Last Tuesday I was delayed at O'Hare for 4 hours due to some crazy weather. My original flight was delayed, then canceled. But I did receive an automated call from American virtually instantaneously, which allowed me to start the process of getting re-booked on another flight out. And, judging by the scramble in the Admirals Lounge when others saw on the screens that our flight was canceled, this mobile alert gave me a decent head start on the re-booking process. While I ultimately got out of O'Hare 4 hours later than expected, and 28 rows further back in the plane after losing the upgrade that had gone through on my since-canceled flight, I really did figure there wasn't much fault that could be placed on the airline given the weather conditions both in Chicago and New York. You fly that route in January and February, you expect some disruptions.
Today though, I received the email below from American. It does make me wonder a bit about whether there was something besides the weather contributing to the delays last week, but maybe that's just my cynical reflex kicking in. So I think I'll chalk it up as a nice little gesture from them. This covers roughly 2% of the miles I just redeemed for my upcoming trip to Nicaragua. Just 49 more 4-hour delays to go and I'll have another pair of 'economy anytime' tickets in my hot little hands.
February 18, 2008
Dear Mr. Sindlinger:
We know know that you expect on-time departures and arrivals and there is no question
that flight delays are disruptive and frustrating. We are sorry for the interruption
of your travel plans on February 12.
Although we cannot guarantee our schedules because of the many variables associated
with airline operations, we would like to offer a goodwill gesture as an apology and
to encourage you to fly with us again. I have added 3,000 miles to your AAdvantage®
account. You will shortly see the miles posted to your account at
www.AA.com/AAdvantage.
Please also remember that our first responsibility to you is your safety. We will
delay, cancel, reroute, or divert a flight in order to keep this commitment, even if
it brings inconvenience. We appreciate your understanding of this promise.
Thank you for traveling on American. We look forward to serving you again soon.
Sincerely,
B. J. Russell
Customer Relations
American Airlines
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