Edgerfly

I flew yesterday (6/11) on AA1312 from PHX-JFK. When I arrived at the gate I heard the captain talking to the gate agent how we had a "mechanical problem" and thought I hope they can fix it and we won't have any issues.

After the captain made announcements that they had fixed the problem and we would not be delayed I was relieved. We took off on time and about 4 hours into the flight, the pilot gets on the intercom and said "we have to divert to ORD because of a mechanical problem. The runway at JFK is not long enough." That was all the information "he had" and said nothing more.
This made absolutely no sense to me what so ever, or any passengers sitting near me who were all talking amongst each other. The weather in JFK was nicer than it was in ORD. The runways are just as long at JFK, if not longer, than ORD. All the passengers on board were totally confused and we could not understand why this was occurring. I was angry that AA would allow a knowingly defective airplane to take off from PHX, and was scared upon landing in ORD if everything was going to be alright.

The day only got worse, as I came in contact with employees who were just downright mean, and nasty. First I tried to get on a flight to LGA that I was unable to get on. When I arrived at that gate the agent saw a US BP (even though it was an AA issued ticket) and the first words out of his mouth were "This is a US ticket I can't do anything." I tried explaining the situation to him, and after much hesitation, and apprehension, and apathy, and zero customer service skills, he put me on the standby list. I missed the standby.

Then I tried to get on the next flight flight to LGA an hour later, and came in contact with the worst airline employee I think I have ever come across in my 20+ years of travel.

His name was Clarke at ORD, and he told me I would have to buy a new ticket because the original destination was JFK, and this flight was to LGA. WHAT?!??! Are you that clueless about the rules???? I tried to calmly, and politely explain to him he was incorrect, and if he could call a supervisor or someone else to help me. I am never rude to agents, I always treat them the way I would like to be treated. It was obvious he just didn't know how to do his job, and he didn't want to make that known. He ignored me, told me to step aside, and he wouldn't help me any further. I asked him to call a supervisor, and he just ignored me and pretended like I wasn't there. I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere with him, but this was the flight I needed to get on. I didn't know what to do.

I called the Platinum line 3x to try to get rebooked, and the wait time was 15 minutes, when I got called back I was hung up on twice. I had to call back. I felt absolutely helpless, like nobody cared. I felt like I was never going to get home.

I know everyone has bad travel days, and delays, and things don't always go as planned when we fly. I've been a frequent flyer for more than two decades and of course I've had bad days, and delays, and come in contact with bad employees. I don't post about them because it's part of what we do. But yesterday was just so bad, I have never experienced anything even remotely close to this, I really felt I needed to post about it. Are things really getting so out of hand to where a gate agent doesn't even know how to rebook someone (or care) on a diverted/delayed flight? Or not know how to treat a customer with just some dignity and respect? Especially in a time of crisis, and vulnerability?

Thankfully, I just saw two agents at a random gate, walked up to them, and just broke down. I started crying. I asked for their help. I just felt helpless. I needed a friend. They tried to calm me down, which I really did appreciate, rebooked me confirmed on the LGA flight which Clarke had refused to do and off I was.

Does anyone know what happened to AA1312, and why we needed to suddenly divert to ORD for no real apparent reason? Why does it seem like AA employees (specifically in ORD) have just gotten mean? Did I just get unlucky to encounter these employees?

nrr

Independent of the many issues raised in OP.
Aren't ALL AA, US flts code share? So, for example, flt XX on AA METAL, might appear as a US YY (code share)?

justforfun

Not sure if this at all applies, but earlier this year tried to change from JFK to LGA as my destination on a US ticket. Was told that they are no longer considered co-terminals, so I couldn't just switch from one to another without buying a new ticket.

RogerD408

All AA flights are available as US codeshares and all US flights are available as AA codeshares. However, you need to book on the "prime" flights to get treated as a AAdvantage member. Booking the codeshare flights lowers your status and you become the red-headed step child as far as the GAs are concerned. This will continue to be the case until the US reservation system is shutdown.

Edgerfly

As I said in the OP, it was an AA issued ticket.

The first rude agent I encountered assumed it was a US ticket because it was on US ticket stock. I just had to change planes in PHX, and the first leg was US, which is why is was all on US BP's. I understand they are still separate airlines.

Even if it was a US issued ticket, when delays occur when it's the airline's fault it should not matter.

Just so everyone is clear, this was an AA issued ticket.

The PHX-JFK was an AA operated flight.

The red headed step child analogy is good.

Spock Seat

Oh well then, you have no recourse to complain if you claim to be AA Platinum/One World Sapphire and they changed your itinerary from JFK to LGA due to this behavior.
Imagine if the entire passenger list did this too just to get to a different airport from allegedly overhearing a communication among the Captain to the crew.

Where's the line? It's not allergies this time.

RogerD408

Who issued the ticket is not of concern. It's who marketed the flight (i.e. AA flight number, meaning shows as AA and a number and not US and the same number) and who is operating the flight (i.e. who's metal). If these match, then you are on a "prime" flight, if not, you are on a codeshare. Finding AA prime flights on USAirways.com appears to be a bit difficult.

kettle1

There is NO REASON why Clarke at ORD should not call a supervisor when asked. That is very poor customer service.

Clarke should be retrained on how to do his job and a basic customer service course as well. Or better yet, sent to the ramp to operate the "honey bucket truck" and breath heavy.

Have a great weekend everyone!

MSPeconomist

IMO if this is how Clarke at ORD normally treats customers, there is no reason he should not be fired.

seawolf

Agreed. As flight was diverted, it was IRROPS. LGA should have been offered without any hassle.

Edgerfly

Honestly, I have never been treated in such a sub-human way by a "customer service" agent. If Clarke didn't know how to do his job, or make the ticket change, he could have just said so, and got someone else to help. Instead he wanted to try and start a fight with me.

aamilesslave

So much talk about codeshares here, but the only time codeshares cause a problem is with advance upgrades. At the airport and at the gate, it doesn't matter one bit.

PHL

To the point of the mechanical diversion...it's quite likely that the captain was assured by maintenance that the plane was fit to fly Phx-Jfk. 4 hours into the flight when something didn't add up on the flight deck, he made the decision to land. I doubt the airline ever deliberately sent the plane up with a known issue that would invalidate its airworthiness.

So, to that end, AA was obligated to do what's in their capability to get you to New York safely and on the next available flight. This is where they initially failed with some rogue agents, though you fortunately found empathetic agents who knew how to do their job.

In your letter of complaint, it would be fair to call out the good and the bad of your experience so the right people are recognized.

kettle1

You should report this to AA about Clarke ASAP. They need to weed out the bad apples.

OP I see you have status with AA. If he is treating you like this, just imagine how he treats a kettle. This guy is in the wrong profession. Like I said up thread - Honey Bucket Truck for Clarke.

For those that do not know what a honey bucket driver does is empty the Lavatories on each aircraft. It is a crappy job. Blue juice sprays everywhere!

JDiver

AA is not going to send a busted airplane on a flight. That could cause a disaster, there would at least be an FAAA rule violation subjecting them to a hefty fine.

No Captain or First Officer is going to fly an unsafe aircraft. If they crash, they'll be the first to pay the price. Everything is logged, everything is checked, and most pilots have a very strong sense of duty of care. It's very likely they'll refuse to fly if they feel an unsafe aircraft is being handed to them.

They chose ORD because they are the pilots. They're checking winds aloft, traffic delays at ORD, JFK and elsewhere they can divert, runway density altitude and prevailing winds (not just physical runway length), etc. There's a lot of training, knowledge and experience that most passengers aren't aware of that goes into the grinder.

The cockpit crew have priorities: in pilot shorthand, they're "aviate, navigate, communicate" - in that order, and "communicate" is prioritized with ATC, possibly tech on the ground, Dispatch, and a few others that come before "tell the passengers in detail why we're doing what we're doing.

Be appreciative for the professionalism that went into the decisions made to keep you and everyone else safe. I cant say it enough - their collective tuckus was in the plane with you; these folks wanted safety above all. Yes, I'm biased - I've flown a lot over more than six decades, and was a pilot.

The ground handling you encountered, well, I do hope you report it. If Crarke is consistent, perhaps he already has a fat file and your report may be the one that breaks the camel's back.

Glad you're safe and well.