[AADFW]

Originally Posted by veritas01

When the economy improves people will remember and choose other airlines.

Veritas, sadly history has demonstrated this simply isn't true. American and European consumers have repeatedly demonstrated that when it comes to flying, the base airfare is by far the single most important factor as to which carrier gets the consumer's money. That's why Airlines like Ryanair can literally scream back and curse at passengers in the face when they complain and they still enjoy record profits. It's amazing what people will tolerate to save $50 or $100. American Airline's deteriorating service is simply a response to the realities of the marketplace. As I've said before many times in this forum, some degree of common-sense re-regulation in the U.S. would greatly help to bring things back to earth.

However, I must admit, there sure were alot of folks who abused the preboarding when it was offered. On this particular issue (for once) AA is actually in a tough spot when it comes to balancing the needs of passengers like this one versus the needs of passengers who lose value from the dishonesty of other customers.