[Albert Lin]

My wife took American Airlines from JFK to LAX in april and had an awful experience. She's much too nice to complain but I'm not.

She arrived at JFK 50 minutes early and they told her she couldn't check in. I'm not sure when they changed the requirement for domestic flights, but it used to be 30 minutes before your departure. So they put her on the next flight and she STILL got to the gate 30 minutes before the departure of her ORIGINAL flight so she ran to that gate to try to get on the flight.

She arrived at her original gate 25 minutes early and asked if she could get on and the gate agent just looked her up and down and said, "You might want to pull up your shirt," and WALKED AWAY! She wouldn't let her on the flight and gave no explanation. Wifey had just run across the terminal and just noticed that her shirt had drifted lower but by no means was nipple or even bra showing. Not only that, she was clearly out of breath and I'd expect some kind of politeness and courtesy and understanding. I can only guess that the gate agent was in a pissy mood and/or was jealous of a pretty girl with a nice rack.

So, to recap, not only was she denied check-in 50 minutes early, she got to the gate of her original flight 25 minutes before departure and STILL was turned away. Not only was she turned away but was turned away rudely and silently judged on her outfit.

I'm DEFINITELY never flying American again and I'm going to do my best to discourage anyone else from flying them. Not just for this experience but for a luggage fiasco (story soon) and a nightmarish "non-stop" from Vegas to JFK that took 10 hours.

P.S., I just checked their policy which states "Pre-reserved seats are subject to cancellation unless you have checked in (obtained a boarding pass) at least 30 minutes before scheduled departure." and " In addition to checking in 30 minutes before departure, you must be present at the departure gate and ready to board at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure time to retain your reservation and a seat."

So were the agents just being ****** all at the same time? Wifey was clearly in time to check-in AND was in time to board, despite being held up at check-in and running across the terminal. That pisses me off even more.

[Silent Bob]

I can only guess that the gate agent was in a pissy mood and/or was jealous of a pretty girl with a nice rack.

right there is where u lost me. But if your wife was there 50 minutes early then she should have been able to check in with no problem. If she arrived at the first gate in time, they definitely shouldn't have turned her away. When I flew AA many moons ago, I've never known them or any airline (other than southwest) to have a dress code. I've seen women dress in ways.... well let's just say I find it rather fetching... You have have a case against them because they cannot deny your wife check in if she made it on time, and i don't believe they can turn her away based on how she is dressed.

Oh and this is not an insult but a compliment, but uhmmmm if your wife with the "nice rack" is ever flying on United out of JFK or EWR, be sure to let old bob know.

[Albert Lin]

The check-in agent wasn't rude to her aside from not letting her check in when she was 50 minutes early. It was the gate agent who could've let her fly stand-by on her original flight (though she shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place since she was at check-in 50 minutes early).

Unfortunately, there's no way to prove she was there at any time in particular. Or is there? Do they print the time someone was ticketed on the boarding pass?

[Silent Bob]

Sometimes the time of check in is printed on the bagtag reciept. Check that to see exactly what time it was your wife checked in. I haven't flown AA in awhile so you'll have to forgive me if the info isn't there. Again if she was 50 minutes early, there's no reason she should have been denied boarding. Unless she arrived at the airport 50 minutes prior, but didn't get to the counter till well past check in.

[airhead]

Maybe your wife was the last person to check in on an oversold flight.
Maybe she was checking a bag and that may require additional time to check in.
And just maybe, the gate agent was trying to be helpful when she advised your wife about her shirt. I know if my fly was open, I would want someone to tell me, even if I was being denied boarding.

[Eagleguy]

"Arrived at JFK 50 minutes early" Dude arriving at JFK with 50 minutes to spare is not early, that is late. Getting at the airport and waiting in line to be checked in does not count for being there early. IF you are in a line of 100 people what good did it do to get there 50 minutes early? "Yes! Sir! The guy in the back there! You look like you're in a hurry, please by pass all these people"

I am sorry, usually I am on the passengers' side but this is crap. Have we forgotten 9/11? Shoe bombers? Terrorists? There is a reason why we have so much security and you have to respect that. 50 minutes is not sufficient time (at JFK...Whiteplains maybe...)

Need I go on about passengers with international itineraries..."Seriously you have like 45 seconds, can I see your passport?!" "Um uh uh it's in the car." Folks take responsibility for your own actions and own up to it. If you're late, you are the one who is late. Don't blame the airlines. I got blamed the other day because a passenger was late. I LET her check in 16 minutes prior to departure because I thought she had her stuff together and could just run to the gate. No she went out to park her car afterwards....Then I am waiting for her at TSA to basically just throw her on the plane at the last minute as we are closing the door...She had a knife in her bag. When I told her she couldn't go, who did she blame? Me.