Flight cancellation

We recently had reservations on an American Airlines flight which departed at about seven in the morning on a Friday. We got up at about 4:00 AM, and at 4:30 we received an automated call from AA telling us that the flight had been canceled. At least we hadn't left for the airport yet.

We immediately got on the phone. American had rescheduled us for a flight on Saturday night. We had a connecting flight to Key West, and the arrival in Miami would have put us after the last flight to our destination. We rescheduled for Saturday morning at the same time as our canceled flight.

The stated reason was an equipment problem. Whatever it was, the plane couldn't make the departure.

We went back to bed and slept till some reasonable hour. After some sleep, I called again to complain and ask for a free upgrade. This was denied. "If we did that for you, we'd have to do it for everybody." "Okay," I volunteered. "Go ahead - upgrade us all." That didn't go over well. Lead balloons come to mind, but that's probably not an appropriate thing to say in this day and age. We all know Cheney's listening. I asked for a supervisor and got one. Same answer - no upgrades for equipment malfunctions. I asked to go up the line and was told that my only recourse was the Web site complaint form.

I took a look at it and emailed a complaint. My problem was that we had scheduled our vacation during a Key West event, the hotel required a non-refundable, non-changeable deposit, and we were out our first night's stay. Although the hotel reasonably offered to give us the next night at no additional charge, the airline had no space on planes leaving Key West, so we couldn't take advantage of the hotel's offer. What, I asked, could American do for us, and by the way upgrades to first class would be acceptable.

We had our answer when we got back: Vouchers for a hundred dollars each. Better than nothing, but we still missed a day of vacation.

If you get into this problem, take a look at My Travel Rights for information on what rights the airline affords you. This particular page tells you all about the former Rule 240, now revoked, which required certain actions on behalf of delayed or stranded passengers. Each airline has its own rules now, so check to see if your airline is providing you with the rights it says it will. See the earlier post rule240 for additional information.

Our photos of our trip to Key West are online at Key West 2007 - a nice sunset and a description of Mae West as "light-weight and waterproof." See for yourself.

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