[A Peña]

I had my flight scheduled for 4:25 on flight 598 on the Saturday after the Thanksgiving holiday with destine to San Antonio , TX . I left my brothers house 3 hours before the flight left to make sure I would be there on time. But due to traffic, I got the airport an hour before my flight left. Immediately I got in line to board the plane, but there was no one there to help me. I went around asking where the staff for AA was and an employee from the airport went to look for them but they did not find anyone. He then directed me to the help desk where they connected me by phone with an AA staff person. This person told me that I would no longer be able to board the plane because I had arrived late, in an arrogant tone of voice. She was not helpful and was very rude. She went on to tell me that since I missed my flight I would have pay Sunday’s rate which was $348 and pay a $150 fee because I did not board the plane, that I was scheduled to be on and it came to sum of $550. I explained to her that due to traffic I was not able to arrive any sooner and I told her that if they where not going to let me board they should at least reimburse my flight. I ended up having to buy another ticket from another airline that cost me $120 plus tax. Due to this experience with AA I would never recommend AA to anyone and I will no longer be flying with them.

[HoustonFlyer]

Originally Posted by A Peña

Immediately I got in line to board the plane, but there was no one there to help me.

What line did you get in to board the plane if there was no one there to help you? Do you mean there was a line leading to an empty counter? How many others like you were in this line leading to this counter where there was no one to help?

The traffic was not the airline's fault and remember the flight that left without you would likely have had an empty seat that you reserved. Fortunately you got a cheaper seat on another airline, but AA was not at fault here.

It's worth noting however that in a situation like this, it's good to look around to see if you get a cheaper ticket with another airline.

[A Peña]

All the Passengers were on line before to get to the check point at the front desk of AA but no one from AA come out to get my pass.

at this point no one was in the plane

[Leatherboy2006]

This posting sounds/smells fishy

[HoustonFlyer]

I suspect the OP is not a speaker of English and is having difficulty with expressing himself. When he said he joined the line, he may mean that he tried to check in. Other passengers had already checked in, but the agents had already left and no one was there to give him his boarding pass. They had not yet boarded the plane so he might have expected to be able to get his boarding pass.

He doesn't state the time when he got to the check in counter. He got to the airport an hour before the flight. He also doesn't say what airport, but I find it extremely odd that an AA counter an hour before a flight leaves would be completely unmanned especially the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The check in time for domestic travel is 30 minutes before departure for most airports but Dallas would be 40 minutes.