Why You Might Want To Think Twice Before Flying With American Airlines
Traveling right now is almost certain to be a train wreck, but traveling with American Airlines may prove to be particularly abysmal.
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It’s no secret that airlines have been having a really difficult time handling the massive surges in travel as of late. This is due largely in part to severe staffing shortages that have yet to be alleviated. As a result travel at present has become marred with inevitable flight cancellations and various other impeding caveats. Essentially, if you are traveling right now you are doing so at your own risk. This is true no matter what airline you decide to fly with. However, one American Airlines customer’s experience may further dissuade you from booking a flight with that particular airline any time soon.
Dan Ryder, a school teacher based in Maine, had recently flown out to New Orleans to attend an education conference with colleagues. His trip was going well right up to the point he was scheduled to return home. Ryder told Business Insider that for his return flight he was scheduled to fly from New Orleans to Washington DC, then he was scheduled to grab a connecting flight in DC that would take him back to Maine. But the flight from New Orleans to DC had abruptly been canceled. As a result, Ryder was left scrambling to try and book a different flight. He was unable to do so for two days.
During this time Ryder said he received little to no assistance from American Airlines. They canceled his flight unexpectedly, and he was left having to find and pay for accommodations for an additional two days. Ryder said that even though his flight was rescheduled at no charge, he was offered no additional vouchers for his inconvenience and the extra monies he ended up having to lay out for lodging.
Ryder’s experience with American Airlines is far from unique. Brian Driver has an equally frustrating circumstance with the airline’s customer service department. Driver told the Wall Street Journal that he was stuck on the phone for four hours as he attempted to reschedule a flight. Driver became so fed up that he ended up driving to the airport itself, where he was finally able to reschedule his flight. Additionally, one couple, Valerie Diamante and her husband, ended up losing two days on their trip to Switzerland after they missed their connecting flight due to circumstances out of their control. American Airlines failed repeatedly in their attempt to get the couple on another flight to Switzerland. “We were told things were really busy with the season and all the airlines were bogged down with full flights and being stretched thin with short staff,” Diamante said to Business Insider.
Ultimately, what the experiences with American Airlines above serve to show is that travel is exceedingly difficult and risky right now. Flight Cancellations have reached epidemic levels. Over the 4th of July holiday weekend, 6,000+ flights were canceled or impacted in some way. Moreover, travel demand had gone up which has served to increase prices. Price increases have been further exacerbated by a period of unceasing inflation. The takeaway? If you travel with American Airlines be prepared for mishaps. But honestly, given the state of the airline industry, the same can be said of any airline you book with right now.
