Am trying to help someone (family called me since I have lifetime status with AA) who was on the cancelled PHL-AMS AA 204 yesterday. Apparently they boarded, made pax sit on aircraft for 2 hours and then deboarded because they could not find a pilot. The passenger I am trying to help had an onward separate ticket to LHR on KLM so she was doing a self-transfer in London. That's not the issue... she just needs to get to anywhere in Europe as her partner who was also flying yesterday is now in London and waiting for her.

1) She's checked a bag and all night last night and into today AA continues to tell her that her bag is still "on the plane". I'm incredulous that this is indeed the case.
2) I called AA last night on the elite line and with this confounded new phone system it always routes you to domestic even if you say NO to the flights within the US question. So I got to a domestic agent and he said well she can be rerouted to LHR as it is within a 300 mi radius... but the International agent will have to help. He transferred me and I waited on hold for 2+ hours by which time it was 2 AM and I could not wait any longer. I am on hold again and this time there is no callback option.
3) She waited for hours to get to a Service Counter last night at PHL but then around midnite they said cannot help anyone else and no hotels... she should have been given a voucher since it appears to have been a crew issue but I'm sure they will spin it as weather and not their responsibility...
4) They've rebooked her on PHL-AMS today but now they have issued a weather alert for all East Coast hubs so now phone waits are beyond sane and she is once again waiting in a long line to get to an agent at a service counter... I can book her onto a PHL-LHR option, one of three I see between AA and BA but this would be a whole new rez, and what is complicating the whole thing is that she still does not have her bag and her existing ticket is a round trip so while AA may be willing to change her outbound to PHL-LHR this can only be done through an agent who cannot be reached right now...

What an utter failure of service on so many levels. Just brainstorming what else can be done here to 1) get her on any of the PHL-LHR flights today 2) with her bag and 3) also preserve her return on the existing ticket.

Any thoughts welcome. Thx