[hhwellsl13]

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint against your gate agent handling the boarding of the flight referenced above in San Diego. My profession is a jewelry designer and I do a very large amount of traveling to private shows across the country. As such, I am taking a good amount of my designs with me on these trips in my carry-on. I would say conservatively I board no less than 10-15 flight legs per month. On the morning in question, your (male) gate agent singled me out as having a carry-on that would not meet size requirements. Bear in mind, this carry-on will fit under the seat – and has on many planes smaller than an A-321. I inserted my bag into the “tester” and the (empty) outer pockets caught the edge of the tester to the obvious pleasure of your gate agent. I explained my profession, and the fact that this bag had over $100,000 of jewelry inside – far beyond any liability that AA would cover if lost - and that I would appreciate it if we could test if it would fit inside the aircraft. Seeing my angst, your agent chose to turn up the pressure and make an example of me in front of the other passengers – almost as though he was enjoying himself at my expense. I asked if we could gate check the bag to be picked up in the jetway – and he refused – saying that was only offered to first class passengers – again giving no consideration for the value of what was inside my bag. I explained to him that I have flown hundreds of legs and NEVER had this happen – to which he replied, “I don’t believe you”.

Because I had a show that evening in Charlotte, I had no option left to me but to allow your agent to take my bag – much to his enjoyment. I spent the next 4 and a half hours sitting on your aircraft in tears over the chance that my entire livelihood may be lost in some baggage claim snafu – the worst flight of my life.

I have had time to reflect upon your agent’s behavior towards me, and I see it as a direct form of pure sexual harassment on his part. His demeanor, attitude and behavior towards me were all from an exercise of superiority over a female and he was not going to let it go. His lack of consideration for the special circumstances of the contents of my bag was dripping with “I don’t give a sh** girl – I am taking your bag”. The fact the AA puts people of this capacity on their front line is appalling and I want a direct apology to my face from this agent. Please let me know when I can visit the San Diego ticket counter for this apology.

[hhwellsl13]

American responds with assurances that it will be handled "internally" - tells me an apology or anything "external" is just not policy or possible - doubt anything will really be done.....their reponse below:

Thank you for contacting American Airlines.
I am deeply sorry for the disappointing service you received from our gate agent in the San Diego station. We have already filed a formal complaint on your behalf and sent a report to the station. While we can certainly understand your desire for a specific apology from the agent, we've made it a strict policy not to share internal information or documents pertaining to our personnel.
Nevertheless, while it is our policy not to share details regarding possible disciplinary actions taken with our employees as a result of customer concerns, we want to assure you that we take these matters very seriously. Policies and procedures are a necessary part of our operation. However, we expect our employees to apply these policies and procedures with the utmost courtesy and professionalism -- rudeness or unwillingness to assist a customer will not be tolerated!
......we look forward to the privilege of welcoming you aboard again soon. In turn, we will do our best to ensure your next flight is a pleasant one.


Sincerely,

Sally Ming
Customer Relations
American Airlines