I previously posted a long report of our travel difficulties getting to Bonaire in August 2005. For anyone who is interested, the original trip report "Back to Bonaire - We Do Love It, But..." (http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/1022/236448.html?1125338766) and travel discussion "How To Visit All 3 A-B-C Islands, Whether You Want To Or Not" (http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/29/236450.html?1125166568)were posted back in August.

I've exchanged letters with AA, attempting to recoup some of the additional expenses I incurred to complete our travel. Those those of you who are not interested in all of the tedious correspondence, I think AA's responses to me can be summarized as follows: "We're sorry. We don't guarantee timely arrivals. We'll send you vouchers for future travel, but that is all you are getting." If we were the victims of a 2 hour delay, that would be acceptable, but is does not a satisfactorily address the chaos we went through. We were two days late arriving in Bonaire only because I took the initiative to seek alternative routes. If we had followed the recommendations from AA, we would have been FIVE days late arriving.

AA provides what many divers consider to be the most reliable transportation to Bonaire. No doubt, the vast majority of tourists who fly AA to Bonaire have no difficulty at all. My only comment is this: if you miss a flight and your travel plans go awry, you can't necessarily expect AA to step up and make things right.

Just another factor to consider while you plan how to spend your heard-earned scuba bucks.

September 18, 2005

American Airlines Customer Relations
P.O. Box 619612 MD 2400
DFW Airport, TX 75261-2603

RE: AA reservation number AAAAAA

Dear American Airlines Representative:

I am writing to complain about the utter failure of American Airlines to deliver my family to our ticketed destination within a reasonable time of our scheduled arrival.

In route to Bonaire, our group of 4 left Atlanta for Miami on AA 2005 on Friday 8/5/05. In Miami, the flight attendants for the Miami-San Juan flight (AA 1700) didn't arrive at the gate until over an hour after our scheduled departure. By the time they had serviced the cabin and boarded the passengers, a thunderstorm shut down the ramp, so we sat for another hour before departing. Due to our 2 hour late arrival, we just missed the American Eagle San Juan - Bonaire flight (AA 5054). There were at least 16 passengers on our flight from Miami who were trying to make the Bonaire flight. I cannot understand why American Eagle did not hold the Bonaire flight for a few minutes for us, because it soon became very clear that AA/E had absolutely no alternative plan for getting us to Bonaire.

We were directed to the AA service center to find out what our options were. The first thing the agent told us was that all AE flights to Bonaire were totally booked for the next few days, but AA had reserved seats for us on the Wednesday 8/10/05 flight – FIVE DAYS LATER! We were told that stand-by space might open up on earlier flights, but that there were already several names on the stand-by list ahead of us. The AA supervisor had the nerve to tell me what a wonderful city San Juan was and how much we would enjoy visiting! As I had pre-paid, non-refundable reservations at a rate of $414.00/night in Bonaire, I had no interest in waiting in Puerto Rico. I rejected the suggestion that we wait for five days in San Juan and asked for a better option. The next agent suggested that we fly to Aruba and then take the ferry to Bonaire. I told him that it would be a fine idea, but there is no ferry from Aruba to Bonaire! Then they suggested that we fly to Aruba and take BonairExpress to Bonaire. Unfortunately, AA/AE has no agreement or working relationship with BonairExpress at all. The AA agents in SJU couldn't make reservations and, indeed, could not even come up with a telephone number for BonairExpress. The choices we were offered were: a). stay in San Juan for five days (or hope to get four stand-by seats earlier); or b). go to Aruba and hope to get on a BonairExpress flight. I had no idea which was the right choice and the AA agents were certainly not providing any useful advice. So (for lack of a better suggestion) we agreed to fly AA to Aruba on Saturday 8/6/05 and AA agreed to put us up in the airport Best Western in San Juan for the night. I specifically asked for and was promised two rooms for the four of us (all adults), but when we finally dragged our luggage to the hotel, we learned that AA had only authorized one room. Going back to the AA service counter was not an option (I would have had to clear security and I had no boarding pass), so I had to pay for second hotel room ($151.20).

We were back at the AA ticket counter early the next morning (Saturday 8/6/05). AA originally planned to fly us back to Miami en route to Aruba, but a very helpful AA agent named E. Torres found seats for us on a direct flight (AA 891) to Aruba. We flew to Aruba without incident and immediately went to the BonairExpress counter to buy tickets for the flight to Bonaire, but learned that all flights were completely booked for the rest of the week. The BE agent sold us tickets ($100 each, one way, cash only) that allowed us to stand-by. Three BE flights departed for Bonaire over the course of the day, but there was never any seats for us, even though I made it clear that we didn't all have to fly together. Seeking assistance from AA agent in Aruba for assistance yielded no results. She was very annoyed - not at us, but at the AA personnel in San Juan. She couldn't understand why the AA agents in San Juan kept sending stranded Bonaire-bound passengers to her in Aruba, where she was powerless to help. Some other Bonaire-bound passengers who had also been stranded by AA in Aruba actually elected to fly back to San Juan, where they hoped their stand-by chances might be better on American Eagle. Finally one seat was available on the last BE flight out, and I sent my oldest son to Bonaire. The rest of us spent the night at the Talk of the Town Hotel in Aruba ($145.08) then returned to the airport very early the next morning (Sunday 8/7/05). The BE agent told us that our names had been deleted from the stand-by list, and that there would not be seats for us to Bonaire on the morning flights, but agreed to route us to Curacao instead. In Curacao, we bought stand-by tickets on Divi Divi Air ($40.00 each) and eventually arrived in Bonaire on Sunday afternoon, two days after our scheduled arrival.

I incurred substantial out-of-pocket expenses as a result of the failure of AA/AE to deliver us to our destination in a timely manner. When I requested compensation in San Juan, the AA agent insisted that our missed connection was “weather-related” and that AA bore no further responsibility beyond the $100 vouchers for future travel that we received. However, the true reason for the delayed arrival of AA 1700 in SJU was the failure of AA to provide a cabin crew, as confirmed in the attached document. My direct travel-related expenses are attached, with supporting receipts. I expect to receive a check for $ZZZ.ZZ before 11/1/05. You should note that this reimbursement does not begin to cover all of my expenses, including two days of non-refundable apartment rental and diving fees ($414 per day)..

The problems with air travel to Bonaire relate to lack of redundancy and reserve capacity. A traveler who has the misfortune of missing a connection will likely have a long wait for an available seat. For that reason, I cannot understand why American Eagle was unwilling to hold that SJU-BON flight to allow the 16 passengers arriving on AA 1700 to make our connection. Both AA and AE personnel in San Juan knew with certainty that if we didn’t make that flight, that was no viable alternative plan for delivering us to Bonaire. When I raised this question in San Juan, the AA agent shrugged and said, “We have no control over American Eagle.” However, your promotional materials portray AA and AE as a seamless web. Perhaps AA needs to exert a little more influence over American Eagle. This sort of incident leaves AA looking very customer-unfriendly indeed. I have described our problems with AA and travel to Bonaire on several scuba diving and Caribbean travel web sites. In the interest of fairness, I will also post your response to this letter on those sites.

Sincerely,

October 25, 2005

Dear Mr. BBBBB:

It has always been our goal to make traveling on American pleasant and enjoyable for all our customers. I am sorry that your recent experience has caused you to question our commitment to quality customer service.

One of the most troublesome operational decisions we must make is whether or not to hold flights to accommodate late-arriving connecting customers. We take into consideration the inconvenience to those travelers who will miss their flight as well as the impact to those customers who are already on board, the possible "domino effect" on subsequent flight assignments for the aircraft, the downline misconnections that may disrupt a greater number of people and the chance that we might miss our takeoff assignment, which could lead to a substantial delay for all the customers on board. It is unfortunate that in this particular case our decision caused you such difficulty.

We wish we could guarantee that planes would always depart and arrive on time.
Regrettably, we can't -- but what we can and should do is make every attempt to minimize the inconvenience for our customers whenever our flights are delayed or cancelled. I am sorry that we didn't do a better job of overcoming the challenges we faced that day in order to make your experience a little less trying.

Unfortunately, the fact remains that our schedules are not guaranteed and are subject to change without notice. We have the authority and the responsibility to make changes to our schedules to resolve problems caused by weather, flight conditions, mechanical difficulties or other operational challenges. Accordingly, we cannot assume financial responsibility for our customers' personal time lost or for out-of-pocket expenses when extenuating circumstances prevent us from operating as planned. I am sorry.

As a tangible form of apology, I am sending transportation vouchers by regular mail. You may use these on American or American Eagle within the next 12 months. Mr. BBBBB, we are not unmindful of the inconvenience to you. We will continue to focus on the dependable operation of each and every American Airlines flight. Please give us another opportunity to serve you. We will do our very best to make your trip pleasant and trouble free.

This is an "outgoing only" email address. If you 'reply' to this message by simply selecting the reply button, we will not receive your additional comments. Please assist us in providing you with a timely response to any feedback you have for us by always sending us your email messages via AA.com at http://www.aa.com/customerrelations.

Sincerely,

XXX XXXX
Customer Relations
American Airlines

November 29, 2005

Ms. XXX XXXX
American Airlines Customer Relations
P.O. Box 619612 MD 2400
DFW Airport, TX 75261-2603

RE: ############### (AA reservation AAAAAAAAAA)

Dear Ms. XXXX:

Thank you for your response to the above-named complaint. Unfortunately, your response was totally inadequate and unacceptable. You have obviously sent me the same form letter that you send to all American Airlines travelers who complain about missed connections. Your reply may placate the traveler who has missed a Dallas-to-Chicago connection, but it doesn’t begin to address the difficulties that my family went through.

To review the salient points from my previous letter (attached):
1. AA 1700 departed Miami on 8/5/05 late because no flight attendants were available to staff the flight;
2. Consequently, we arrived in San Juan too late to catch AA 5054 to Bonaire;
3. AA offered us reserved seats to Bonaire five days later or the option to fly to Aruba the following day;
4. We flew to Aruba and found that the connections to Bonaire were not nearly so straight-forward as the AA staff in San Juan had led us to believe. AA offered us no assistance, either logistical or financial, with these arrangements. After considerable effort and expense, we eventually flew from Aruba to Curacao and then on to Bonaire. We arrived on Sunday 8/7/05, two days after our scheduled arrival.
5. Our additional travel expenses totaled $ZZZ.ZZ. Receipts for all expenses were included in my original letter to you.

I questioned why the San Juan-to-Bonaire flight couldn’t have been held to allow late-arriving passengers to board. Allow me to comment on some of the reasons you offered:
1. “We take into consideration the inconvenience to those travelers who will miss their flight as well as the impact to those customers who are already on board…” Had the flight been held, everyone would have been a little late arriving in Bonaire, that’s true. However, would it not be preferable to hold the flight and have everyone arrive an hour late rather than departing on time, knowing for certain that the decision would doom many of us to arrive DAYS late?

2. “…the possible ‘domino effect’ on subsequent flight assignments for the aircraft…” This is certainly not an issue. The ATR flies from San Juan to Bonaire, sits on the ground overnight, then flies back from Bonaire to San Juan the next morning.

3. “…the downline misconnections that may disrupt a greater number of people…” This is also an absolute non-issue. Bonaire was the final destination for every single person on that flight. There are no connecting flights from Bonaire to anywhere. Bonaire is the end of the line.

4. “…chance that we might miss our takeoff assignment…” We are talking about an evening departure out of San Juan. The takeoff window is not going to be a problem. There is little or no other traffic in the San Juan-to-Bonaire corridor.

Flight disruptions happen. I understand that. However, one measure of the reliability of an air carrier is their response to customers whose travel has been disrupted. In most circumstances, arrangements can still be made to deliver the traveler to his destination on the same scheduled day of arrival or, at worst, the following day. American Airlines failed this test of reliability miserably. The choices offered to us by AA were to wait in San Juan for FIVE days or to fly to Aruba and make our own arrangements.

Your offer of vouchers for future travel on AA is a nice gesture. However, I paid AA to fly us to Bonaire and AA failed to deliver. I incurred substantial additional expenses to complete our travel and my credit card company has shown no willingness to accept AA vouchers in payment. I insist that AA do the right thing and reimburse me for these documented expenses.

As previously stated, I have shared details of this travel debacle on various Caribbean travel and scuba diving web sites. In the interest of even-handedness, I will continue to share the responses from AA with the readers.


Sincerely,




CC: Mr. Gerard J. Arpey
President & Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines
AMR Corporation
P.O. Box 619616
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, TX 75261

January 17, 2006

Dear Mr. BBBBB:

I've received your recent letter. I am sorry to learn that you are still upset with us over your trip to Bonaire. In view of all you endured, however, I can understand your continued disappointment. Nevertheless, we just aren't in a position to extend additional compensation. Let me explain.

We guarantee transportation, but we can't guarantee our schedules. When a flight is canceled, we reschedule passengers on the next available American Airlines flight. However, when you previously contacted us and and explained the circumstances surrounding your trip, we realized that waiting for an available flight wasn't practical. So, we sent you each a transportation voucher. We wanted to convey that we cared about the inconvenience you experienced. Too, we were optimistic that you would be encouraged to use the voucher to travel with us again. We still have that hope and will look forward to welcoming you aboard once more.

Mr. BBBBB, thanks for contacting us again. Your continued business is very important to us.

I hope you don't mind that I've sent my response via email. Please continue to send us your comments through any communication channel that is most convenient for you. However, we'll get to your feedback faster and respond more quickly if you contact us again via http://www.aa.com/customerrelations. This is an "outgoing only" email address. If you 'reply' to this message by simply selecting the reply button, we will not receive your additional comments.


Sincerely,

XXX XXXX
Customer Relations
American Airlines

John, I totally understand how upset you are. Been where you were - twice. One was with A.A. the other U.S.Air and A.A..

Since my bad experiences I voted with my wallet. I now travel Continental to Aruba and take BE, DAE, EIEIO or whatever it is called at the moment, to Bonaire. It cost a little more, if you only look at ticket prices but, three trips later, arriving on schedule each time, works for me. (knocking on wood)

This is a good example of why we avoid Miami at all costs. That place is chaos. You deserve your money back John.

John, I am absolutely astounded at the rude responses you received and how they brushed you off! What is your next plan?
Our first flight on United Airlines & AA will take place next Wednesday, I am thankful that I purchased cancellation insurance but I hope I do not have to use it.
The company should reimburse you for your out of pocket expenses as well as the stress and aggravation you endured during this so called 'holiday'. I wouldn't give up on this one ...they owe you!! Good luck.

call the CEO's office & demand an answer:

817-963-1234 (this is the main number for the executive office). This has worked several times for me in the past.

I would also try contacting a local TV station consumer reporter. The last thing airlines want is [more] bad press.

Did they ever offer to send you to Curacao? This is making stress about my flights next month on AA. At least I have trip insurance that kicks in after even a short delay.

Your story is very sad. Nothing but a nightmare.

The airlines are in a state of chaos. The fact is that they do not really care for the individual in general. Service to Bonaire is poor (don't know about Continental yet). Its sad.

The only bright spot is the reefs don't get pressured from careless divers. But I realize that this does not help your cause and problem.

The sad thing is most of the Bonaire flights from SJU never leave on time anyway. As a medical student on the island I fly back and forth 3 times a year. In my experience my luggage makes it 50% of the time and we leave on time 25% of the time. I have even gotten stuck for 2 days in Orlando because the flight to SJU never took off, Sunday of corse and no flights on Monday. Sadly AA is not the worst. The medical students are used to getting bags 2 to 3 days after we get here. And we are bringing food and things we can't get on the island.

Welcome to BT, Gianna!
Thanks for your contribution! Hope you have better luck with AA. Some people seem never to experience problems. And it does seem to be a matter of "chances" with them.