Miami Airport Yesterday - Anyone?

[dolphincruiser404]

Okay - was just wondering if anyone encountered problems in Miami yesterday! We were flying in from Cancun and ended up stranded there after sitting on the runway for 3 1/2 hours because of the lightening!!!!!! Not to mention the fact that AA did NOTHING to accomodate us after our connection was cancelled. They had us "possibly" arriving in Tampa 24 hours after our original time! We had to make alternate arrangements.

 

I know the airlines can't do anything about weather, but the customer service was horrendous!! Everything else that I observed seemed to be smoother with other airlines...

 

I did finally speak to someone at AA today who gave me a $600 travel voucher good for one year! I was very pleased!!

 

Anyone else have a similar experience?? The good, bad, and the ugly!!!

[FPP777]

Okay - was just wondering if anyone encountered problems in Miami yesterday! We were flying in from Cancun and ended up stranded there after sitting on the runway for 3 1/2 hours because of the lightening!!!!!! Not to mention the fact that AA did NOTHING to accomodate us after our connection was cancelled. They had us "possibly" arriving in Tampa 24 hours after our original time! We had to make alternate arrangements.

 

I know the airlines can't do anything about weather, but the customer service was horrendous!! Everything else that I observed seemed to be smoother with other airlines...

 

I did finally speak to someone at AA today who gave me a $600 travel voucher good for one year! I was very pleased!!

 

 

 

Anyone else have a similar experience?? The good, bad, and the ugly!!!

Dolphin,

I am sure that was a very frustrating experience and I am sorry to hear that happened. I/m just going to share my knowledge of airlines and missed connections and cancelled flights. If your flight is interupted because of weather, the airlines are not required to provide much, but most will get your home. If you had to spend the night at a hotel, they would not have to pay for it. If it because of a mechanical, they would. I learned a long time ago that the squeeeky wheel gets the oil. And it sounds like you got the oil in the form of a voucher.

I/m sure it was not very safe for the ground workers to be on the wide open ramp next to very big metal lightening rods /airplanes/. I am sure if was a frustrating night for all involved.

[dolphincruiser404]

I totally understand and if you look at my post, I stated that I understood that it was weather related. What I was dissatisfied with was their customer service, and their conflicting information. I am very satisfied with the compensation I was offered...I even stated that as well.

 

I was simply looking for other people's accounts of it. If I was looking to flame an airline I wouldn't have asked for other people's experiences...

[FPP777]

I totally understand and if you look at my post, I stated that I understood that it was weather related. What I was dissatisfied with was their customer service, and their conflicting information. I am very satisfied with the compensation I was offered...I even stated that as well.

 

I was simply looking for other people's accounts of it. If I was looking to flame an airline I wouldn't have asked for other people's experiences...

 

I did read your post and I do understand that your were looking for other people's experiences. I was just sharing some knowledge more so out of embarassment then anything else as I work for AA in the Operations center in Dallas. I'm hate to hear when things like this happen and some of our people dont step up to the plate to provide the right kind of customer service. I did not mean to hijack your thread in another direction. I apoligize.

[dolphincruiser404]

Sorry - I may have over reacted a bit too. I don't think I would have expected vouchers, etc. if I hadn't been told by the first rep that they would provide hotel vouchers or accomodations on another carrier. I think what got me the most was that no one would do anything to rebook me on another flight until I was off of the plane that had been sitting on the runway for so long. Meanwhile, everyone else was filling up the flights to Tampa. But like I said, I was hoping for something, but not expecting it. I was very pleased with the way the airline stepped up and provided such generous compensation.

[Chisusie]

We too had problems in that airport yesterday. We weren't on a cruise, just trying to connect in MIA from Key West going home to Chicago. We were on AA as well. Our flight from Key west was delayed in leaving and it was the worst flight I have ever been on. Several people got sick and saw several others praying.

 

We missed our connection to O'hare by about a minute. The plane then ended up sitting at the gate for over an hour, I think due to weather, but they wouldn't let us on. It was very frustrating to see the plane sit there and not be allowed to get on. Found someone to finally help us, they booked us on the next "available" flight over 5 hours later. We were placed on stand by for a flight that was suppose to leave an hour later. We were able to get seats on that flight after all. That flight, after a plane change and gate change due to mechanical problems, ended up leaving about 4 hours later than it was suppose to.

 

The communication and customer service was very bad. We couldn't even get a free snack on the plane!! Who did you call to get the vouchers and what did you have to say?

[dolphincruiser404]

We too had problems in that airport yesterday. We weren't on a cruise, just trying to connect in MIA from Key West going home to Chicago. We were on AA as well. Our flight from Key west was delayed in leaving and it was the worst flight I have ever been on. Several people got sick and saw several others praying.

 

We missed our connection to O'hare by about a minute. The plane then ended up sitting at the gate for over an hour, I think due to weather, but they wouldn't let us on. It was very frustrating to see the plane sit there and not be allowed to get on. Found someone to finally help us, they booked us on the next "available" flight over 5 hours later. We were placed on stand by for a flight that was suppose to leave an hour later. We were able to get seats on that flight after all. That flight, after a plane change and gate change due to mechanical problems, ended up leaving about 4 hours later than it was suppose to.

 

The communication and customer service was very bad. We couldn't even get a free snack on the plane!! Who did you call to get the vouchers and what did you have to say?

 

Apparently AA does not have a Customer Relations phone number. Originally they told me to write a letter and it would take several weeks for a response. I wasn't taking that as an answer. I called back and spoke to a Reservations Supervisor and I just emphasized that I understood they couldn't change the weather, but that their customer service was by far the worst. We were never able to get on an AA flight, and it ended up costing us a few hundred dollars to get home!

 

We were stuck on the plane too, and told they had no other snacks or soda and offered us a cup of water! When you call just emphasize all of your experiences with the poor customer service.

[FPP777]

You can also go to www.aa.com

 

Click on Contact AA

 

Click on Customer Relations

 

Click on Send an Email

[beach08]

After reading this board yesterday , low and behold this article was in The Baltimore Sun Paper last night. Airline's WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE IN OVER 5 YEARS. LooK AT "American Airlines" tied for 2nd worst in the business......

 

NEW YORK // Customer service at U.S. airlines during the first quarter was the worst it has been in five years, according to a University of Michigan index that ranks customer satisfaction.

 

Only cable television, satellite services and newspapers ranked lower than airlines in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which also examined industries such as utilities, health care, telecommunications and food service.

 

Among the U.S. airlines, Northwest ranked lowest, its rating falling 4.7 percent from the first quarter of last year. Tied for second-worst were American Airlines, whose ranking fell 3.1 percent from a year ago, and US Airways, which the study said improved the most, by 8.8 percent.

"It becomes more difficult to provide good service when you don't have the resources." said Claes Fornell, a professor at the University of Michigan's business school.

 

The largest U.S. airlines have been shedding employees and capacity as they try to stem $40 billion in losses since 2000. The U.S. airline industry employed 5.4 percent fewer people in March than a year earlier, according to the latest U.S. Transportation Department statistics. March marked the 15th monthly decline in airline employment.

 

"The unfortunate thing is it's hard to see how things can get much better, at least not in the short term," Fornell said. "We do have more passengers flying, and it's just going to get more crowded and maybe a harder strain for passengers."

 

On-time arrivals by U.S. airlines stood at 76.1 percent in the first quarter, the poorest first-quarter showing in five years, according to U.S. Transportation Department data.

 

Two of the five largest U.S. carriers - Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest - are currently in bankruptcy proceedings. All airlines have been affected by high fuel prices.

 

On the positive side, Southwest and Continental airlines led in service, their ratings both unchanged from a year earlier.

 

In other industries, wireless telephone service providers barely edged out the airlines in customer satisfaction, improving their ranking by 5 percent overall. T-Mobile USA Inc., and Verizon Wireless were the best performers.

 

Overall, customer satisfaction improved for 54 percent of the companies covered by the survey.

 

PPL Corp. and Allegheny Energy Inc. led utility companies and FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. led express companies in the rankings.

[dolphincruiser404]

Wow! Imagine that!!! Very Interesting...I believe it!