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#1
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flight cancellation mess on AA
Returning to BWI from Nassau last week on AA with a three and a half hour
layover in Miami. We board our 1:30 flight at a little after 1, a few minutes later the pilot gets on the loudspeaker and tells us not to get too comfortable because one of the engines is overheating. It will take too long to fix so they are going to take us off this plane and get a new one; please stay near the gate for further info after deplaning. After deplaning, the gate agent announces flight is cancelled and we will be put on a 3:45 flight to Reagan National! But not to worry, ground transportation will be provided from DCA to BWI for those who need it. Please line up for your new boarding passes and let us know if you need ground transportation, so that we can have a bus waiting for you when you arrive. If you prefer not to go by ground from DCA to BWI, you can wait instead for the 7:30 flight to BWI. When we land at DCA, announcement is made on the plane that we should go get our bags, then see the agent at AA baggage claim for ground arrangements. When we get to the baggage office, of course it is mobbed, but worse than that, the AA baggage people say they did not know of this situation and that no arrangements have been made. There is no bus, but they will check and see what they are supposed to do. Fifteen minutes or more later, we are told that they cannot deal with us as a group but each person must be dealt with individually. We are given Super Shuttle vouchers. Fortunately I was one of the first in line and thus in the first shuttle to leave, but the Super Shuttle people were having difficulty lining up enough vans (I would guess there were 70 people or more who needed to get to BWI which means ten vans at least.) I am guessing that people towards the end of the line waited an hour or more to get a voucher and a seat on the van. I know mechanical difficulties occur and we still got to BWI earlier than we would have if we had waited for the 7:30 flight, but the lack of preparedness and rigidity of AA rankles. Charles Arian Baltimore |
#2
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flight cancellation mess on AA
Ravchaz wrote:
I know mechanical difficulties occur and we still got to BWI earlier than we would have if we had waited for the 7:30 flight, but the lack of preparedness and rigidity of AA rankles. Sounds to me like they handled it really well. You want the ground staff at DCA to keep a fleet of large buses idling at the curb and fully stocked with champagne just in case any flights get diverted there? miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu |
#3
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flight cancellation mess on AA
Miguel Cruz wrote:
Ravchaz wrote: I know mechanical difficulties occur and we still got to BWI earlier than we would have if we had waited for the 7:30 flight, but the lack of preparedness and rigidity of AA rankles. Sounds to me like they handled it really well. You want the ground staff at DCA to keep a fleet of large buses idling at the curb and fully stocked with champagne just in case any flights get diverted there? It seems they had several hours to find transport for 70 people that were sent to the wrong airport. It would seem like since there were so many people wanting to go to BWI that they should have flow to BWI.. |
#4
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flight cancellation mess on AA
Sounds to me like they handled it really well. You want the ground staff at
DCA to keep a fleet of large buses idling at the curb and fully stocked with champagne just in case any flights get diverted there? No, of course not. But, we were told by AA staff in Miami that a bus would be there. Further, they took a count in Miami to see how many people needed transport from DCA to BWI. What happened to those promises? Why take a count in Miami and then not inform DCA? If a flight is cancelled at 1:30 and they know that 70 people needing transportation are landing at DCA at 5:45, that is enough time to arrange a bus. The flight was not *diverted* mid-air. Charles Arian Baltimore |
#5
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flight cancellation mess on AA
Ravchaz wrote:
If a flight is cancelled at 1:30 and they know that 70 people needing transportation are landing at DCA at 5:45, that is enough time to arrange a bus. The flight was not *diverted* mid-air. 5:45? In that case I don't think you'd have gotten there much faster anyway, given the traffic between there and Baltimore that time of day! miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu |
#6
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flight cancellation mess on AA
Ravchaz wrote:
If a flight is cancelled at 1:30 and they know that 70 people needing transportation are landing at DCA at 5:45, that is enough time to arrange a bus. The flight was not *diverted* mid-air. 5:45? In that case I don't think you'd have gotten there much faster anyway, given the traffic between there and Baltimore that time of day! I fail to understand what you are saying here. The original flight was to land at BWI at 4:08. Instead, we landed at DCA at 5:45, then had to get to BWI (since that is where my car was.) Obviously, it takes whatever amount of time it takes to get from DCA to BWI. But waiting for transportation simply adds more time to the total. Whence the passion to defend AA's non-feasance? Charles |
#7
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flight cancellation mess on AA
If a flight is cancelled at 1:30 and they know that 70 people needing
transportation are landing at DCA at 5:45, that is enough time to arrange a bus. The flight was not *diverted* mid-air. This is unfortunatly a situation where the left and right hands are evidently unaware of the other. At least AA personnel at DCA did what they could to provide transportation, even through they were not informed about the circumstances prior to your arrival. |
#8
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flight cancellation mess on AA
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#9
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flight cancellation mess on AA
If a flight is cancelled at 1:30 and they know that 70 people needing
transportation are landing at DCA at 5:45, that is enough time to arrange a bus. The flight was not *diverted* mid-air. This is unfortunatly a situation where the left and right hands are evidently unaware of the other. At least AA personnel at DCA did what they could to provide transportation, even through they were not informed about the circumstances prior to your arrival. I agree. The ground staff at DCA did what they could, and did it as quickly as they could, and remained calm despite a lot of really angry people screaming and yelling. Either MIA ground staff never notified DCA, or else MIA notified someone at AA corporate HQ, who never notified DCA. Someone somewhere goofed up. |
#10
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flight cancellation mess on AA
Holden McGroyne wrote:
If a flight is cancelled at 1:30 and they know that 70 people needing transportation are landing at DCA at 5:45, that is enough time to arrange a bus. The flight was not *diverted* mid-air. This is unfortunatly a situation where the left and right hands are evidently unaware of the other. At least AA personnel at DCA did what they could to provide transportation, even through they were not informed about the circumstances prior to your arrival. Is it that difficult for the AA people at one airport to call those at another? |
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