of your genius now with the only thing that matters…solutions.
Why I have not flown in several years. My only family is in South Carolina, Arizona, and in Alaska. Not an ideal situation. I love flying and was a pilot (SEL) I would rather drive from southern Oregon to see my family, even to Alaska. At least my seat is comfortable, my knees don’t poke the forward passenger in their kidneys, and I don’t do dueling elbows with the passenger(s) next to me. My first airlines flight was summer of 1960 from LAX to Syracuse NY. It was perfect. British Airways to London was awesome (1961). Those days are sadly gone forever. Fly today, cry tomorrow.