How to inform AA their plane is infested with biting insects?
 

Flew PHL-FCO on May 25th. 2 hours into the flight, my right leg started to itch fiercely. I was wearing mid-calf capri pants because the other leg was in a surgical boot toes to knee, when I looked at my right calf, there were dozens of bright red dots. By the time I checked into my hotel, there were hundreds of stinging red dots, which 36 hours later are still bright red.

What is the most effective way to get AA to notice the problem?

A lawsuit usually gets someone's attention.

Did you report the situation to a flight attendant during the flight?

How you can be sure that it happened on the plane?

When I look it up online, it says that insect bites can start to itch as long as 24 hours after they occur.

If so, the fact that it started to itch 2 hours into the flight doesn't necessarily prove that the bites happened on the plane. They could have, for example, happened at the airport where you were boarding, or while you were going to the airport, or sometime even earlier.

If you didn't see the insects on the plane, there's probably no way you can prove by the timing that the insect bites occurred on the plane.

If there were insects on the plane, they probably bit someone else besides you, which means there will be a series of people complaining to AA and grounds for a very serious complaint.

If you're the only one with the symptoms, you were probably bit somewhere else.

Regardless of where this occurred, you should report it to AA so they can at least take precautionary action in the cabin, if needed.

Did you observe any insects? Or any other animals (such as mites), which might have bitten or stung you? I'm sorry to seem skeptical, but what is the evidence that the bumps are "bites" at all? And even if they are bites, how do you know it was from insects?

Were you traveling with someone and if your seat neighbor also had those bites?

Happened to me twice before (not on AA), once in Iberia economy and then once in KLM business. In the KLM business class case I went onboard fine, took a shower before leaving the house, and when I arrived Amsterdam Schiphol, in the shower room I noticed a bit of itch and then many bite marks on my back. So that was most likely bedbugs in the KLM cabin. You should report it, maybe send the complaint online, AA might throw some miles your way.

I had those same small red bites/dots covering a good portion of one of my lower legs following a recent FRA-DFW flight. I didn't notice it until I got home. I actually thought it was from the hotel where I stayed at (or a public lobby). Unless you have actual proof (photos or FA witness) it is very difficult to pinpoint where the bites occurred. I wouldn't notify AA and would start packing tea tree oil on your trips. It does wonders on bites and inflammation.

please please please i flew from las vegas to phl on may 14 please clean everything high heat wash and dryer. my house is now infested after my flight . american airlines as well i wonder if we were on same plane. my house is infested making my fiancé and i fight we almost already broke up over this and we’ve been together for ) years its that bad. we cannot sleep. we cannot breathe we are being bitten alive. i told her on flight we’re being bitten i couldn’t stop itching and my allergies are so bad. i’m allergic to fleas and mites so bad. so i knew that was it. my cases were cloth bags…. needless to say june 6 o am crying hyperventilating praying to god to make it stop. all my clothes are ruined. my cats are being eaten alive. and i keep finding different bugs from bites to fleas to something that looks like a bed bug. please contact me back. i want to know if we were on the same aircraft. we are planning on possibly suing.

If you were on a narrow-body aircraft (single-aisle, 3x3 seating in Coach) then it could not have been the same aircraft as what the OP was on: PHL-FCO flights are operated with wide-body (two-aisle) aircraft.

Sorry for your unfortunate experience. Where did you stay while in Las Vegas?

Welcome to FlyerTalk.

that’s exactly how my plane was. and i was also in coach i was in 25 E,FG. we had the whole row. flight aa3021
we stayed at caesar’s palace we go yearly and have never had an issue.and we weren’t being bit then it was specifically on the airplane we were bit bad and then didn’t know we brought anything home.

LOL, drama much?

I can't recall what airline it was - AA / BA or AC, but I recall towards the end of the flight, a rather large bug (roach or beetle) crawled from the bulkhead past my seat towards the rear. It crawled slow enough that I could recognize it somewhat in the dark cabin, but fast enough that I couldn't react and squish it with my feet.

Gave me the heebie jeebies for sure, lol. Fortunately we landed shortly and I was glad to get off the plane quickly.

Pest control on airlines must be a full time job.

Not the same plane. Not even the same plane type. Yours was an A321. The OP was presumably on a B789.

attendants travel
 

attendents travel, this isn’t necessarily a one plane issue. with how much i brought home fleas and mites it went from finding fleas and i said oh maybe a dog did this to then mites as well the exterminator found actually more rat mites than anything making me think it’s probably the undercarriage where the luggage goes that’s infected with rats that have mites and the issue just got worse and worse. either way, it’s been really hard on my partner and i and my family. being bitten and the insane itch it’s just a lot mentally. especially on my partner who is a school teacher and afraid to bring it to the kids.