Kicking off Labor Day weekend didn’t go well for passengers booked on American Airlines 1831, the morning flight from Chicago O’Hare to West Palm Beach. By the time travelers showed up around 7 a.m., the aircraft was already out of service for mechanical issues.
- Passengers say that updates were almost nonexistent.
- Gate agents eventually told people to try customer service, but when they got there no one was staffing that desk – there were just rows of empty podiums.
- As I revealed in the spring, American was cutting airport customer service hours with shifts before 2 p.m. at O’Hare eliminated.
American Airlines Customer Service Counter (Phoenix)
One passenger decided to handle things directly — grabbing the PA mic and making an announcement across Terminal K.
“Attention Terminal K. American Airlines, this is the third time requesting somebody here for customer assistance. We have people going to West Palm Beach. We’ve been here since 6:30 this morning for an 8:30 flight that continues to get delayed and nobody’s giving us answers as to when we’re going to be leaving. Please send somebody here. You can’t be that inept.”
@johnnyjet Frustrated ORD Passenger Takes Over PA.
Fellow passengers cheered, and the stunt actually worked: airline staff materialized soon after, and more agents followed.
The solutions they offered, though, weren’t very good. It was a peak of peak travel day and flights were full. One agent suggested rerouting people through Phoenix to get to Florida. Passengers were headed to West Palm Beach and nothing was avialable there or into Fort Lauderdale or Miami either.
American, meanwhile, tried to soften the blow with $12 meal vouchers. At O’Hare, that doesn’t even get you a Tortas Frontera sandwich.
A cuban sandwich, chicken milanesa, or choriqueso sandwich at Tortas Frontera each runs over $16, plus tax. Even the kids chicken and cheese is $12.50 plus tax. And don’t even think about adding chips and guac – the $12 voucher wouldn’t even cover that as a standalone.
My suggestion for those $12 meal vouchers, then, is to just add them to your Starbucks card.
Proving…once again…that even though it looks like to us FFs…most people DON’T have lounge access.
I don’t understand why at AA gate agents seem to think telling passengers what’s going on is forbidden and is a deep dark secret that only airline employees should know. Also, if you’re at the gate and not sure if boarding is getting ready to commence you likely don’t want to leave the gate, go to the lounge, where you may or MAY NOT get any better information, including your flight is now boarding. So, you stay at the gate frustrated by lack of information.
This something that AA management should know about and either they don’t know or they don’t care, both of which spells a management team more concerned about how AA can be more like Frontier Airlines.
“go to the lounge” = “let them eat cake.
Id say that American hasn’t quite arrived at the more premium level they claim to aspire to. Perhaps hiring a competent leader as CEO would help.
I was on my way to requalifying for Executive Platinum status in late July when my CLT-TPA flight was delayed. As I waited for my flight to board, and the monitors showed boarding would start in three minutes, I heard an AA employee tell another passenger, “This flight’s probably not going to go.” He advised her to get rebooked on the next flight, which was the last flight of the day. I asked the employee to repeat what he said. When he did, I asked why this wasn’t being announced, and he didn’t reply.
This is way too common on AA, and it’s the reason I am not going out of my way to earn Executive Platinum for next year. Since this occurred, I’ve spent a few thousand dollars on tickets on Delta, United, and Southwest, but I don’t plan to fly AA again until after March 1 when the clock resets.
Had the same experience with AA at ORD, COU, and STL recently. All in one trip. They managed to have a problem with every flight I was ticked for and were borderline incapable of providing solutions. No meal ticket for me, and no reimbursement for not being able to get me to my destination either. They *are* truly that inept. Between all the plane problems and the agents it’s miraculous they manage to get anything in the air.
They materialized….lol loved it
Happy Weekend everyone from Recife, Brazil
People….if you are flying Domestic within the US, or International on a US carrier, forget about receiving anything more than simply arriving alive and maybe with your checked luggage. Anything else is a bonus.
Oh, look! Yet another example of why the USA needs actual air passenger rights protections like EU261 or Canada’s APPR, which would have compensated these poor souls several hundred dollars for the inconvenience (as mechanical issues are clearly under the airline’s control), in addition to either rebooking or refunds, meals, and if overnight, accommodations as well. Just $12 is offensive.
To those of you who keep shilling for the ultra-rich and large corporations… they aren’t paying you enough to ‘carry water’ for them. It isn’t ‘rugged individualism’ or ‘self-reliance,’ no, you’re getting screwed and celebrating others getting screwed. Wake up.
In related business news today via the Associate Press:
“Trump admin ditches Biden-era plan to make airlines pay compensation for flight disruptions”
https://apnews.com/article/flight-delays-cancellations-compensation-52d65b39d2cf063c43885e71bf88317c
Guess what. Shitler just cut whatever passenger rights were granted under Biden. So now as far as the Republican Party is concerned – drop dead if your flight has issues.
I wish that Starbucks would let you load $12 onto the card. But they don’t. You can only load $10. I have not found a way to load $12 online or through the app
I can see it now: “American Airlines passenger arrested for trespassing in secure area and tampering with airline property. Banned for life”. Years ago, I would fly no one but AA, unless I had no choice. Today, I will fly anyone but AA even if I have no choice.
“go to the lounge”
WHAT lounge?
These days you have to be super duper status and /or spend $40K per year on a credit card to MAYBE get inside a lounge. What a snotty remark!
AA’s apps are useless and not updated. I’ve been waiting to board an AA shows that my flight (had it been on time) was already in the air. I say good on the angry Chicago passenger.
How can you take this article seriously when part of the complaint is that you can’t buy a sandwich with the $12, and the author includes a photo of the menu showing nearly all of the sandwiches are less than $12.
@Gary, you can’t really be that inept.
A public service announcement, what a concept.
He should be locked up, but he won’t for one reason only. And we all know why that is.
AA is trash and has been for decades. I tried to rebook an AA flight that was delayed and cancelled at the customer service IN THE TERMINAL. They told me they did not have the ability and instructed me to wait 5 hrs at the gate for a representative to show up. I was obviously pissed, and went on the damn app to do it eventually due to high volume of screw ups from AA.
EVERYTIME IT IS SOMETHING FROM THIS LOW RENT AIRLINE THAT ONLY WANTS YOUR MONEY AND STILL NOT FLY YOU ANYWHERE IF THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT.
@jerome that was a pre-pandemic photo, here’s the current menu https://tortasfrontera.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2025/04/2025.04.14-T3-Tortas-Frontera-Handheld-Menu.pdf
“Ron Deutsch says:
September 5, 2025 at 3:10 pm
Guess what. Shitler just cut whatever passenger rights were granted under Biden. So now as far as the Republican Party is concerned – drop dead if your flight has issues.”
I absolutely love the mouth breathers that call Trump Hitler, or worse in your case, while simultaneously chastising him for reducing executive branch overreach. This kind of change requires Congress, since it is the creation of law, and that was one of the reasons stated for the withdrawal. The exact opposite of what a real “Shitler” would do. Heaven forbid the executive branch not overreach!! Write your congressmen.
Don’t blame Trump for diches Airlines to pay for compensation.Former administration didn’t do so, and they only set up. The next administration to blame. Biden had 4 years and didn’t accomplish the task. Clearly, He never wants to protect American consumers.
nothing is more infuriating than showing up for a delayed flight and being kept in the dark w/o any updates
@1990: Oh, look
Every time I read about one of these virtually daily occurrences, I keep thinking about all those people who asked me why we moved to Malta. After all, EVERYTHING’S BETTER IN AMERICA.
Here’s a tip for all people that keep saying it. It will only get worse.
AA is trying to act like a premium airline,but is NOT! My horrible experience is too long to write here. Booked first class and plane had mechanical issues. Never got to my destination. Rebooked through Delta. No acceptable compensation from AA other than 5000 travel miles. About $68… Why would I want to use miles on your shitty airline? Same experience at the gate. No info, not even a person to direct you. And BTW, the app led us to gate F1 at BWI. Look it up, not even a gate, unless you consider a cargo terminal a gate. I guess that’s how they treat us. Boycott this terrible airline!
Cops should of shot him
This is the industry our government thinks is capable of policing itself. If the government thinks airlines have the right to police themselves why stop with passenger delays. Let let them inspect their own planes. Get OSHA the hell out of there. Let pilots fly until they are so demented they have no idea where they’re going or where they came from. Let them handle your pet in cargo however they wish. Luggage? Who needs luggage. It’ll get there when it gets there.
And…when employees go to strike the government needs to mind its own business.
That’s what folks who think passengers don’t deserve basic rights deserve. Let’s just see how bad bad can get.
This is nothing new for AA. I tried to get from DFW to SEA many years ago. Between weather and mechanicals, we ended up waiting hours for a departure. Departure time listed as 1900 MST. Ended up getting a plane at 0130 next morning. NO gate agents after 2000…no information. Concourse closed at midnight…so no food or drinks either. When a gate agent finally showed up to check us in, she was surly and rude. That was the last time I flew AA.
That is a good Cuban, though.
AA has gone the way of Greyhound Bus in ALL areas, but hey, don’t expect any improvements any time soon, if ever, they’re making money as a 2nd class airline.
Planes crash in flight in DC..The Furher isn’t concerned about domestic flights. Airlines are free to screw the American people.
The current secretary of transportation blames previous secretary. Thanks, Magats for Destroying safety on our planes.
What a moron. He’s very lucky he didn’t get arrested and headed to federal prison for commandeering with and monkeying with something he had no authorization to
I waited hours for a plane to Cleveland to take off until it was canceled, with the departure time just getting later every so often, and showing a departure time that was impossible since the incoming flight hadn’t left it’s origin yet.
*its origin.
ORD has no Terminal K
Same thing happened Thurs before Labor Day in Phoenix at American. Flight delayed to DFW 12 hours but kept us at the gate all that time only to cancel it by saying Thunderstorm delay then pilots timed out. Only recourse for my Holiday was a refund as the football game was Fri in Waco and they couldn’t/wouldn’t get us there until after the game. Had to buy a SW flight back to LA. Lost rental car, Airbnb, $300 seats.
@GrumpAsh – concourse
Congress and/or the DOT should reinstate Rule 240. Petition your elected officials. This should be a bipartisan issue.
I like the chutzpah of the announcement! Your idea of adding the voucher to your Starbucks card is a good one, too.
The tortilla soup at Frontera is under $12 and AMAZING. My favorite thing about ORD. But yeah, they should get a $20 voucher because everything at Frontera is yummy.
@Ron Deutsch — In a free society you can vote with your wallet. I refuse to fly AA and I’m better off for it.