Sunday, August 10, 2008

Dear American Airline,

At 6:00 this morning I arrived at the Indianapolis airport, cheerfully subjecting myself to the million man line, because I would be going home to sleep in my own bed. Little did I know as your fake cheerful gate attendant handed me my boarding pass that you had other plans for me. In my cocoon of overpriced snack boxes and beverage service I could almost see my head hitting my pillow. We landed early, and I dutifully noted my next gate to connect so as not to overwhelm the attendant at the gate. My eyes slid across your TV screens hoping that we were still on-time for departure, glazed by the changing locations and gates. But what's this, no flight to Austin? How could this be when just an hour earlier you had given me a boarding pass for that very flight, and wished me a great day? Am I being punk'd? Where's Ashton? I reported to the gate announced on my previous flight, but still no Austin. Hmmmm, Maybe a helpful customer service person can help me with this mystery flight. I approach a nearby gate and ask them to check on my flight. Watching the agent bite her lip and frown bigger with each key stroke did not bid well for poor flight 1199. The flight had been canceled while I was somewhere in the friendly skies between Indiana and Illinois. Not a problem, it's only 7:10 A.M. You provide numerous non-stop flights daily; I've seen your billboards stating that. What your billboards fail to mention is that you overbook everyone one of those non stop flights and by canceling just one flight send the travel world into a tailspin. The agent at the gate sends me to "re booking", a long desk with red phones, and not one single living person.
American, when I've just been informed I won't be keeping my tidy little itinerary, I want to talk to a person. One that fake smiles and assures me that they are working on it. I don't want to feel like I will cause a nuclear attack by picking up a red phone. And informing someone that they will be stranded in Chicago overnight when it is still 7:20 in the morning isn't a good way to start a conversation either. As I sat on the floor clutching my red phone and going into shock at the thought of staying in Chicago overnight with no luggage and an 8 year old with a 5 minute attention span I was reassured that you were working on it. Surely in this huge airport there was at least one flight that would return me to my sanity (and my bed!). And there was, but alas, it was not with you American. With you, I was #7 on a standby list of 22, but with NWA, I was seat 10-B. And let's face it, I'm not a stand-by kind of gal. And with that our relationship ended. Or so you thought. Because, you see American, I hadn't planned to spend the whole day at the airport. And by planned I mean budgeted. I had planned to be back home, eating leftover chocolate cake and snuggled up in bed by noon. Now I had to entertain my son, and that was going to take several trips to the starbucks kiosk. But you didn't see it that way. You felt like a $10 voucher would be plenty to compensate me and my brood. For. the. next. 9. hours. American, I know that sometimes being cooped up in that corporate office can make one become a bit, ummm, detached, but I think need you to get back in touch with reality. There is not a place in the airport that can turn a $10 voucher into 4 meals. Not a one. I know, because during our 9 hour stay at O'Hare we looked at every menu board. in every terminal. You didn't even go dutch. Your cheapness made me re-examine the price of airfare. And my relationship with you. Trust me, 15 hours is a lot of time to re-examine, and 15 hours later is when I touched down at ABIA.

And so, my dear American, I will not be pulling you out of any economic recession. My frequent flier miles will be dispersed among United, Continental and NWA. Please don't try to contact me, including those offers for credit cards and mileage bonuses. You are dead to me.


The Lady that slept on the floor in Terminal H



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69 comments:

Jessica said...

OOHHH nOOOOOOO! I hope they fix it and you get home very safely!!

Deb said...

OMG! Insane! I am so sorry...what a nightmare.

ParentingPink said...

Ugh! I've been there, done that. So sorry you have to go through it. When I hear the term "re-booking" I break out in hives, LOL!

Btw, thanks for breaking out the holiday decorations just for us. You are a very kind hostess!

Have a Happy Friday SITSta!

Brittany said...

I want to where the people who do those things, live. $10 dollars?!?

JamieH said...

That totally sucks! I'm sorry you had to sleep on the terminal floor too....that's really horrible!

I am Barking Mad said...

That's absolutely horrible! AA did the same to me in O'Hare and Michigan's Wayne Airport and their service personnel there are HORRID! We also fly international a lot and have had similar experiences on Continental. Being stuck in a country where you don't speak the language for more than 10 hours, SUCKS! So sorry you had to experience AA's user-not-so-friendly customer service.

Love your blog! Have linked from SITS! Will definitely be back!

Auds at Barking Mad!

Steph said...

Just another reason I refuse to fly AA! And seriously, $10? That's crap.

Glad you finally made it home though!

Alicia @ Oh2122 said...

Oh. My. Cupcakes!

This is why we need teleporters. Then again, someone would find a way to mess that up too.

Astrid said...

Blech.

That truly stinks.

I hope I don't step on anybody's toes when I say that the Chicago airport just sucks. I swear I've never met a happy person working there. They're all super grouchy.

Oh...and I've been stuck in airports and had flights canceled on me but thank the lucky stars it was before I had kids. (I got to sit in LAX for 12 freaking hours once). $10 hardly buys anything these days.

littleeverydaythings said...

Don't you wish companies still cared about the customer? I'm sure some do, but certainly not the airlines. What a nightmare, sorry you had to deal with that. I will certainly re-think an American flight. Happy SIST day!

Vickie said...

I would have cried. People just don't care anymore.

Love the pictures.

Katie said...

Oh my goodness! That is horrible. Awful. I am so sorry.

I'm glad its over though and now its your SITs Day! Yea!!

Preston said...

What a horrible situation and one that I fear will be more and more common as the airlines reduce the number of flights. I've had a couple similar experiences. I think these happen so much that the airlines have become immune to the complaints of their customers.

Blissful Babe said...

Boy, that BITES!
I hate airports. For that very reason. GAH.

Karen said...

I so hope you actually mailed that letter! Great job!

Creative Junkie said...

Just one of the many nightmare scenarios I conjure up whenever I consider flying.

Ugh. So sorry you had to go through that!

Pseudonymous High School Teacher said...

I hope you sent that letter and would be ntersted if you got any reaction.

Saw Time Traveler's Wife in your bookshelf. Loved that book.

kikibibi said...

Travel. Love it or hate it, "issues" are inevitable.

Katie said...

Flying can be so frustrating! Glad you got home safely! :)

Aubrey said...

I hope you actually sent that to them! LOVED it!

Cammie said...

I apologize at getting a giggle out of your misfortune!
PS---love the blog decor!

Gifted Matilda said...

How eloquent...I would have resorted to extremely foul language, and perhaps the throwing of heavy yet movable objects.... Glad you finally made it home :)

Avery Tales said...

Good job! I hope you sent this letter to American. Happy SITS Day!

Brandy said...

Oh no! What a crappy way to spend your day.

You should write a thank you note to Nintendo cause I'm sure without the DS it would have been worse.

•´.¸¸.•¨¯`♥.Erin.♥´¯¨•.¸¸.´• said...

Just another reason why I'd rather not fly! Congrats on your SITS day!

mommytoalot said...

Love your sense of humour

Annikke said...

Did American get a copy of this? I sure hope so! Nothing is more aggitating than that!

Lynette said...

I totally hope you hope mailed that letter.

HeatherY said...

That's just crazy! They should've put you up in a hotel since it was they're fault!!!! I hate air travel!

Leslie said...

Unbelievable. No SITSta should have to endure such conditions.

Laurel said...

What can I say - bummer. Big time. Glad you made it home eventually - arghhhh!.

Michelle said...

I'd ditch them too. Who do they think they are tricking passengers. :)

Karol said...

Holy Hell. I would've been livid! You handled yourself alot better than I would've!

thequeenmommy said...

I am not sure I could have written this so articulately. I, too, have been double crossed by "American" Airlines - several years ago. Whose major hub is in Texas - Hello??? Haven't flown them since. Refuse to.

SgtSudsWife said...

Love the open letter. Thank goodness for the DS. I can't believe they send you to a room with a desk full of red phones. Figures!

Happy Friday SITSta!

A Mommy in Jeans and High Heels said...

Oh I have sooooo been there! BLAH on airlines!

Visiting from SITS! ((hugs))

Kristy said...

AWW that sucks big time!

hellosweetworld said...

Wow. I would have been so angry! Everything is automated now and it's horrible. Sometimes a real person is all one needs to feel better! I'm so glad it's over now.

Jenni said...

Don't you just love flying? I can't believe they only gave you a $10 voucher. I agree with your decision to part ways.

jsprik said...

**punches "american" in the head** what a bunch of losers!!!

Doré said...

What a nightmare!! I can't believe they think they were doing good by giving you $10!! I've always had problems with AA and choose not to use them anymore. Continental and Delta all the way for me!

Your little boy is so cute! I love his eyes.

Rachael said...

UGH! I think I would have raised holy hell and told them they needed to reimburse me for all my expenses at the airport that day. What jerks.

Jen said...

they suck, totally!

G. said...

that's terrible! I had a similar situation over the summer except that my flight back home was cancelled and they were able to get me a later flight so, instead of staying overnight in the airport, It was on 7 HOURS! still frustrating. :)

jori-o said...

Really?? They only offered you ten bucks?? I'm hoping YOU have been more in their face since then for some compensation!!!

Very well written and entertaining!! =)

Susan said...

Wow! What an ordeal and you only got $10 bucks out of it. I think I'd have set my child(ren) in front of the reservations desk and let them "entertain" American employees for the duration of our stay - did you completely collapse when you finally made it home?

Laura said...

i once mailed a letter to AA (thats the airline, not alcoholics anonymous) that said "dear american airlines, YOU SUCK!"

I got no response. Not even a$10 voucher.


ok so I didn't really. But I would very much like to (adding in a few more choice words, of course!)

Michelle said...

I'm so sorry this happened to you! Your letter is so well written, I felt like it happened to me. I hope you mailed a copy of that to American.

Irene said...

That sucked! Did you send a copy to them? I hate flying and airports (shudder)!

BoufMom9 said...

Holy! That is just awful!
LOVED the letter! I hope you actually sent it :)

Christine said...

Oh my...I have an 8 year old...I know about having to recharge the DS.....American would have had a raving lunatic on their hands if it had been me.....

Jodi said...

Traveling is so not for humans! More like for the birds!

There otta be a law!!!!

Mrsbear said...

You need to send them that letter, seriously. That completely sucks. At least you were able to get a flight home. How aggravating.

Michelle said...

There are times when I miss flying for work and miss being in airports and different places and the like. Then I hear these stories and remember that no, I really don't miss it so much!

blueviolet said...

A $10 voucher, are you kidding me? That would barely pay for a bottle of water at the airport.
Sheesh.

jubilee said...

I'm not sure a $50 voucher would have been enough to help compensate. Maybe a refund on your entire flight would have been a good start.

angie said...

'You are dead to me.' Great ending!

www.AForestFrolic.typepad.com said...

Wow, that stinks but I'm so glad it's over and it looks like your 8 year old is a trooper :-)

The holiday decor is cute too!

Janna Bee said...

Love the pictures. they really add to the sense of dread!

Sugar Mommy said...

I hope you really sent them this letter. They really need to read it!

Hope you were able to rest up finally in your own bed!

Tracy P. said...

Oh yikes!! Very sad.

{leah} said...

What has happen to the world???

I'm sorry what a crappy day I'm sure!

Anna Lefler said...

Oh, bitterness.

Fie on the airlines.

~ Anna

Dee from Downunder said...

oh what a nightmare!

Lindsey @ A New Life said...

$10???!!!??? I think I would have had a coronary. That's just enough to buy some stale gum and a month old copy of Cosmo. I love the letter and hoped you sent it!!

BlueCastle said...

I hope they responded to your letter with some sort of compensation. Giving you a $10 voucher was a low blow. Airports are so high priced, that wouldn't buy even one person diddly-squat.

Just say Julie said...

Parenting-This was the first time to go through it with child in tow. I should have put him on the phone!

Brittany- I asked the gate attendant where I was supposed to spend $10 for 4 meals and she just looked like I was speaking gibberish.

Jamie & Auds- It was horrible. After writing this letter I tried to "block it out".

Steph-what made it worse was getting to the airport and having to wait on my husband's flight (oh yeah, we had different flights) that was 4 hours late!

2122- sign me up for the teleporter

Astrid- I have heard horror stories about the Chicago airports and will try to avoid them in the future.

Little- I just wish people could do their jobs right. Then customer service wouldn't have so many issues.

Vicki- The pictures were my therapy :)

Katie- Thanks!

Preston- I guess it couold have been worse... I could have been stuck on the plane the whole time.

Karen- It took me 3 sittings to write that, but I did e-mail AA. No response *shocking*

sprinkles said...

WOW! What a crazy time. Way to go, American! :P

http://alittlemorecrazythancool.com

Live.Love.Eat said...

Oh yikes. It's terrible how well planned trips can turn awful in no time.