Worst ever
I will never ride American Airlines again. Ever. Ever ever forever!!
We have been looking forward to our vacation to Manila for the longest time, and at AA’s worst, Lian and I were almost ready to head back to Boston and cancel our vacation. That’s how bad AA treated us on our flight to Manila. Here’s what happened:
Our flight is at about 8 am, so Lian’s parents, JR, Lian, the 2 kids and I left the house at about 5 am. It was a bad day to fly, I know - Boston experienced its first major snowstorm of the year. Once we checked in, the agent informed us that our flight has been canceled! So she gave us two options - be transferred to the 8:20 US Airways flight, land at Laguardia airport after about an hour, and still have enough time to catch a cab to JFK. Even with traffic, she said we can easily catch our connecting flight to Narita, which leaves at about 11:30 am. She also offered us a taxi coupon - she said we just have to present it to the taxi, they will honor it. The other option will be to catch a later AA flight, which she did not suggest because the time between that flight and our connecting flight is “too tight.” So we headed to US Airways, found a long line, and managed to check in. First to check in was Lian, me and the kids. US Airways charged us $120 for excess baggage, because American Airlines did not inform them that we will be flying internationally. From US Airway’s point of view, we were domestic passengers. So, just so we can get on the plane, I paid. When it was time for Lian’s parents and bro to check in, the agent told them that the flight is already full. I dunno how they dealt with the agent, because they told us to go ahead, lest we also miss the airplane.
Once we boarded the airplane, we were made to wait an hour for the 1st officer, who was conveniently late because of the snow storm. Hello?? We were there 3 hours before our flight!!! He couldn’t have anticipated driving slower in snow?? So we waited, knowing the flight will just take an hour - we have ample allowance to make the 1130 flight. How wrong we were! After the 1st officer arrived, we were told we had to go in line for de-icing. So that added another 2 hours. In short, we know we already will miss our 1130 flight. What’s worse, when we landed at Laguardia, the taxis didn’t honor the taxi coupon issued by AA. We had to pay the cab ourselves, and rode to JFK. Once in JFK, we found the dragon-like line for the AA counter. Luckily (and luck was very scarce that day), somebody helped us (tip again!) so skirt the line, and go directly to an AA agent. The AA agent searched and searched for a route to take us to Manila. Initially, he saw a flight going through LA, but because he didn’t know what to do with Julia’s tickets (Julia had no seat of her own, just on lap), when he was already about to take those seats, the seats already were unavailable. Then he found a route going through Singapore, but Singapore requires a certificate that we were vaccinated against yellow fever (I think) within ten days prior to arriving in Singapore. So he cannot route us there. On and on we went, until slowly it dawned on me that our best option is to take the next day’s flight to Narita - and even then just be on stand by (chance passenger). The agent said our flight from Narita to Manila is already confirmed, arriving in Manila at about 1030 pm. We wanted to check into a hotel because of the kids, but we had to be first in line the next day as soon as the counters open at 3 am. So we stayed in JFK, easily one of the least friendliest airports I’ve ever been. Imagine us, a couple with 2 kids, tugging along 3 large baggages and 3 balikbayan boxes. Between the $120 baggage fee, the various tips to several people, our taxi fare, and airport food, our vacation budget was already slashed by a significant amount without ever leaving the US! So there we were, slumped on the floor from about noon until sometime later in the evening when we found a cot/folding bed, provided by the airport. The kids were restless, we were tired, stressed, and wanting to f#&% the sh!* out of AA until their faces are filled with whatever crap they gave us. And finally, at 245 am, there I was already on the line. The agent was not really very helpful, but we got our boarding passes, still without any certainty that we’ll make it.
This is very stressful to remember, but suffice it to say that after more mishaps and unfortunate dealings with AA, we were able to get to the plane to Narita. And when we arrived at Narita, we found out that the AA agent confirmed us for the NEXT DAY flight out of Narita to Manila! AARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! Luckily, the Japanese guy was very helpful, probably seeing that we look really very harassed, with 2 kids in tow, and saw in our eyes that we cannot take anymore of their sh@^f#%k. He transferred us to Northwest, which has a flight that day, arriving in Manila at about 1130. In short, we made it to Manila - but not after being a$$f#^%ed out of our minds by AA.
You can tell just how angry I am at AA, don’t you? 
For a few hundred dollars more, I’d gladly take the more expensive airlines next time. In Amy Winehouse’s words, what kind of fuckery was that?! I hope AA shuts down by 2009. I hope their souls get burned three times over. I hope their eyes get gouged out and sewed back on for every passenger they screw. I hope .. I hope.. I just hope AA dies!
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