Airline reverses course on compensation

  • By Christopher Elliott
  • Wednesday, September 23, 2015 6:27pm
  • Life

Question: I recently experienced a 23-hour delay when flying from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to San Francisco on American Airlines. I spent nine hours at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and around 36 hours without sleep because of this issue, and also spent extra money on the rental car due to the late pickup. Finally, I missed two important business meetings that were the original reason for this trip.

I contacted American customer-relations representatives about 15 times (both on the phone and through email), and long story short, I initially was offered 12,000 miles in compensation. Then I got an apologetic email giving me just 6,000 miles, which most likely was sent to every person that had been on the same flight as me, as a generic response.

Then I contacted customer relations again, and they issued a $500 e-voucher. But to my surprise, they canceled it later, and now they are telling me that all I will get as a gesture of goodwill are those 6,000 miles.

I’ve contacted an American representative on LinkedIn, asking the company to do the right thing. After several exchanges, the representative said my only option was to file a complaint through American’s online form. She also said, “If you contact me again I will file with AA Corporate Security on a business and personal level.”

I’d like American to do what it promised. Can you help?

— Alan Estrebou, Ituzaingo, Argentina

Answer: American should have gotten you to San Francisco as scheduled, not a day later. When it couldn’t do so, it should have at least followed through with its full promised compensation.

Let’s take a closer look at the compensation. American offered you a grand total of 12,000 miles as an apology for being delayed by a day. If you were flying in other parts of the world, such as Europe, you would have been entitled to cash for the trouble. As an admitted mileage skeptic, I’m not sure how valuable (or sincere) the miles were, but something is better than nothing.

The e-voucher was a little better, but bear in mind that airline scrip, or credit, can have limits and it expires, so that apology was a limited-time offer.

It’s not clear why American withdrew its original offer. When it did, you should have filled out its online form, and if that didn’t work, appealed to one of American’s executives. I list their names, numbers and emails on my site (elliott.org/company-contacts/american-airlines/).

I’m not sure if contacting an American employee through LinkedIn was the best course of action. LinkedIn is used for career development, not customer-service issues, although I’m surprised you got the reaction you did. Even so, asking for help is no crime, and there’s nothing American’s “Corporate Security” department can do to protect an employee from a customer with a question.

In your case, it appears American was under no legal obligation to offer you anything. But it obligated itself when it offered you miles and a voucher. It should honor its word. I contacted American on your behalf. It reversed course and issued the 12,000 miles, as promised.

King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.