On a recent international flight with AA, the mobility scooter I had gate checked was returned in a condition where it would not work at all even though it was perfectly fine when I checked it in.

I have a mobility disability that prevents me from functionally walking. I also have muscle weakness that makes it impossible for me to push a manual wheelchair so I travel with a powered mobility scooter. When I have my scooter, I can get around independently, without it I am stuck sitting in one place.

While AA and the wheelchair assistance team put me in a cab, I had to hire someone to go to my apartment and wait for me so that they could meet me with another mobility device I had at home as I can't as much as walk from the cab to the front door. I live alone and paying someone was the only way I could get help in this emergency situation. Despite admitting fault for breaking the scooter, AA is refusing to reimburse me for this expense that I would never have to incur if they had not broken the device that essentially serves as my legs. To add insult to injury, I was further delayed at the airport because AA took nearly an hour to get the scooter back to me in the first place during which time the FAs obstructed it's timely return by making up nonexistent customs rules about wheelchairs needing to be held at baggage (not true! There's a federal law that requires it to be returned to the gate before the rest of the cargo is unloaded)¢ and then to add insult to injury sent a shuttle van that had no handicap access to pick me up, necessitating an hour long negotiation to get access to an accessible form of transportation to take me home, on top of in flight issues with a seat that wouldn't recline at all. They did provide a voucher that expires in a year, but to use it would mean I'd have to pay a hefty supplement out of pocket to fly to the places I'm planning to travel to this year and after this incident (the first time the scooter was damaged in flight, and I fly a lot on other airlines), I'd be too nervous to fly AA with a powered mobility device as I'd be too afraid of not making it to a meeting or a vacation being ruined. I think the expectation of an airline returning a mobility device in working order is a very reasonable one and being stuck with a broken chair and a resulting 5 hour delay in getting home with no way to enter my own residence without help is not a frivolous complaint.

Has anyone successfully gotten compensation beyond the initial offer? I wrote a letter to Doug Parker and it still for relegated to customer service and the person who answered wouldn't budge on compensation.