Adam1222

Not sure if you think that's a rebuttal to anything I said, but it's not. One can take an action that was reasonable at the time, and not "wrong", that nonetheless has unintended consequences. That doesn't change the fact that the OPs actions and choices played a role in him missing the birth. Hindsight is always 20/20. One has the choice whether to accept that sometimes you make choices based on the info available to you in cruddy situations, to seek compensation, or something in between.

shd9

If OP is already in Chicago, the options are very limited. Virtually all flights to Japan/Korea depart around noon, so if he missed the ORD-NRT flight, he likely has missed all flight to Asia on that day (barring the Cathay flight to HKG, but probably that’s not going to help much)

The only opportunity was probably on the ground at BOS, OP could have asked to be put on the JAL BOS-NRT-PUS...

MSPeconomist

The last time I looked at schedules, there were midnight departures fo ICN from both coasts. At least the JFK flight arrives in the very early morning hours. From ICN, it would have been easy to get a flight to PUS, or alternatively from Gimpo, or even to take the train. However, this would have required a rebooking onto a carrier that isn't an alliance carrier, which I suspect is why the OP chose the routing through NRT originally.

rufflesinc

No no, the correct analogy would be if you drove only 5mph over the speed limit like all the other drivers in the area did, the child jumped in front of your car at the last second, there was no cross walk and the parent didn't do their legal duty to watch their kid.
the fine print

PaulInTheSky

1. AA failed to get the passengers to final destination under CoCs. T-30 or T-10 doesn’t matter as the gate agents already knew he was going to misconnect.

2. AA closed the door without giving enough information to OP about possible options to work with.

3. AA staff flagged the pax as no-show by denying they were actually in fault - late crew.
-> This is the current state of AA customer service. Shifting the blame and twisting the story(Misconnect interpreted as no-show) are the worst things that happen to the airline.

4. AA did not provide other options to OP with even non-AA or OneWorld airlines getting OP to final destinations as soon as possible. If I were OP I would have explored all other options including non-OW to get to the final destinations.

If I were OP I would go after AA on social media and their customer relations to figure out what compensation will be due. However, look at the bright side, the baby seemed ok even after medical emergency, and you got there safely. Blessing in disguise. Congratulations on the new family member and I wish you best against AA.

pseudoswede

Then, in reality, expectant fathers should stop traveling out of town for work within 3-4 months of due date. Last I checked, babies in wombs do not have access to daddy's Outlook calendar.

Given what my wife had to go through for 9 months, especially the last few hours (twice), I have no right to complain about being uncomfortable or in pain for 14 hours. OP has to suffer through the pain in a sitting position for takeoff and landing, regardless of class booked. I'm also sure OP is in a sitting/standing position during most of the work day (8-12 hours), but that is a wild assumption, and I apologize if that part is not true.

Back on topic: yes, AA definitely dropped the ball.

v11a

Not nearly enough; not even in combination. AA committed multiple errors. Maybe that much for each separate issue.

Also, it would be a nice PR gesture if AA also provided the whole family with free FC tickets to a destination of their choice when everyone is recovered and ready to travel.

OpenSky

Surely there was a JAL flight you could have taken?
Or flown non stop from BOS ( also Jal)

My advice : quit American.

They clearly don't care.

minkook

No matter what other people say such as, "how could u miss your baby's birth," you have clearly been wronged by AA. If i were you, i wouldn't have stayed polite like you. Stop DM with them (they won't do anything there) and report this with the media. I wish you a million dollar settlement!

Good luck!

AussieNomad

I would be so angry at AA after this treatment. Anyone excusing how OP was treated must work for AA.

What if you were flying Y, get to the gate, and the agent says "Sorry, no seat for you, your connection was late".

What's most surprising about this whole story is that someone would PAY for AA J over the pacific. Must have been a lot cheaper than alternatives.

I suspect this was a nonrev got his seat.

Is AA software that bad they can't see tight connections?

PUCCI GALORE

I have read the whole sorry thread. My opinion - based solely on the OP's assertations is the Gate Agents were remiss. He arrived late through no fault of his own. The agent should have taken him to the end of the jetbridge and gone and moved the passenger who had clearly been upgraded or was Stand-by and moved him/her into Economy and seated the OP where he had paid to be seated. If the passenger being displaced did not like it, he could leave.

Excuse me for not joining in the morality chorus, but that is what should have happened but nobody bothered as far as the story goes. I wonder why. My own rather nasty thoughts are that this was a staff member - possibly one of their own who they did not want to inconvenience. It is not impossible that they just could not be bothered. I stress that we only have one side of the story, but if the OP is 50% accurate then this is disgraceful and if not a word has been exaggerated then this should be in the press. AA don't like that.

nk15

I agree, I would say minimally this should be given.

nk15

He wasn't last minute upgraded, he had a $5k paid J ticket to begin with. Which he "planned ahead and saved up and paid" with his own money (not flying OPM) and he needed the J seat for medical reasons.

ijgordon

The post you were responding two was not talking about the OP as a last-minute upgrade, but rather the passenger that was upgraded into the OP's seat when the GA thought he would misconnect. I think most last-minute upgraded revenue passengers would understand a downgrade for a late-arriving paid pax (not that they'd be happy), as long as they get their original or a comparable seat back.

Of course we don't know if it was a last-minute upgrade of a revenue passenger or an employee/non-rev. I think processing a revenue passenger downgrade might be more complicated than a non-rev downgrade, but on the other hand the agent is probably inherently averse to downgrading a fellow employee. So the incentive in either case is to screw the OP.

aubreyfromwheaton

I don't know why AA flyers tolerate the low level of service and compensation compared to Delta. All these posters blaming the OP for getting delayed when it was due to basic responsibilities of working (showing up on time), not accepting Y after paying 1000's of $$ and needing J, and the lazy rebooking agent. Really amazing. Shame on the posters and AA for this one.