after my experience with them 2 weeks ago
So here's the story.
I was booked on AA953 JFK-EZE in J for my BIL's wedding the following night. Trouble started with AA953 being delayed by 10 hours (due to incoming aircraft being delayed/canceled) which would've had me miss part of the wedding. I hopped on the phone right away and after 45 minutes on the phone I finally got them to rebook me on AA1037 / AA931 EWR-MIA-EZE with the first leg in economy.
I ran to the airport - good thing I had everything ready in the car as I was supposed to leave 4 hours later. AA1037 pushed from the gate on time only to wait around for about an hour on the tarmac due to weather issues in Miami after which we flew some
obscure route and by the time we disembarked at 10:10PM they'd already closed the doors at the connecting flight leaving at 10:20PM (FTR, it ended up being delayed by 10-15 minutes, but they said the door is already closed and they won't let me board). While I was still in the air I noticed that they rebooked me on a flight for the following day (22 hours later).
I ran to the rebooking desk and after waiting in line for 15 minutes the agent informs me there's nothing she can do. I begged and asked to be put on a TAM flight to Rio and I'll even take care of the Rio to Buenos Aires segment myself, but no dice. She claimed she can't do anything and a manager won't be around for the next hour. She told me to call AA reservations and said they'll be able to help. Of course after spending a valuable hour on the phone with reps and supervisors I didn't get anywhere. They kept on saying they can't put me on TAM as their system wouldn't confirm the seat (though they were still selling tickets online) and just refused to put me on aerolineas Argentinas the next morning as they don't have an agreement with them. They wouldn't even fly me back to New York to try and get back on my original flight.
So I return to the rebooking desk, wait in line for another half hour and finally get an agent willing to rebook me on LATAM via Lima having me arrive in Buenos Aires at 3:00PM. Of course she said she can only book me in economy, but at this point I was ready to take anything to get out of there. I ask her what's with my luggage and she says that American will transfer it to LATAM for the onward journey. I asked for food vouchers, but they wouldn't give any as the delay was due to ATC...
I got to Lima early morning and as I proceed to my connecting gate I learn that the LIM-EZE flight is canceled due to maintenance! I wait in line for another hour and they rebook me on LIM-SCL-EZE.
Of course both flights were delayed by about an hour. I ended getting into Buenos Aires at 6:00PM after 24 hours of flying and late to a wedding that has already started.
I headed to baggage claim, and after waiting half an hour with none of my bags in sight the agents told me my bags will come with the next flight. I decided to wait another half hour until the next flight arrived as I needed clothes for the wedding. As you can guess, my bags weren't on the next flight.
After wasting more time to open a claim for my missing bags, I finally got a taxi and headed out to the wedding. I arrived mid Chupa with my hoodie and backpack and had to borrow clothes for the wedding.
I ended up getting my luggage 24 hours later, and it came from Miami - which I suppose means that AA never transferred it to LATAM.
I emailed AA with all the details and explained my frustration. I was overwhelmed by their good-heartedness... They'll "review and consider" my refund eligibility for difference of class of service. And guess what, as a "gesture of goodwill" they were going to give me 10k bonus miles. Can you believe that?! How generous... One of the reps even dropped the following gem: "Let me explain why we can't offer anything else. It's because we don't guarantee our flights"...
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