[kmac]

On Christmas Eve I was flying from Australia to Cincinnati via LA and Dallas. All was going smoothly until my flight from Dallas to Cincy was cancelled. We were actually already on the plane, just waiting for the pilot/captain who chose not to show. There were no weather delays, no mechanical difficulties, just a missing captain. According to the gate agent, AA pilots were intentionally choosing not to make their flights as a way of making a point to the company. And this wasn't an isolated incident - I came across people from other flights on the hotel shuttle whose flights had also been cancelled and who had also been given the same reasons as myself regarding the crew.

This is unacceptable and inconsiderate to the customer at any point, but especially during the holidays when we were all forced to spend the night in Dallas and wake up Christmas morning in a hotel room.

Having been scheduled on the first flight out on Christmas morning, I was up at 5 a.m. to get the shuttle back to the airport only to find out that that flight had been cancelled as well. According to 2 separate ticket agents, it was again because either the captain or first officer chose not to show.

I eventually made it home Christmas afternoon. In writing to AA (since you can't contact Customer Relations by phone!), they claim that the crews had passed their legal flying hours, not that they intentionally didn't show.

Either AA is severely out of touch with what's happening with their pilots or their staff is so dissatisfied that they are actively trying to damage the company's reputation. Either way, for the hundreds of us that were stranded in Dallas on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, this is completely unacceptable and AA has certainly lost my business.