[hkloppe]

When traveling from TPA to DFW, our flight was delayed due to weather. We arrived at DFW 20 minutes before the departure of our connecting flight to ABQ (the last flight of the night). The plane could not unboard for 10 minutes because another plane was still at our gate. After unboarding the plane 6 minutes before the departure time, my husband ran from A17 to C24. My 6 year old and I (carrying my 11 month old) stopped at a nearby gate and asked a AA employee to please call gate C24 and let them know we were on our way. The employee said "no, if you are connecting, they know you are here and will wait". As my husband arrived at the gate 5 minutes after the departure time, he watched the plane pull away with our luggage and car seats. We asked why the plane left us there and the employee stated they held the plane for 4 minutes and could not wait any longer. We had to pay for a hotel (at distressed passenger rate) with only our carry ons and were booked on a flight 13 hours later.
Why did they only allow such a short time to connect if they knew we were there? Who can go from A17 to C24 that fast? Why didn't the first employee call the gate as I had requested? Why did we have to pay for the hotel?