Dumped in Indy [JAX-ORD, AA diverted and left me at IND]
 

I purchased a ticket with miles from JAX to ORD. American dropped me in Indianapolis, 200 miles away and said there was nothing more they could do. American feels they fulfilled their contract and commitment to me and owes me no further compensation?

Does this sound right?

Any others had this experience?

While everyone deserves fair treatment, it seems a strange way to treat one of your best customers. I use to fly mostly United out of ORD, had this come up a couple of times, they always made right. All I have received from AA is form letter responses. Is there anyone to call? Their ExPlt desk only seems to do reservations.

Thank you for your help.

I'm glad the parachute worked well.


Weather? Need more info, dude. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be at all happy to be delivered to Indy when I needed to be in Chi-town.

How is it that they came to 'drop you' in Indy?

Ask DB Cooper.

This story sounds amazing! Please do tell OP.

This could be convenient for me...

On a serious note, it does suck to get stuck. AAs IRROPS aren't exactly the greatest.

Can you explain a little more about what happened? Flights & dates?

Sounds right to me. I hate it when that happens though.

Dumped in Indy
 

We were delayed an hour in JAX due to a hold in ORD because of weather. Took off got up to Indiana and circled around waiting for the weather to clear. Fuel became an issue and we landed in Indy to refuel. Couldn't get fuel for any number of reasons. Waited another hour. Finally got fuel, but had to wait for new routing. Got the routing but it would take too long and the crew would time out. The gate agent came on the plane and said no new crew, the flight was cancelled, no more seats to Chicago, so don't bother asking, pick up your luggage at the carousel and have a nice day. I rented a car and drove the rest of the way. Sent two notes to AA, and got form letters addressing other issues, the complaint had been reviewed and no further action was deemed necessary, hope to see you again.

I know weather happens. I would like to have the car rental reimbursed, but I can understand if don't. It does not seem unreasonable to ask to refund the ticket, they didn't get me to Chicago.

I think they'd counter that you going off and getting yourself there goes outside them (eventually) getting you there and therefore they're not that likely to refund an entire ticket. They are reasonably likely to toss you some miles or provide a voucher though, but for weather they definitely don't have to.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

AA was obligated to get you to Chicago: maybe by plane, maybe by bus, and almost certainly the next day. Whether they were obligated to put you up for the night in IND when there has been a weather diversion, I am not sure.

I assume they offered to rebook you on the next flight to ORD and you declined, so that's that I guess.

If what you post is accurate and the full information (I ask because you seem reluctant to share here, or it's just unclear), that you had a ticket JAX-ORD, diverted to INF and were abandoned without any offer of alternative transportation, I'd recommend:

Writing a clear, concise letter with the basic information - ticket number, itinerary and the abandonment at IND, to:

Sean Bentel
Vice President, Customer Relations
4333 Amon Carter Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX 76155

Copy to

Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590

- See more at: https://www.transportation.gov/airco....PTBeT6pj.dpuf

I too suspect that crucial information has been omitted. The next flight was, of course, the following day. The story as told by the OP ("don't bother asking, pick up your luggage at the carousel and have a nice day") is not credible.

Dumped in Indy (Update)
 

While I'm certain there are posts that are exaggerated or untruthful, it makes little sense to lie when you are looking for help and solutions. The GA that entered plane expressed those exact sentiments as previously stated. There was pandemonium at Indy as ours was not the only flight diverted, many planes where at the relatively small Indy airport. Local agents were swamped, the phone was hopelessly jammed. You are right tomorrow probably was a possibility for a flight, but based on current capacity, not a certainty. While reimbursement for the rental car would have been nice, I was trying to get the ticket refunded, even with a travel voucher. I know weather is an issue, air traffic control was not controllable by AA. My biggest complaint was the after market service of form letters not related to the complaint, no offer of anything to make it right and no one to talk to.

Update

I have received a call from AA. The women was apologetic to the service, sympathetic to trouble I had, but reiterated it is AA's policy to not compensate ticket holders under those circumstances. She hinted but did not say, that they are being overwhelmed with complaints and the inability to speak one to one and the increased use of form letters is their only way to deal with this. They offered 5K as a good will gesture and said my complaint would be shared with higher levels of management. While this is not very satisfying, I got to talk to somebody and there is at least a chance that someone who can make a difference at AA will hear me. So it's time to move on.

I use to fly mostly United, they had a dedicated line of which was usually helpful. 10K miles was usually the amount in these type of cases or $100-200 in travel vouchers. My biggest concern is the future with American. United service suffered greatly when integrating Continental. We are already seeing the strains as American incorporates USAir. The consolidated UA/CO reservation system suffered for an extended time. I doubt it will get better in the short to medium term at AA. It might be time to go back to United.

Although I am somewhat miffed at the statement, IF what you posted is true, I do appreciate the contacts. In the end that's I was looking for and the most valuable part of FlyerTalk is the information sharing from other frequent flyers.

Thank you

Seems credible to me, in light of his post #14. <shrugs>