Why I hate American Airlines...

[Adidas410s]

I have a flight to Atlanta tmrw morning...first class is entirely empty. I ask about upgrading and what it would cost. This is how the conversation went:

"Sir as an AA member you can request an upgrade of your ticket. However, you bought a discounted 14-day advance "Q class" fare. This ticket is only worth $86. The fee to make any changes to this ticket is $100. So your ticket has no value. You can pay the full $329 for a first class ticket if you would like and I cancel your current ticket."

"Ok...so would I get a refund of that ticket?"

"No sir because your ticket has no value."

"Oh ok. This is why I fly Southwest Airlines. If I cancel a flight they either refund the money IN FULL or give me FULL credit for what I paid and I may use it against a flight at a later date."

"Oh...well I don't know how they do things at Southwest but you still get miles for this ticket. You could always by a flexible "B class" fare sir but that are more expensive."

(Note...the B class ticket was approx $600 when I bought my $79 ticket...same seats...you can just cancel it)

"Oh well that's good to know. I'm glad that I've flown 15+ flights on American in the past 2 years but receive absolutely no benefits whatsoever from them. At the same time, every 8 round trips I fly on Southwest...I get a free flight ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY!!! While in college, every 4 round trips that I flew equaled a free flight. I signed up for their Visa card...bought a tank of gas...and as a promotion received a free flight. I tried to sign up for American's card...they won't approve me for it though I have a perfect credit record. I know that you don't care...but I just wanted to clarify you on a few of the perks that Southwest offers to their customers. They're also a much better company to work for and they aren't constantly running the risk of going bankrupt. Maybe you should look into taking a job 15 miles down the road from your current location and work for a company that actually takes care of their customers...their employees...and still turns a profit! "D!NG" (yes..that's a SWA joke)

"Umm...well...is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Can you get me a first class ticket for a reasonable price?

"No sir I can't."

"Can you get me a flight on Southwest instead?"

"No sir I can't."

"What can you do?"

"I can cancel your current ticket and book you a first class ticket if you would like."

"No thanks that's alright. I'll slip a $20 in with my credit card at the ticket counter tomorrow instead and take my chances."

"Ok sir. Thank you for flying American Airlines."

NOTE: Yes I did exxagerate a little bit on my rant...and no I was never rude to her on the phone. It's just fun to think about the things I would like to say!

[pirate4state]

well darn, up until your last comments I was thinking "i'm so glad i no longer work in travel" :p :p :p

[Adidas410s]

I did point a few of the SWA perks to her...but it ended there on the rant! ;)

[pirate4state]

Now that's funny!!!

BTW: AA is a joke as are most of the larger airlines. I delighted in booking somewhat "gray" area tickets for some of my clients. :devil:

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by pirate4state
Now that's funny!!!

BTW: AA is a joke as are most of the larger airlines. I delighted in booking somewhat "gray" area tickets for some of my clients. :devil:
I'm hoping the $20 at the counter will score me an upgrade. We're flying on a 737 and none of the seats in first have been assigned. Since I don't have an upgradeable ticket...I'm going to go early in hopes of finding the nicest person I can. If not...I'm out a few $$. Oh well...it was worth it! ;)

[Sweetwater Red]

I flew from Baton Rouge to Dallas on AA. They lost my luggage
somewhere in between. I filled out the necessary paperwork
before I left DFW. I had to list EVERY item in my luggage and the
estimated value of each item. It totaled about $1300. I recieved
a check in the mail with a letter stating that they don't reimburse
you for jewelry or electronics. The check was for $450.:mad:

[Gsquared]

Originally posted by Sweetwater Red
I flew from Baton Rouge to Dallas on AA. They lost my luggage
somewhere in between. I filled out the necessary paperwork
before I left DFW. I had to list EVERY item in my luggage and the
estimated value of each item. It totaled about $1300. I recieved
a check in the mail with a letter stating that they don't reimburse
you for jewelry or electronics. The check was for $450.:mad:
You shoulda listed an antique Colt 45 pistol with a pearl handle valued at 900 bucks

[Sweetwater Red]

Originally posted by Gsquared
You shoulda listed an antique Colt 45 pistol with a pearl handle valued at 900 bucks

Right! :D

Truth be told...I was honest with the list...you know...just
incase they actually found my luggage.

[Ranger Mom]

Originally posted by Sweetwater Red
Right! :D

Truth be told...I was honest with the list...you know...just
incase they actually found my luggage.

Hmmmm......so honesty isn't always the best policy????

[Sweetwater Red]

Originally posted by Ranger Mom
Hmmmm......so honesty isn't always the best policy????

Not in the case of losing luggage on AA.

[slpybear the bullfan]

Addidas..

If you have flown AA 15 times in the last year you should have either gained at minimum Gold AAdvantage status through 25,000 miles/year flown or challenged at 5,000 q-points for 3 months to get Gold.

Once you are Gold you get access to better seats, better boarding, quick security lines, and best of all, 4 segment upgrades every 10,000 miles flown.

I am just a few miles shy of Platinum this year.

If you fly as often as you say, you should really check out www.flyertalk.com and visit the forums on American and Southwest.

Sorry about the ticket, but that is what happens when you buy deep discount tickets.

[Adidas410s]

It's about 15 flights in 2 years...so I've never qualified for anything with them. All told, I have 18 or 19k miles I believe. Also, most of the flights are short distances and (as you know) American prefers distance...not frequency of flying. Also, I still can't get them to give me any points for a flight I made to/from DFW-BOS earlier this summer. I had regular fares both way because it was a last-second emergency due to a death in the family.

I love how they "look down" on those who buy their discounted tickets...but without those seats being sold they would be back in the red again.

I do enjoy flyertalk and have been over on that site for about a year as a poster and a lurker for 2 or so years before then. I usually stick to the travel/dining forums as those in the miles/points forums are very "procedure oriented" and get mad if you don't exhaustively search the wikis and FAQ's before posting a question...understandable with as many threads as they have a day...but still annoying. Don't get me wrong...it's a great source of information but the natives can get restless very quick and pile on a guy.

The next few weeks will be interesting as I'm flying American to ATL and LAS while taking Southwest to LAS (yes I'm going 2 weeks in a row cuz of a scheduling error) and LBB. It will be nice to get a comparison of the two...and I'm looking forward to my P class ticket on AA for the LAS flight. :D:D:D

[HipposGitErDun]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
I have a flight to Atlanta tmrw morning...first class is entirely empty. I ask about upgrading and what it would cost. This is how the conversation went:

"Sir as an AA member you can request an upgrade of your ticket. However, you bought a discounted 14-day advance "Q class" fare. This ticket is only worth $86. The fee to make any changes to this ticket is $100. So your ticket has no value. You can pay the full $329 for a first class ticket if you would like and I cancel your current ticket."

I have flown over 1m miles on American, 1.6M on Delta and 950k on Continental. American is BY FAR the worst of the 3. None of them are as good to frequent flyers as they were 10 years ago, but at least Continental is not continually rude to you as they are at American.

I would fly SWA if they had a better FF program. I do fly Frontier often to Denver, and they are a VERY good airline.

Good luck on your upcoming trips.

[slpybear the bullfan]

CO is definitely the best, but I see no difference betweet AA, UA, DL.

Living next to DFW makes AA the obvious choice.

And, Addidas... if you make 15 flights in 2 years I'll bet you could challenge for gold Status.

[rangerjoe33]

Originally posted by slpybear the bullfan
Addidas..

If you have flown AA 15 times in the last year you should have either gained at minimum Gold AAdvantage status through 25,000 miles/year flown or challenged at 5,000 q-points for 3 months to get Gold.

Once you are Gold you get access to better seats, better boarding, quick security lines, and best of all, 4 segment upgrades every 10,000 miles flown.

I am just a few miles shy of Platinum this year.

If you fly as often as you say, you should really check out www.flyertalk.com and visit the forums on American and Southwest.

Sorry about the ticket, but that is what happens when you buy deep discount tickets.


Exactly, you can also sign up for the Platinum challenge...10k miles in 90 days gets you Platinum...with that you are eligible for free upgrades, as well as preferred seating. Make sure you sign up for free upgrades well in advance...if the 1st class seats do not sell you get placed by status and first come first serve. I recently was able to take my wife to Hawaii with on business since being an AA FF for free. I have had an engine blow on take-off AA comped me 10,000 FF miles, equipment failure on the runway comped me 7,000 FF miles...etc. Also once you get Platinum you get double miles...book direct on AA and you get bonus miles...

They really do try, I will not fly anything but AA given the choice, they also really take care of prior service/service members.

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by HipposGitErDun
I have flown over 1m miles on American, 1.6M on Delta and 950k on Continental. American is BY FAR the worst of the 3. None of them are as good to frequent flyers as they were 10 years ago, but at least Continental is not continually rude to you as they are at American.

I would fly SWA if they had a better FF program. I do fly Frontier often to Denver, and they are a VERY good airline.

Good luck on your upcoming trips.

Agreed! Frontier is a cool "little" airline. I fly them when I head to the Pacific coast, by far the best rates!

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by rangerjoe33
Exactly, you can also sign up for the Platinum challenge...10k miles in 90 days gets you Platinum...with that you are eligible for free upgrades, as well as preferred seating. Make sure you sign up for free upgrades well in advance...if the 1st class seats do not sell you get placed by status and first come first serve. I recently was able to take my wife to Hawaii with on business since being an AA FF for free. I have had an engine blow on take-off AA comped me 10,000 FF miles, equipment failure on the runway comped me 7,000 FF miles...etc. Also once you get Platinum you get double miles...book direct on AA and you get bonus miles...

They really do try, I will not fly anything but AA given the choice, they also really take care of prior service/service members.

My problem tends to be that I don't fly enough to meet the challenges...and almost all of my flying is personal so I'm paying for it. When my company pays for it (maybe 5 times/year if I'm lucky) then I'll fly AA on a full fare. However, it just doesn't happen often enough. Also, with the new mileage expiration policy on AA, it makes it that much harder for me when my first choice for flying is SW. With the girl and 2 close friends in Lubbock, I can pay $800 for 8 flights to LBB and then pick up a free flight to SFO or LAS (among others) that would otherwise cost $300+. No they don't have the FC options like other airlines...but they get their flights on/off the ground, I can get an exit row seat every time I fly, and they're much more affordable. Also, living 5 minutes from Love makes it an easy choice vs the 30 minute drive to DFW. I can't wait for the stupid Wright Amendment restrictions to go away for good in 2014. Once they do...SW is really gonna give AA a run for their money on domestic travel...and especially DFW travel.

As a side note...I'm interested to see how SW's international expansion works out. They're definitely taking a big step out from what they're used to and know how to do well.

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
I can't wait for the stupid Wright Amendment restrictions to go away for good in 2014. Once they do...SW is really gonna give AA a run for their money on domestic travel...and especially DFW travel. Are they actually gonna lift it?? WOW. It's a bunch of hog wash anyway! :mad:

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by pirate4state
Are they actually gonna lift it?? WOW. It's a bunch of hog wash anyway! :mad:

It's already been "partially" lifted. The difference now is that I can book one "through" ticket. I.E. - My trip to Vegas next week. I book 1 trip from DAL to LAS and it stops in LBB along the way. I don't get off the plane...it just unloads/loads people according to their tickets. In 2014...it will be gone completely.