nk15

I would ask for 50k miles or $500 voucher for this.

rumboj

There is no DOT policy for many issues. The airlines file their policies with the DOT and are expected to adhere to them. In this case, AA adhered to its policy. Ironically, some of those complaining in this thread are the ones to gripe first when an AAgent does NOT adhere to company policy. Exactly what do you want the DOT to police in this instance?

Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to make everyone happy all of the time. That’s kind of how the world works. If you go peek at the threads regarding upgrades, there are several posts with people complaining about the timing of getting upgrades processed. Heaven-forbid the flight goes out with empty seats up front while people are on the list...waiting because there was no time to get upgrades processed at the last minute. The reality is processes and procedures take time to complete. And airlines (any entity really) need reasonable time to complete them. Exactly how long did posters in this thread want AA to wait before starting to process them?

rumboj

Is that AA’s policy?

Adam1222

I would be spending time with my newborn/wife to assuage my guilt that i missed their birth because I insisted on business class, rather than spending hours complaining to AA or on Flyertalk.

Dgosche

I don't think the birth of a child matters here. You missed a day of travel because a flight attendant overslept in BOS and a gate agent upgraded someone while you were on the way. One of those things is excusable the other is not. I'd be equally as upset as you if I missed a day of vacation, and I'd definitely expect compensation.

naecO

OP had literally 2 posts out of 80 since Jan 7th and you'd assume he is not with his wife and baby? And I don't think he should have any guilt when the whole thing is not his fault. He was frustrated with the whole experience so he has the right to vent at least.

Adam1222

And I have the right to find it distasteful and entitled. What a world!

thelark

Seriously, did you even read the OP's posts? OP asked a question and had a door closed in his face. OP didn't miss the birth because he "insisted on business class" - he missed it because the AA ground crew were a bunch of jerks.

Adam1222

Seriously, I did. And I don't think its superclear who the jerk was-- but even in the OPs version of events, it seems he would have arrived in time for birth if he had accepted the economy ticket and not asked about other options.

What I find problematic here, as others do, is the framing of "the airline made me miss the birth of my child." If the ground crew were jerks, the compensation owed should not matter if he arrived a day later and missed that or just good old couch time.

(Of course we all know that if they held the seat and it went out empty, some DYKWIA would be posting here railing why their upgrade didn't clear; same if they were downgraded so close to departure time, or if they held the flight and caused a cascading delay.)

Either way, hope mom and baby are doing well!!!

ijgordon

Can we drop the baby business already?
IMO it was insult to injury and the OP was just venting.
My sister gave birth a month ago -- she was induced 3 weeks early as her BP (not boarding pass) was running high, this all happened in about 24-36 hours but I imagine it could have been much quicker if the emergency was more serious and they needed to do a c-section.

Tommys888

Cathay Biz seat to Eco for routing JFK to HKG and compensated 3200 USD cash. Yes cash in an envelope. And CX needs you to sign a paper that you voluntarily gave up the seat. Hope this data point helps.

MSPeconomist

It was very reasonable and understandable for the OP to ask about options. AA should not have closed the door to "punish" him for asking instead of just taking the coach boarding pass (probably a middle seat in the last row) that was offered, sitting down, shutting up, and trying in vain to get some reasonable reimbursement later for the downgrade from a paid J fare.

If we accept the comments earlier in this thread that the OP should have arrived 3-4 days early, that wouldn't necessarily have helped and in fact we don't know what the expected birth date was (which, IMO would be TMI). Babies can be born months premature, so to plan for this contingency, OP should have left his job in the USA four or five months early to go to South Korea in order to avoid the possibility of missing the birth?????? It's not realistic. Moreover, note that the OP did not know about the medical emergency at the time he was asking about other options at the gate.

tom911

One of the more popular travel blogs picked up this story overnight.
https://viewfromthewing.com/customer...ican-airlines/

sbrower

I think that might be a bit high for the "inconvenience" of being upgraded then downgraded IF you got back your original seat, but I understand your position. The problem with the downgrade of the last-minute upgraded passenger (which is what I believe sounds appropriate in this particular circumstance) is that if you had the coach seat with "unlimited" legroom (the one I usually fly on long-haul economy) and, when you got downgraded, you got a "regular" seat. Because THAT then becomes a major inconvenience for you. But if you get back what you booked (unlimited or regular) then I think you request is a little too high (but I would appreciate the customer service gesture if that is what AA felt was appropriate).

DataPlumber

Birth aside, original delay was for late crew. The OP should have been rebooked on another OW or offline carrier for that day. The AC/FL is able to handle this without having to go back to the ticket counter.

I wonder if the OP ran into my favorite ORD GA? Was she, perhaps, in her 50s with mostly grey/ black hair and wearing a massive cross around her neck?