blufish312

Deleted

Centurion

I would not expect anything. Excrement happens.

Blumie

I would demand an apology for the fact that the situation seemingly was handled well and that everyone arrived at their destination safely. Absolutely do not accept anything less.

Antarius

Sounds like it was handled well given the unfortunate situation.

Stuff happens.

blufish312

Some interesting takes here.

This wasn’t an issue of WiFi not working, a seat not reclining, etc. The landing gear would not retract - it was a mechanical issue serious enough to require a return to the airport (and a diversion to a nearby airport).

Stuff happens? You arrived, and alive? Is the AA marketing department on FT tonight market testing new 2024 slogans? 😂

Antarius

You're in a metal tube 30k above sea level going nearly the speed of sound. 99.99% of the time, the major stuff goes off without a hitch. Occasionally, stuff goes wrong.

You've never experienced an appliance break? Your car fail to start? Machines break - aircraft do to. Due to the tireless efforts by people building, maintaining and operating these aircraft, when something breaks, it almost never goes catastrophically wrong.

As long as it was handled well, I wouldn't complain. I had 3 mechanical issues over the last week. 2 on AA and one on Frontier. All handled with excellent communication and good attitudes. I don't need more.

stant

compensation is for when the airline screws up. what was the screwup here? being cautious about the landing gear? from the sounds of it you got to your destination what, maybe 2 hrs late? you arent entitled to any compensation. quit acting like you are.

blufish312

I can’t make the leap that you are – the microwave in my house failing, or the water pump going out of my car are entirely different scenarios than as you mentioned, being 30,000 feet in the air and having landing gear that doesn’t work. By the number of people involved, and essential danger. I can’t even see how that could come close to equivalent.

The airline didn’t screw up by flying a broken plane? The flight was not returned to the airport based out of caution, it was forced to return due to the nature of the mechanical issue.

It’s not about getting two hours late, it’s about the back of the landing gear would not retract on a plane already in flight.

I guess I’ll fire out the email to AA and let them make the decision. Thank you for your valuable and well informed contribution to the discussion.

william142

He 100% deserves compensation. AA flying broken planes is bs. As is everyone defending AA. Pretty cut and dry...

Antarius

The difference is that a microwave breaking usually can't kill you. An aircraft can, yet due to an emphasis on and having redundant safety mechanisms, mechanical failures don't usually kill people.

You clearly aren't interested in opinions from any of us here and are seeking validation for your "essential danger". Facebook is better suited for this.

Vote for EU 261 style rules.

No one is defending AA saying that nothing went wrong. Most of us have flown enough to discern the difference between something wrong that deserves compensation/complaining and stuff that happens. Stuff breaks, that's life.

dw

I would applaud ops for directing the plane to MKE where a spare aircraft was available. Otherwise you would have returned to ORD, flight would have been cancelled, and you’d probably have to fly the next day.

notquiteaff

And would a $200 voucher make up for that “essential danger”?

blufish312

As opposed to the zero dollars currently on offer?

Just interesting the number of people who take the stance that flying broken airplanes is just an acceptable part of the travel experience. I’ve had any number of delays (looking at you, 50% on time departure rate ORD), cancellations, sitting on the tarmac for hours, etc on both American and United. But only twice have I had a major mechanical issue while either in-flight or on takeoff.

Blows my mind that the default answer seems to be ‘not the airlines fault, and if it is, •••• happens’. Even a courtesy offer of a couple thousand miles as a ‘we screwed up, sorry’ would be better than no acknowledgment at all of the problem, in my eyes.

Antarius

You're lucky!

I've experienced 1 engine conk on takeoff, one explode during start and one where the reverse thruster decided to fall off. One rapid depressurization, 2 go arounds due to runway incursions, one blown tire on landing, one landing gear that failed to retract, one inboard flap that fell off (on the ground, thankfully) and probably some more smaller stuff. This is across many different airlines. It's not like anyone flew knowing these things would happen.

notquiteaff

If I understood your OP correctly,

You started looking for compensation before you even had arrived at the gate. Maybe they will send you something. Maybe they won’t. They don’t owe you anything other than a safe arrival. You titled this thread asking for advice. You got some and you didn't like it, it seems.

How much compensation would make up for the “essential danger”?