[djmorris901]

American Airlines flight 208 on16 Nov 2007 from SAN to JFK departed early although passenger Milagros Morris who had checked in was not on board(was in security) .She arrived to the gate on time but he plane had left early.
Her baggage was on board and would arrive 8 hours before her in Santo Doming running a risk of pilferage there . Her flight duration of approx 10 hours would now run 19 hours arriving at night in a potentially risky environment in Santo Domingo.
Should I file a complaint with the FAA for leaving early without a known passenger and with luggage aboard without the passenger and should AA be fined for this?
What compensation is due the passenger who was in 1st class for the flight?
Currently passenger at JFK awaiting a delayed flight to Santo Domingo on AA.

Milagros Morris

[rcrdoeva]

ouch, dont know what compensation there could be. but i know for a fact that your bag will be on the plane with you from jfk. your bag can go anywhere in a domestic trip without you. the rule of pulling your bag if you are not on the flight applies to int'l travel. good luck

[Silent Bob]

You don't state specifically just how early this flight departed. Normally boarding is done at the specified time on the ticket (with the exception of delays). If it's not a full flight or if they boarded quickly then that would be the reason the doors were closed early and the plane was prepping for pushback. The gate can close the doors 10 - 15 minutes prior to departure. If this passenger was stuck in security then I doubt there will be any compensation because she is considered a late arrival and the airline has nothing to do with TSA, even if she is a first class passenger. Hopefully the ticket is refundable. Good luck.

[rudybjr]

You say she was on time at the gate but state that she was in security. This is what most passengers say when they checked in at the ticket counter on time but couldn't make it to the gate on time. Once again she didn't allow herself enough time. Don't file a complaint, it was her fault.

[jimworcs]

Rudy, impressive powers of observation you have got there. You are able to see back in time to November 2007 and determine without any further information that it was the passengers fault. That airline training you had did you good... and you learned that it is always the passengers fault. It may have been the passengers fault, but you have no way of knowing this on the information given.

[rudybjr]

Just going from vast experience in these situations. Nothing magical.

[jimworcs]

Yeah, I have experienced this many times from the delightful airport employees, who look down, ah hah you to death, but assume you are lying and then refuse to help... it is such fun