[nana28]

AUS-DFW-JFK - 30 min flight from Austin to Dallas/Fort Worth, everything alright but who figures it shouldn't. connecting flight to JFK supposed to leave at 11:45 am, boarding on time, sitting in the plane for almost an hour before driving to the runway. then suddenly driving back to the gate with the message that there is a mechanical problem (valve) that needs to be checked on. because of a 6 hour repair the flight got cancelled eventually!no help from AA flight attendants to tell us where to go or anything. once back in the terminal of course there were already long lines in front of the service desk (over 100 something people needed to get to New York somehow!!). no other employee could help (could have asked in the first place who really needed to get a connecting flight at JFK in order to be priority passenger or something). AA couldn't deliver a plane for replacement either (and DFW is AA's base airport!!). no one of the AA staff knew what to do now so, told not to get our luggage, I went to the ticket counter to rebook my flight. once way up in line we were told to get our suitcases now, omg, so all the way back to the bag claim, got the stuff (which was severely damaged by the way so I couldn't drag them anymore but had to carry my luggage - now imagine a 19 year old, tiny, skinny girl carrying two 35 pounds each suitcases through DFW which isn't the smallest airport...), now back in line once again. finally I got another flight at 3:40 pm (!!!) - I was supposed to be in NYC/JFK by that time and this flight should get me to La Guardia) not even knowing if there was a seat for me on this one that was actually fully booked (but I finally was upgraded to priority passenger!!!wohoo). little before boarding time the next issue: this plane also had a mechanical problem, this time the AC wasn't working properly, so switch gate and terminal again and of course departure was even more delayed now! (I wonder though that this time AA was able to deliver replacement and just that day they apparently couldn't?!). Eventually American could get some volunteers to take another flight a little later so I had a seat on that plane. service during this almost 4 hour flight really bad: once something to drink and no snack at all (other, better airlines provide at least a snack during a 1 1/2 hour flight and more to drink!!!!). once in NYC/La Guardia promised shuttle wasn't there, so I had to get a taxi (30 $ - glad to have that much money left after all!!) to JFK as fast as I could since it was 8:50 pm by now and my international flight with Lufthansa to Germany left at 9:35 pm there!!!so pretty impossible to make that but I tried at least...as you can tell I was exhausted, tired and very upset...I had just experienced the worst day in my life!!have been crying my eye's out...I really thought this is a nightmare, I am pretty much gonna wake up soon!but I didn't...
the next day I had to pay 350 $ for my new booked Lufthansa flight as Lufthansa of course said it is not their fault I missed the plane and I had booked a last-minute special for the period of 3 weeks in order to get a special price and now it was already 3 weeks and one day, so they wouldn't take me anymore...I am really glad they took me for that much money after all and I am not stuck at JFK to this day!
I complained at American Airlines and claimed compensation (I specifically stressed that I will not accept any compensation concerning vouchers!!!). I received a letter telling me that this is typical for todays modern air traffic (I think a late arrival of 5 hours and mechanical problems twice are totally unacceptable) and AA (employees) always do everything in their power to help (???!!!oh really???where were they and how did they react??they were not less confused than we were!!) and more crazy stuff like that!!But that ain't the last time they've heard from me.
oh and guess what: they hat the guts to send me a flight voucher that I can use in connection with an international flight with AA that I pay for!!does anyone need a 300 $ flight voucher for this no-frills airline?cause I ain't gonna fly with this crazy company ever again...
I'm glad the plane didn't crash down and I got home safely after all!!really!
good luck for all that are choosing this airline...hope y'all have a safe trip!

[jimworcs]

The voucher is inadquate, you should at least go for the $350 dollars plus hotel that you had to pay out. You are always better to book with foreign airlines for trips like this. US Airlines are hostile and WILL NOT help if there is a problem. The best way to do this would have been to have booked the whole flight via Lufthansa from Austin. That would have routed you through Chicago, but Lufthansa would have accepted responsbility for the whole journey. US Airlines are hopeless... and best avoided.

[Silent Bob]

I personally try to avoid AA at all cost simply because I don't think they're a great airline.. However here's a tip: If you know your have a connecting flight, try to get the current airline to not simply rebook you just to get to your next destination, also get them to rebook your following flight as well. If your ticket is aus-dfw-jfk-(and whatever city in germany) and your plane out of DFW is running late, get the airline to "protect" your connection especially if its a mechanical delay, but also including air traffic and weather. Once you arrived in JFK late, you shouldn't have run anywhere since you had already missed the flight with lufthansa (Unless it was in the same terminal, then definitely you could have tried but if its in a different terminal you should have stayed with AA), you should have stayed with AA, let them know that you were on a cancelled flt (mechanical), moved to another flight that was delayed, and asked for a hotel voucher (not a distress discount), as per their rule 240 or any airlines rule 240 they usually provide a hotel for such situations and they should have also rebooked you. Last tip, if you book through an an online travel service, you can usually call them rather than wait on any line to rebook your flight as they'll have way more options for you.

However this sounds like you had two different tickets, which next to paper tickets, people should try to avoid simply because they offer no protection to you if you misconnect, such as in this case AA can say "well we got you to JFK, that's our only obligation" (sadly, its true) and Lufthansa will say "We didn't bring you in late, you have to pay" (which, again, sadly is true. You gotta try and book it all on one ticket to get the best protection as possible. These are just a few tips that will help you in future travel, maybe not with AA, but you'll find (if you haven't already) that you will run into similar situations with other airlines as well.

[PHXFlyer]

I will second Silent Bob's observation that flying on two separate tickets, especially domestic connecting to international or vice-versa, is a bad idea. I realize that you found a good deal on the internet for a JFK-Germany trip on Lufthansa which you probably couldn't get out of AUS or DFW. You probably should have booked your AUS-JFK the evening before your international flight and paid for a hotel near JFK. I can't tell you the number of times I've flown out of LAX where I've encountered people who fly into LAX on Southwest to connect to international or Hawaii flights out of LAX on another airline. Southwest doesn't have interline baggage agreements so they have to claim their bags from Southwest and check-in with the other airline. If their Southwest flight is delayed or the bags don't come out right away they sometimes miss the cutoff for their flight to Australia, Japan or Honolulu. In the end, they bought a ticket from LAX to wherever and the fact that Southwest had a delay isn't the airline's problem. They might as well have been delayed on the freeway and missed the flight. No hotel, no meal vouchers, and sorry the next open seat is three days from now.

[nana28]

Yeah, I really wanna go for the 350 $ because American Airlines did not at all meet their obligations!They did NOT get me to JFK...it was La Guardia and as you can imagine, New York is not that small!!
Though I totally understand what y'all are saying and I will never ever again book to seperate tickets or if I do so I will book them on two different days, I think this is unacceptable...I mean a almost 5 hour delay because of mechanical problems is just unbelievable.
I had a two hour delay on the way there due to bad weather but that's not the Airlines fault (it was Delta by the way, what I think is a good airline)...
I even took this early flight so it'd give me some time at JFK and just in case some troubles occur...but you wouldn't expect that this should not be enough time!!!
It's hilarious to write back and tell me that AA employees did all they could!!!oh really?why didn't anyone take care of us then?why didn't they ask in the first place who really needs to get their connecting flight in NYC?And why the heck didn't they provide something to drink or anything as little compensation?
And the fact that they still send me a voucher with it makes me so angry!!!
I am gonna contact my laywer and see what to do about this case and if there's any chances I'll get my money back...hopefully!
But thanks for your advice...I'll do it differently next time

[jimworcs]

Originally Posted by nana28

(it was Delta by the way, what I think is a good airline)...

You have got to be joking!!

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by nana28

Yeah, I really wanna go for the 350 $ because American Airlines did not at all meet their obligations!They did NOT get me to JFK...it was La Guardia and as you can imagine, New York is not that small!!

I am gonna contact my laywer and see what to do about this case and if there's any chances I'll get my money back...hopefully!
But thanks for your advice...I'll do it differently next time

If all you are seeking is $350 (you will not receive and should not expect a full refund) then you are wasting time and money speaking with an attorney unless you have one on retainer or s/he doesn't charge for consultations.

When you purchase an airline ticket you enter into that airline's contract of carriage (COC). Basically the airline is contractually obligated to provide you with transportation from and to the ticketed cities. When they canceled your JFK flight, offered the alternative of flying to LaGuardia and you accepted the COC was then modified. AA was no longer obligated to fly you to JFK as your ticket, and the contract, was changed. (By the way...although the NYC metro area is quite large, JFK and LGA are only 12 miles apart. There are shuttles between the two airports that take approximately 30 minutes from terminal to terminal.)

Your best shot at getting any financial compensation (for the added expense of changing your Lufthansa ticket) would be to file in small claims court. If you do pursue this court my advice would be to hang on to that voucher you received. If AA tries to have the value of the voucher deducted from any amount the court awards you should offer to return the unused voucher on the spot.