American Airlines passenger Jennifer Hughes doesn’t understand why she isn’t allow to standby for a flight with plenty of open seats available. Surely the gate agent could have provided a better explanation than “they didn’t ‘have time to help’.” In truth, they aren’t allowed to help. That’s the way American Airlines decided they like it.
@AmericanAir crap service DFW, gate agent refused to help us, stood on phones 30m and stated they didn’t “have time to help me”! Brianna didn’t even attempt to assist, 13 extra seats Honest truth would rather be on phones then assist customers! Called supervisor 20m ago evidently pic.twitter.com/fWzP8Ky8uM
— Jennifer Hughes (@Jennife83749624) March 26, 2025
American Airlines Standby Rules Keep Passengers Stuck At The Airport
When a plane has extra seats available, it actually helps the airline to put people in them. Not only does it drive customer loyalty, it makes the operation more efficient – and keeps them from having to deal with costly passenger delays from bad weather and mechanical issues that can creep up later. American Airlines doesn’t see it that way.
A year ago they adopted policies (here are the internal rules) that let seats go out empty while passengers are still trying to get on the flight. Their focus was on reducing staff costs, and getting customers to change their behavior to use self-service tools (website, app) instead of getting help from a person.
There is no more running to the gate to catch an earlier flight for most passengers. The airline turns away passengers who try to do this.
- You must be an AAdvantage member to standby, though you can join at the airport.
- American pushes almost everyone to self-serve. Unless you have Platinum Pro status or higher in the AAdvantage program, you have to ‘do it yourself’ to standby. An agent cannot help you.
- And this now has to be done at least 45 minutes prior to departure. If you land early and run to the gate of an earlier connection, you’re stuck waiting in the airport. If you finish meetings early and manage to get to the airport in time for an earlier flight, you’re out of luck. You need to list for the earlier flight at least 45 minutes before departure, but you don’t always know if you’ll make it or not!
People are getting stuck in airports for no good reason at all – because the airline thinks it lowers their costs, but by becoming less efficient and burning customer goodwill they’re actually both driving up expenses and costing themselves revenue.
Technical Glitch Keeps Elites From Using Standby Benefits They Do Have
The new customer-unfriendly policies are even contradictory with passengers trapped in the middle.
- Standby isn’t allowed if you have checked bags, unless you’re an AAdvantage elite.
- Once you check a bag, you can no longer add yourself to standby using American’s mobile tools.
- But Gold and Platinum elite members aren’t allowed to add themselves any other way.
In fact, if you ‘add bags’ on the app even when not checking in, you lose the ability to same-day standby for another flight. This cannot be removed from your reservation once added (I’ve not heard of any success in doing so via an agent). That means you would need to request standby at the gate, but for most members this is not allowed.
American Airlines allows their Gold and Platinum frequent flyers to stand by for a flight, even if they’ve checked bags. But they’ve programmed their systems not to allow it, and they won’t allow agents to do it for them any longer to save money. And they haven’t communicated any of this to customers.
American’s Standby Rules Were The Most Restrictive Anyway, Even Before This Change
When a customer wants to standby or change to an earlier flight, they aren’t allowed to change connecting cities. That means if they are flying in or out of a small airport that has only a single flight through a given hub, they cannot make same day changes at all. They can’t change the number of segments they’re flying, or switch from a connection to a non-stop.
These were all changes that were put into place when US Airways management took over, worrying that someone might save money and cost them revenue by booking a cheaper flight and changing to something more expensive. These are also policies that are out of step with competitors United and Delta.
Further evidence idiots operate this airline.
That’s just bad business. It’s inefficient. It upsets customers. What are they thinking? They aren’t.
While I’m not surprised about American Airlines doing this, because… *gestures broadly* …I find this to be more indicative of the general anti-consumer sentiment by mega-corporations and the super-rich, who must feel that us ‘peasants’ are just whining again, that they can and will get away with harming and inconveniencing us, and that we all should just learn to ‘deal with it’ lest we annoy those billionaires while they fly private everywhere anyway.
Some of you, no doubt, will rush to blame a minimum wage, entry-level agent, who has little to no power whatsoever, even if they wanted to help, and many do want to help you. So, please, try to remain calm, ask for help, and treat them well, regardless. As I’ve been saying, here and in prior posts: This is a bigger issue–the fish rots at the head. Let’s blame the right reasons and the right people (it’s those in-power), not the ‘front-line’ workers.
I haven’t flown Anerucan in years because of their passenger antagonistic behavior. My last American flight out of Dallas i dealt with their nonsense. Was booked in a flight DFW to SFO which was 2nd to last flight of the day. As boarding started the baggage truck drove into the cargo door so boarding stopped. They were not sure if plane was airworthiness. I tried to standby for bext flight and was told I could only go on that flight if I cancelled by reservation and bought a full fair ticket. They could confirm if our flight was going to go out at that point and I tried to list for first flight next day. I was told the same thing. Finally 4 hours late and after earlier flight then announced a new plane and gate change because plane was unsafe. As we started to go to new gate we were told plane was safe. That was the last time I flew Amerucan and put them in same class as Spitit, Frontier and Allegiant.
So if I get to the airport early, with bags to check, can I add myself to standby list before I check bags if more than 45 minutes as a Platinum?
But not if I’ve already checked bags?
Or is standby only allowed I’d carryon for those below POto?
This has resulted in people adding themselves to the standby list, even if they are 99% sure they aren’t going to use it.
So, agents now scan the gate area after boarding looking for these passengers. It’s created a situation of at best equal work and sometimes more work for the agent.
It’s crazy that AA is trying to market itself as a premium airline while it can’t get basic things right.
When DFW had the severe winds last week, they cancelled our flight at 11pm for the following evening. As I was on hold with an agent, they cancelled our reservation and issued a travel credit as they could not rebook us to our destination in the next two days. When I finally connected with an agent they insisted that we had cancelled the reservation and there was nothing they could do. The email about the cancellation didn’t come through until we had been speaking with the agent for 15 minutes. We were finally able to get rebooked the following day with a 40 minute DFW transfer, that we missed due to winds and our plane not leaving until an hour later in Austin.
We called while sitting on the tarmac in Austin, trying to proactively change to a flight that evening and they kept insisting we use the app to rebook, but as we were connecting internationally , had an infant in arms and our first flight hadn’t left the app does not allow this. After escalating we finally secured seats on the later flight with a 10 hour layover in DFW.
We are extremely experienced travelers and this was the most stressful day of travel we have had in a decade.
Flight attendants on all 4 legs of our flight were either delightful or just looked pissed off and were rude. I’m yet to experience a middle ground.
On the last leg, they decided that one of our strollers was too big (even though it fits the size requirements and we had gate checked on all previous segments) and force checked it to baggage. In DFW they also wouldn’t check in the stroller until boarding, causing us to loose a couple of boarding positions (yes positions, not places) as they took their time tagging these.
♂️
Robert Isom is a tool
The #1 driver of my continued loyalty to United (and the #1 thing preventing me from buying Basic Economy tickets) is United’s same day change policy, supported by their excellent IT. (The United app is really, really good.) It just takes SO much stress out of traveling when I don’t have to make my #1 priority of the day being at an airport at exactly the right time.
United has eroded this benefit a bit by not opening up fare classes close to departure like they used to, but they’re still well ahead of Delta and so so so much better than AA.
I would be FURIOUS if I walked up to a flight with empty seats and they wouldn’t put me on.
To Disgruntled American: Please stop insulting idiots.
See my blog….
Years ago, most European airlines were sticklers in having passengers fly on their ticketed flights and not standby on an earlier flight.
A US airline should strive to be a premium airline with kind employees, not cold hearted bureaucrats. That is difficult to have but a few airlines have done it, like EVA or Singapore Airlines. Things, like standby, doesn’t cost the airline so that’s a way for cheap improvement.
This is accurate – I saw this in practice this week in Charlotte
Although there is no need for it, this is just another example adding to the exhaustive list verifying that American Airlines is run by a gaggle of clueless morons who care nothing for those who ultimately pay overblown salaries reward total incompetence.
American just gets worse and worse. They go out of their way to disappoint the passengers. Delta and United also suck. Only 10 more years until my retirement.
But it leaves money on the table that could have been had by requiring an explicit flight change with fare upcharge, so it’s not gonna happen.
Shortsighted for sure. Reminds me of T-Mobiles recent policy of “You must do things through this T-Life app”… to people that have already come into the store. Apparently people come in all ready to buy a new phone or add a line, and leave without because of this. Apps are great, unless they’re not. And some people just need the human touch.
It seems real shortsighted to fly planes with empty seats, while P.O.’ed customers are stuck in the lounge, to save like $1 or $2 of gate agent time.
With the capabilities of automation today, it makes absolutely no sense to block people for booking/changing/modifying their flight on the app.
American is shooting themselves in the foot by taking this Neanderthal approach to their business.
@Dan: If you pre-checked bags on the app, that also blocks you from standby, apparently, even if you haven’t actually given them your bags yet.
On United, if I have checked bags, they just say they won’t guarantee my bags will get there when I do and if they don’t it’s on me to come back and get them. 90% of the time they make it anyway.
AA’s actual on-board product isn’t bad, but their systems and procedures are amazingly garbage.
When HP took over, they kept the industry’s worst IT and it hasn’t improved in the intervening years.
I actually have lifetime Gold status with AA and go out of my way to avoid flying with them. Burned the last of my own miles with them on a one-way JAL award ticket. I’d probably confidently say I’ll never fly them again, except that I just discovered my elderly father is sitting on a million AAdvantage miles.
I worked in airline business for years, we were always taught that once the door closes on a flight the empty seats were wasted so we always wanted to let people on who were booked on later flights.
Alaska Airlines started doing this years ago, the first time I got to SEA with a three hour layover and watched two earlier flights go out with seats….while Alaska would not let me fly earlier. Crazy
@ Christopher J Raehl is right. When I was UA 1K I quickly found out how far behind AA was in managing same day stand-bys. And, yes, UA’s mobile app is far more powerful and efficient than AA’s, which appears to have been developed by summer school interns. Alas being in Dallas I’m back to AA ExPlat but not because I choose to be. In fact, I’m now a free agent. Liberating! Will be buying two J TATL trips in next four months. Neither on AA, which has mastered the art of incinerating loyalty.
I had experienced the exact same when returning home to DFW from Philadelphia. And the explanation offered by the agent was that they no longer allow them to do it manually and I have to use the kiosk but the bottom line is the kiosk will have a hard stop and won’t let you change the flight unless you pay for it.
I figured it was a way to generate more revenue but clearly driving away passenger loyalty.
Flying domestically is a horrible way to travel. Now that I’m retired, I drive whenever possible. I can sit next to someone I love, eat and drink when I want to, enjoy the scenery, and arrive at my destination with all of my luggage intact, all without feeling pissed off.
Is there any legitimate pressure coming from the board or stockholders to change such idiotic policies, or the performance of the carrier at all?
@Denver Refugee — That’s a bingo! Follow the money.
@Mallthus — You said: “AA’s actual on-board product isn’t bad…” That’s Where You’re Wrong Kiddo. While American Airlines’ Project Oasis may have attempted to ‘standardize’ the on-board product, it resulted in tighter seat configurations, less legroom (overall), and reductions (and outright elimination) of inflight entertainment (especially on narrow-bodied aircraft). So, yes, I’m definitely going to re-litigate the ‘lack of IFE’ as a net-bad. So, to the folks who are like ‘I use an iPad so I don’t care’ you guys are pathetic. A ‘premium’ airline gets screens for every passenger. No brainer.
@Craig Jones — Great blog, sir. As an Executive Platinum for just 5 more days, you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve accepted my new soon-to-be place as a mere Platinum Pro *gasp* And it’s not just AA, sometimes, their partners can ‘screw’ us, too. Beware of Finnair, unless you enjoy getting stranded in HEL (Helsinki, that is).
Not sure you info is accurate here. I just tried to stand by for an earlier flight (AA Gold Elite) and there was no ability to do so on the app unless I paid $75. I then called AA and they said they only way to standby now is at the airport with the help of an airport AA rep. At the airport, rep still said I had to pay $75, which I did. Now waiting to see if Platinum Amex is going to credit it as an incidental.
Even better is when they rebook you based on a forecast missed connection, you make up time, make it to your originally scheduled connection when they aren’t even on Group 4 or 5 yet and the agent shrugs and says if you can’t do it in the app, I can’t help you. So you watch your scheduled plane leave with someone else (a non-rev on standby perhaps) in your seat and sit 5 hours til the next one.
Sounds like both a crappy company to fly with as well as to work for ( at least they’re consistent ! ). In the same league as the ULCC’s….
This was done to avoid gate agent overload. A gate agent’s workload can vary from being totally swamped to staring off into space until boarding commences. The entire world is moving to “self service.” It’s just not airlines nor AA. Most people can adapt. They go into an app, do what they need to do. Presumably if the technology is good and the app user friendly it’s a cinch. I don’t do standby so I can’t comment on AA’s functionality.
As far as going standby with checked bags. That’s asking for trouble. No way do I want my bags floating around the system without being on the plane that I’m on.
American’s new slogan: “We aren’t Spirit, but we should be.”
Agreed with Gary, here’s what he said: “Things, like standby, doesn’t cost the airline so that’s a way for cheap improvement”. The reality is that there’s nothing more perishable than an Airline Flight or Hotel Room Night: Once that event has taken place, any unfilled inventory yields $ 0 revenue. Logically, when talking specifically about PAX standing by for an earlier flight, it yields TIME VALUE to the airline in every case (there’s always some non-zero probability that a PAX will appear and want on the later flight). It’s proven equities option theory, if anything Gary understated the value.
@mel –
American will be gone in less than 15 years & it’s become painfully apparent.
It is now in the bottom leagues of Spirit & Frontier. It’s a bargain basement service style company. Robert Isom should have been fired years ago. He is in no way a leader & pretty much a wimp. The employee groups are well known to despise him. Employee morale is still at rock bottom & it shows. The planes are filthy & their inflight service is next to nothing.
United is the new Pan Am over the Pacific & Delta the new TWA over the Atlantic. It is stunning overall to see how Isom & his American Worst management team have destroyed a once incredible United States icon. Is American Airlines the next Eastern?
It’s already happening in front of our wide open eyes as we watch & gasp.
Help me out, please!!
I keep reading about all these AA FF. For the most part, whenever they write here, they complain about the food, the service, lousy planes, and the inability of the ground staff to effectively do their jobs (actually, from what I read, management won’t let them do their jobs.)
If you were to buy a product, that turned out to be crap, the service crap, and people crap, chances are better than 80% that you will tell them to go F themselves.
Just because you live in Dallas, Charlotte, or Austin does not mean you have no choices. Yes, fewer nonstops, and fewer flights per day are a pain, but why you let them treat you like shit? Have you no self-worth?
Since when is it required to use an “app” for rebooking or placing yourself standby on a flight? Whatever happened to customer service? Frankly I avoid using apps when I can some do not work as advertised and you can never get to speak with someone without going through several useless questions and still ending up right were you started. Screw American if they wont spare a minute to speak with me or provided HUMAN assistance I will find an airline that can. This also goes for any carrier wanting to become to automated to provide human customer service
@Alan Z — I particularly enjoyed your appeal for us to have some ‘self-worth.’ Ahh, yes…if only. But, don’t worry, sir. The coming ‘recession’ will sort all this out for us, whether we like it or not. If we’re currently traveling for business–good news, no more business. If the airlines are currently mistreating passengers–good news again, no more passengers. And, once that ‘reset’ happens, we all can either ‘learn our lesson’ and ‘treat folks better’…or, just double-down. So, which do you expect is more likely?
Years ago, my mother recounted her displeasure that WN would put her on an earlier flight when she arrived early to the airport even though therecwere empty seats. The reason was simple. She had bought a flight for $X, but when she bought it, all seats on the earlier flight were >$X. They were trying to prevent people from buying tickets on a 1pm at a cheaper price than thec11am, and then get the 11am by standby.
That said, I wonder if this is part of their thinking. But, no, I’m guessing lousy management.
It is hard to imagine a dumber policy. The airline would rather send out empty seats generating $0 revenue than fill them and open seats that might generate revenue on a later flight. And keep customers happy. Estupido!
Southwest used to have similar policies because it wanted to sell up to the highest fare but abandoned this for a more rational SDC policy for elites.
Yep in my opinion, American Airlines is run by a bunch of idiots. They need to have their whole upper management cleaned out and replaced with forward thinking, innovative people who care about the staff ,the customers, and the airline product. Replacing people with an app doesn’t cut it as far as I’m concerned.
Who fixes computers and software when there’s a meltdown humans.
All this trend towards automation as a joke.
And since American Airlines is essentially US Airways with the American brand, their upper brass has not figured out that JFK is a better place to have a transatlantic hub as opposed to Philadelphia, which I’m certain provides them lower yields regarding passenger revenue.
And if you are NOT HYPOTHETICALLY flying IND-CLT-RDU and land in time to catch an earlier CLT-RDU flight with plenty of space on it, you will be told by the unhelpful gate agent and the in-Airport customer service folks who were actually trying to be helpful that you can only join the standby list in the app. The trouble is, the app looks for standby seats between IND-RDU, NOT from your connecting city, so it unsurprisingly shows no standby options available.
A “premium” airline doesn’t stick a screen in your face. Nor does a “premium” airline keep turning that screen back on for various “announcements” even after you explicitly turn it off.
(Yes, I do carry an iPad Mini on flights, but for music and podcasts.)
I arrived mildly early for my flight and noticed the gate next to me was in final boarding for the same city. So I waited until he made his final call and *then* I walked up and asked if I could fill an empty seat. He went through the questions, luggage, no, AA member yes. But the “system” wouldn’t allow me to board he said. So he cancelled my later booking and rebooked me for the earlier flight in 20 seconds. Easy peasy, I am on the flight, with at least 30 empty seats. The next day I get an email scolding me for changing my flight without calling customer service first!! So much for using an app to save money. It was about fee revenue. Using the app or calling customer service would guarantee they could push a fee on me. Whereas the agent did it in 30 seconds or less.
If this was being done by Delta or United, AA bootlicker Gary would be trashing them in the article, since its AA, he is just reporting without his hate.
@ Gary — Does Hegseth or Gabbard now run AA? They arr clearly qualified for the job.
This is nonsensical for just the reasons you cited. Insanity. If this is how AA management thinks they can maximize profits, they are dumber than any of us would have thought.
Ex-AA employee here; above comments all valid criticism. I spent more than 30years with AA, and most of it was good times, AA wasn’t perfect but it was a fine company that was good to me. I can honestly say I loved coming to work everyday before the merger. But make NO mistake – American Airlines (AA) officially died in December 2013, the day the USAir-AA merger became final. They should have dropped the AA and kept the USAir name. From an employee standpoint (my opinion) the change was palpable almost immediately, Doug Parker was a buffoon, and we were to absorb USAir’s parsimonious ways, prehistoric check-in system (QIK) and somewhat unfriendly customer procedures. Even the legacy US agents left a lot to be desired. I held out for a while but when I started really hating coming to work, I knew it was time to retire, and I did. From what I’m reading lately, things seem to be getting worse and not better. The above airport bulletin someone posted was news to me but as I read it I thought, ‘how typical.’
Really sad.
This happened to me last year. Had 45 mins until a connection would leave half full and they wouldn’t or couldn’t let me on. Had to wait 3 hrs at the airport. Insane policy
Cleared both flights today on AA where I was on standby. However, I’m an Executive Platinum. The system works for me. I don’t care if it doesn’t work for you.
@ Gary — This is the poster child for why American sucks. Hopefully someone with some sense will reverse this stupid policy.
@Alan Z Although I am DFW based I defected to UA for several years until post Covid schedules made many connection times untenable (either 40 minutes or 3.5 hours ). My experience as 1K wasn’t perfect, but far better than AA ExPlat
This happened to me in Oct. 2024z the agent didn’t even try to explain. They just said “we don’t do that”. Further solidified why I don’t fly American unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.
Earlier today, I asked to go on an eating connecting flight as my later departure was delayed about 1 hour. I asked at the AA customer service desk. The lady called the gate agent and was granted permission to change my ticket. Polite, friendly, and efficient. I’m grateful for their assistance.
As if we needed more reasons not to fly AA…
American is truly the worst customer service airlines, and I’ll tell this story until the day I die. They cancelled my Little Rock – Dallas connector early enough in the day that I still had time to rent a one way car for $380 and drive to DFW to catch my final leg. All I asked in return for my $380 and them not having to later fly me from Little Rock to DFW was to check my 1 piece of luggage for free, $25. They refused. And I will bad mouth this sorry excuse for a carrier for all of my days.
I’m a lifetime Platinum with an AAdvantage number that begins with a zero, i.e., 45 years, and all I can say is that too many airport/airplane personnel now relish being authority figures, instead of customer service personnel.
As a former gate agent and baggage service agent with AA the detail that is rarely mentioned is when a passenger is traveling with one or more checked bags and tries to depart on an earlier flight. In the past a gate agent would transfer the pax to an earlier flight. They arrive at their destination and their checked bags don’t arrive with them, as they did not get transferred. Logistically it is a nightmare for the ramp agents to track down bags and get them transferred. Many times the bags are many gates away and staged for the original flight. This dings the airline for a mishandled bag and causes the airline additional expense delivering the bag. And you guessed it, the pax is upset because they don’t have their bags.
American was like this in 1970 when we bought $99 interline fares from the US to Australia. When we went to board the Hawaii to Sydney flight they wouldn’t put standbys in the center seats in coach because they said they didn’t staff the flight crew for that. This was a widely advertised interline fare. The second day with my 6 month old daughter on my back pack they put our family on because they new I was going to make a scene at the gate
American has always sucked
They would probably arrest me today
I have jumped on different/earlier flights standby for various reasons on UA and Delta. The few times doing that I had checked a bag, I told them I didn’t care if my bag made it there earlier or later. The goal was to make it to a meeting or appt. A suitcase can be picked up later. I would not expect it would arrive with me, but would like the option to make that choice should I ever get stuck flying AA again.
Why does anyone still fly?
This is y’all’s fault for accepting it. Paying more and more, for less and less, and not putting them all of out of business.
I had mixed results with this last year. I arrived in Pittsburg early enough to catch an earlier flight with the help of a vary nice gate agent. I was able to arrive in Dallas 2 hours early. In Dallas (which has hourly flights to Austin) I had to wait 5 hours while 4 partially full planes went to Austin. The gate agent would not help and was actually rather rude. By the way I didn’t have any checked luggage, only my back pack. The flight I was booked on and finally took was full and could have used any extra seats. Very pool policy.
Is AA system not the same as United or Delta? Do they pay less for services so changes are not allowed?
The self-srvice rule for standby passengers is just plain dumb. I guess those in top management at AA got there thanks to the “Peter Principle.” What ever happened to simple customer service? I was unnecessarily delayed in Philly when a gate agent told me to use the app, without showing me how. No help whatsoever. AA needs to remember who pays their salaries. I only fly AA now when absolutely forced t.
It’s SELF-SERVICE via the AA App and has been for a year. It’s not rocket science. She could have simply put herself on standby, but no. She just wants something to complain about cause she didn’t get her way.
@cid you’re literally on a blog solely about air travel. And you come here with your pithy statement that no one should fly? Did your parents ever explain to you why the bus you took to school was shorter than the other kids’?
No doubt this was part of Isom’s well-conceived drive to make AA more premium.
Here’s a thought… Take the flight you booked.
I have AA executive platinum. It’s useless except for group 2 boarding! Woopie! Passengers bored whenever they feel like it, regardless of their grouping.
Never even close to getting an upgrade. I was number 17 on a list of 34 people to be upgraded on a flight recently . Now that the airline is auctioning off, premium seats, it’s impossible . Loyalty is useless and a big scam with AA.
As if the airlines couldn’t get any less customer service oriented….If any organizations need a hard revamping, it would be the domestic airlines. When they started treating customers like cattle in a cattle car, and charging for everything, including leg room I started driving.
This is 100% factual & unfortunately had happened to me a few weeks ago. I am a 100% disabled Veteran and was in San Diego area for Mental Illness treatment, I suffer from severe panic, when arriving at the San Diego airport KNOWING there were seats available & verified by family who are AA top members the staff would not assist me, for over an hour I paced in panic continuously asking for help as I had become very lost & confused. I then went and begged stated I am disabled and not doing well. Still nothing from anyone at AA counters. My family went on to UA and booked a flight that left within 45mins. Unfortunately the damage was done & I suffered the entire 1st flight to Colorado barely making it there in such pain & panic, I just didn’t want to scare anyone on the flight, once we landed I was accompanied off by a paramedic & police to assist. A UA rep came to me assisted without me asking rebooked my flight for the next day and printed the ticket. I was so bad I was then taken to University of Co. Hospital to be treated. the disappointment I have for so called “American” Airlines… never again will anyone in my family flight American. I just wanted to be home in my comfort zone. Are we not all human beings!! Is there no decency in the world anymore!?!??! Can we not go out of our way to help people? God bless the staff of United as I will be ever so grateful to them helping me make it home safely.
So people take the flight they chose to book. The horror
I too, had a horrible experience with American Airlines at DFW. after being deplaned and flight canceled due to too much fuel on the plane only to have the next plane D plane because we did not have the correct paperwork. When I tried to reach out to American Airlines customer relations, they told me I was not eligible for any credit since I use my ticket. Did they expect me to walk? Horrible customer service.
AA employee here – this once great airline is an embarrassment now. We know we’re at the bottom and it’s our mgmt that put us there.
American Airlines can really suck at times. One time, they left us stranded in Europe, and we were first class!
Most recently, 6 of us, all first class, had a connecting flight. Their first flight was delayed; however, we were ASSURED there would be plenty of time.
We deboarded first snd had to rush 2 terminals, me in a wheel chair. We get there as they gave away 1 of our seats to an employee. We were stopped and had to watch as they pulled that stunt.
Thus all 6 of us had to miss the plane. My hope is that we will never use American ever again.
Yup recently happened to me. Walked up to gate 30 minutes before earlier flight left, Platinum Pro, carryon bags. Agent said have available seats, but could not assist. The flight I took later was overbooked so everyone lost. AA didn’t fill an open seat, another customer didn’t get flight, the Admirals Club was more crowded, and I arrived at my destination later.
At first I thought maybe this was some agreement to get flyers to spend more money at the airport retail.
But no, just bad business decisions.
Good. Now the vast amount of commuters can get to work without being bumped off flights because someone wants to go earlier, which ultimately inconveniences thousands of other flights due to the ripple effect.
@HonestyandRealityGuy — That’s pretty upsetting. I hope you were ultimately compensated for that inconvenience caused by the airline. Though, you probably weren’t. You all just had to ‘deal with it.’ Yeah, this is why I wish we had greater consumer protections in the USA at least. It is also an opportunity for each airline to ‘do the right thing’ and earn their passengers business and loyalty, but these days, rarely do any mega-corporations actually care. And the front-line workers are often underpaid and purposely disempowered, so they rarely can meaningfully ‘help’ either.
I’m not sure whether your instance was eligible but rules like EU/UK 261 and Canada’s APPR may have provided compensation for such a delay caused by the airline.
Then again, it seems like instead merely a ‘delay,’ AA likely ‘bumped’ you (involuntarily gave up your seat), as if it were an oversold flight. So, perhaps, even under current US DOT guidelines you were owed compensation (over 4 hour delay for international flights, 400% of one-way fare, limited to $2,150). But, often these airlines neglect to follow such rules, fail to properly inform you of your rights, or simply try to get ‘sneaky’ with exceptions, like they can say it’s not eligible for anything because it was a ;flight departing a foreign location’ (but, then you could revert to that jurisdiction’s rules, like EU261, which could be up to €600 in compensation, etc.).
What I am trying to say is: I’ve been there, too. I feel for your circumstances. I wish it were better.
Yet another low bar for AA in customer experience. Never fly AA.
My family has been in the airlines business as either pilots or flight attendants and even baggage handlers. My relatives that work in these industries have told me that ever since they deregulated the airlines that they have been getting worse and worse and worse. This is what you have today because of deregulation of the airlines. They need to be regulated because they will just do whatever they want to make as much money as possible.
I can’t even begin to get into this right now.
Had the same experience last Friday and can’t even write about it I’m still in too much residual pain. Will not be flying AA (NYC based so have options) for a long while.
The airline industry has to be guilty of collusion. They can’t all be bad unless they are. I suppose they do have the monopoly on rapid transit (at least in the US).
There are so many reasons for this as outlined by other comments.
I’ve flown hundreds of flights with different airlines and I still like American. When there is a flight delay, they will help you and get you to where you’re going. When it’s you changing your mind, you have to jump through different hoops.
Articles like this make me so appreciative of having the one functional neurone that allows you to open an app on my phone and put myself on a standby list, LOL. I used to consider myself of average intellectual abilities but the bat is so low. I flew AA today and I used the “Change Your Flight” option in the app and flew earlier without issues
If you think can make the earlier flight out yourself on the list. Whether you make it or not doesn’t matter. AA has Agents working mostly alone and the turn times are brutal …. This comes from top
Agents can overide it….
The most logical reasons why any airline would want to disallow a passenger to standby on an earlier flight are:
A/ Even when a passenger has checked bags on a later flight and states that they don’t care if their bags are transferred to an earlier flight, the truth more often than not is the same passenger will still file a missing bag report upon arrival on the earlier flight and the airline will be forced to pay the expenses of having the baggage delivered.
B/ Unless the airline has a system in place where the passenger can place themselves on the standby list without any airline personnel assistance them, this process takes time and can lead to flight delays.
C/ Connecting passengers often arrive at the gate at the last minute and when their seats are given to standbys are very upset.
This EXACT SAME THING happened to me just recently although it was no problem at all getting on an earlier flight only a few months before that in about mid-to-late 2024. TOTALLY STUPID policies being perpetrated by AA. And I am an AAdvantage member too just not the top-platinum flavor.
99% of the time it USER error !!! Everybody wants everything for nothing and its never their fault lmao !!!!
@Tim ja — Yeah!! Blame the ‘little guy,’ let the big company ‘off the hook’!! You tell ’em, Tim!! And thank you for your excessive use of exclamation points!! It really drives your message home!! If only you were more generous with the ALL CAPS, then you’d have ‘batted a thousand’!!
AA and the pathetic MIA are unfortunate realities for those of us who live in the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area. The service difference at both the airline and this horribly designed and run airport are noticeably and markedly subpar
Happened to me 3 days ago, flying tpa to dca, 2 flights leaving hour and half apart. I was on latter but was at airport over 2 hours earlier than first flight.
Both flights had over 15 available seats and I had no checked in luggage. First agent tried desperately to put me on standby and could not, 2nd agent flat out told me he can’t do anything it’s all done on the app..
Seems American wants an all or nothing approach to rules, logic be damned
The article could be titled “You’re Denied An Earlier Flight With 13 Empty Seats—Because you chose not to select and book and pay for that flight.”
Just PAR FOR THE COURSE for American Airlines. Still racing to the bottom as fast as they can!
@Alan — Ah, we got another AA ‘bootlicker’ here! Sure feels good to ‘punch-down’ doesn’t it? You tell em’, sir: “Lazy, entitled peasants!”
The unwritten rule: You can blame the consumers and the front-line workers, but don’t you dare blame management for their poor leadership or bad policies. And whatever you do, never, ever, ever, blame the people with the money or power (the oligarchs and majority shareholders)–Have you seen what they do to whistleblowers these days? Ask those Boeing folks.
Just another reason tacked on to why I refuse to fly on American Airlines in the last 30 years nor will I in the next 30 years!
This is awesome. As a non-rev traveler we can confidently take our seat knowing you last minute flight jumpers won’t bump us. We’ll be able to get to work, to our families, vacations, etc. You will still get on your flight, just the same flight# you bought at ticket for.
I am just a regular AAadvantage member. I use the app. I get on my flights. I was even fortunate enough to get an upgrade to 1st class on my ticket back from Korea. No muss, no fuss. My only complaint has been last minute gate changes. I hate that so many people have had such horrible experinces.
I fly American, but their standby and same day change rules are archaic. Having to keep the same routing plus not allowing agents to assist is absurd. The longer you keep someone at an airport, the more chances there are for them to get delayed later. Why not send them on down the road to try and prevent that?
Funny how people get mad when a company wants to set their own rules. If you don’t like it, start your own airline or fly someone else.
literally happened to me yesterday at DFW. my meeting got cancelled so instead of taking a 4pm flight, i wanted to take the 11:21am flight. since my coming y requires we book through our internal site, i loose ability to make changes in the app, the only option is an agent at the airport. i am platinum and was told there was nothing she could do if the app did not allow it. today i booked on southwest to go home. not a fan at all, but at least it allowed me same day change without issue.
*i meant company and lose
What do you do when the airport you flying into is so small that you have limited choices for airlines? I have an upcoming flight and my only choices were either AA or Delta. Used to be serviced by United but they dropped that airport. AA’s flight has one layover and costs over 50% less than the Delta flight which by the way has 2 layovers. Sorry but in this situation my choice is AA. I’ve had good and bad experiences with just about every airlines I’ve used in the past.
My father flew for American for 30 years. It was a great airline back in the day but even with his flight privileges as a retired pilot he doesn’t fly American unless as a last possible option. The flights are so overbooked that they aren’t usually able to fly non-rev without hours and hours of waiting for seats to come available. Allegiant is cheaper, and more reliable… Sad because AA used to be THE airline to fly for service and customer care.
Another day, another example of why AA is such a horrible airline. For all the people on here doing what you normally do (flame and insult people) you are missing the bigger picture. When you string together of the places where AA is failing to keep up with its peers you see a business with a toxic culture, disengaged employees and leadership with active disdain for their passengers. AA is quite proud of their “zero tolerance” policy toward upset passengers but they fail to realize how often the root cause of passenger discontent and escalation is AA. (I am NOT condoning or justifying any violence toward employees).
I flew NK for the first time three weeks ago. While it was DL or UA, it was better than AA.
Not doing customer service is wrong, why if I can drive I do. Airlines have becone major dictators.
But my first gut response was in reponse to the title wording … often earlier flights cost more. Moving into it for free might be against policy. IDK.
AA never has any problem to putting in you in a plane after missing flight. I flight once a week for business and I experienced all kind of problems and AA always being able to help. The flight tickets prices can make your plans tide. Also you know your schedule by the time you are looking for a flight. If you don’t want to wait longer at the airport just schedule and pay for the one is convenient for you. Do not go against to the airline because you decide to schedule your own flight as your convenience. Also if you really want to go in a flight just pay the difference and they will put you on it.
What else did you expect from America West?
AA us dead Bob and his cabal ate it’s corpse
When I first started my career in the early 80’s, I lived in Chicago, and UA and AA were the two “good business airplanes “. AA actually was a decent airline back then. I made the choice to focus mainly on UA, and retired last year as a UA MM Lifetime *G for me and my wife. I am thankful I made the “right choice “ back then.
Prior to retirement, I had to fly AA occasionally due to travel policies. Several weeks ago, I burned up the last of my AA miles on an award ticket. This was the last flight I will ever fly on AA and couldn’t be happier. I pity you poor bastards that live near an AA hub since you have no choice but to fly this burned out husk of an airline. Which really isn’t an airline anyway, it is a credit card company that flys planes.
The airline changed our flights with no options. We had to cancel the car rental and we are coming in extremely late.
@Scott Griffin,
I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. Mental illness disability is as serious as— and needs to be treated as compassionately — as any other disability. I’m glad you got home, where it’s easier to feel safe.
My bar for avoiding American Airlines is $200. I’ll pay up to $200 extra to take any other carrier. Even if my personal experience is rarely affected in a major way by their terrible business philosophy, the staff are miserable and treat you accordingly.
I’d rather fly Spirit if I can score the Big Front.
Sadly, I like to Charlotte, and B6 pulled out.
Why do AA employees have to lie all the time?
Self-service, fine, but the GA outright lying to the paying customer (they should have told them to use the website instead of a no) is inexcusable.
Why the regulators don’t issue fines for all the lies?
I’m sorry but this is ONE thing they’ve got RIGHT ! Why should someone be allowed to just “decide” to go earlier ?? That costs MANY people (already flying Standby, employees especially – some trying to just commute to work) from getting on their ORIGINALLY booked flight. Imagine you’re a flight attendant booking your standby flight at the exact TIME you need it to get to work, and because Karen wants to jump on EARLIER – for whatever reason, you get bumped off and will now be put on a later flight, miss your working flight which causes delays for other passengers on that employee’s working flight. (And YES, There ARE MANY people that booked cheaper flights, knowing they could go to airport and jump on the standby at a different time – that would have cost more) I get it, things change, meetings end early, etc etc but why should YOUR decided (not had to) switch screw MANY others ? It’s a snowball effect …. think about it. There use to be a “change fee”, so if anything, bring that back. That’ll stop the “just becausers” and the “cheaper flight cheaters” and then if your meeting let out earlier and you think it’s worth the extra fee, pay it and jump on. Otherwise … BOOK THE FLIGHT YOU WANT TO BEGIN WITH AND GO HAVE A COFFEE IF YOU GET IN EARLIER !
Is it really bad customer service when an airline expects you to book and pay for the flights and routes you really intend to travel?
I generally avoid flying anymore. The service has gone downhill. I have found that as generations pass, the more entitled they have become. They don’t have the same work ethic anymore and are just lazy. Also, with all this DEI crap, you don’t have to be the best anymore, you just get everything automatically. It has destroyed merit.
Back in the ’80s American airlines used to be a great airline. I remember talking next to somebody that worked in their office in Dallas back then and she recommended I get the book that they give to all their employees when they hire on. Great book on the history and philosophy of the airline.
Now they seem to be about one step above Spirit. I dropped my advantage membership when after January 6th the head of the flight attendants Union said anybody that was there should not ever be allowed to fly on any airline for the rest of their lives. What about the people that were just there and didn’t commit any crimes or didn’t do any violent protesting? Screw her! She should read the Constitution, and she would do well in mother Russia.
This is really not good. It happened to me. While my first flight delayed at ORD I lost my connection. But there is a later flight, and that’s the last flight that day. I’m able to get to the gate while they are boarding. The gate agent just said they can’t do standby for me and ask me to run a long distance to the service desk. When I got there just find no people there. I was so lucky that the phone waiting time is short so the customer service on the phone is able to put me on the standby list just 1 minutes before the door is closed. Before, the gate agent will be able to simply put me on a standby list and deal with it after everyone has boarded.
Are American Airlines trying to lose as much business as possible?
They have the rudest flight crews, the most disgusting long haul flight food and now the stand by seats mean you standby and watch as your stand by seat departs without you!
Is a disgruntled employee running the show?
The company is a joke and I would rather pay more to fly with anyone else and do so. They will never get another dime from me!
AA sucks. To the person who mentioned DEI or DEI crap, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Your comment makes no sense. AA will never get any of my money.
Just another anti AA article from VFTW full of anecdotal evidence. VFTW is the Karen of travel blogs. I only read it to see what they are ragging about this time..
@Al Wow, just wow. These policies are being put in place by YOUR generation. The rest of us are simply trying to earn a living in a toxic work culture, sometimes with very few options.
Thanks for the support. Have the day you deserve.
I avoid American if at all possible as if they were frontier or spirit . Everything aspect is worse than most other airlines.
Well I guess I will never fly American
Yet another reason to avoid AA. I used to prefer AA for my infrequent flights. But now? Nope… No more AA flights for me and my family. It is clear that AA has zero concern for their customers… So in return, I have zero concern for them
OH it gets even more absurd. Found out last month that if you have a connection, as soon as you board the first plane the option for standby for the second plane disappears in the app! Which is obviously a problem when customer service pushes you to the app…
Went straight to the new gate at the second airport, no gate agent. Went to the closest customer service counter, which was of course closed. Then went back to the gate and there was finally an agent there. The flight was delayed so was more than 45 mins out but she couldn’t help me because it was less than 45 mins before the SCHEDULED time. Trekked all the way to the one open customer service counter and THEY were finally able to help me and got me a boarding pass. But had I been 5 minutes later, no dice.
ALL for a flight where I ended up in the bulkhead row aisle with a middle seat next to me open. Absurd!
Why all of you complaining it’s not AA is us air and American west blaming aa employees is wrong blame the pilots they wanted this so this is what you get a low cost airline
I was an American Airlines platinum member for 25 years. They treated me so poorly on more than one occasion recently, that I canceled my premium credit card and now never to fly with them ever again unless they were the only option. Being a long time, premium customer Got me absolutely nothing.
There is no airline that is perfect. I have had bad experiences on some where others have had wonderful experiences and vice versa have had wonderful experiences where others have been bad. I had horrorible testimonies in the past of Spirit airlines and I flew from Nashville to Dallas Fort Worth round trip a few months ago on Spirit and got an incredible ridiculous rate so low I couldn’t but book it. The aircraft was immaculately clean, smelled wonderful and the flight attendants went over and above. Same with Allegiant as I did a round trip from Nashville to Palm Springs California a 4 hour 23 minute flight each way and it was a wonderful experience and I had no one sitting on my row besides me. I fly American often as they service some cities other carriers don’t and I have found their aircraft to be clean and mostly efficient but also experienced negative issues on Delta and United in times past.
Traveling over 100 vehicle and flight trips combined annually for business delays both on highways and in air can be frustrating and while people expect you to be at their business functions or events the crew assigned to each flight feels the anxiety of the flyers. That combined with the fewer choices of airlines in today’s time as a result of numerous merger acquisitions just multiply the problems. Yes I know the lower cost carriers like Spirit have filed bankruptcy but the more carriers that merge or go out of business completely just drive the cost to fly up and make it unaffordable for many.
Yet
Another turn off
@Fly Girl, thank you for proving my point. Your approach is a business-first and not a customer-first approach. By your logic the needs of an FA who needs to fly standby to get to their base because they made a choice to live in a location that required a flight to t heir base is more important than providing customers with an experience that drives loyal. That loyalty is what sells the highest value tickets and puts money in the pockets of the FAs who refer to their customers trying to get home sooner after being on the road as “Karens.” Your logic suggests that passengers should just suck it up or whip out their wallet just to take an empty seat that an FA wants when they could fly jump.
As I mentioned earlier, this issue is emblematic of broader service excellence in air travel and, particularly, at AA. Pax…the people paying the bills…are being treated like sh!t by a small but growing number of airline employees (in-flight and in the stations) drunk with power.
STOP TREATING YOUR CUSTOMERS AS AN INCONVENIENCE AND THE ENEMY. THEY ARE WHY PEOPLE IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY HAVE A JOB. My suspicion is that if we slide into a recession and air travel continues to soften the tone of airline employees will change when there aren’t enough pax to justify the labor count. Hopefully that will help thin the herd of people who have no business working with customers.
I want to thank the airline industry for there great work and the service that you provide we the customer/consumer. I’m sure that it’s difficult to provide a great service by the way which you do for clients who only complain constantly. It’s amazing to me at how selfish we have become as a people, country and nation. I want to say that I’m not in anyway perfect and sometimes have to correct myself for my on shortcomings. I wonder if the airline passenger ever stops to consider the hundreds of things that have to go right on a daily, hourly basis to get them to there destinations safely. Everyone one from the ticketing agent to the flight attendant that bids you fairwell as you exit your flight works effortlessly to make your flight as safe and enjoyable as possible. Things happen, and it’s not always the airlines fault. We don’t get to the airport on time. There is a holdup at security. We bring something that can’t be carried on board the flight etc…you know! I’m not ringing my own bell I just want to say thanks! You probably don’t hear that often. Out of all the little things that go wrong you get the big one correct that’s ….getting me safely to my destination…. and for that, I SAY THANK YOU!
I did standby with AA yesterday. From Fort Lauderdale to Charlotte and then again from Charlotte to GSP. It got me home 7.5 hours earlier. I didn’t see an option in the mobile app. I requested standby on the website. At FLL it was straight forward. It showed my name on the board and eventually it showed an assign seat. I went to the gate agent and he had a printed boarding pass ready to go for me. In Charlotte, I also had my name on the board and got an assigned seat. Gate agent didn’t want to deal with me. I had to wait until I was the last one to board a plane. Note that I didn’t have checked bag and I am Platinum status.
AA has to pay me to fly with them. Or it’s an extreme family emergency. I avoid at any cost.
I went from Nicaragua via Miami to Charlotte to Harrisburg.. via AA. Major flight delay in Miamicausedus to be late into Charlotte. We ran to the gate for our flight. Plane still there but we could not board
They canceled our boarding pass. Sent us to another gate going to Chicago. Arrived around midnight. Theere were 11 passengers on a plane that held 150+. In Chicago they got a cab to the motel, food vouchers. After a shower I had 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Only one flight per day CLT to Harrisburg. Got to Harrisburg around noon the next day. They could have hotels, taxi, and food vouchers ti
Mmes three
and we could gotten home 13 hours earlier. Poor business decisions on their part
Very disappointing standing there watching your seats go without you.
Who’s actually running American Airlines today? Elon Musk and DOGE?
I vowed to stop flying AA about 2 years ago because of horrible service and treatment for the last time. There’s always harrassment by certain gate agents and flight attendants in some cities they serve. Customer service has declined significantly. I started purchasing premium and in some classes full fare premium hoping I could avoid being mistreated by the gate agents and some flight attendants but AA never fails to disappoint. Service at the gate started getting worse bc I personally felt that despite being respectful, limiting interactions with agents unless absolutely necessary, and following their rules they treated me as if I didn’t belong. There’s questioning me…pulling me out of line…unnecessary antics. I’ve had one gate agent scan my boarding pass to get on the plane and another pull me out of line to harass and question me boarding in premium cabin…for what? I paid for the seat or upgraded to the seat. The last time was so humiliating as soon as I got on the plane I typed a complaint about the experience. I received a missed call and voicemail from the airline saying they wanted to follow up. I called several times…the customer service rep was ‘out of office’ but told me she wanted me to get back with her. I kept trying to follow up and by the time she got back to me…maybe 2 weeks give or take I was told too much time passed they were closing the case bc nothing was founded bc the gate agent who treated me horribly didn’t corroborate my side of the story. She out right lied to protect herself. I was sad and angry bc I literally keep my head down and mind my business when traveling for peace and to remain safe. I couldn’t confront the gate agent about her actions the way I should have been able to bc it would have likely given her the excuse to jeopardize my flying that day. Also, while that flight was for pleasure my work required that I frequently traveled by air…if I lost the privilege of flying one of the largest airlines in the country it could have jeopardized my employment. They did give me a whopping 2,500 miles….which was an insult for what transpired. I didn’t want miles…I wanted an apology, them to improve service to everyone, and for me to be treated with dignity and respect. Maybe even disciplinary action and retraining for the gate agent. Gate agents have way too much power and sadly I’ve noticed repetitively when they really need to stop people from boarding they do not especially if you’re a certain type of pax. On board flight attendants also give some people passes on their behavior before that door closes and find it appalling when we get in the air and they act out of character. I get they don’t get paid until the door shuts but all of our safety is in jeopardy. Target the unruly don’t stereotype and harass those of us who are quiet, respectful, and minding our business. With work I have even been able to avoid flying AA bc there were other options for the cities I needed to go to. Early in my career, I always heard bad things about SWA and avoided them but let me tell you I started taking more of their flights…EXCELLENT experiences! If you learn their system… easy breezy and I have NEVER had a bad experience at the gate or onboard with Southwest (biz or personal) even during major delays bc of bad weather or equipment issues. They always ended up getting me where I needed to go by the end of the day or early the next morning! I pray that I NEVER have to fly AA with its current leadership and operations. Stop flying American Airlines….they are despicable….spend your money elsewhere…drive…train…maybe bus it…fly ANYBODY else that treats you with respect/dignity!!!
Your article at first glance makes it seem as if American Airlines simply refuses to help, out of laziness or lack of care. But reading deeper into the article we see an important nuance: YES they want to accommodate passengers moving up to an earlier flight, but they want passengers to use the app instead of staff time. This should be the focus of your article and its headline. It’s misleading otherwise.
@D Hales – they want passengers to use the app – at least 45 minutes prior to departure
Done with American Airlines. Platinum member for many years and now can’t go stand by, just happened to me too. I was at the gate 1 hour before and could get no one to help me. They kept sending me to customer service and they would then send me to the gate. What a cluster F. So spend 4 additional hours at the airport because they would not let me on with 20+ empty seats. They can make changes so can we! Hello Delta and Untied you have a new customer. American can stick that new policy where the sun doesn’t shine.
I agree with AA policies. Gate attendants are just that.. attend to boarding tasks, not ticketing. These rules facilitate safety and good flying protocol. Pple who become irritated have a false sense of entitlement. Ticketing agents, gate attendants and crew attendants are discreet functions. Travelers need to have greater respect for the level of responsibility of airline personnel. Also air travel creates anxiety in itself. Flight crew needs support not belittlement.
The main problem here is they want you to use the app! They don’t care that most people don’t fly that often, and we pay a lot of money for our flight, so we actually PREFER a human being to help us and NOT an electronic do it yourself! We don’t work for the airlines! People have told me they can fly cheaper and direct using Breeze airlines but they won’t because it’s all do it yourself with no people as customer support. So I won’t try Breeze either. I guess I have to add AA to that as well for no customer service help, just electronic help. We pay a lot for a ticket, so we want real IN PERSON HELP to make it easier for US not easier for your workers!
I retired from AA 6 years ago. I was with them for 40 years but honestly that doesn’t mean anything. The day I retired, I lost my 40 years of seniority. This was a surprise. We always carried our seniority when flying as a non-rev. Doug Parker changed all of that. Now any employee, no matter how little seniority they have will be boarded before any retiree. Shows you what a piece of work AA is.
As if i needed another reason to never fly American again. What a joke. America’s legacy carriers just need to be allowed to fail.
You people are awful, and most would say Christians, stay home, im so glad none of you are in my life, you start your own airline along with Gary called BITCH AIRWAYS
For years, decades really, I was an American Airlines loyal customer. Despite the fact I amassed over 3 million miles with AA the last few years have shown AA does not care about my business at all. We were abandoned in Virgin Islands after AA cancelled our flight. Eight of us (3 small children) we left to find our own accommodations late at night. Then AA basically cheated us out of 2 system wide upgrades awarded for 3 million miles. This after many many calls during we were given dramatically different answers to questions we posed. Recently we tried to redeem miles only to find AA wanted 220000 points for roundtrip tickets. I no longer consider AA my go to airline, rather a carrier of last resort.
I see it from both sides. Too many flyers are entitled today and tie up an agent with 30 questions. Happened several weeks ago when Delta had delays and we were in the Skyclub.
Folks were trying to get rebooked and honestly not sure how/why she was in the club. Maybe they should make people with CC to call or do their business elsewhere. Some of the questions were ridiculous
They gave my wrong boarding time then was very rude threatening to call police saying I missed my flight I was hours early I had to get rebooked after I cried in public and pleaded for a mistake they made they refused to pay for hotel and ubers rescheduled me for next day service very rude
The hand full of times I was forced to fly AA, I got stranded in airports for king periods of time. I even had an arrogant prick tell me he wasn’t going to help me in the Wichita ks airport, even though their delays where going to keep me from catching my next flight. I will not fly with AA, UA, and rarely Southwest. Terrible customer service and abuse of customers is not ok with me.
I recently had four really bad experiences with AA over my last two trips. I encountered many of the issues described in the OP and realized that these problems would continue happening to me repeatedly, ultimately leading me to really disliking AA.
I hold Platinum Pro status on AA, Gold on Delta, and Silver on United, so I understand that things can go wrong from time to time. However, the information shared here has led me to conclude that AA’s issues are systemic and will occur more often than not.
As anyone who frequently travels for business knows, it’s not always possible to finalize your schedule weeks in advance. I typically book flights to arrive as early as possible and schedule departures as late as I can to avoid “voluntarily” missing a flight. The ability to catch an earlier or later flight is essential for me.
Yes, I could simply pay for all flight changes as a solution, but I work for a small startup that is very cash-conscious, and I do everything I can to keep my expenses low.
Like leaving an unhealthy relationship, I have decided to end mine with AA. I have canceled two Citi-branded credit cards (Executive World Elite and Platinum Select Mastercard) and applied for the AMEX Delta Gold and Chase United Infinite cards. However, I will keep the “free” AAdvantage MileUp card for any future AA purchases. Last year, I spent well over $100,000 on these AA cards, and that spending will now go to other banks and airlines.
For the most part, the people at AA have been great to work with when things are slow. However, when things get hectic, they simply follow protocol and direct you to an automated phone or online service that offers little meaningful help beyond empathy.
Changing my flying and spending habits is a hassle since I need to update dozens of sites with recurring monthly billing, but it had to be done. While I was very upset at the time, taking a step back and reassessing my needs going forward this is the right thing to do. I will still fly AA occasionally and will reconsider my decision if I see more than just token improvements.
This Issue is an employee making the wrong decisions than an AA company issue, I have never herd of an employee being fired assisting a passenger, or being helpful to a passenger, it all amounts to who you are asking for help, unfortunately there are a few who are disgruntled, miserable and just plain mean employee’s who take out their frustrations out on who ever they can, being a 34 year employee of AA, retired now, I have experienced this before and asked why these employees still retain their job, the answer is the union protects these problematic employees, I was a union member for my whole career, and do very much believe in the union, except for the protection of the ones who deserve to be fired, I have taken many non-rev stand-by flights over the years and must say, 95% of the time the experience went flawless, the 5% was total hell on wings! Mainly because of an employee who was having a bad day and wanted everyone to pay for it, not much you can do about it, but to stay quiet and respectful until you get to your destination, after all I did not want to lose my flight benefits just cause I punched out an AA employee for being an A-Hole, I now purchase my tickets on AA because of the ability of revenue passengers who change their cheap seat flight for a more lucrative stand-by flight, in turn taking up most of the non-rev open seats at the last minute, making the gate agents job more difficult, I do honestly believe AA has the potential of being a great airline as before, only if we can get through to the unions that protecting all, even if the employee really deserves to find another line of work, would best for all… I loved my employment with AA (Just not some of the employees who make a good thing into a bad one).
What I meant to say is for the unions not to protect all, and let the problematic ones go! That would be best.