r/AirTravelers

I am hoping someone can give me guidance in to how to get in touch with someone at AA who might be able to help me or how to get appropriate compensation for my case.

Was booked to go IND --> DUB through ORD on 5.13. There was a direct flight an hour early IND --> DUB with an alternate airline that I opted not to take as I was not sure I would be out of work on time.

1 hour 35 minutes before the direct flight and two hours and 47 minutes before my original flight, got a text message from AA stating the IND to ORD leg was delayed, such that I might miss my connection to DUB and I should rebook. That text came in as I was just putting the final items in my suitcase, and getting ready to call an uber over to the airport a ~ 20 minute trip for me. I immediately called AA on the phone for a rebook, and they attempted to put me on the direct flight, the acknowledged it would be tight, but told me to come to the airport and they would try to assist. The delay was initially for ATC issues, and then the flight crew timed out waiting for ATC to be ready, so the flight was further delayed due to personale issues.

I finished packing my bag, called an uber while on hold with AA and was en route to the airport within 20 minutes from that initial text message, attempting to get onto the direct flight. I arrived at the airport 1 hour and 4 minutes before the new direct flight, which is tight for an international flight, and I had spoken to airport staff on the phone while riding over, and they said someone one assist me. I waited through a line at the American desk, as instructed, only to be told I should have gone to their partner airline. There was no one at their desk. I called that airline, was told I would have a 40 minute hold time on the phone, so hung up, called the airport customer service, and asked the American ticket counter to page the other airline. I was repeatedly told someone would be at the desk momentarily and to "be patient". At the same time I had my dad and sister calling American and searching alternative flight options. Eventually someone came to the desk for the partner airline after a 31 minute wait and said "sorry gate is now closed we wanted to finish boarding before coming to help you there's only 2 of us" -- THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I NEEDED SOMEONE TO COME QUICKLY. They also lied to me about what time the ticket desk closed and accused me of not telling the truth and told me that they checked the cameras on the way to me, which was simply not true since I had time stamps of the ongoing discussion with my family trying to figure out alternatives.

So back to the American desk I went, and there were at that point no alternative routes to Dublin, or even anywhere in Europe that night, and the IND to ORD flight had been delayed 2 more hours while I was running around the airport. Ultimately I went home, and was rebooked on a new route IND --> JFK --> DUB the next day, arriving 22 hours behind original schedule, and only 5 hours before a vital family event I had helped plan. I was able to go back home to my own house and then start again the next day, but did have to pay for additional ubers. My entire family was at various US airports trying to meet up at DUB and I was delayed by a day due to this concern, everyone else made it the day before, and my dad and sister were assisting me from a different airport.

American Airlines has not been willing to provide any advice or compensation during this time. After a 3rd contact with customer relations and fairly public social media postings, they sent an email saying points had been applied to my account, but not how many, it ended up being 5000 points, about a $60 value. They have not offered any compensation for the hotel I did not use the first night of my trip, the uber trips back and forth to the airport to not fly, or any incidentals on the trip, and it has been impossible to get direct contact with a human being at the customer relations department despite request for a call back.

At this point, what additional steps would people take to get in touch with them, and gain appropriate compensation or at least be able to give feedback

Ive already read the AA website, tried their chat and their complaint form and referenced EU261, which from a conversation I had with an American rep I understand does not legally apply but the spirit of it supposed to be used for compensations. I am looking for practical answers how to get them to do what they claim they are supposed to.

Pilot here. First Officer at a major US airline, CFI on the side. The question I get most often from nervous passengers, hands down, is "is it going to be bumpy?" And I've been thinking lately about how differently we read the same airplane motion from up front vs back in the cabin. A few things I've noticed:

The most freaked-out passengers I've ever seen were freaking out over light chop. Stuff that wouldn't make me put down my coffee. How differently people experience the same flight is honestly wild. Actual moderate or severe turbulence is uncomfortable for everyone. It's also rare. We route around the bad stuff before we get there. Most of what passengers call "bad turbulence" in their stories is what we'd report as light chop in a PIREP. Where you sit also matters more than people think.

What I'd love to hear from this sub:

Bumpiest flight you've ever been on, and where? Usual suspects from my side are the Florida/Caribbean in summer, anything crossing the Rockies in winter. Curious what yours was. How did you handle it, or did you not? Anything from the experience that stuck with you? Frequent flyers, patterns you've noticed? Routes or times of day that are reliably better or worse? If you used to be afraid of turbulence and aren't anymore: what flipped it? A specific flight, something a pilot said over the PA, just exposure?

Why I'm asking. I built a free tool called Airline Bumps (airlinebumps.com) that tries to actually answer the "is it going to be bumpy" question for passengers before they fly. Public FAA/NOAA data (PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, G-AIRMETs, GTG) folded together with crowdsourced ride reports from earlier flights on the same route, so the forecast gets corrected by real reports as the day goes on. I built it, I run it. Free, no signup, no ads, no premium tier, no plans for any of that.

Tool's not really the point of this post though. The more passenger stories I read, the better answer I have at the gate next time. Would love to hear from you!

-E

I am trying to decide between these 2 airlines on a trip from Europe to Osaka. Turkish is $300 USD more than China Eastern. I'm taking a trip in July with my kid, who will be 12 when we fly. We will spend a week in Scotland, then 9 days in Japan. We've traveled in Asia before, but never in Europe. The ME war has seriously messed up my travel plans by limiting my options (I originally planned to travel on Emirates).

China Eastern would have me leaving early in the morning (on British Airways) from Glasgow to London-Gatwick, where I'd board China Eastern with a second stopover in Shanghai before arriving in Osaka around noon the following day.

Turkish would have me leaving Edinburgh late afternoon, with 3 hours in Istanbul, then on to Osaka, arriving around 7 PM.

Can you help me with the pros and cons of each option? Is Turkish worth $300 more? One concern of mine is that the China Eastern option would have us flying over Russian airspace, so if there were a diversion, we could be on the ground in Russia. I cannot afford the higher prices of other European airlines. Thanks in advance.