First of all, I feel terrible for all the people on that flight and the treatment (or perhaps the lack of good treatment?) they received. Having just read the full article about yesterday's AA debacle, it was a flashback to an experience we had with them probably twenty-five years ago or more. And we experienced the same nonchalance and lack of communication which is perhaps more frustrating than the actual delay itself.

Similar situation - we (four of us) arrived on time at the airport and checked in for our n/s back to JFK. First announcement was for a slight delay. And then another. Finally, after about seven hours of waiting around the OLD airport on a Saturday afternoon the word finally came down the flight was cancelled and would be rescheduled for 7am the next morning, and we should all return to the airport by 5am. Who knew the airport wasn't even open at that hour back then?!

We were already standing at the ticket counter trying to figure out our connections when they announced all passengers should line up and they would assign us to various hotels for the night after we reclaimed out previously checked and soon to be off-loaded luggage. About an hour later and at about the same time the luggage was finally being returned from the plane, they announced that a bus would be there shortly to take us to the Maho Beach Hotel or whatever hotel we were assigned to, at which point we took a cab and checked in without waiting for the bus. Soon others did the same and the line at Maho formed behind us out the lobby and into the portico area.

We finally got into a room at Maho around 8:00 (from 10:30 that morning....) and then had to deal with phone calls home and dinner, but at least AA gave us a very healthy dinner voucher each for any of the Maho area restaurants we chose to go to. The bad news to that was Cheri's was the only place open by the time we got around to dinner.

At the time we experienced this delay it was AA and it was their fouled up situation all the way. We couldn't even blame it on Arrindell (sp?) Ground Services back then.

But the good news: when we got home, I wrote a politely scathing letter to AA and they treated us very generously with future travel vouchers well in excess of what we had paid for our tickets and actually apologized for the way the situation was handled by the AA people in SXM. Note - we couldn't even get any coffee at the airport that morning because nothing was open yet and on the plane I think the food was left over from the day before's flight........

I strongly doubt AA would do that today and particularly since the ground treatment at PJIA yesterday wasn't their fault specifically (admitting the actual cause of the delay was their fault) but it sure wouldn't hurt to write them a letter with your dissatisfaction of the way the problem was addressed and what their issues actually cost you out of pocket. We were a family of four and they did treat us very generously but that was then.....

Good luck to all those passengers delayed and hopefully if you're reading this, you're well on your way home if not there already. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />