Hi FT. I’m a frequent reader, but not much of a poster. I wanted to share a terrible situation I just had with AA. I’m not sure what to do here so would welcome your comments. Maybe writing it down will help, so please indulge me.

Over the weekend, my grandfather passed away. He lived in California. We live NY. The funeral was yesterday (Jan 5th) morning. We booked tickets to fly out there Tuesday. We were on the 3:30 pm Jan 4th JFK->SFO (flight 85). We picked this because there were two direct flights leaving afterwards so if there were problems, there would be many options. Here’s what happened (all times from memory, so forgive me if they are off a bit)…

2:00pm – At the JFK AC. My girlfriend and I are both EXP and I am an AC member

3:00pm – At the departure gate. The AA GAs announce that there is a potential mechanical problem and that there will be an announcement at 3:30 pm on the flight status. We rush back to the AC (and talk to the agent there. We explain the situation and she very kindly protects us (confirms us on the 7:25pm while letting us keep our tickets on the 3:30). This is important because the first JFK->SFO flight of the day was cancelled due to mechanical problems so the stand by lists are very long. I really appreciated that the agent went out of her way on this. This is one of the reasons that I am an AC member and have flown with AA so long.

4:30pm – The AA agent finds us in the club. Apparently American has decided that the original plane is not fit to fly for mechanical reasons and is going to replace it with a new plane. That plane will leave from another gate at 5:30. She also gives us our new boarding passes with cleared upgrades. This is also appreciated. We head down to the new gate.

5:45pm – We’ve boarded the plane. The 5:30 departure has become 6 has become 6:15, but at least we are on board a working plane headed to San Francisco.

7pm – Still on the plane at the gate. There has been of bumping and noise beneath us. The pilot announces that it is taking some time to switch luggage and catering from the other plane.

7:30pm – We leave the gate and taxi to the runway. Fourth in line for departure. We finally take off about 15 minutes later.

8:00pm – Fifteen minutes or so after take off, we abruptly stop climbing. A few minutes later the pilot comes over the intercom. Apparently the forward landing gear will not retract. We are returning to JFK and landing 40,000 pounds heavy.

8:30pm – Touchdown at JFK surrounded by emergency vehicles. We taxi to the gate. A few minutes later the pilot come on the intercom. The pilot announces that in their haste to get the new plane ready, someone forgot to remove a pin that keeps the front wheel assembly from retracting. The plane will still go to SFO, but they have to do an inspection of the landing gear as the plane landed heavy. At this point a lot of the passengers are up on their feet in the aisles. We’re not – we’re just hoping this will work out.

9:15pm – A man in a suit from AA boards the plane and announces that the flight is now canceled and we all need to get off the plane and head to lane 2 for rebooking. According to him, the crew has exceeded maximum time. As we rush off the plane, we can see him arguing with one of the FAs.

9:30pm - Back at the AC with the same agent. The flight has been delayed until tomorrow at 7am and passengers are being put up at the DoubleTree at JFK. Given the timing we will not make the funeral. The agent really went out of her way to try and help us. She tried everything. Other airports, other airlines, international connections, everything. She was courteous, sympathetic and she really tried to help us.

10:00pm – We give up. AA refunds the tickets. Leave JFK and taxi to Manhattan.

11:00pm - Arrive at my apartment in Manhattan.

11:15pm - Call my mother and tell her I cannot not attend my grandfather’s funeral.

I do want to point out that during this whole ordeal, everyone at AA was respectful and courteous. The Agent at the AC really went out of her way to help us and was incredibly kind and sympathetic. However, due to multiple AA equipment issues, I missed my grandfather’s funeral.

So I don’t really know what to do right now. I am really upset with American Airlines. I’ve asked friends and family. Most have said to write to AA and tell this story. I’m not sure who to write to. I don’t know what to ask for. I don’t want any compensation for this. I don’t know if I ever want to fly AA again.

This year I will probably fly 350k miles. I’m looking at AA.com and a long string of upcoming flights and I just want to cancel them all.

So you are some of the most traveled people in the industry. What would you do?

Thank you for listening.