GNRMatt

I just wanted to give a well deserved kudos to AA for a situation on 7/3. I was on a flight PHL-SLC that was severely delayed due to thunderstorms. We ended up leaving almost 4 hours late. While I wish they did better in the operations communications department (rolling delays every 15-20 minutes rather than realistic delay announcements), I think the ground staff did very well. About 2.5 hours into the delay, they brought out snacks, drinks and sandwiches for everyone.

Then, most importantly, once we were up in the air and I was talking to the FA, apparently the entire crew also timed out. However, they decided as a crew that they were going to go past their hours and staff the flight any way so that we could get to our destination. They definitely did not have to do this. They easily could've just taken the Philly hotel at around 10 PM EST rather than a Salt Lake City hotel at 2 AM MST. However, they really went above and beyond to help out the passengers.

I've sent in my thanks to AA and gave each of the crew those certificates AA gives elites every year.

Bttc

Uh, I hope you have a different definition of timed out than me. I'd hate to see a crew flaunting the safety regulations and flying when they've timed out.

wrp96

They have a certain amount of time where if they want they can say they are out of hours, and the airline can't force them to fly, but still be within the allowed hours by the FAA. So they weren't violating the FAA rules, they just made a decision as a crew to go above their contractually required hours.

mvoight

But, they if they decided to not fly, they would lose money. So, possibly it was a financial decision and not a customer service one.

PHL

It's the dispatchers that make the decision about staffing a flight particular during IRROPS. The crew can't just decide to fly it if they've officially timed out. My guess is that if they truly were not "legal" to fly, the dispatchers wouldn't have been able to use them and would have either found another reserve crew or canceled it outright. They needed that plane in SLC to bring back another load of passengers too, so there are the ripple effects of nixing a flight to a station with minimal service.

What matters about this thread is that the airline made some generous accommodations (the food) during the extended ground delay caused by mother nature, and they ran the flight and got people to their destination safely and professionally.

Gig103

I agree wholeheartedly about the rolling delays. I wonder if operationally that helps them keep a departure slot, but regardless it's a pain. Especially for those with lounge access who could go be somewhere more comfortable if they know it's an hour+.

And I'm glad you got off the ground - I've had the polar opposite experience (watched the replacement crew saunter over and the pilot refuse to start boarding while he finished preflight checks, then come out after 20 minutes and say "oops timed out!").

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Sadly my experience a couple of weeks ago was more typical. My 772 DFW/ MIA Flight went mechical. GAs ignored the paxs. I knew the chances of finding a spare 772 at that time of day were slim. Even AC couldn’t get any info. Finally had the AC route me DFW/LAX/MIA to get home as everything else was sold out. However upon telling the FA on my DFW/LAX Flight what happened she was generous with wine (sitting in Y). Of course no compensation for getting home 10 hours late.

rjw242

The two aren't mutually exclusive.

nova08

Rolling delays are pretty common in my experience. Every ~30 minutes the departure time is pushed back 30 minutes

Finsup72

Did you write into customer relations? I'm sure you'd get some sort of credit (miles or voucher) for a 10-hr delay due to maintenance. AA won't proactively credit you, but you should write in and explain your experience before saying "of course no compensation".

Austin787

If only GNRMatt's experience was the norm during long delays.