Hello All,
In Jan 2020 I purchased two first class round trip tickets for coast to coast flights (BWI to SEA). The pandemic hit and I chose to cancel the tickets. I lost track of the tickets and their cancellation due to some life events and computer issues.
On Wednesday, while doing some flight research for an upcoming vacation, I remembered the cancelled tickets and contacted American to see what had become of them - flight credit, etc.
I was informed by the polite ticketing agent on the phone that the opportunity for credit had passed.
What follows is the response from AA Customer Relations I received to my customer complaint submission on Wednesday (3/22) and my response to them this morning.
I'm sharing it for your awareness as AA customers to include in your decision process to use AA's service or not.
Your comments and thoughts on it are welcome.
The exchange below is lightly edited for format (e.g. I can't post the hyperlink to my reference in the forum yet) and to protect privacy.
Tom
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American's response to my web submitted complaint.
March 23, 2023
Hello Thomas:
Thank you for contacting American Airlines regarding your expired ticket. Although this will likely be disappointing to learn, we are not extending the validity period for tickets that were previously extended under our travel notices.
Our tickets normally expire one year from the original date of issue and are nontransferable, meaning they cannot be used for anyone other than the named passenger. Nevertheless, if your ticket qualified under our Covid Extension, we offered flexibility which required the ticket to be rebooked by September 30, 2022, for travel to be completed before the end of 2022. While we regret that you were unable to use your ticket value within our extended booking period, we are not offering any further extensions or exceptions for these tickets.
Thomas, please know that although we're not providing further ticketing extensions, we value your feedback and appreciate that you reached out to us. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome you on board an American Airlines flight again in the future.
Sincerely,
Tanya E.
Customer Relations
American Airlines
AA Ref#1-32674382054
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My response to American this morning
Good Morning Tanya,
I appreciate the prompt response to my complaint/request.
Yes, I am disappointed.
I would have hoped that a simple, less than $2,000 credit (not a refund) would have been easy to provide for an Airline whose net operating income in 2022, by its own reporting1, was $1.6 billion dollars with a net income of $127 million dollars.
Restoring this comparatively small credit would have resulted in the purchase in two first-class international tickets, which would have earned the company another $2,000+ income for this year beyond the credit.
Also, I gave you my money for a service, and while the circumstances of the pandemic required me to cancel the tickets, you in effect, have taken my money and provided no service at all for that payment.
American’s corporate policy seems to be that one disappointed customer probably isn’t worth $2,000.
While I do appreciate the polite and professional responses I have received from the American staff member I spoke to on the phone and yourself, I do feel that this relatively small issue could have been handled with a more positive outcome for a customer.
In light of the company’s position, this disappointed customer will:
- No longer use American Airlines for my air travel needs.
- Cancel my AAdvantage credit card with Citibank and share the reason with Citibank.
- Share the details of this exchange via social media and on as many travel websites/boards that I can post it to.
I’m sure some of your customers will agree with American’s position on this, but I’m also sure other customers will find the company’s unwillingness to meet a customer half-way disappointing as well. As I am sure you’re aware, customer goodwill, or the lack thereof, goes a long way in any competitive industry.
Thank you again for your time and the prompt response.
Sincerely,
Tom W.