American Airlines Services Going Downhill - Part Deux

This is a copy of the letter I have sent to American Airlines in regards to my last flight with them.

AA CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT

RE: FAR VIOLATIONS AND SERVICE ISSUES ON AA 648 / 12JAN09 – SJU-JFK.

Today, January 12th, 2009, I flew on AA #648 from San Juan to JFK. The schedule departure time was 8:25am. The flight was delayed until 9am. None of the gate agents made any announcements or updated the passengers as to what the situation is. I know is pretty bad when they are not uploading cargo into the aircraft, as it is a big sign that the flight most likely will be cancelled.

I called AA reservations to find what other options are available for me to get to New York. My very ‘annoyed’ reservation agent (and I use the word ‘annoyed’ loosely) gave me some possibilities as to how to get to New York; one of them via St. Thomas, Miami or the afternoon non-stop flight.

At the new departure time of 9:00am (which actually was the “decision” time, not the new departure – which makes me quite upset that American decides to hide their head in the sand instead of telling us what exactly is going on) it was announced that the mechanical problem has been fixed and that we would start boarding soon with a new departure time of 9:30am. This is the first time we hear of a ‘mechanical’ issue.

The cabin crew boarded and we followed shortly thereafter. I boarded, stowed my bags and wanted to use the lovely lavatories. As I proceeded to the back of the plane, a flight attendant blocked me. She stated that the plane had no water and no galleys! This is a clear indication that the likelihood of the flight being cancelled was greater than I initially thought. This caused the flight to be even further delayed until 9:45am. While onboard, no one from the cockpit, or the crew, made any announcements about the mechanical issue, which would have reassured and calmed antsy passengers.

I am seated in the emergency exit row at door 3L (seat 27B). Just seconds after takeoff, a flight attendant call light a few rows in front of me went off. I saw people looking over to the left side of the aircraft. I alerted the flight attendant seated in front of me about the irregular situation. A woman grabbed a magazine and started to fan air to a passenger. The flight attendant at 3L turned around, saw the call light, rolled his eyes and literally, got off his jumpseat (I am thinking he is going to check on the passenger) and he just walked to the back of the plane where he sat in the last row of passenger seats. If this was truly an emergency, what would have happened? What if passengers were actually looking at something going on outside of the aircraft and wanted to alert the crew?

Just remember, a few years ago, there was an American Airlines A-300 that encountered and emergency out of San Juan. In this incident, the passengers where the ones who alerted the flight attendants that an engine was on fire. The plane turned back to San Juan, had to evacuate passengers via slides and luckily, there were no major injuries. What if this was one of those cases? Or worst? The inaction of this flight attendant (at door 3L) shows how unprofessional and uncaring he is towards a position that is supposed to be based on customer service and safety.

In addition, the flight attendant working the galley in the economy cabin, made the following announcement over the PA system (I am typing this letter as I am seated on my seat – 27B): “Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to ask all of you who are waiting to use the lavatories in the back of the plane, to move out of the galley area so we can set-up the galley for the drink service. Once again…” and she repeated the announcement.

How unprofessional! Why make this announcement over the PA for over 200 people when is meant for just a handful of people in the back of the plane? Just remember that the lavatories were unusable while on the ground and many of us had to wait until after takeoff to use the facilities.

Which brings me to the fact of the appearance and lavatory conditions of this… actually, of all of American’s Airbus A-300’s. There are carpets and sidewalls being held together by duck tape. Seats are dirty as well and blankets look worn out and dirty. I took two flights to get to San Juan (connection via Miami) and the conditions of those A-300’s were even more appalling. Lavatories smells are just strong enough to make anyone sick. Paint is chipping off the walls and dirt is all over the place. How can anyone on the upper management level can look me in the face and tell me that they are proud of the product they offer to their customers?

As the video started, a lone flight attendant offered headphones for purchase. After a 1.30 hours delay, the least AA and this crew could have done is to offer complimentary headphones. But I guess profits take place before comfort and a simple gesture of apologies from the crew. By the way, the video system audio was cracking (at least on seats 27A/B) rendering watching the video completely useless. My seat tray table is broken and I wonder what else is falling apart on this aircraft.

In addition, on my flights to San Juan, the video systems were also not working properly with some of the monitors not working or in need of tracking and color adjustments. The conditions of the lavatories on those flights were even more appalling and the ‘latrine’ smells even strongest. On the Miami to San Juan flight, I did see the crew run from one side of the plane to another because every time the door of one of the lavatories opened, the smell was so strong and disgusting that they had to get out of that area!

By the way, at least 3 flight attendants have just walked and passed by the passenger ‘call light’ that has been on since takeoff and no one have checked, asked or paid attention to it.

There is something missing with this crew and it is “situational awareness”. In the airline industry, flight attendants (and everyone for that matter) are taught that this is the most important piece of safety as the crew are the “eyes and ears” of the cockpit and the leaders of safety of the cabin.

I am typing this PA announcement from the same galley flight attendant ( the one who made the prior announcement) prior to the beginning of the inflight service:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, in the economy cabin we will start our beverage service. We do have a selection of complimentary drinks. These are: Pepsi, diet Pepsi, sometimes Sierra Mist, sometimes diet Sierra Mist… (she outlined every single soft drink that is available onboard...) Also we have coffee and tea. If you want coffee or tea, make sure to tell us how you like it; with milk or no milk and sugar or no sugar. Also, we have alcoholic drinks for sale for 6 dollars. If you want vodka, is 6 dollars, if you want rum is 6 dollars if you want… (and she continued to outline every single alcoholic drink…). If you want to buy a snack… (and off she went to tell us about every single snack available for purchase and the respective price…)”

This very unprofessional, unnecessary and annoying announcement that went on for about 5 minutes. All I have to say is that I am glad that it was not translated into Spanish. Otherwise, we would be listening to PA announcements for at least 10 minutes. How about those who are trying to watch the movie? Oh, that’s right… there is poor audio for the video… never mind!

Why could the galley flight attendant refer the passengers to the page of the inflight magazine that gives us the full selection and description of drinks and snacks available? Why do I need to be treated like a child and spoken to like one? This is very unprofessional and I do feel quite embarrassed for the only one nice flight attendant on the flight (sorry… I wish I had her name…) but as the say goes: “It takes all of us to make everyone look good but only takes one of us to make everyone look bad”.

And as I am writing this portion of the letter, I do know that I might get a flight attendant in trouble… but the fact that he was violating an FAR, it does need to be brought up to your attention:

After the service was completed in the economy cabin, I decided to go for walk. The same flight attendant that was seated at 3L and refused to check on the passenger after takeoff, I found him sleeping in the last row of the aircraft while wearing noise reduction headphones. He literally slept on the passenger seat for the rest of the flight. I did not see him doing any cabin coverage.

The last time I saw this flight attendant (3L) was when he sat down in the jumpseat for landing. Even then, after the plane landed and was taxing to the gate, he was ready to disarm his door and run to the back of the plane. But because the other flight attendant at 3R was not doing so, he refrain himself from doing it and stayed seated. However, after the announcement to “prepare doors” was made, he disarmed his door and ran to the back of the plane before passengers got up.

This is the most unprofessional crew I’ve witnessed at American. Sadly, it is more the norm than the exception.

I am not one to complaint because I do know about the situation that all flight attendants are going through with job cuts, pay cuts, longer duty days for less rest time. But in this case, I do have to. Service wise, I can let things go. But when I see an FAR violation, I do have to speak up.

In summary, American Airlines management has cut back so much that planes are just too old and falling apart. Interiors are not being refurbished at all with fray carpets, old seats and old video/entertainment systems. Smelly toilets and disgusting bathrooms makes it unbearable to use. Only reason why I flew American? They were cheaper than JetBlue. And I am paying the consequences for the difference in price by giving up the difference in comfort,safety and service.

I do hope you follow up and receive a reply from you soon.

Sincerely,

Raul Zambrana


On January 28th, I was surprised to find a letter in my inbox from American Airlines and below, is their response. I sincerely thought that my email would be deleted but it did get someone's attention. I will keep you posted in any outcome. I am not one to get anyone in trouble, but once you read the letter, you will understand why I did write it and "blew-the-whistle".

January 28, 2009

Dear Mr. Zambrana:

We received your email sent to Mr. Arpey, Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Garton. The details you provided to us about flight 648 were very troubling. Your message was immediately sent to our Vice President of Onboard Services and an investigation ensued. We are still in the process of gathering statements from the crew involved but I can assure you that once our investigation has concluded, we will take the appropriate corrective action with those involved. We very much appreciate that you took the time to contact us about all that occurred. Your feedback is especially meaningful because you are a fellow industry employee.

We realize that your disappointment wasn't just due to the actions of the crew but also in the condition of the cabin. The conditions you described are as unacceptable to us as they were to you and I've alerted our Manager of Cabin Services. This is certainly not the image we want to convey.

Mr. Zambrana, please give us another chance to serve you. We are all working hard to provide the high quality service you have every right to expect when traveling on American Airlines. Like you, we are proud of our company and I know we can do better.

Sincerely,

Michelle F. Simmons
Customer Relations
American Airlines

THE TSA EXPERIENCE -- MY HORROR STORY AT JFK AIRPORT WITH TSA CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATIONS AUTHORITIES

I arrived today (December 9th) from Germany at Terminal 1 in JFK Airport. Flight was great and had a good time... till it was time to clear Customs and Immigrations.

The line I was assigned was moving too slow; actually not moving at all. I jumped to another line, which happens to be a young TSA's agent: Mr. Rowdings line. When I approached him, this is the conversation that ensured:

Me: "Good evening!"
Rowdings: "You jumped from that line to this one!"
Me: "So? If there is a problem with that, give me my passport and I will go back."
Rowdings: "You don't need to have an attitude!"
Me: "Well, you don't need to ask."
Rowdings: "It is my job to ask!"
Me: "Oh... new job responsibilities; also taking care of lines?"

With that, I sealed my fate... He made the mark that I would have to go through the secondary TSA check with my luggage. So, I went through the secondary check. However, that was a different story.

But I need to digress for a moment...

There was a woman who came in with her 4 dalmatian dogs; one older and 3 puppies. She was sobbing crying in the secondary security line next to the one I was. I've traveled with my dog internationally so I know how stressful it is. I don't know the details of the situation or what was happening with this woman, but it could have been something wrong with the veterinarian's paperwork or vaccinations. She was quite hysterical and the TSA agent taking care of her 'case' was not helpful at all. He only needed to be sympathetic to her; that's all. The only thing he needed to do was, at least, be nice to her. At one point she was trying to make a phone call and the TSA Agent got two inches away from her face and started to scream: "There is no cell phone usage in this area!" And he kept screaming at her! I was getting very upset watching this happening in front of me. I wanted to jump in an defend the woman but did not want to get in any more trouble than I already was.

Back to my story... I got to my secondary check and the guy could not be any nicer. We started talking and I did not have anything in my suitcase to be checked except the usual German coffee I bring every time I come back from Europe and my dirty underwear.

The conversation turned interesting when he asked me what I do for a living. I told him: "I am a flight attendant." Then I proceeded to tell him what happened to me earlier and that I wanted to file a complaint with TSA. He told me what to do (go to tsa.gov and click on the feedback icon). He let me go right away with no problems.

And you might ask yourselves... why did you confront the TSA agent to start with?

Here is my take... I've flown all over the world and solely internationally for over 9 years. I've seen the best and the worst of TSA agents... Sadly, the worst is the normality more than the exception. . is a shame that these TSA agents have to be such big a**holes!

What bothers me the most is that this is the first point of contact for most tourists and visitors to the USA. And this is the way these TSA Agents behave? Is this the image we want to create that we behave in our Country? What's up with the attitude?

From my experiences, the worst airports for entry into the USA: New York's JFK and Washington DC (Dulles). The best airports: Denver (all the time) and Chicago (only in a good day). I wonder what kind of Customer Service training they receive. I do know that they are there primarily for safety but there is no need for their nasty behavior.

By the way, if you are wondering, the TSA Agent did not let the dogs go. The TSA Agent was doing the paperwork to hold the doggies back; quarantine or who knows... And the doggies kept crying and barking for mama! It was so sad to watch and see the lady crying and going between the dogs in the cages and back to the nasty, power-driven, a**hole TSA Agent. At one point I had to turned the other way because it was just too much to bear! For those of us who are doggy/pet lovers, this was a horrific scene to witness!

As we call it in the industry: "TSA is going on a Power Trip!"

And why do they do it? Because they can screw up your day if they want to!

I can go on and on with other examples I've witnessed and be a victim of, but won't bore you with any more details. Ok... a couple of quick ones: they held one internationally based flight attendant for 4 hours because one crew member made a comment about how slow the line was moving and a passenger held because he did forget he had a fruit (banana) in his carry-on.

I did write my letter to TSA and does hope that does not fall in deaf ears or gets lost in cyberspace. If I do get a reply, I will ensure I post it here immediately.