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Here is the letter I sent to American which details my recent poor experience traveling Business with AA:

Mr. Sean Bentel
Manager Customer Relations
PO Box 619612 M/D 2400
DFW Airport TX 75261-9612

Dear Mr. Bentel:

I apologize for the length of this letter, but my experiences with American Airlines were lengthy and varied.

On February 28, my husband David and I boarded Flight 4776 at Washington Regan on our way to a three-week stay in Florence. In New York we went to the Admirals Club and found it rather uncomfortable, with limited food available, the only healthy item being tired vegetable sticks. Each of us was given two drink coupons. While we only wanted a single drink each, rationing seemed tacky. At the desk we requested wheelchair assistance for my husband because all the walking in the airport had aggravated his bad knee. We were assured that such assistance had been ordered for the remainder of the trip.

We boarded flight 44 for DeGaulle Airport and were given seats 6A and 6B at the back of the compartment. Service was poor because the aisle on our side was often blocked by passengers from the back of the plane using the toilet facilities at the front of our section and blocking the stewards from serving our aisle. The food was poor.

When we reclined our seats, the foot sections were broken and would not lift. The steward was disinterested in our discomfort and did nothing to repair or report the problem. We did not sleep as a result.

Upon arrival at DeGaulle, a man with a wheelchair met us. He pushed Dave up the ramp, stopped the chair, told him to get out and told all of us to sit on a nearby bench. He said he would return in 10 minutes. He never came back. We had to negotiate several sets of stairs, and what seemed miles of hallways to get to the next gate.

When we arrived in Florence, Dave’s knee was in such bad shape that the next morning we went out and purchased a wheelchair after finding we could not rent one.

For the trip back, we arrived at the airport before it opened and I stood for the entire two hours in order to get wheelchair accommodation, which had not been ordered. W spent the time trying to explain what we needed. A fellow passenger finally told the clerk that we needed a gate check for the wheelchair so that we could have its use throughout the trip home. At last, we boarded the plane.

On arrival at DeGaulle, a man with a van met us. He delivered us to an American Airlines desk where we were given our boarding passes for the two remaining flights. Another attendant then took us to the gate. I enquired about going to the Admirals Club and was told it would only be ten minutes until we boarded. I sat on a windowsill because all the seats were taken. Over half an hour later, we were herded on the plane where we waited an hour and a half for takeoff. Again we were in the last row of business but on the other side. This time we had seats across the aisle from one another rather than together. My seatmate was traveling alone. Dave’s seatmate was a child, a nice boy who sat at the window but who climbed over him to use the facilities and visit his family further up the section. Why wouldn’t whoever assigned seats place these two people together and let Dave and I have seats together? This flight, both food and service were acceptable and the seat worked properly.

At JFK, our wheelchair did not come and we waited as the entire plane emptied. At last we used an airport chair and the attendant pushed us to the baggage area to collect our luggage so we could go through customs, having us pay for a cart on the way. Our luggage didn’t arrive but the chair did appear. After all the cargo was emptied and our luggage was still missing, we went to baggage claims and were assured that it had just been sent on through to Regan. Our attendant then pushed Dave toward our gate as fast as he could while I ran behind for about a quarter of a mile. Of course the plane, fully loaded, had left. The clerk at the gate counter checked and found that we had been rescheduled for a plane leaving from LaGuardia Airport, meaning we would have to find our way across New York City during rush hour and go through security again in an hour and a quarter. The clerk took pity on us and found seats for us on the next flight from JFK to Reagan. We had to wait for more than four hours. This plane also left late.

During the wait, I had the clerk call Regan and inquire about our luggage. She told me it had not been placed on our plane at DeGaulle. When the bags were noticed, they chose to send them to Chicago where they were to be shipped to Regan. However, no one had checked the weather. Chicago was shut down because of a snowstorm. The baggage clerk expected them to arrive after midnight. By the time we arrived at Regan and checked, that later flight had also been cancelled. We had been awake for 30 hours. Our bags didn’t arrive until two days later. The wheels on my roller board had been broken.

We paid $6,551.70 each for business class tickets on American Airlines. For this price we expected excellent service and accommodation. We certainly did not receive business class service, food, consideration or quality for this money and feel that you should reimburse us the difference between the cost of these tickets and economy tickets, because that is really the quality of service we received.

Patricia S.