Knowingly assigned an "inoperative" seat on Long Haul Flight

[eolesen]

I was disappointed with eolesen's response to john john. After complaining about AA's response to the OP eolesen belittles john john for asking a legitimate question; how can AA agents adequatley address a passenger's reasonable complaint. eolesen has portrayed himself to be someone with a significant amount of experience within the AA structure. The name calling wasn't called for. The inadequate answer as to how Iberia resolved the problem wasn't helpful. If you don't know, it's ok to answer a question with "I don't know".

WCS, your defense of John John is admirable, but let's be clear -- I don't look down on front line employees. I have no tolerance for John John or his attitude. It's guaranteed he will manage to find the black cloud for any silver lining and complain about how management fails everyone.

Someone who is truly customer focused would have found a way to make sure the customer was made whole. If not empowered to do something about it, you find someone who is. Citing the 'lack of tools" as an excuse for not being able to file an irregularity report is simply bull5hit.

Further, an agent wouldn't be the one dealing with the consequences of an inop seat discovered after takeoff. The FA would have been the last line of defense to do something proactive, and if the customer wanted it addressed upon landing, it would have probably been handed off to a supervisor in the arrivals hall

And no, I'm not guessing on how Iberia handled it. They contacted me, which means the FA followed thru. This was long before tablets or smart devices were in FA's hands even on airlines like BA who were early adapters of the technology. However it was reported, it was done in a way that at least pretended that they were sorry for the situation and were willing to place a value on the inconvenience without me having to even ask.

IORFA, isn't a qualified purser more or less required on an overwater international flight? This was LAX-HKG.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Well that settles it then.

 

[IORFA]

Required? Sort of. Required to be bid that way, but IF the company is in a bind they will most assuredly send it out filled with a non purser. They don't have a separate reserve list of just pursers at AA. Although looking at the SA bidsheets it looks like they do. For the most part they try to fill it with a purser qualified f/a, just it can go out with out one. Rare, but does happen.

 

[john john]

Again the frontline workers reported the problem and management compensated the passenger, Frontline workers/ supervisor are not empowered to reimbursement. Just report the problem. They are told to email and Q PNR’s.The tool is to report the problem to management
and management takes it form their

Lay blame where blame is due

 

[eolesen]

Oh, I do lay blame where it's due. Now that they're unionized, the agents seem to hide behind the same "that's not my job" mentality that USAir did for decades, and the customers suffer. It's management's fault for putting up with that type of mediocrity. The union and its members are either to blame for not getting management to provide agents with the tools they need to provide better service, or to blame for intentionally not letting agents get those types of tools and empowerment.

Sad. AA was a much better airline prior to the bankruptcy and the merger... Now, just about everyone I knew who was a loyal AA flyer is now either flying on DL or UA.

AA's bottom tier ranking for complaints in the DOT reports bear that out. They've been last of the big four pretty much all year, and that includes the months where DL and WN had huge system failures.

 

[john john]

Yea it’s the union fault because you think the compensation that management gave was substandard

 

[eolesen]

I'm sure you're very well acquainted with the concepts of substandard pay and performance, coming from USAir.

You guys dragged down the great service that Piedmont was known for in the 80's, you dragged down HP's levels in that merger, and now you've dragged down AA.

Encouraging the lowest common denominator is definitely something to be proud of.

 

[IORFA]

I for one have never been so embarrassed to say I work for American Airlines! It's pathetic. The worst part is that the morons from Phoenix think they're doing a good job! I've not enjoyed working here in years past, but I've never been embarrassed to say where I worked. Now I just avoid the question whenever possible. If not, it seems like everyone has a story to tell me about the crappy service they received and the major decline of service provided.

 

[SparrowHawk]

As a former US Chairman's Preferred all I have to say to everyone is that this type of thing and the response from AA has the stench of Doug Parker all over it.

The only way to get just compensation is to raise holy heck far and wide. DOT and anyone else you can think of.along the way.

Most don't know this but when I was still PineyBob and flying regularly there was a person who was assigned by Doug Parker himself to monitor my posts and respond. I will never forget how I found this out. About 7AM EST I got a call with a Phoenix area code and I answered and a voice said "Bob we've spoken before it's Blah Blah from US and I have a question for you. I said OK and she said "What the hell was that post on Flyer Talk about, what happened"?

I mention this because, say what you will about AA/US but for me at least they became a very responsive airline. Many many stories to share but another time perhaps. Liver disease even post transplant ain't for sissies I'm wiped out, Good night and good luck.

PS it's nice to see little has changed, John-John is still the same

 

[bob@las-AA]

As a former US Chairman's Preferred all I have to say to everyone is that this type of thing and the response from AA has the stench of Doug Parker all over it.

The only way to get just compensation is to raise holy heck far and wide. DOT and anyone else you can think of.along the way.

Most don't know this but when I was still PineyBob and flying regularly there was a person who was assigned by Doug Parker himself to monitor my posts and respond. I will never forget how I found this out. About 7AM EST I got a call with a Phoenix area code and I answered and a voice said "Bob we've spoken before it's Blah Blah from US and I have a question for you. I said OK and she said "What the hell was that post on Flyer Talk about, what happened"?

I mention this because, say what you will about AA/US but for me at least they became a very responsive airline. Many many stories to share but another time perhaps. Liver disease even post transplant ain't for sissies I'm wiped out, Good night and good luck.

PS it's nice to see little has changed, John-John is still the same

Yep cirrhosis of the liver will get ya every time.

 

[SparrowHawk]

Indeed Bob it does. Wort part of my situation was the Cirrhosis I had was NOT caused by alcohol. It was something called NASH, "Non Alcoholic Steato Hepatisis" which is very close relative to Fatty Liver in that it takes years to show symptoms, The doctors say I could have had it for 30 years before the liver went south.

If it was caused by being a bad hillbilly, redneck drunk then at least I'd have some cool drunken stories to share. When I read threads like this one, even though I do miss flying a great deal on some days, I think I'm happier with my feet firmly planted on Terra firma.

 

[danielholden1975]

That must have been frustrating....and i guess no empty seats to move you into.....

When you buy a ticket you are paying for a classification of seat type to get you from A to B, sometimes via C if you ever flew with DanDare!!

What you aren't specifically paying for is a seat that reclines. I know it is frustrating, and i would be mad as hell, but it isn't a condition on your contract with AA. It is equally as annoying when the headphone jack or power socket aren't working. I've had this a number of times on different flights, and trains for that matter, often in Business and First Class. I've been lucky, and there has been room to move me, but as to what you can do; my best advice is to write a complaint and address it to one of the senior board members. (that way it 'may' get dealt with by a grown up customer services agent and a better outcome). OUtline how much you (or your firm) spends on travel per annum. Not just you, but other colleagues too, with their airline.

The point to remember is that airlines sell their seats in first and business for a huge amount. We also know that they charge substantially more for refundable seats than they should. My point is that they need your custom to make the whole thing work. They don't make money flying people in standard class. They make it from business and first...so you would expect (hope) they treat those customers better, or you'll go with another airline going to the same destination with a seat that does have all it's various accessories working.

Incidentally, you can get your own back buy not paying their refundable prices for first and business class.

This is a hack i have used a lot....

Basically, you can get first class by paying only a little more than the person at the back of the jet sat on top of the toilets, in the middle of the middle row.

Take a typical flight with British Airways, LAX - LHR return (11 hours each way)

(And please feel free to go check these prices)
Refundable Economy Seat was $4,200
Non-Refundable Business Seat (with Insurance) was $4,600
Non-Refundable First Seat (with Insurance) was $6,800
(For insurance prices i went to AardvarkCompare(dot)com as you get multiple prices to check, but also try your own insurance broker)

For those of you who would prefer to keep the airlines profitable, here is the price for that Refundable First Class Ticket.. $23,423.89

$23,400 for a First Class Refundable ticket, or $6,800 for a First Class Non-Refundable with Insurance

$6,800 for a $23,400 seat?! I then add a $450 Cancel For Any Reason Travel Insurance Policy

So, for $6,800 I am paying $2,500 more than the guy with the Refundable Economy Flight. I am in First Class.

I know i'm now off topic......but if you are interested in why this works, read on....

Simple - Travel Insurance is based on risk, and the probability of claim.

Flight prices are based on pricing models that try to gouge as much money out of a passenger as is humanly possible.

That’s a $16,600 saving. Same flight. You’re welcome.

If they won't give you a refund or a free flight for a seat that won't recline, at least you can deprive them of their excessive costs next time you fly.

Good Luck!