[jharbinal]

I was scheduled
to travel from Las Vegas to Huntsville, Al on June 6th returning from a business
trip. My original flights were American 1856 connecting to 1902 in DFW. Flight
1856 was delayed from the original departure of 11:05A until after 2:00P on June
6th resulting in not only myself in missing my connection but approximately 37 others
from my company returning back home. We were told that since there were so many
of us that they would hold the flight to Huntsville for us but once I reached DFW,
I found that the flight had departed. Once my now 3 hour late flight (1856) reached
DFW, the plane had to sit on the tarmac for another 30-40 minutes waiting on a gate
further delaying my travel. I tried to call the American 800 number while sitting
on board the plane to inquire about my contingency plans but the agent was not at
all helpful, could not find any activity about the delays and alternative options
and just told me to check inside the airport when I got off the plane. She also
asked why I did not get off the plane and I tried on several occasions to explain
that I could not due to us being stuck on the tarmac awaiting a gate. The flight
attendants announced that a representative would meet the flight and assist passengers
with missed connections; however, the said representative was too busy giving out
gate and times to other people and “passed the buck” by sending me out to the ticket
counter, past security. Out of six AA personnel in LAS and DFW, I finally found
only one that was able to help. I find it unacceptable that there were no service
desks airside to assist with a problem like this. Overall, on the last three American
travel experiences, I have received extremely poor service. In April, I was caught
in the wiring inspection fiasco resulting in not only a cancelled flight, but also
delays upon delays. I missed being at the hospital in Chicago during my daughters
surgery due to this problem. On Thursday May 29th, I experienced a delay by American
from DFW to LAS (flight 1887) arriving late and now this latest. In my book, three
strikes and you are out. Your announcements always say “We appreciate your business”,
but I find this an oxymoron. I have heard an old saying that if you don’t take
care of your customer, someone else will, and that is very true. I finally arrived
home at around 11:40 June 7th, some 16 hours later than my original itinerary.
I missed two doses of medication that was in my checked luggage and I was not feeling
well. I thought there was a rule that if you arrived 4 hours or more later than
your scheduled arrival, that the airline was responsible for paying you for your
ticket price as well as other compensation. I do expect some generous compensation
for my problems on this, my third trip with American. On a positive note, of which there are very few in this
communication, I do want to praise DFW employee Alan Basinger for being the only
person out of many in LAS and DFW that could and did assist me with alternative
plans. But this was after being shuttled from place to place and having a very
BAD taste in my mouth from the poor service I had received prior to the assistance
provided by Mr. Basinger. All of your staff could take lessons in customer service
from this gentleman.

I have already filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation's Aviation
Consumer Protection Division.