[NurseC]

After an enjoyable weeks' vacation in San Antonio I was scheduled to return home (Indianapolis) on March 2, 2015 using American Airlines (AA) Flight #1629 leaving out of SAT at 9:30am with connecting flight #1129 in DFW leaving at 1:05 pm, putting me in Indianapolis (Indy) by 4:04pm. I purposely chose this flight option from Expedia because the friend I was vacationing with was leaving on a Southwest flight at 9:10am for Indy and I didn't want to imposition the friend we were staying with by making her take two trips to the airport. I also chose it because of the ample layover time in DFW, giving me some peace of mind that I would make my connecting flight.
When I attempted to do my on-line check in after 9:30 am March 1st I realized my departure time had changed to 10:46 am with no notification from AA. So now, not only would I have to hang out much longer than anticipated at the airport, my connection time shrank considerably. Meanwhile my friend flying Southwest had no changes. When I did do my on-line check in I saw I could upgrade to First Class for an additional $43.00 so I took that option because I was afraid my one bag would be over 50 pounds and was actually planning to ship some stuff home via the USPO because of it. Normally I ALWAYS take a carry-on bag in case there are any problems, but since the weather was cooperating both in Dallas and Indianapolis I threw caution to the wind and checked my carry-on. After all, it would feel good not to have to drag it all over the airport. Well, that was a BIG mistake.
I arrived in Dallas to find my connecting flight was delayed. No big deal. At least I didn't miss it! After several more delays we were finally notified the flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues. Well crap! No carry-on bag but I had at least had the foresight to bring my quart-sized baggie with shampoo, conditioner, face wash, other creams, and foundation. Plus I had a spare dose of Benadryl which I needed for my chronic hive condition. However, I didn't have my cholesterol, antidepressant, or thyroid medicine because I had only brought enough for the length of my vacation.
We were told to get in line at the AA Customer Service counter to obtain vouchers and to make new flight arrangements. Since I had a number on my cell phone to call for assistance and thinking surely there were more flights available to Indy that day, I found a place to recharge my phone and decided to make that call before getting in line for vouchers. Unfortunately the first flight available wasn't until 8:51am Tues morning. It was Flight #2334 from Dallas to Chicago, then Flight #3008 from Chicago to Indy. I would be home by 3:56pm so I was okay with it.
When I finally found the AA Customer Service counter to get my food and hotel vouchers I was astounded at both the length of the line and the fact there was only ONE agent helping to assist all these displaced customers. I waited two hours in that line to get my vouchers! Then they had no toothbrush or paste to offer me. In addition, the agent said the Days Inn I would be staying at had no restaurant so I would have to get something from the airport before going. I only got one voucher for food, so unless I wanted to eat a bunch of junk I was going to have to spend extra money on some bottled water and a bedtime snack. She said the shuttle would be here in 30 minutes so I hurried off to buy a toothbrush and paste, bottled water, a candy bar and then my meal to take to the hotel with me. After getting outside I waited an additional 45 minutes for the shuttle.
Still, I was okay. Big sigh. I would be flying out at 8:15am and be home by 3:56pm Tuesday. (My experience at the hotel is a whole other complaint.) Shortly after getting settled into the hotel with my few belongings and no PJ's I received an automated call on my cell phone from AA saying my Chicago flight was cancelled. The mechanical lady went on to give me my new flight details. I had to hit the repeat button several times to get the information written down correctly. Okay, so my flight time had changed from 8:30am to 10:30am. But now I was being routed thru JFK in New York! In addition, based on the times I was given, I had less than 40 minutes to make my connecting flight! I had never been in JFK so I tried to find a map of the terminal on my cell phone but couldn't find anything helpful. Based on this scenario I would be in Indy at 6:04pm Tuesday.
When I checked in at the airport Tuesday the 3rd, I expressed my concern about the short time between flights in JFK. The agent tersely stated that it was a valid connection with no offer to find something better. She acted like I had slapped her in the face by voicing my concern. In my head I'm thinking, "okay, surely they wouldn't book me this way if they didn't think I could make the connecting flight" and let it go. After getting some breakfast for which I had no voucher I made my way to the terminal for flight #64 to JFK. The plane arrived in plenty of time for us to board and take off on time. However, they wouldn't let us board stating there were some seats that needed fixed. Great. We finally departed at about 11:10am. There went my 40 minute layover time. By this time I have acquired a sore throat, severe headache and bilateral ear pain. In short, I was getting sick. The flight was crowded and terribly uncomfortable. We didn't arrive and taxi in to the JFK terminal until 3:30pm, the exact time my connecting flight was scheduled to depart. I was praying that my connecting flight was delayed for some reason (why not? All my other flights had been delayed!) I was told my connecting flight was in terminal 32H. I tried frantically to find a decent map of the JFK airport in the mix of magazines and crap located in the pouch in front of me to no avail. Since they seated me toward the rear of the plane it took forever to get out. As soon as I got out I asked an agent if they could check to see if my connecting flight was still here and how far 32H was from this terminal. They seemed to delight in telling me that I'd never make it because it was CLEAR over there and they had already closed the door. You'd think they could do SOMETHING to help me make that flight but they didn't seem to care one bit.
By this point I was beyond frustrated. I was truly fighting tears and felt sicker than a dog. I went to the ticketing/service area to obtain yet another new flight schedule. The agent was clicking away forever and finally came up with a few flights leaving on the 4th from LaGuardia that each had connecting flights. I was done with connecting flights! I asked about direct flights and he started clicking away again and found a direct flight leaving at 8pm on the 4th. What????? I then inquired about vouchers for food, taxis and lodging. He said he couldn't authorized those because my issue was weather related. Okay, THIS WAS WHEN I LOST IT. I raised my voice to him, enunciating each word very clearly the reason we were given for the delay, and it was NOT weather related. He immediately got defensive and said he was not going to argue with me, and that there was nothing he could do for me except issue new tickets. I then demanded to see his manager or supervisor. By this time I was in panic mode. Fortunately he quickly delivered me to someone else. I explained my situation, telling her I couldn't understand why so many other flights could make it to Indy, yet AA couldn't deliver. I told her my friend, who took Southwest, was already home in Indianapolis with just a slight delay with her connecting flight in Huston departing for Indianapolis. Her terse reply was, "We strive for safety at AA". My response was, "You need to be striving for customer service too or you won't have to worry about safety!" I know I gave her a look that would have scared Satan. She then started clicking away at the computer while I stood there fighting tears, shaking like a leaf, and feeling like I was going to faint at any time. She then came up with a novel plan; put me on a Delta flight and take me out of my AA nightmare...thank God! She found a direct flight to Indy on Delta leaving from LaGuardia at 5:53 that day. She even issued me a voucher for the taxi fare to get me to LaGuardia. As it was already 4pm she got on the phone and got me a taxi right away. I thanked her and ran out to wait for my cab.
My Delta flight was delayed due to the weather and de-icing and didn't leave the terminal until about 11:30pm, but I never once feared that they would abandon us and leave us stranded. They kept us informed and kept apologizing for the delay, but seemed as determined as us passengers to get to Indy. After this experience I will NEVER fly with American Airlines again if at all possible!