[ExecPlat_Randy]

I cannot believe what I am going through with American Airlines... I am an Executive Platinum member of AA with millions of miles on AA under my belt... I have to say that 2008 has been the worst year I have ever experienced flying AA!

I started this week's journey in Los Angeles on flight 202 headed for Bogota, Colombia via Miami... Somehow, I arrived in Bogota without my luggage. I know why did I check a bag.... A very poor decision! Anyways, I arrived in Bogota on Monday evening without my bag. I file the necessary paperwork and am told that I should contact them and follow up on my bag. I do as they asked... I am told on Tuesday morning that my bag was located in Miami and was on the early morning flight 915 to Bogota and would be delivered to me. Well, somehow my bag didn't make the flight... I was told it would be on the afternoon flight 913... When I call to follow up on my bag location, I am told that somehow they have lost track of my bag again and "hopefully it will show up in Bogota". Tuesday evening, I check with AA to see when my bag will be delivered and am not given any information...

Now, let me back up and say that I paid $3,500.00 for this first class airfare to be in Bogota for business.

Tuesday evening I have to go shopping for clothes and toiletry replacements... American says that they can reimburse me up to $100 for my expenses... I don't if any of you have ever shopped for business attire, but $100 doesn't even begin to cover it, even when you are shopping in Bogota, Colombia.

After returning to the hotel from purchasing clothes, I check my bag status on AA.com... it shows that my bag has been located in Bogota and will be delivered to my hotel that night.

I wake up Wednesday morning (today) expecting that my bag was delivered overnight.... it was not! and AA had no explanation... they tell me that I am welcome to go back to the airport and pick it up if I would like to... I make arrangements for someone from my hotel to go pick up the bag. Then comes the fun part... AA then tries to extort $30K pesos to release my bag to the hotel driver! Yes, you read this correctly... Thirty Thousand Pesos...

They lose my bag, lie about when I will get it back, then when it is located they try to extort more money from me!

I rarely ever use the word "never"... but I am to the point of saying that I will never fly American Airlines again.