There’s a Difference Between Inconvenient and Inconsiderate

I have flown a lot. I have probably taken a hundred flights in the last five years. I have had my gate changed six times, been delayed, and had my flight canceled at the last minute. I have missed the funeral of an immediate family member, missed important meetings, and missed work. In this past year, I can’t recall a time when there hasn’t been a flight that hasn’t had an issue of some kind to the point I’d almost rather walk. *insert eye roll*

I was on my way home from vacation recently when, even though my gate was changed three times and we were delayed by 15 minutes, I thought I might actually get home within a reasonable amount of time. We taxied to the runway, lined up, powered up…. then powered down and drove off the runway on the opposite side. There we sat.

Nothing. We didn’t receive word from the pilot for at least 25 minutes. There we sat. Then, we were told we had a maintenance issue. What?! We were literally on the runway to take off. At least we didn’t get in the air and THEN discover we had a maintenance issue! However, another 30 minutes went by and there we sat. Finally, we went back to the gate for a maintenance inspection, but in true airline fashion, there wasn’t a gate available. So after we taxied across the airport, we sat some more. Once a gate opened up, we sat another hour while the only mechanic within miles attended to another plane’s issue. Our ticket was up next.

While were were sitting, we had no air, no food, no water, no internet, no information, and eventually no patience. People were begging to get off the plane. Then, to make things muddier, the announcement the flight attendants made about getting off wasn’t clear; if we get off we can’t get back on, but if we get off we can rebook or get back on… huh? People were coming and going. People were waiting. People were complaining. Nobody seemed to know what was happening. Eventually the mechanic showed up. Let’s hope HE knows what’s happening.

After a total of five hours sitting in the plane, we flew to Chicago on our four hour flight. After nine hours in an airplane, I would have preferred to be noshing on Weinerschnitzel and pretzels, but that wasn’t in the cards. What I did have was the water and candy I brought with me.

American, yes, American, I expect more from you. Kindness and some water goes a long way to making people feel a little more comfortable and complain less. Some information is better than nothing. After a couple of hours, breaking out the in-flight snacks or ordering pizza might have been the way to go. From a faithful American, platinum-status, frequent flyer, I say boo! What poor customer service we experienced on this trip. I can’t imagine another industry where you can treat someone like this and get away without so much as a sorry, a refund, a credit, a meal, or a pink slip.

**After I wrote this blog, not four weeks later I was traveling abroad and, you guessed it, my flight was delayed three hours leaving me to scramble for my connecting flight in London. And, we were at O’hare taking an evening flight so we were stranded at the airport after the dining outlets had closed. American, I beg you from the bottom of my soul, PLEASE get your fleet serviced and send your staff through customer service training.

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