Dear American Airlines.
Where to begin? Our story is long, like many stories, with laughs, cries, action, suspense, excitement - the essential highs and lows, all ingredients were there
It begins in December of 1996 – my first flight! (I did fly before, at age 2, unfortunately my parents sedated me with a pacifier and a Winnie the Pooh coloring book, so my focus was not so much on the flight experience but more on getting as much color on the paper as possible without making it too obvious that I had no idea what the hell I was doing… Oh, well, art is so subjective!). My mom and dad decided that for that Christmas we would join some friends on a vacation to the happiest place on earth: Disney World. I remember every second of the long 8 hour GRU – MIA flight: the blanket and pillow, the special meal in a colorful box for kids that came with some puzzle on the lid, the nice smiling flight attendant. We got the middle seats in the 767, my parents sat at the end of the row and my younger sister and I stretched ourselves out across the entire row. Those were the days, God how I miss being under five feet.
That was the first take off. Today, in 2012, after living for 11 years in the United Sates, flying American Airlines has become a natural choice in our family and work travel plans. My dad travels more than anyone I know - he is Executive Platinum Concierge Key. My mother doesn’t fall too far behind with her platinum status. She loves booking flights. The challenges - and thrills - in securing the best deals, getting the upgrades, finding the best seats: -Thais do you want 12D or 13C, they are both aisles but you may be able to get out sooner on the 12; how about exit row? I am not sure that the S80 reclines on the first exit row; OMG 7A just opened, do you want that? She would have been a great travel agent. And me? I grew up in the world of the always-on-the-move family; we are the modern day nomads. I knew the tactics for getting into the admirals club, for finding the connections, and I could have an intelligent conversation on the differences between the old plane models and the newest ones. (Yes, I do believe the lighting on the ceiling has changed...)
I moved to Washington D.C. for college and ended up staying after graduation for a job. My parents remain in Phoenix and most of the rest of my family is in Brazil. Given my new location in the country, unfortunately, I have to admit, AmericanAirlines is not the first option for the convenience of my travel needs. It would have been much easier to simply switch to US Airways – direct flights to Phoenix and Sao Paulo - hard to say no. However, I go a long way back with AA, and like any long lasting marriage you don’t simply turn your back when things get hard, you work through the problem, right?. For years I have been taking your flights with at least one connection. I justified it anyway I could: Well, I do have so many miles; it’s nice to stick to one airline; I don’t like long flights anyway; it’s better to have the layover to stretch your legs, the Dallas airport is great!
Nevertheless, I stayed loyal, although the routes were difficult and traveling coach became something similar to a navy boot camp survival test! (By the way: the 5 degree recline… definitely feels like 0.5 degree, after 10 minutes..). We were a team and when time came to get my first credit card, guees what? I went for the one that could add to our long lasting relationship: Citibank Visa American Airlines AAdvantage card.
So, here I am, almost 17 years later, writing you this letter (this is where the low, or as the authors would like to call it, the falling action, of our story comes in). I don’t need to convince you that I know your company and the airline industry, as a customer. Through half of September alone, I have already flown six times, five of which have been with American. Out of the five flights only one left on time and without any big surprises. This past weekend (09/14 – 09/16) I was in Chicago. The outbound flight was 40 minutes late, so far nothing to give someone too big of a headache. The return, however, was a nightmare. I was assigned seat 19A. I got offered to purchase the upgrade at kiosk but I didn’t think I was going to need it for such a short flight. Mistake. When I found out that my flight was over two hours delayed I checked with the counter to see if I could still purchase it. They told me tough luck you are going to have to go to a rebooking center and try to deal with the machine, apparently the touch screen inanimate object is more capable of doing something for a customer than the 5 people having their chit-chat party at the gate. The machine was down and didn’t find my reservation. I went back to my AA friends and told them what happened. Tough luck again, can’t do anything, please now go enjoy your 12 dollar meal voucher we gave you at midnight to compensate for the troubles we are causing you after you spent over 300 dollars on this roundtrip ticket. With limited options for my midnight snack I went with buying 5 packets of Starbucks nuts - the rest of the plane preferred McDonalds. I was about to enter a plane with angry hamburger eating passengers armed with their french fries and greasy fingers. The smell when you entered was wonderful, something you only get when you are at a football game or in a public ball pit or play pen. One AM hit the clock, and we finally start boarding the 9:50 PM flight. At this time I was supposed to be in bed. I located my sardine-canned seat. All I want at this point is to figure out how my head should go in my hands so that I can successfully pass out. Another 45 minutes go by… nothing. But, hey, let’s save energy, shall we? Why don’t we see what happens to overly tired passengers when they have no air conditioning for more than 30 minutes? That would be fun! I got into DCA at 4 AM and was a zombie at work the next day.
I will give you a free pass on that one, flight drama is a part of the traveler’s life, and although the situation was frustrating, I am sure there was a real good reason for that to happen, maybe it was weather, maybe it was the pilot getting sick, maybe it was a sick psychology experiment for a world changing study… who knows?
So here I am onto flight number six of the month. Finally on my connecting flight from Dallas to Phoenix, in my mile purchased first class seat (not too shabby huh?) I will keep it short: It’s almost 3 AM, I am still on my journey home and I am loosing steam. The first flight to Dallas, delayed by 30 minutes. The second flight to Phoenix, delayed by 2 hours. Wait, it gets better. We were on the tarmac ready to go and had to come back for “maintenance problems with the air conditioning”. Surprise, surprise.
And now is my wondering: Should I say farewell to the years that you brought me happiness by diligently taking me from point A to B? To top customer service, and quality travel standards?. To good fares, and flexible schedules? To my wallet, my miles, my understanding nature, and my lifetime commitment to your airline? Should humankind lose faith and assume all good things come an end?
This time, I will not take the chance (or I will give someone else a chance): I am flying back to Washington on US Airways on Sunday.
Please work hard not to lose all above. It would be sad to see you adding to your tickets: departure time: subject to change, with an element of surprise. New slogan: American Airlines: Patience is a virtue, and guessing is only half the fun of traveling with us.
At least there are still two things you continue to do right: the cookies and mints: they are superb. Keep up with the good work!
