Flight Cancellation
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Flight Cancellation Drama & How To Deal With It

Flight Cancellation!  January of 2018, we were finishing up a fabulous long three-week vacation across Australia and New Zealand. I intentionally booked our flights as the crow flies in order not to backtrack. The final destination was Auckland, New Zealand, so it only made sense to fly back to the US. On Friday, Jan 6th, 2018, we were scheduled to leave on American Airlines Flight 82.

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First Clue of a Flight Cancellation

We arrive at the airport, and everything appears normal until we go downstairs to the gate area and there is no plane. Clue number one! Then a delayed notice appears. Time passes, no information and people start to get restless. Two hours in and no plane in sight, it becomes apparent there isn’t going to be a flight out of this gate, but when it happened next is downright scandalous.

The gate attendant announces that the flight has been canceled because six of the thirteen crew are six-bull. I am not buying this at all. And, legit or not, how about they get a new crew. Wait.  That might be too logical for such a large corporation.

Everyone was advised to proceed to the American Airlines ticketing counter upstairs. I assumed this would be straightforward. We would get rebooked on the next available flight. Wrong! Instead, we were met with a hotel voucher and directed to load a bus. Now, hindsight is priceless. Should this ever happen again, I am not going anywhere till I am rebooked. American Airlines knew full well what they were doing; they wanted to divert everyone from the airport vs. rebook. Why they did, this becomes apparent later.

Leaving the Airport

Ignorantly we board the bus and head to the hotel. Brian, my wonderful husband, did what he does best. He left me there to check in and went and got himself a beer – twat! In his defense, Brian hates confrontation, and I don’t. In fact,  I enjoy the occasional showdown. I am also by far the more assertive of the two of us. His rationale is simple: let the big dog deal with anything that involves the potential of a showdown! He also gets a royal laugh watching the antics unfold as he knows my process and anticipates what I will say next! It’s now a running joke. Brian runs color commentary as I go into attack mode.  Brian in the background, wait – she’s going to say……………… And he’s always right!

Checking into the Hotel

I start to check in, and the hotel wants a credit card. I said call American Airlines for theirs or use their corporate billing to apply for the hotel charge. They insisted, I refused and said I didn’t have one. FYI, several other people refused! Don’t fall for needing a credit card – you do not need one – be firm. We check in to the room, and now I begin planning my attack! Brian runs to the local store and grabs me a couple of bottles of wine, knowing this will be a long night of treacherous phone calls. He knows I need supplies for the long haul of the upcoming debate.

Researching the Options for a Flight Cancellation

I do some quick research. Which flights could we get on that would contact us back to the states before Monday, who does American codeshare with, etc.?  Plenty of options but not necessary with American Airlines! We had insurance for every leg of this trip. Worst-case scenario, I could have just booked new tickets. However, I also know from experience that if I used insurance. I would have to pre-pay and submit a claim and wait for reimbursement.

The first line of defense is to hold the Airline accountable and get them to rebook you.  We used our travel insurance several times on this trip. First, we were delayed by over 12 hours for the flights going to Australia. And, on the way back, due to the American cancellation. This delayed us more than 24 hours. While the Airline paid for the hotel, we had to pay for a cab to get back to the airport! Yes, we had crap luck with flights on this trip.

Calling American Airlines

Armed with the available flights, costs, and knowing my legal rights, I get ready to call American Airlines, and the phone in our room starts ringing. Still optimistic, I think, that will be the Airline. Brian answers, and its front desk is asking for a credit card. He passed the phone to me. I am irritated. I told her I had already explained there was no credit card, and I gave them American’s phone number to call. The lady got stroppy with me, so I told her to f*** off and hung up.

Back On The Phone

Back to American. I call American Airlines. Naturally, the wait was horrendous. Six hundred plus people were trying to re-schedule due to the flight cancellation. American’s initial stance was to rebook you once a new flight is available. What? As in wait in New Zealand until you can get a crew and a plane? Nah, that’s not going to fly. I send my first tweet of many quoting them verbatim.

The agent I am speaking to states there is nothing she can do. Really? I want to talk to a manager, please. Save yourself some time here; skip the conversation with the representatives. You will be getting routed to a manager at some point to go for it upfront.

The manager advises there are no flights back until Tuesday. Wait? Is she high or blind – or both?

So What Now?

It’s Friday! Are they proposing that we be stranded in New Zealand for four days due to the flight cancellation? I advised her that I was looking at 20 plus routes for the following Saturday, which would get us home on Saturday. Silence. Tick, tick…………. After a few minutes of a standoff, she says, hold on. Twenty-five minutes later, she comes back with a new flight for us that leaves the next day.

Yes! Except, there are four connections, and it’s over 72 hours from point A to B. Again, is this woman high? I get assertive and say that this option is as ridiculous as sitting in New Zealand indefinitely until Americans can pull a flight together.

She gets assertive and advises she would be happy to cancel our tickets and refund me. Oh, of course, she would! My response. “Oh, that’s lovely of you… except I only paid $1,356 for two one-way tickets, and the cheapest one-way flight is over $2k or $4K for both of us”. She’s a little taken aback, and I don’t think she expected me to have done the math – she wants me off the phone.  Tweet number two goes out, and I also tag all other tweets shaming American Airlines online.

The Real Deal Regarding Flight Cancellations

To save you some boring details, we go back and forth on crazy routes and options, all of which I decline. Now we get to the essence of the issue. Remember I told you about the buses? It was all pre-arranged as we sat at the gate for two hours. Americans do not want to put us on a route with a carrier they do not partner with or with whom they have a codeshare agreement. A dirty deceptive rouse, I tell you!

Per the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), code sharing is “a marketing arrangement in which an airline places its designator code on a flight operated by another airline and sells tickets for that flight.”

It should be no surprise that the rules that govern United States flight cancellations are corporate-centric, not passenger-centric. It’s all about the money, period. And, the airlines have their hand in politics and lobby to ensure it stays this way! In other words, American does not want to put us on a flight that we will have to pay for. They would rather stay in a cheap hotel until it’s financially beneficial to them to return us to the USA – bull.

Time for a New Technique

Now I use the beg and plead technique, peppered with passive-aggressive jabs. I can sense that if I appeal to this woman’s emotional side, she might book us – I could feel it. She kept trying to get me off the phone. I refused to come off the phone, and I advised her explicitly that I had all her information and promptly tweeted it if I got disconnected. I asked her this:

  • How would you want to be treated if this happened to you?
  • How would you feel if you had to be home and return to work on Monday?
  • Do you think you are treating us fairly?

She paused asked me to wait. Thirty minutes later, she returned with the original flight I asked for that left the next am and got us home on Saturday. I thanked her and told her she did the right thing! Almost three hours of phone tennis and the new flights are booked. I jump on the internet to confirm it while the manager is still on the telephone. I assign seats, success for us!

The Not So Happy Ending

Now the ugly side of this story. I was able to sort out flights for Brian and me I.. Being honest; this might sound cocky. I assumed I would be able to. I am no stranger to flight cancellations. And, as mentioned, I had travel insurance, so we were heading out the next day one way or another.

Unfortunately, this was not the case for almost everyone at dinner. One gentleman who did not get a new flight was en route to his father’s funeral. I felt tremendously sorry for him. Delta tried (stress tried) to bump me off a flight due to overselling years ago when I was en route to a funeral in the UK. I could relate to how he felt.  I would have helped, but he was distraught and kept his distance from everyone else in the restaurant. All of which were people victims of the canceled flight. There were families in other hotels who ended up stuck in New Zealand for several days. It was all over the news!

The Aftermath of American’s Flight Cancellation

So how did Americans handle the flight cancellation aftermath? American issued me and Brian 20,000 points each. Aw, how nice of them! Not even enough for a standard award round-trip ticket. So, I opened their CC, got the 50K points, gave us 90K points combined, then promptly canceled the credit card. I used our 90K points for four supers save awards last year. And, I have enough for one more round trip! Now, was it worth it? No! No one in their right mind wants to be stuck overseas’ s fighting with an airline about how they will get home. However, capitalize on what you can get out of it if this happens to you.

Airlines do have to rebook or refund you for cancellations, but even this can be challenging.

What The Department of Transportation Of Transportation Says

From the Department of Transportation direct:

Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for passengers whose flights have been canceled.”

It’s gray at best. Apply this to our situation. Americans would be well within their legal rights to rebook us whenever. What a load of bollocks!

What American Airlines Says

American’s “Contract of Carriage,” aka their “own policy,” states:

  • Rebooking your delayed/canceled flight
    When your flight is canceled, or a delay will cause you to miss your connection, we’ll rebook you on the next flight with available seats. If you decide not to fly because your flight was delayed or canceled, we’ll refund the remaining ticket value and any optional fees.
  • Delays caused by us
    If the delay is our fault or you’re diverted to another city, and we don’t board before 11:59 p.m. local time on your scheduled arrival day, we’ll arrange an overnight stay or cover the cost of an approved hotel, if available.
  • Delays beyond our control (like weather)
    If the delay is beyond our control, you’re responsible for paying for your hotel, meals and other expenses. An American Airlines agent may be able to help you find a hotel.

Wow, how lucky were we that they provided a hotel and food. Not! Sarcasm folks! The right thing to do would have been to rebook people first, then book a hotel if needed.

For this reason, I will never use American as a revenue passenger. In short, I will never pay to fly American Airlines again, period. The way Americans handled a flight cancellation was dismal.

Should this ever happen to you and you experience a flight cancellation. See Airline Passenger Rights – The 12 Steps to Handle Flight Cancellations.

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