American Airlines Error

Mark resnik

4 Open St.

Jericho, N.Y. 11753

Phone (516) 937-3813

Fax (516) 942-4477

Email User

December 27, 2005

complaints.com

Dear Sir :

It is with great sadness and disappointment I am writing this letter, with the hope that I can receive the help we need to make up for my family’s horrific, devastating experience , for which I blame American Airlines in full.

After years of saving and planning. and after doing extensive research , I booked my family’s very first vacation , to Costa Rica, in honor of my son’s Bar-mitzvah.

I booked our airline tickets on AA.com under record locator HXHJJT.

Not being aware of the document requirements, and knowing that some of the regulations are different for minors, I decided to call American Airlines to obtain this information. When waiting for a representative, the on-hold message told me that the American Airlines “expert representatives will help me with all my travel needs.” I told the agent we were traveling to Costa Rica in December, and asked if we required a passport for my eight year old child. I was told definitively that all we would require would be an “original copy of his birth certificate with a raised seal.” I certainly had no reason to question or doubt that the information I was given was correct, or to feel that I needed to double check that this information was correct.

I have since learned that American Airlines policy is that the passengers are responsible for determining the proper documentation requirements, however the agent I spoke to concerning our passport requirements, at no time informed me of this policy, or suggested that I should double check the information he gave me.

Needless to say, had the agent informed me that my son required a passport, we could have easily obtained one for him.

We checked into LGA at 4:30 AM for flight 969. The agent, Karen, checked in my family, acknowledging the four passports we had, and my youngest son’s birth certificate, to which she commented, “you know, after the first of the year, you will need a passport to travel with a minor.” She checked us through and we flew to Miami to connect with flight # 2127 into Liberia, Costa Rica. After our 2+ hour layover in Miami, I asked the agent at the gate if we needed to check in, and was told that we wouldn’t because we were checked through to LIR in Lga.

My family sat in the rear of the airplane on flight 969, where we befriended 2 flight attendants, Joann Soufisiavash, and Julia DaRosa. While waiting to deplane, we enjoyed lovely small talk concerning our children and our impending vacation.

(2)

We proceeded on to the immigrations line at LIR. The agent in Costa Rica, needless to say, refused us entry into the country because we did not have a passport for my eight year old child. We pleaded with them, and battled the language barrier, but their decision was simple as black and white, no passport, no entry.

All they were concerned with, was getting us back on the plane we arrived on, and obtaining our luggage claim tickets, and determining if we wanted to be checked back through to Miami or to LGA. As anyone human could imagine, we were simply shocked and devastated at the circumstance we found ourselves in, and just wanted the opportunity to “speak with anybody’, American Airlines, the resort, the US embassy, someone that could help us find immediate resolve to our dilemma. When my wife hesitated surrendering our luggage claim stubs, we were promptly surrounded by Costa Rican police/security. The devastation, fear, disappointment and shock cannot be overstated. My wife and 2 younger children were overcome and became hysterical crying , while I tried, in vane, to resolve our predicament.

We were the last passengers to board that returning flight to Miami, and were greeted by the incredulous Ms. Soufisiavash, the flight attendant on our in bound flight. We explained to her our situation, and she was devastated for us and the first of many AA employees to inform us of the fine that will be levied against AA for their grave mistake. The purser on the returning flight was Marni Miller, who gathered the details of our predicament, and began forwarding the information to AA in Miami. We had a very solemn flight back to Miami, through which we needed to overhear the other passengers regale each other with the recounting of their lovely vacations. During this flight, I had hoped that upon return to Miami, AA would assist us in obtaining a passport ASAP, and arrange for our return to Costa Rica within the next couple of days, so that we might be able to have or vacation.

When we returned to Miami, Ms. Soufisiavas went above and beyond her call of duty, and escorted us through immigrations and waited till we gathered our luggage and went through customs. She would not leave us until we connected with an AA supervisor at the ticketing counter in Miami .To add insult to injury, only 5 of our 6 checked bags were waiting for us in Miami.

The attending supervisor, Lisa Tharpe, informed us that any kind of resolve would need to come from the corporate offices of AA, and she did not have any authority or any means to help us. She gave us vouchers for lodging and meals for 2 nights at the Miccosaukee resort and casino in Miami and were aghast that we couldn’t even begin to contact anyone at AA until Monday 12/12/05.

We took the 30 minute shuttle to the hotel, and upon checking in, we were asked if we wanted a room with 1 king bed, or 2 double beds, for our family of 5. Understand that at this juncture, it was approx. 9:30 PM. My family and I had been up since 3:00 AM, and had not eaten anything, except for the bag of Tostitos chips offered on the flights. We insisted that Ms. Tharpe of AA advised us that we would be accommodated comfortably at this hotel, despite the fact that the voucher read “1 room-5 guests”. If a second room was required, we would be given 2 rooms. The manager at the hotel ultimately contacted AA, and we were given 2 rooms after a 40 minute check in and registration process.

I hesitate to continue on with the bemoaning of the accommodations and the food, for this is not what my main gripe is about, however when we finally got to the “buffet restaurant”, the food was unappetizing, and revolting, and we ended up eating bad pizza and sandwiches at the deli adjoining the loud smoke filled casino. When we returned to our rooms, despite having requested a no smoking room, the room my wife and I were in, reeked of smoke and the Air conditioning and exhaust fans were not working. Upon sitting down on the bed to call the front desk to ask for a room change, I noticed that the night table upon which the phone sat, was infested with ants. I proceeded down to the front desk, where I saw a line of a dozen or more guests, waiting to check in, each of them holding their AA vouchers. We were moved to another room, with AC and seemingly without a bug problem.

(3)

Despite having the vouchers for a second night, and 5 additional meals, we were not going to stay in that hotel for another night. We rented a car back at Miami airport, after I was told by an AA supervisor that AA could not help us with a car rental, despite our experience, and proceeded to drive to my in-laws house up in Lake Worth, Fla.

I was ready to begin my appeal to AA corporate offices come Monday 12/12, when to my disbelief and disappointment, there was no phone number readily available to contact anyone in customer relations, and I was to submit my gripes to an e-mail address or fax #. After some digging and inquiring, I left a message with someone at AA corporate and was told that I would hear back that day. I was pleased when I received a call from a Mr. Tim Rhodes, in the AA executive office, however he was only able to open a file on our case and begin an investigation. He informed me of the policy that the passengers are responsible for their own documentation and I reiterated that at no time did the AA agent I had initially called, inform me of that policy. Mr. Rhodes advised me that I could hope to hear back from him “in a couple of days, certainly by the end of the week.”

It is now Wed. morning 12-21-05, and I have yet to hear back from AA about any resolution.

As of now, I am out expenses for our airfare, for the cancellation of our resort stay and rental car, from the additional expenses of a rental car in Miami, as well as the meals for my family through when we returned to NY on Tuesday 12/13.

I have since re-booked our resort, Pardisus Playa Conchal, in Cost Rica, fo 2-05-06 thru 2-10-06, as this was the first available block for us. Unfortunately, our initial booking was intentionally made pre-season, at a highly discounted rate, and the cost for the five nights in Feb. is $ 2000 more than it was for the Dec.10/Dec.15 booking. My expectations are that AA will pay the difference, and I wouldn’t think it inappropriate for AA to foot the entire cost of that stay, as well as upgrading our flights to first class. In that there is in the very least an affiliation with the resort property through AA Vacations website, perhaps this would not be asking too much.

It is plain to see that American Airlines made 2 mistakes that greatly affected me and my family. The first by the reservation agent I asked about the passport requirement, and the second by the agent that checked us through at LGA.

This letter is an attempt to mitigate my damages.

Sincerely,

Mark Resnik

516-937-3813

Email User