Looking back at this initial post, it is a rambling mess. Started as a complaint letter halfway into the trip at the 37th or so hour of sleeplessness. Then I picked it up again and wrote stream of conciousness just to document the craziness and should have cleaned it up to post(just the facts ma'am). Apologies to all of those literate folks out there.

This line from a League of Their Own was my mantra during my latest travel experience...read below. Never did I break down because as we all know there is no crying during travel although I fear a lesser traveler would have.



When I decided to book the AA flight from Shanghai to Charlotte, North Carolina every member of the expat community in Shanghai tried to persuade me otherwise but as a former AA flight attendant I thought surely it couldn't be quite as bad as they would have me believe. Boy was I wrong.
American Airlines, you lived up to your reputation. I booked a return trip from Shanghai, where we live, to the states for myself and my 3 year old son with autism. I had two requirements that the original AA flight met which were: no more than 20 hours travel time(the long Shanghai-US flight and at most another short flight, in our case ORD-CLT) and to have seat back entertainment.
On our inbound flight I was surprised to see the extremely limited selection of entertainment for children and adults. There were no children's television shows, only two shows intended for much older children(the tween crowd). As for movies I believe there were seven, in total, on offer and one was an animated film. Comparatively, on Emirates or Singapore, or the multitude of other airlines we regularly fly there are hundreds of choices, literally hundreds of movies for adults and as many for children along with numerous cartoon selections or educational programs aimed at young viewers. And there is no 'joining the show in 14 minutes', it is on demand.
When we arrived in Chicago our connecting flight to Charlotte was delayed by two hours because, as the gate agent repeatedly announced, "we can't find the flight attendant for our flight". So much for professionalism.
We were so late arriving to Charlotte that we had to sit on the tarmac and wait for the only manned jetway to become available and after a 15 minute wait we were told by the captain that we would have to deplane on the tarmac because the airport crew had gone home for the night.
Fast forward five weeks to our return trip when I am attempting to make a change to my itinerary because I was now much closer geographically to Chicago (the second leg of my outbound journey to Shanghai) than Charlotte(the originating leg). I called customer service to ask if I could cancel or simply not show for the first leg, not asking for a refund or any special treatment, simply called to say how silly it is that I have to fly all the way back to Charlotte to catch my flight from Chicago to Shanghai. I was told this was not possible. Why was this not possible? Could there simply not be a computer notation made? Anything? Seems pretty straight forward to any reasonable person. You could have resold our seats for that leg for all I cared. But no, rules are rules.
Nonetheless, packed up my son and bought our tickets to Charlotte to overnight in a hotel to catch our morning flight on AA to return to Shanghai via Chicago. I attempted to check in the night before and kept getting an error message saying to contact airport personel. Fine, will check in the moring with airport personel. Up at 4:30am to get to the airport by 5:30am and when I arrive am told that my flight had been cancelled and they could no longer get me to Chicago to get on my Shanghai bound flight. I just paid $600 to get my son and myself to Charlotte for a flight that was cancelled and apparently the airline knew about it the previous evening because the agent said that was why I was not allowed to check in the night before. Do you see the irony here?
I spend an entire extra day and overnight of travel and $600- in vain. Now on to the really fun part of the American Airlines experience...
There was no apology made at all or any real effort to find something suitable for our situation. The best plan was now to fly my son and I to LAX where we could catch an evening flight to Shanghai. This would mean an extra 4 to 5 hours of flight time and now a 6 hour layover. Traveling with an autistic 3 year old is no picnic but now the travel time has just doubled. He is on a special diet and the food supply would be running very low as I am only able to carry so much along with him. We are put on a US airways flight outbound for LAX so a 5+ hour flight as opposed to our original 1 hour flight, and all of their food sells out before they get back to our section of the cabin. Wonderful.
We arrive at LAX and now have to do a terminal change, another difficult task when flying as a single parent. Although shaken we are feeling better to be in the homestretch now and we arrive to terminal 4 and lo and behold, can it be? The LAX-Shanghai flight is cancelled! The reason I was just rerouted across the country �cancelled. This is just about when I lose it. Thankfully there was one nice guy who kept me from ending up jailed on the spot and my son with social services. Mario the ticketing supervisor was trying to find the best solution and although his efforts were in vain he was at least upbeat and smiling.
I've been rerouted across country, two flights cancelled(one on each coast), inconvenienced by several hours, and certainly not due to weather but poor planning along with bad preventative maintenance or aircraft scheduling. I was told in Charlotte it was a crew rest issue, in LAX a mechanical issue however the flight attendants assured me it was no mechanical issue but more to do with revenue as there were two available 777�s sitting on the airfield.
Again, no apologies or anything that remotely resembles customer 'service'. I was booked onto a Tokyo flight where I would have a 4 hour + layover and then finally to Shanghai. Apparently I would have to rush to the Tokyo departure gate.
As I made my way to security as quickly as I could I was stopped and told my stroller was too large because it has 3 wheels. It does have 3 wheels and is an unusual make made in China and to add some perspective, I've traveled everywhere with this stroller and it collapses well small enough to fit through an ordinary x-ray machine. It has been to just about every continent with every airline. But no, in LAX because it has 3 wheels it is apparently a jogging stroller. I know what a jog stroller is, the wheels on my stroller are standard size, tiny even..and it fits through the machine. I was refused entrance to security and told I had to go sort it out myself by some really awful, dull eyed employees.
Made my way back down(with 3 carry ons and my sleeping son) and back up again and yes my stroller can go through. What is wrong with airline employees? Can they not think or see or reason? Bovines, at least these two were.
We make it to the gate to get our seat assignments and I notice that although the flight should be well into boarding not much is happening. The Tokyo flight is now going to be an hour delayed. OK folks, this is getting ridiculous. We wait and wait, my son is freaking out that is has taken so long and he hasn't eaten(recall the no food on board the first rescheduled flight and the rushing to get to the second rescheduled flight)..and the announcement comes 'GATE CHANGE'. Off we go to a new gate and after waiting for another hour we finally board. However, we sit on the runway for another hour. Now we are over two hours delayed. This all seems impossible. We finally take off and get going in the air. Exhausted but relieved to finally be getting closer to home. We turn on our seat back entertainment..and guess what? It doesn't work. So my only two requirements, what I paid for, the schedule and the entertainment, are not met. How is this in any way customer service? On top of that, when I call the attendant no one comes. And when I mean no one comes, no one notices the light for two hours. They were not in the middle of a service, it just went unanswered. Finally I flag the flight attendant down and when I tell him that my unit is inoperative, guess what? He does nothing and says I can just use my son's side. I PAID FOR BOTH OF US TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT SPECIFICALLY. I was so taken back by his flip answer I told him the extent of my troubles with AA and his answer was..well I had to commute in from Seattle for work and almost missed this flight. Is he seriously comparing his work commitment and his commute(that he chooses and is lucky enough to be able to do) to traveling alone with a child with special needs and having had two cancelled flights on each coast and everything go wrong that could go wrong after paying $2000(not to mention the $600 to get to Charlotte)? He also joked that I needed to pay for some portable device he could bring if I was really that desperate (by the way he never brought anything). The complete lack of professionalism was and is appaling. I still cannot believe this trip and I am absolutely kicking myself for having faith in a US based airline, particularly American. I should have listened to the dozens of expats in Shanghai who said to stay away at all costs and will certainly lend my voice to theirs as soon as, IF, we get back.
NO mention of compensation, sorry for your troubles, can we help in some way, perhaps upgrade to the several empty seats in business where the seatback entertainment is working--nothing. Absolutely nothing but greed and incompetence and unprofessionalism.
I am a proud American but completely disgusted with what has become of customer service in our airline industry. While leaving China, as a single mother traveling with child I was escorted to VIP security and also pre-boarded with only other mothers and children onto the flight with a choice of taking my stroller the entire way on if necessary. Customs in China is efficient and quick and very friendly. What is happening in America that allows China to be so much more friendly and easier to navigate? When did Americans become so surly and lazy? Who would have ever imagined that a country with terrible pollution and human rights violations would outshine the US in customer service and efficiency?
Oh, and all of this took place(is taking place) on my 40th birthday and although a hundred people looked at my passport today..not a single person noticed. So I suppose thanks are in order for a truly unforgettable 40th American Airlines.
I wanted to add..that add that upon arrival in Tokyo we were rerouted to Hameda due to a strong thunderstorm sitting over Narita. We sat on the runway for 4 hours after a 12 hour flight and then returned to Narita adding another hour by the time we departed the aircraft. We were sent to a filthy hotel, a smoking room with one single bed for myself and my 3 year old son. We were given 1 food voucher initially and only after complaining was I given two. Back the airport this morning and another interesting note..Narita also assists parents traveling with children. I was taken to a special check-in desk set aside for families with a small play area nearby. Why are airports in America so far behind in common courtesy and generally so unfriendly?
So my carefully chosen trip consisting of 1 short leg and 1 long leg, same terminals, shortest duration..has turned into 3 days of travel, terminal changes at two international airports, two cancellations, several delays�a total nightmare.
How can American give a family of two 1 meal voucher and a single bed smoking room after such treatment? One last thing, because of AA�s nonsense, our luggage is missing. That luggage contains all of my son�s teaching materials and speech therapy materials specific to his autism. It also contains his special dietary foods that I must bring with.
Disgusted.

P.S. Luggage was recovered by Japanese staff

Im surprised that you, as a former flight attendant, didnt realise what service on US airlines can be like, has it changed that much since you left?

You might want to post a link to this report in the AA forum to seek out any advice they may have.

Sorry your trip was so bad.

No, please don't!

Happy belated birthday!

Can you throw in a few paragraphs?

Not sure if this is really worth of a response, I suspect we have a one and done poster here. But, a few things:

- Flying over 7,000 miles in Y with a child is almost never a positive experience, on any airline.

- Every airline on this site has many of these rants. So while AA might not compare well to elite Asian carriers, all airlines upset people every day.

- Many of the problems you listed are not in AA's control. All airlines cancel flights, reroute people, lose bags, etc.

- For your route, the only non-US airline who could do a 1-stop itinerary is China Eastern (PVG-JFK-CLT(onDL). MU does not exactly have the same reputation as SQ, CX, etc.

- Think hard about how much more you will actually be willing to spend next time for an airline you think is better. If CO/DL/CX etc. is $500 more, will you spend $1,000 because you think the flight will be better? With most flyers, the answer is no. Thus, AA does not have a reason to invest in their Y service.


(I saw a post recently recommending a waiting period for new members before they can post. I think this would be a great way to reduce these one and done rant posters.)

Sorry to hear you had a crap birthday and the trip was terrible.
I am hoping you have travel insurance?
Unfortunately as you would know being a former FA that things can and do happen... It's just unfortunate for you that you also had your son to deal with which made it harder.

I do understand bags get lost, flights cancelled, etc. I have been traveling constantly for the last 20 years as a flight attendant, as a helicopter pilot, mostly for life and leisure. But what a chain of events-and I didn't sob or even get angry with anyone specifically! I simply wondered how the hell have services and customer service in the US become so poor.
And no apologies. Regardless of class I paid for a service and that service was awful. Cattle class or not...at least some decency. And a single smoking room with 1 meal voucher for two of us?

Service standards all over the world can go from brilliant to crap in a second, no matter the company or the country.

It is unfortunate that the entire chain of events happened within the same trip, it does happen to all travelers at some point.

[Snark on [very, very rarely do I do this (ever on FT!!??)]:

That was a legendary number of paragraphs. If this is the letter that you are drafting to AA please consider is drastically reducing the number of paragraphs and make it short and to the point.

Sorry - had to keep going - also - I understand the AA staff issues: They are trying to handle 200+ passengers that are all angry and perhaps they didn't mention: Sorry for the delays. I also didn't originally see that you were a Flight Attendant. My god - then you better then anyone should know this stuff happens, unfortunately.

As I said earlier, have been traveling constantly for 20 years and never have I had so many things go wrong on any single trip. And I mean traveling on airlines with terrible reputations(Air China, India, Turkish?)as well as the usual decent to good ones. Two cancellations on different coasts to the same destination, two delays, an overnight in a crappy hotel room and 1 meal voucher for two people? Gate agents announcing they can't find flight attendants, employees openly saying that cancellations are due to revenue issues. If what you are saying is that this is the expected norm when did it happen?

And just one more thought, why is the US falling behind other countries in terms of airport efficiency(not to mention common courtesy)?
My excessive rant was more about the customer service than the actual delays and cancellations. I understand mechanical issues happen.

slightly disagree

Nonetheless, sorry to hear about this unfortunate chain of events.

- United has way more flights in and out of Shanghai. And, if you are going through ORD anyway you want to be on United. Then it's US Airways to CLT.

- You could pay a little bit more for Economy Plus on United which is worth it traveling with a special needs child. If you do this trip a lot, stick to one airline and then use your miles for upgrades.

- American's CSR rep was wrong - you could have changed your routing on your return (missing the first leg of your flight) but it would have cost you $250 per ticket). But, in general, if you miss the first leg of your trip your whole itinerary is cancelled.

But, like previous posters said, unfortunately things go wrong but usually not to the extent that you experienced.

Oh please; given the volume of flights, US airports are some of the most efficient in the world! ORD averages 2400 flights a day. When operating at max capacity BKK can only handle 76 flights per hour!

Seriously? If that's how you judge "common courtesy" I doubt you'll ever be satisfied!

The OP is right to be angry and upset. Of course, as some of you have pointed out there were better options out there for her (listen to the expats in Shanghai, travel *A which has more NA options, etc.) but the fact is that she did receive shoddy treatment from AA.

One poster stated that the CSR on the phone was wrong and OP could have changed her tickets for a total of $500, and departed from ORD rather than return to CLT (cost of $600 plus travel time, not easy with any 3 year old let alone a special needs one). If the CSR had been properly trained all the rest of the stuff the OP endured would have been moot points. For me this is the bottom line, and why AA bears responsibility.

It sounds like a nightmare. I'd like to see how any of the posters who criticized or displayed zero sympathy for the OP go through the same experience while keeping their chin up.