Live from SXSW: American Airlines is Owned By Satan Himself
Filed under: SXSW, Festival Reports
I'm not a good enough writer to explain how terrible, miserable and infuriating my most recent Thursday was. I'm well aware that airlines are pure evil and that EVERYONE gets the shaft from USAir, American, United, etc., from time to time. I'm also (obviously) aware that an airline / airport has no pull with Mother Nature, nor would I waste time blaming American Airlines for the freezing snow and/or rain. But here's the story. Well, the first half, anyway.
I got on an American Airlines flight from Philadelphia at 7:35am. My seat was in the absolute BACK of the plane, which is usually awful, but since this flight was stopping in Dallas and then quickly moving on to Austin, I wasn't too irritated about getting seat 33D. (Although, to be honest, I did request seat 10D when I booked the flight -- and said seat WAS confirmed.) The good news is that I was in a seat with no passengers in front of me; just a bulkhead wall! So my loooong legs had a little extra room to move. Things were starting out great! I nodded off a few times and awoke as we were landing in Dallas.
Now, the flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Austin airport is about 40 minutes long. Keep that in mind as I detail the rest of the day. This flight was scheduled to leave Dallas at 11:35am, but since there was very cold rain outside, our departure was delayed while we waited to be "de-iced." Unfortunately, the airport could NOT LOCATE all the de-icing drivers, which meant we had to sit on a plane for about two hours until the guys got to work. Then they started on a completely different section of the tarmac. Add another two hours. Then we watched as the freezing rain turned to snow. Another hour passed. At about 4:55pm we were FINALLY informed that our flight was canceled. Yes, they had us sitting on a plane for over FIVE HOURS and then they opted to cancel it. Not at, say, 2pm when everyone could have made other arrangements.
I was livid. Infuriated. Apoplectic. Once we were booted off the plane like so many unwanted rats, we were informed that A) all flights were canceled for the next 24+ hours, B) there was not ONE rental car available in the entire airport, and C) all the local hotels were (of course) booked. Oh, and the airline would NOT be returning our luggage for at least 24 hours. The time was 5pm ... and I refused to spend a night in Dallas, Texas. One small piece of good fortune: I ran into a good friend name Gene, and together we made plans to make it to Austin before sun-up.
To be continued....
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-09-2008 @ 5:18PM
Mimi said...
Ya know, it sounds like weather was the culprit, not AA. While I feel your frustration... really.. there are red flags in your post about ice, snow, delays caused by the airport not having drivers for the de-icing trucks.. etc. After long delays, the crew of the plane is not allowed to fly [per FAA regs] until they've had 8 hours of rest.
I ask you.. would you want to take off in an ice covered plane and runway? Do you want exhausted pilots doing it? No? Didn't think so.
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3-09-2008 @ 9:19PM
Andy Nonamous said...
Mimi, AA has a history of mismanagement. 10 years ago I was stuck on an AAL plane and the events unfolded exactly like they did in Austin last year. I live in Arlington, 17 miles south of DFW. I knew the weather was coming 24 hours before it happened. How? I watched CBS news.
I don't have a permanent weather forecasting system like DFW airport does., like American does independently of the airport.
What happened at DFW? AA management was to busy counting their $million bonuses and not taking care of business. American's Workers were there, and doing their poorly paid jobs. American's management were not. Because they (management) don't care about you, the customer. Remember that next time you fly.. see who's taking care of YOU. see any managers anywhere? are they helping or hindering?
Scott has it right, the CEO of AAL IS Satan!
3-09-2008 @ 7:46PM
Christina said...
Mimi, I think you missed the point of his post. Certainly DFW - with years of weather experience - could do some calculating and figure that they need to cancel flights quickly, not wait until the last minute, not wait until people have been sitting in planes on the tarmac for 5 friggin' hours.
I've done the DFW Shuffle (where they put you on the plane and have a bunch of planes slowly circling the airport) and it's inhumane.
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3-10-2008 @ 1:42AM
chad the bad said...
ahhhhh totally feel your pain... I had a camera stolen on my flight back from Puerto Rico last year, and AA had the audacity to tell me it was my fault. It was only with the threat of legal action did they begin to return my phone calls. I don't think anyone can disagree with that simplest truth is that they suck brass monkey balls. I'm at SXSW, too, and honestly, it was sooooooo worth me spending extra money to fly Continental than to suffer through that terrible airline again. Ech. I think I threw up a little in mouth just thinking about them...
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3-10-2008 @ 3:55PM
Steve said...
Sorry guys... I agree with Mimi. Travelers have to be more savy these days. If you see there's a chance that bad weather could delay your flight, make plan "B". Granted, that's not always possible, but blaming AA or any other airline for weather delays is ridiculous. In fact, if there's blame to be shared it's the DFW airport management that failed the passengers and the airlines.
The airport was aware of the weather conditions and did not make proper arrangements for de-icing equipment and drivers. Mimi is also correct about the FAA regulations for pilot/crew rest. History and human factor studies have shown that most accidents are caused by human error. I want alert pilots and no ice on any aircraft I board... don't you?
Finally, I'd like to mention that EVERY airline has been mismanaged at some point in time. However, AA is one of the very few airlines that did not file bankruptcy when all the other mismanaged airlines had no other choice. The problem I have with most of the airlines today is simply their lack of customer service. Unions have hurt this industry. Workers have to work now when life was much easier in the past. Flight attendants are older and less friendly. Ticket counter personnel have to deal with far more complaints ... and after a while, it becomes unbearable. The airline business is a tough and thankless business. There's no glamour anymore. Give these people a break and be more tolerant of delays. It's not always the airline's fault.
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3-10-2008 @ 8:31PM
Andy Nonamous said...
Steve said: AA is one of the very few airlines that did not file bankruptcy when all the other mismanaged airlines had no other choice.
True, do you know how they accomplished that feat?
they forced the unions to give up heavy concessions. to the tune of $1.8 Billion, yes, Billion dollars A YEAR.
and now that the airline is profitable again, the Executive management is pocketing Millions ( $203million for 2007)
in bonuses. And those who gave up the Billions? got nothing.
Steve said:Unions have hurt this industry.
Sorry Steve: unethical corporate greed has hurt the industry. Not labor.
Steve said:The problem I have with most of the airlines today is simply their lack of customer service.
Answer this Steve,
how do you improve customer service, when you reduce staff to legal minimums (that's right , most AAL flights are at the minimums required by the FAA.) remove food and beverage Items, and Pillows and Blankets?
Would you have the Flight attendants Bring these from home to offer them to you? well, in fact they HAVE been paying for some of your travel costs (like fuel) with their 35% paycuts.
If airlines are worse now, it's ALL about the nefarious decision makers at the top of the company.
3-10-2008 @ 6:50PM
Lisa Sharlach said...
I had the same experience that day in Dallas (although my flight sat on the runway for just an hour). It was utterly worse than he depicted. There was perhaps one half inch of snow and it didn't last long. AA would not let stranded passengers get their luggage so I had to wait out in the taxi stand (and snow) in just my sweater, as my coat was in the suitcase. One poor young woman was standing out there in flip-flops.
American Airlines cancelled flights out of DFW but SW and British Air did not. My luggage, of course, arrived two days late and I had to call the nice ladies in Mexico City to get it straightened out. The people south of the border to whom AA outsources are the only ones who have a shred of human kindness. The rest are impossibly rude. American Airlines was responsible for the worst travel experience of my 40 years, and I have traveled quite a bit. May I never see Dallas or AA again.
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3-11-2008 @ 4:45PM
Dallasite said...
Lisa...Southwest didn't cancel any flights at DFW, because they don't HAVE any! And the weather to the east at Dallas Love Field was vastly better than at DFW...hence the lack of impact on their operation.
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3-26-2008 @ 3:37PM
NNN said...
AA has problems in every way: Today 200 flights were cancelled due to an audit by the FAA on "wiring". I also read that its planes are aging and need to be replaced. What are they waiting for an accident? I also read that they had empty oxygen tanks and a passenger died as a result, not to mention the defibrillator was faulty and what about the woman who is suing because some guy left sperm in her hair? This is not a quality airline. It is a joke. I will never fly this airline even if they promised me free flights for the rest of my life. I have met some of these pilots and FAs out of O'Hare and I think they are mentally unstable and need to be retested. AA is a flying accident waiting to happen. Ridiculous.
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