[NoMoreAA]

I had to book a last minute flight from London England to Nashville via Chicago as my grandmother had a massive heart attack and only 15% of her heart had remained working. The doctors had given her less than 48 hours to live. Upon arriving on time into Chicago, I boarded my flight to Nashville on time at 6:00pm. We pushed back at 6:30 and continued to sit on the run way for 3 hours watching planes land and take off! Was told that we now did not have enough fuel to make it to Nashville so the flight was cancelled and for us to collect our luggage from baggage claim 4 and check ourselves on the next flight. Well after waiting for 30 minutes for the luggage, I was told that I would not get my luggage until I arrived in Nashville so I went to the main check in to recheck myself on the next flight which I was told would be the next day! The check in lady then told me to either sleep on the floor with everyone else or find myself a hotel at my expense!! I was already upset by the news of my grandmother and now not knowing if I would get a chance to say goodbye made things even worse! I ended up finding myself a hotel for the night so I could try and calm my nerves and to stop crying! I have written to AA twice about this and both times I was told that I would not be getting my hotel expense back! So no more flying with AA even if they were the last airline in the world!

[rcrdoeva]

Sorry about your loss and the way it happened. Believe me, I can relate to your situation as it happened to me with TACA from mia to mga. I have to ask, was it due to wx in nashville or even the region?

[NoMoreAA]

Apparently there was bad weather south of Chicago, but it didn't stop all those flights landing and take off from Chicago whilst I sat off from the runway. The captain had said that we had lack of fuel to continue to Nashville, so why not refill and head out? Here is a response that I got back from AA.

Our records indicate that flight AA4487 was cancelled due to weather related Air Traffic Control restrictions. One of the most difficult operational decisions we must make is to cancel a flight. We know that our customers expect us to provide the promised transportation and it is our objective to meet that commitment. Still, there will be times when weather, mechanical problems or other operational needs prevent us from operating a flight as scheduled. Unfortunately, sometimes, we may have no other alternative than to cancel a flight even though we know travel plans will be disrupted. I realise that you were travelling at a particularly difficult time due to personal reasons and sincerely regret any additional concern this cancellation caused you.

Unfortunately, we were not in a position to rebook you on flight AA4044 that evening since this flight was fully booked. We did, however, rebook you onto the first available flight the following morning. Once again, since this cancellation was due to weather related difficulties, we were not in a position to provide you with overnight hotel accommodation on a complimentary basis. I note from our records that we offered a "distressed rate" hotel voucher to you, which you declined in favour of sleeping at the airport.

I must respectfully advise you to contact your private travel insurers for any claim you may have for unexpected expenses. We will be happy to provide any verification required by your insurers for this purpose.

Mr. ****, we appreciate this opportunity to further explain our position and regret that we cannot comply with your request for reimbursement.