What a poor customer de-centric company American is [schedule change issues]
 

I purchased a flight in August of 2015, for after Christmas. They changed my flight by about 4 hours in October, so now I'm arriving at the airport around 11pm instead of 7pm. Fine. Whatever. I only have to wake up for work at 6am and I predicated my purchase on that original arrival.

The day of the flight, they changed my seats for some reason, so my girlfriend and I are in different sections of the plane. Fine. Whatever.

I arrive at the airport and the flight ends up being delayed because of mechanical issues. Fine. Whatever.

They move us to another gate and plane and are waiting for checks. Eventually, we are on the plane and we are delayed again. Why? Because the last crew left a bag on the plane so we are delayed while they find the co-pilot in OHARE INTERNATIONAL.

What an unprofessional, circus show.

I sent off a complaint while waiting on the plane.

American's response?

Our bad. We'll do better next time.

What major company behaves like that? Great job justice dept signing off on their merger. Welcome to another Comcast. I'll fly with miles and nothing else ...

In case you ever do fly American again, a couple of notes that may help regarding schedule changes:

• A four hour schedule change entitles you to change your flight (for free) to a flight that better fits your schedule. Alternatively, it entitles you to a full refund.
• AA normally does not notify of schedule changes until about 30 days prior to departure (which is not ideal). It pays to monitor your reservations periodically. (This by no means puts blame on you, just an FYI to help you in the future since AA is not very proactive in notification of changes).
• Any reservation booked more than a 2-3 months in advance is highly likely to have a schedule change of some sort, maybe minor, maybe major.
• AA's IT has a habit of changing seat assignments sometimes when schedule changes happen. Another reason to monitor for schedule changes.

What did AA say when you called them to switch back to a better flight and get your seats fixed?

Helpful and well said. ^

It pays to be proactive, informed, and assertive when dealing with any company -- airline, hotel, retail, cable, whatever.

According to a search, this is the very first use of the "word" "de-centric" in the history of flyertalk.

Thanks for the information.

I'm simply turned off as a customer. If Amazon screws up, they make it right. If my local pizza shops messes up, they fix it. American's response is pathetic. It's not my worst carrier experience in any way, but it smells unprofessional and discourteous so I'll just use other carriers and share that negative experience with others.

Regarding contacting American about the switch, I just accepted it .. not being aware I had any right to a different flight, if it were available. Its the accumulation of inconveniences that's my issue and their subsequent nonchalance.

I understand why you are turned off, customer service should be better. Unfortunately, I find this par for the course with airlines (in general) in the US lately. You'll find similar horror stories in the other fora here.

That's not meant to dissuade you from avoiding AA, but whoever you do choose to fly, monitor for schedule changes and be proactive.

Out of curiosity, how did you specifically ask AA to "fix it" or "make it right?"

Indeed, AA's response is all of those things, which isn't surprising to anyone here. However do you think AA gives two ....? Nope. They know next time they have the lowest fare, you'll probably fly them again. Sad but true.

If I have to spend some extra money to avoid American, I'll do it. How much extra will be a case by case basis, but I have a long memory.

I didn't ask them for anything specific. I asked for a supervisor to address this issue after several unhelpful replies and I don't think that happened or if it did, it's a response I'm unaccustomed to in custom service.

I've worked in customer service and this is not how I was taught to treat customers. Usually you have some sort of minor appeasement so they don't escalate. American really doesn't give a damn about their customers .. and with the upcoming devaluation of points, they are pretty much dead in my book...

Unfortunately you won't find the grass greener at their competitors.

The good part is that now you're a Flyertalker and will soon be on your way to knowing how to handle AA and the other airlines like a pro.

At the same time, AA can't give you your seat assignments back after the flight, nor can they refund you two hours of your time due to a delay. This is what differentiates airlines from Amazon or your local pizza joint. They maybe could've moved you to a better flight after the schedule change, or seated you two back together, if you'd called in advance. But after the fact, without specifying what would make it right in your mind, there's not much for them to react to; as a result, "we'll try to do better" is about the most you can expect.

Agreed, and any offer of compensation would likely not change the bad taste you have for the airline, hence why no offer was made.

Your frustrations OP are valid and with a little time reading this website you will be better prepared next time you fly, regardless of what airline.

What a poor customer de-centric company American is
 

Goodbye Cruel Airline.

Good! That's the best thing to always do - in most cases - is to vote with your wallet. Good on you!