We Say We’re Sorry… But…

Thousands of flights canceled.

Tens of thousands of travelers affected.

American Airlines says, "We are really sorry for the inconvenience."

That's it? No more? Many American Airlines passengers (at least the ones with email addresses in the system) received the following email Friday night.

April 11, 2008

Dear Customer Name,

As one of our most valued customers, please accept my apology on behalf of American Airlines(R) to you, your family and your fellow AAdvantage(R) customers for disrupting so many peoples' lives with the recent flight cancellations related to the inspection of our MD-80 aircraft fleet.

As you can imagine, American's decision to cancel thousands of flights this week was difficult, and it undoubtedly created concern among our best customers - even those who had no travel plans during the period. If in your travels you were among the many who have been personally affected, I sincerely regret the inconvenience you have experienced. Our employees will continue to work around the clock to accommodate all who still need to reach their desired destinations.

We anticipate returning to a full schedule by Monday. While the media reports have documented the reasons why American took this action and the steps we're taking to re-accommodate and compensate affected customers, I've also attached an explanation of the events for your understanding. 

It's a bit complex, but at the end of it all, please know this: First, your safety and the safety of our employees remains our number one priority. Second, we will learn from this experience and we will get better. Finally, we wholeheartedly appreciate your loyalty to American Airlines, and we remain committed to earning your business each and every day. Respectfully, Dan Garton Executive Vice President Marketing

So, basically, he says, "We're sorry and you can find out what we are going to do to make your life better by looking somewhere else... but I am not going to tell you exactly where to look."

Granted, in the email, further down, it talks about a few of the things they are doing for dislocated passengers. What about those that had business travel plans? What about families who had vacation travel plans and now they just lost the deposit on their week long stay in a condo? What about the son who is traveling for the funeral of the father? How can you compensate for those things?

From the American Airlines website:

Customers who were inconvenienced with overnight stays may Email American Airlines Customer Relations to request information about compensation.  Or if you have other questions, feel free to contact us.  Within the email form, please select "April 8-12 Flight Disruptions" from the Email Subject drop down menu.  Please provide the flight number on which you were scheduled to travel and a brief description of your circumstances in the message area provided.

It would appear that only if you had to stay somewhere unexpected are they going to compensate you. In order for that to happen, they aren't even going to tell you how to get compensation unless you email for more information.

Basically, they are saying, "We messed up and if you happened to have been inconvenienced, send us an email and we'll let you know what we will do for you. Don't expect us to be very proactive."

At the bottom of the page from the American Airlines website, they say, "Thank you for the opportunity to keep your business." Sounds like they may be squandering that opportunity if they don't start being a little more proactive.