[Falcon4]

Coronado HS Band in El Paso was scheduled to travel to Italy on 15 Jun 2010 for a goodwill concert tour in four cities. The band contracted to fly on American Airlines from El Paso to Chicago, Chicago to NY, NY to Milan, and return 24 June. On 14 June we were notified to NOT go to the airport because AA had canceled the shortest most traveled leg from Chicago to NY. We expected a new departure the next morning. AA offered to take half the band 5 days later on 20 Jun and the other half on 21 Jun and gave us 20 hours to make the decision. After the concerts and hotels were rescheduled and we agreed to the new dates, AA withdrew their offer and said they did not have enough seats. The entire trip was canceled. These gifted, young musicians had spent 13 months planning and working for this trip. All expenses were paid in advance including airfare, hotels, and tours. There were numerous fund raisers and part-time jobs required to fund these deserving children. The behavior of AA toward a volunteer, unpaid, musical tour group representing the USA is unacceptable. This group could not be split because of the unaccompanied minors. AA has had our money for 10 months and they backed out at the last minute. This is not a safety issue; it is a choice by AA to not reposition a plane in their fleet. With such a large group of children traveling and 10 months notice, there should have been a contingency plan.

[justme]

This is incredibly sad to hear and my sincerest apologies go out to you and the band. I know the trip meant a lot to them, I wish they would've been able to go. I'm sure you will be able to get lots of advice from the posters here about what to do and how to go about getting compensation from AA.

[jimworcs]

This is scandalous. There has to have been re-routing options via AA or one of their one world partners. Between AA, BA and Iberia, (their OneWorld partners) they have the most transatlantic seats available. You should go to the media on this. Outrageous. Step 2, get on to the DOT.

[fluffybunny]

Sorry to hear about your trip.

One word: charter.

If you absolutely have to be there, do not entrust commercial carriers.

There was a time when air travel was respected, secured, and reliable. Then came de-regulation.

Before then, traveling was an event. People were polite, respectful, dressed accordingly. Thanks to de-regulation, air travel has been reduced to a trip to wal-mart in every sense of the word. Ignorant travelers, pajamas, a general lack of decency, and a frustrating system that is broken are the norm now.

You want change? Pay the proper price for a ticket. Push the experience back to a level above the city bus. Sad to hear but true. Demanding elite service but only a $149 round-trip is lunacy.

You can't have it both ways.

Price the system to ensure the best staffed, most reliably run system, or go eat your whopper before your board because there won't be any food from LAX to NYC.

Cheers.