American Flight Delayed 11+ Hours, Then Canceled: Any Recourse?

Yesterday was a challenging travel day in the United States, due to some weather systems. We saw several hundred flights in the United States canceled, but we also saw nearly 50% of flights delayed, and of course in many cases those delays stretched hours. It’s also spring break for many people, which makes everything more challenging, as airlines don’t have much spare capacity for when things go wrong.

OMAAT reader Chris reached out regarding his travel experience yesterday. Let me share what happened, and then I’ll provide my take.

A very rough travel day on American out of Miami

Chris had a painful travel day yesterday, flying with his family from Miami to Salt Lake City. Let me copy and paste his message below, and then I’ll share my take in the next section:

I have a crazy story to share about a travel experience my family (wife and 2 young boys) had on Sunday March 16 while attempting to fly MIA/SLC on Flight 968 with a scheduled 930am departure. More than 12 hours at MIA, 7 of which were on a plane, only to leave at the end with a cancelled flight! Quick background I am a current and 11 year EXPLAT (3 of which were CK).

Anyone else who traveled yesterday knows it was a problem ridden due to a deadly weather system that moved across the country with a 50k ft ceiling (i.e. hard to fly around), but this wasn’t something we were honestly tracking pre-departure. MIA was spring break busy, but our savvy uber driver navigated around a lot departure level traffic and we pulled up 70m prior to departure. As we were headed on a ski trip we were traveling heavily so utilized curbside check-in to avoid a long line at AA Priority check-in inside. TSA Pre entry in Terminal D crowded but still fairly efficient then off for a breakfast pit stop at D15 Admirals very close to our D17 departure gate. Since bags were checked we didn’t rush to the gate and boarded with group 8. The aircraft was an unremarkable 737-8 and we sat 3 in bulkhead coach and I was one row behind my family with a lovely older couple from Utah.

The unusual nature of the flight began immediately when a gate agent boarded and asked if there were 7 volunteers who would leave the plane for a $2400 flight credit (yes you read that right). For a family of 4 this would equate to almost $10k, so after an unspoken acknowledgement from my wife, I leapt from my seat to tell the agent we were in. I deplaned with her and a shockingly small number of other passengers to the gate desk. As she was about to process our new, connecting flights (which would remain in the app most of the day), her colleague suddenly informed her none of the 7 were needed. My heart sank with disappointment, since it almost seemed too good to be true anyway. While we were walking back to the plane, the agent explained they had a “weight issue” on the flight and they already had 11 volunteers preboarding, which we were not at the gate for, who took a lower deal (though still something like $1k). They thought they needed 7 more and then backtracked. Though interestingly, the original 11 would get the higher, $2400 travel credit simply on the basis it was announced to other passengers. Unbelievable!

Then the real fun began. We had an on-time pushback just after 930am and spent about 90m in various runway lineups and holds, getting as close as number 3 for departure but then MIA changed direction on that runway so we had to get out of line. Without enough fuel to make whatever routing they had to SLC, we went back to a gate around 11am for fuel. During this refuel, passengers were not permitted to deplane. Around noontime, we set off for what would be our next near 3 hour journey around the tarmac, again in a series of hold patterns as the flight crew (who were sympathetic to our situation and stayed in touch with regular updates) worked with operations on any variety of routing options to get around this massive weather front. Around 230pm, we once ran out of sufficient fuel yet again and returned to the gate. This time the captain realized he had a lot of unhappy passengers (and a few ill ones), so around 3pm we headed back to the gate and everyone deplaned at gate D20, not knowing at the time we would never push back again on this flight. 

Upon exiting the plane, AA had a senior manager on hand answering questions and directing folks to return quickly, though they did not offer any food vouchers, water or snacks to anyone who remained at the gate during this time. My family and I hit the D15 Admirals again for a late lunch as they suggested we get back to the gate in about 30m. They were right and by 415pm we were all back on board, feeling at least a bit refreshed after eating and stretching legs. After another 90m of sitting on the plane, operations could still not provide a route for us and finally our flight crew timed out and we were deplaned yet again. This time there was no one other than a junior gate agent on hand who had no answers for anyone, nor had they posted a further delay as the flight was listed as still in progress for the next 60m. In my CK days I would have close communication from the airlines when these issues arose but as a lowly Explat not anymore! 

So we immediately returned to the D15 Admirals and found an airline rep at the service desk who would be our saving grace for the rest of the evening. The rep told us there were still flight crews on hand at MIA so we stood a chance one would be assigned to our flight. With a new departure of 830pm, 11h after the scheduled departure, we had some hope. Following our 3rd square meal of the day in the Admirals and showers for all, we returned to the gate at 8pm to find yet another junior agent who had no idea what was going on. To say there were A LOT of angry passengers shouting questions at her would be an understatement and it was appalling that after such a long day, AA could not provide a senior representative to answer questions and provide options to people.

A copilot and 3 flight attendants trickled on board during the course of the next 45, but around 845pm, the flight cancelled. Clearly no pilot. So, 11.5 hours after arriving to MIA, 7 hours of which were spent onboard an aircraft to nowhere, we were directed to a service desk with the rest of the flight. I wisely sprinted back to the D15 Admirals and immediately got in front of the earlier representative who looked at every single routing option both AA and on other airlines and unfortunately with spring break the week is void of any options. We have a direct evening flight the following day and will also be on standby for the same calamitous morning flight that was just cancelled. But nothing for a family of for via DFW, PHX, CLT, PHI or ORD. Incredible!

The weather is the weather and I have untypical patience for AA having spent enough time with them over the years to see their (limited) saving graces, particularly as a CK. But what was shocking here was what was an apparent operational blunder and absolutely NOTHING proactively done for the passengers’ comfort or information. As we left the Admirals club at 930pm with a solid plan for the next day (4 confirmed passes and 4 standby passes), we walked by a several hundred-person deep line to the service desk, recognizing several of our fellow passengers among what appears to be several flights. What a horrible day and, outside of the wonderful Admirals Club agent, a horrible service experience with AA.

I rarely complain or ask for miles, flight credits, etc. but a 12-hour trip to nowhere at MIA with 2 small children was beyond a wretched experience that seemingly could have been avoided. A delay or cancellation would have been fine – it was boarding the plane on 3 separate occasions and the 7 hours spent onboard that was the killer. Any recommendations other than documenting my experience in a complaint through AA.com?

My take on this incredibly frustrating situation

First and foremost, I can only imagine how frustrating this whole situation was. They spent nearly 12 hours at the airport, only for their flight to be canceled. That’s infuriating under normal circumstances, and even more challenging when you’re traveling with kids. I would be ripping my hair out by the end of that, and would be questioning why I even bother traveling anywhere.

The fact that nearly half of that time was spent on the actual aircraft and taxiing around the airport is even less pleasant, because when there’s a delay, it’s preferable to be in the terminal.

All that being said, to what extent is the airline at fault here, rather than this just being a perfect storm in terms of travel disruptions? To look at this from American’s perspective:

• Presumably the pilots loaded up the plane, closed the door, and started taxiing, because they thought it would give them the best odds of actually getting underway, and reaching the destination
• Obviously it’s frustrating when things go wrong and there’s no manager at a gate to help with situations, though at the same time, when a large percentage of flights are delayed due to weather, there are only so many managers around who can help
• It’s always disappointing to see very long customer service lines, though I think with just about any airline, you’ll find that’s the case when an airport deals with severe weather
• If a flight is going to end up being canceled after 11 hours, I think virtually everyone would rather have that the flight is canceled earlier, or just rescheduled for a much later time that’s realistic, but that’s also easier said than done, given how tight airline scheduling is

Obviously as a passenger, I’d view this whole thing as a terribly frustrating day. Like, how can you not be frustrated when you spent all day at the airport, only to not actually go anywhere? I also imagine American could’ve handled some things better (I mean, it’s American…).

But at the same time, this is one of those situations that I’d mostly chalk up to how quickly things can go downhill when weather causes major operational issues. The airline absolutely should’ve provided water and snacks to passengers during these delays, in line with American’s customer commitment. However, it also sounds like Chris hit up the Admirals Club pretty quickly, so maybe that happened later on?

I think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with sending an email to customer relations providing feedback (I think a concise message with the key issues would do the trick). However, I wouldn’t expect a whole lot, beyond a small number of bonus miles or a modest travel credit, and a form response, primarily blaming this on weather (especially since American has largely automated customer relations).

Bottom line

Some travel days absolutely suck, and many people had one of those yesterday, given the weather systems that we saw. An OMAAT reader had an American flight that was delayed by 11+ hours, only to finally be canceled. What an unpleasant experience, especially when traveling with kids.

However, of all the things that American does poorly, I’m not sure the airline necessarily messed up that much here, at least beyond its normal issues. That doesn’t make the experience any less frustrating, though…

What do you make of this situation, and of American’s fault in all this?