I've stripped names and email addresses from these messages to protect everyone involved.

Subject: Re: RANT: American Airlines ate my luggage
Newsgroups: rec.travel.air
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]

Make them suffer.  I hate AA!  Go for it.... dave


In article <851711628.20660@dejanews.com> you wrote:
: I promised the president of AA in a letter I faxed to his office that I
: would post a web page detailing my problems getting people to call me back
: about a bag that they've had for over six weeks now, unless someone from
: his office called me and told me how they were going to resolve the
: problem. 

: No one called. No one from any office called. So I put up a page at
: http://www.merlot.com/aa/, and notified the top search engines. 

: If you have constructive advice for me about getting my bag back, or
: speeding up the claim process, I'd love to hear from you at
: kls@merlot.com. 

: If you work for AA and want to flame me, send me email and I'll tell you
: which of your coworkers didn't call me back when theys aid they would,
: didn't ship my bag to my local airport when they said they would, etc. You
: can flame them; I've done what I said I would do. They haven't.

: Thanks.

: --Kurt
: -------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
:       http://www.dejanews.com/     Search, Read, Post to Usenet

Howdy

I have a somewhat similar experience. On a route San
Francisco-London-Helsinki on 1st Oct, British Airways lost two pieces of my
luggage. They have never shown up and last week BA gave me a letter that
they declare them lost. This was for the insurance company. 

Problem was that the total value of those pieces exceeded 10 000 USD. They
were two bicycle boxes, both weighed the maximum allowed, 64 pounds. They
were full of travelling stuff, of a family of three. 

It is very obvious (but impossible to prove, I guess)  that the boxes were
stolen during a five hour  transfer at Heathrow airport. On the very same
flight, another traveller lost two golf bags. They also have not shown up. 

We are protected by an insurance, but this is a very frustrating experiece
and has caused very much extra work. 

British airways has been very symphatetic to us, and they have obviously
done a lot work to locate our luggage. However, they have not yet explained
what THEY think has happened. I said i want an explanation, let`s see what
they will explain... 

How to get your bag back? Sorry, hard to say. I´ve heard stories of luggage
that shows up after being lost for two months, so do not lose faith yet.
Otherwise you can make the airline pay you what the contract says, 20 USD
per kilo or something like that. 

If you hear from people with this kinda experience, please let me know. I
want to collect as much information as possible from fellow travellers, i
have a plan to write (to a magazine) about what happens out there.
Especially if there are cases that look like theft. 

I heard that in Atlanta there is a place where the airline luggage that
never finds its owner ends up - ist that an urban legend or true?

Good luck 

Kurt: I work for AA in the department that searches for lost bags. I'll be
glad to check your file if you'd like, but I won't be able to until next week
as I am away from home for the weekend. E-mail your file locator and bag tag
number and I'll see what I can do........alternate
address......xxxxxxx@aol.com 

I replied to this one:

> Kurt: I work for AA in the department that searches for lost bags. I'll be
> glad to check your file if you'd like, but I won't be able to until next week
> as I am away from home for the weekend. E-mail your file locator and bag tag
> number and I'll see what I can do........alternate

I'm not sure what a 'file locator' is; the number on my claim is SDAEWU.
The bag tag number is BA269041. You may want to check with Pat Freeman in
Dallas before you put any significant amount of time into this. I left her
number in my logbook at work, sorry.

I hope you can make something happen.

Thanks.

--Kurt

I am sorry  you have also been a victim of American Airlines.  My
luggage was supposed to be on my plane from Miami to Newark airport.  it
was put on a flight to washington dc and then on a plane to new york's
JFK airport.  My flight arrived at 10:20 am on 12/29/96.  My luggage
arrived at JFK at 12:30 pm.  It was tracked to that airplane by american
as soon as the luggage was all emptied from my plane.  The bag was to be
deliver to where I was staying with a couple of hours.  At this point in
time it is now 4:00 am on 12/30/96.  There is no sign of my bag. 
American states the delivery service(perfect delivery (201)961-4580))
has had the bag on its truck since 1:00 pm.  The house I am at is about
1 hour from JFK airport.  the delivery service states it does not
deliver for american airlines.  Later they admitted they do deliver for
american airlines.  
The only assistance I could get was a couple of apologies and a
promise they could not do anything to help(as well as several rude
obnoxious employees).

For what its worth, we got damaged luggage back from an AA flight last 
summer.  It looked like our suitcase had been drug on the ground for 
several feet (we were comming from Chicago so I guess it could have been 
a few miles :) ).  The fabric was worn/torn and the a zipper (and lock) 
had been ripped off.

AA gave us the run around in a bad way to get it fixed.  First the guy at 
the airport gave us a wrong phone number, we call the AA ticket agents to 
find out what to do.  They gave us yet another phone number.  The people 
at this phone number instructed us to take it to a ticket office (I guess 
the AA guy at luggage counter in the airport was either too stupid or too 
lazy to tell us what to do himself).  Once we get them to take it, it 
takes three months to get it fixed.  The bag had been returned three, 
maybe four times without completing the repair.

It did eventually get fixed, and I must admit they did a good job, but 
too little to late.  I don't know if its because I'm in Dallas (a hub) or 
what, but most of my AA flights are memorable not because they were good, 
but because they were an annoyance for one reason or another.  On another 
bad trip in recent memory we had a four hour flight on an MD80 and the 
F/A's had a real attitude problem--not fun.  Our luggage incident was the 
straw that broke the camals back.  My image of AA has moved from 
"tarnished" to "avoid" for both me and my wife as a result of our last 
trip.

I arrived at Kennedy Airport at about 9:30 am on Dec.13th for an 11:30
am flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. After three departure time changes,
and three gate changes, we finally got off the ground after 4 pm. When
we got to Port-au-Prince, our carry-on bags that had been taken from us
during our wait at Kennedy did not arrive. It was chaos! I made it clear
to the people collecting the bags that it was important that the bag
arrive with me. Everything I needed to substain myself for the ten days
I was going to be in Haiti was in that bag. American Airlines in
Port-au-Prince had nothing to say except that my bag would be in on the
next flight. 

Well I guess that flight never came, because I never got my bag. I was
stranded with nothing, but the clothes on my back, and a bunch of broken
promised from AA. I spent time and money on a driver that took me back
and from the airport eight of the ten days I was there. I was on the
phone with someone twice a day everyday trying to get my things back.
Not only did I have to buy things like undergarments, clothes, and
shoes, but I had to replace gifts I had brought for members of my
extended family. 

AA workers were useless.  

Two day before I was to go back to New York, I called them again to make
sure that my bag would not arrive after I'd left. I arrived to New York
on Dec. 23, my bag arrived in Port-au-Prince on Dec. 25th. I, (not AA),
had to make several calls to Port-au-Prince arranging for them to send
the bag back to New York. I, (not AA), had to make several calls to
Kennedy Airport to see if my bag had in. I finally got my bag on Dec.
28th.

AA ruined my trip. I would rather pay double the price that AA charges
to another airline that appreciates me as a customer, and who will give
me the proper respect and cooperation I deserve when something goes
wrong.

A few years ago, AA lost some of our luggage also - never to be seen 
again!  We accepted a cash settlement, but that did not replace our 
vacation photos and mementos.  And of course, we had to deal with a 
lot of anguish.

One bright note, we have generally had no problem with AA and have 
done lots of flying.  Our luggage was just as apt to be lost through 
AA as with any other airline.  BTW, did your luggage ever reappear?

Have a good day!

Here's my story, 

Last week I was flying from JFK to Boston on American Eagle, one of those
old propeller planes that seats about 50.  I was walking on the runway
about 10 feet from the plane when they told me one of my carry-ons was too
big for the overhead bins of this plane.  If I gave them the bag right
there, they would put it on the plane for me, and I could get it when the
plane landed without waiting at the baggage claim.  I said fine and I gave
the guy my luggage.

When we landed in Boston they unloaded the carry-ons for the other
passengers.  Mine wasn't there.  They told me to go to the baggage claim. 
It didn't show up.  American Airlines had lost my bag somewhere in the 10
feet between the gate and the plane.

The woman at the baggage claim said another flight from JFK was arriving in
one hour.  I waited for the next flight.  No bag.  I then filled out a form
where they wrote down the tag number.  That night I called a few times and
they said my bag had not shown up.  By now I was very anxious because the
bag included some asthma medication, important work-related material and
other items I desperately needed.

After further calls the next day with no success I decided to try an
alternate route.  Nobody on the phone would give me the number for American
Airlines' baggage at JFK, but I found it myself after some legwork.  I
asked the person who answered the phone if there was a bag that fit my
description.  She put me on hold, then a few seconds later said there was a
bag with a different tag number.  The American operator in Boston had
entered the wrong tag number on the form.  The woman at JFK was nice enough
to send the bag to Boston, where a delivery service eventually got it to my
house at 10 p.m. that night.  

Most of the people I talked to were pleasant, but they obviously were
incompetent (except the woman at JFK) in entering the information, looking
for the bag, and giving the extra effort to ensure they were doing what
they could.  Whenever I called the 800 number, I never got the feeling
anything was really being done.  The moral is try to solve the problem
yourself if your bag doesn't show up after 24 hours (if they're dumb enough
to lose it, they're probably not smart enough to find it), and if you check
your bag 10 feet from the plane make sure you watch it get loaded.

BTW - In reference to another letter, there is a place somewhere in Alabama
where unclaimed bags are sent after six months.  The contents are then
auctioned off or sold at rock bottom prices.  More information is available
with a good search engine.

on a 24 December return from Rome to Bangor, ME, I last saw my 
suitcase in possession of American Airlines baggage handlers at 
Chicago O'Hare.  I have been dealing with the local carrier BEX 
(a Delta partner) in Bangor and was highly impressed by their 
lack of concern, failure to follow up, sloppy record keeping, and 
generally poor attitude about customer service.  If you have 
names and numbers for helpful people in the AA system, they would 
be much appreciated.  Like most everyone else, I don't want the 
money, I want my stuff back.

Richard

My AA nightmare started on July 13, 1997.  I have two nightmares packed
into one LONG day!

First, I checked my luggage (1 bag) in care of American Airlines all the
way from Naples, Florida through to LAX.  Sounds simple, but obviously
not for AA.  Can you tell that I am still bitter?  Anyway, when I landed
at LAX my bag did not.  I immediately went to baggage claim to report by
bag missing.  The next couple days I spent on the phone hoping to
recover my bag.  On July 16, I called again.  The woman located my bag. 
She asked me if I had a black evening dress.  I said and it is still in
its Bloomingdale's bag (never worn).  She proceeded to describe other
items that were mine.  We made arrangements for the bag to be delivered
to me at work.

After I got to work, my husband called to tell me that American Airlines
called back to say that they were not going to deliver my bag to me
because it was not my bag.  So, of course I was LIVID.  I called AA to
see what the hell they thought they were doing.  Once again they said it
wasn't my bag.  I asked them to figure the probability that 2 people
bought the exact same contents, packed the exact same contents and lost
the exact same contents.  I talked to so many people that day.  One that
sticks out in my mind was the supervisor at LAX in baggage.  She refused
to help me and proceeded to hang up on me.  I asked to speak to someone
above her and she informed that no one is above her.  How convenient and
what a lie.

During my whole ordeal which is still ongoing, I have been lied to by AA
too many times to count.  At one point I was told that TWA forced AA to
hand over my to TWA.  I went back to the airport to AA baggage.  The
gentleman there could find NOTHING in the system that showed that a bag
was transferred or was requested to be transferred.  I then went over to
TWA baggage and made the guy  go through his paperwork for transferring
bags--NOTHING not even something.

The fishy thing in my situation is that when the lady who found my bag,
described an outfit to me that I had not previously decribed to the
airlines.  So someone at some point has seen my bag.

The only thing that I can conclude from this whole nightmare is that
someone who works for AA stole my bag.  I eventually mentioned this to
AA, and they did not take me seriously.  They don't care about their
passengers or their possessions.  As of now I am in the middle of filing
my claim, but I don't have all of my receipts either.  So once again I
am screwed.

All I want is my bag back.

The second nightmare that happened on this same trip was while we were
in Miami.  We had a super long lay over 3+ hours.  We tried to go
stand-by on another flight.  Well, unbenounced to us the counter lady
pulled our tickets.  We just asked if we could be placed on the stand-by
list.  So we ended up not wanting to wait for stand-by and went to catch
our orignal ticketed flight.  The counter guy said that we do not have
tickets for this flight so we can't go.  At the end of our ticket book
you can see that we purchased the Miami to Dallas portion, but he
proceeded to tell us that we have to go purchase a new ticket.  I told
him that was not an option.  He said then you will have to stay in
Miami.  AA is one of the few companies that treats their customers like
dog shit and boy, do they have down.  You'll never see the words
customer service and American Airlines together.

We did get our luggage. Late in the afternoon of the day after we
arrived. The 4 day weekend we had planned in Quebec was reduced to three
days and a day to shop for the warmer clothes which we had packed, but
weren't available. I would like to get reimbursed for the purchases
which I made. Do you have an address or name that might result in this
getting taken care of? I thought this was pretty bad, but after reading
your site...well, I guess we were lucky. Funny, I've traveled all over
the world and never had a problem. A trip from NY to Quebec resulted in
a misplaced bag!

My wife and myself left from Paducah, Ky on a Thursday via American 
Eagle to Nashville and on to San Francisco to stay a week.  On returning 
to Nashville one week later, we were told that American no longer flew 
into Paducah....Nothing had been mentioned upon departure or at time of 
ticket purchase.  I asked the agent how were to get to Paducah....it was 
now 10:30 pm  and he replied..." It was not his problem"....I tossed the 
tickets at him and said, No I think it is you problem....Well you know 
what happened then......security was called...a scene and such. We ended 
up renting a car for the 3 hour trip home....So much for American 
Airlines.....

Hi, 

I like what you wrote about American, I had the same problem years ago with
them.

Have you tried to collect from your home owners insurance company or from
the credit card you purchased your ticket on.

Lastly, the president of American is Robert Crandall, I have found by
contacting his office there were instant replies.

I have always used American as my prime airline and have been very
satisfied, losing one bag out of the millions they carry is really a feat.
With Eastern Airlines it was possible to lose carry on baggage. 

Good luck

WOW!!!!! What a great web page.
I have been flying for 16 years and try to avoid AA. I have found that 
they have the rudest emplees. From the people who check you in to the 
flight attendants and pilots.
I am 6'3" and on an AA flight, that my company put me on, I had a seat 
in coach.The woman sitting in front of me slammed her seatback into my 
legs. Due to the fact that my legs were there, her seat could not go 
back as far as she wanted it to. The woman got a flight attendant. The 
flight attendant told me I had to sit with my legs twisted sideways so 
the woman could put her seat back. I now have a ruptured disk in my 
lower back from sitting twisted for five hours. 

I hope you get your luggage back and maybe the pilot strike will make 
it so we never have to deal with AA again.

Todd

Here is my rant:

I just flew from Detroit to Dallas on American Airlines this past
Friday, 2/21/97, FLT 697 connecting to FLT 3793, and I felt like
a pox on both of their houses, i.e., both the management and the
pilots are jerks.  I'll never fly American again if I can avoid
them and I am a Gold advantage card holder, number N5U6138.

The company management put a Fokker 100 to fly between Detroit and
Dallas.  This plane is a complete piece of shit.  This plane is so
tiny that it should only be used for flights of an hour or less.

The plane is supposed to depart at 12:29 Detroit time but at 12:29
they are still packing standby passengers into the last few remaining
empty seats.  This goes on for another ten minutes or so.  Once
they finally get every last seat filled, the stewardess comes on
the intercom and rags on the passengers that they can't leave the
gate until everyone gets their shit stashed and gets buckled in
for takeoff.  Quite naturally, all overhead bins are filled to
overflowing long before the standby passengers get on.  That doesn't
stop them from opening and checking each compartment in turn, before
finally the stewardesses lug the oversized bags out to be checked.

If the friggin' gate crew had cut off loading people in a reasonable
amount of time prior to our scheduled departure time perhaps the
passengers could be seated and ready to take off.  But no, the SOBs
want to squeeze every last dime out of the dirty Fokker and they
keep loading people after the scheduled departure time.

Since we leave the gate after our scheduled time, we have to wait
some more out on the tarmac.  After taking off a half hour later
than scheduled for no other reason than the greed of American
Airlines, the pilot has the gall to get on the horn and claim that
we will be getting into Dallas late because of headwinds.  They
take off a good half hour later than they are scheduled to take
off and then they blame headwinds for making them late instead of
admitting that they were late because they were cramming a few
extra paying customers into that miserable excuse of an airplane.
The pilot then assures the passengers that although we will be
getting into Dallas late, that this will not cause anyone to miss
their connections.

I think, yeah right buddy, and check my schedule.  According to
the schedule, we are due to arrive in Dallas at 2:47 and my connecting
flight leaves at 3:20.  I think, Oh shit, I'm beat!  After about
three hours of back breaking misery with the passenger in front
tilted back in my lap, fighting the passenger sitting next to me
for half the armrest between us, and having my shoulder rammed by
the stewardesses as they walk up and down the aisle, the pilot
comes on and says that he hopes that we have enjoyed our flight.
As if anyone could enjoy being shoehorned into that two motor Fokker
for over three hours.

Then the lying pilot claims that there will be an airline representative
at the gate to assist passengers in making their connections.  We
are coming into gate 27 and my flight leaves out of gate 1F.  I
know I'll never make it if I try to run or take that pitiful piece
of crap of a sky tram, so I figure I'll ask the gate representative
to hail me one of those obnoxious carts that American runs up and
down the passageway at Dallas.  I have been run off to the side
many times by those damn carts, but perhaps I will be able to
benefit from one on this trip.

When I finally get off of the packed little plane and get to the
gate there is no American representative to help with connections.
I do manage to get a cart to stop and hop on for a trip down to
the end of the terminal.  Poor sods are forced to the sides as our
cart, along with other carts going in the opposite direction bulldoze
our way thru the teeming humanity that is DFW on a Friday afternoon.
When I finally get to gate 1F at 3:16, the gate attendant tells me
that she can't board me because they have a five minute cutoff time
before takeoff.  Since I have sat on the tarmac at DFW while they
have loaded people on the plane as much as 15 minutes after the
scheduled takeoff time, I know this is more American Airlines
bullshit.  That plane must have been full and they have already
sold my seat to someone else or they would have let me get on the
plane.

American Airlines are sadists to use the junk F-100 between Dallas
and Detroit on a flight that is nearly always completely full.

The pilot I had was a lying piece of shit when he said that we
would be late because of headwinds and that no ones connection
would be missed.  He also lied when he claimed that a representative
would be at the gate when we deplaned.  I hope that when that pilot
dies, both he and Crandall have to spend eternity trying to get
from Gate 27 to Gate 1F in less than 20 minutes on a Friday afternoon.
That would be a hell that both deserve.

American Airlines made a billion dollars last year.

American Airlines pilots make $120,000 per year.

To hell with them both.  I hope the pilots go on strike and stay
on strike long enough to bankrupt the airline.

No matter what airline replaces American Airlines, it can't treat
its customers any worse than American does now.

DFW is a giant hell hole.

Every year the seats keep getting packed closer together and the
service gets worse.  A drink is now $4.00 and you need a double
just to take the edge off the pain of flying in those ity bitty
seats and I never drink hard liquor.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
--
Regards,

Richard

Kurt...In your letter to Carty you mistakingly used the city code
SJO in refering to San Jose California...SJO is San Jose Costa Rica
the city code for your city is SJC...Thought you might like to know.
Take it easy on AA...they move literally MILLIONS of peices of luggage
per day..some will get lost...some for good..the bags travel great
distances on bag belts...transfer from plane to plane...
get moved from one cart to another..A widebody aircraft landing in a hub
such as Dallas may have 350 bags or more on it...transfering to
perhaps 50 different destinations..unloading that plus freight and mail
then reloading the plane...all within about a half an hour...
It's quite an operation..mistakes will sometimes happen...
as for the rude baggage agents...that's another story...
there is NO excuse for that..I'm sorry you had a rotten experience
but think about what goes on down on the ramp...and think about 
all the people that have had great experiences with AA...
 
                                      Andrew

--Kurt

Well I thought I was the only that got screwed  by AA!!  They lost my
luggage and just as you I had to make all the phone calls.  They said
since Ilived overseas ( on a military base) that they were not
authorized to make international calls.  I had all my childrens BRAND
NEW SCHOOL CLOTHES with tags still on them in that luggae and the LOSt
the damn thing.  Not only that but they closed out my account the next
dy after I opened it!!  No will call and no one will give me a straight
answer!!!   I too wrote a letter to Donald (duck) Mc Carty and as usualy
he just is worthless as his employees!!  If anyone has had any luck
resolving thier dilemma, PLEASE e-mail me.  I would appreciate it.  I
have written to the TV stations in Dallas and also my congressmen.  It
ha been a month and they have no idea where my luggage is and they say
they sent it to LAX.  They say it never arrived in LAX.  I say if it did
someone (an employee) stole it cause I listed the contents and the total
amount of the bag wich was $3000.00.  And I didn't insureit cause the
Steward said it was not necessary cause it was not jewelry and important
stuff!!  I got  screwed!!!  If anyone can help.....please let me
know!!!  I haven't even gotten a claim yet!!!

A very mad FORMER American Airlines passenger!!!
--
God Bless,

    My wife and I recently had a vacation planned to Cancun, Mexico for the
week of 9 November 1997.  We were to fly on American Airlines from
Jacksonville, Florida to Cancun, Mexico with a layover in Miami, Florida.
We have been planning this trip for many months with another couple.  We
arranged the trip through American Express Travel Agency in Jacksonville,
Florida.  As I said earlier these plans had been made many months in advance
with every question we could think of asked.
     At issue is my wife.s birth certificate, which we had asked the travel
agent about before the trip.  His answer was, we needed a certified birth
certificate with a raised seal present.  After the American Airlines agent
denied us boarding to Cancun, Mexico, we again visited with our travel
agent, to show him the birth certificate that he had not seen before.  The
travel agent said there should not have been any problem with the birth
certificate document we presented to the American Airlines agent.  He also
added that if we had come to visit him earlier in the day that he would have
had us on an airplane to Cancun, Mexico using those very same documents. We
would have lost nearly two days of a five day trip, because on Sunday, the
day of this incident, there were no emergency contacts.  I have since
contacted the U.S. Department of Immigrations in Miami, Florida to determine
their requirements for entry back into the United States of America.  Their
response was the certificate we had was adequate for entry back into the
United States of America.  We had traveled to Cozumel, Mexico a year earlier
and the Customs officer in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida accepted her birth
certificate as proof of citizenship, and allowed us entry without comment.
     Our problem is American Airlines. policy, that the agent was following
albeit cold and unfriendly, has cost us nearly $2,000.00 (U.S.), and a week.
s worth of vacation for each of us, which we have wasted trying to reconcile
this situation.  American Airlines general manager has not contacted our
travel agent after three days of phone messages.  Our travel agent, says he
has left numerous telephone messages, but he and the general manager had not
connected in three days.  I can understand why American Airlines has a
policy not to give out telephone numbers for its customer service employees.
With employees like the ones I spoke with, I can see little reason for
American Airlines to stay in business at all.  We can never get this week
back, nor can either of us get another week off this year.  We can not
travel to Cancun, Mexico with our friends again in the future.  American
Airlines may not care about any of this, but we do and we want some sort of
compensation.  My travel agent has informed us that American Airlines will
charge us for transferring the tickets to another date. The resort
arrangements were a no refund trip.  I do not understand how a public
company such as American Airlines can compete in the business world today
with such an attitude as I have witnessed this week.  With the exception of
Ms. McNeal, all I have encountered from American Airlines is cold distant
unhelpful employees.
     I have filed a formal complaint with the FAA, the Florida Division of
Consumer Services, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Jacksonville
Division of Consumer Affairs, and the Better Business Bureau.  I have
contacted Ms. McNeal at your office to obtain an American Airlines. file
number for this issue, which is #971107058.  She informed me that American
Airlines does not take telephone calls for complaints.  Why is that?
     I have lost any respect I may have ever had for American Airlines.  I
have to fly to Dallas frequently for my company, but that won't be with
American Airlines.  "Friendly Skies?"  American Airlines has been the worst
customer service I have ever had to deal with to date.
    Good luck, I know this wasn't baggage problems, but it still reflects
the worst customer service I know.

This is the only email address I'll post here.

I am NOT endorsing this person, and I personally think the best info here is the statement that it is possible to get full compensation for loss. YMMV.

My name is Ed Medrano and I am an attorney in Texas that has sued
American Airlines on behalf of a passenger whose baggage was lost
on a domestic American flight. American denied liability stating
that it was not liable for its loss of my client's video camera as
these types of valuable items are "excluded" from compensation by
American's 'Notice of Exclusion' policy in its Contract of Carriage.
 
This 'exclusion' policy was declared invalid by the federal court
and I am now in the process of seeking a class certification on
behalf of all passengers who were similarly treated by AA.
 
I would appreciate you forwarding me the names, address, phone
numbers and any other information that will let me contact other
AA passengers to see if they may qualify to join in this suit.

Please call me at 1-800-235-1479, or write me at Law Offices of
Heriberto 'Eddie' Medrano, 1101 West Tyler, Harlingen, Texas  78550
My E-mail address is H.Medrano@GTE.net

I would appreciate your help in getting AA to compensate passengers
for loosing their luggage and the items contained therein.

 
Hello!
  
I am seeking advice about collecting from AA either by making a claim or
going to court. We received our luggage intact from Miami-Los Angeles
flight. However, most jewelry worth $8,000 was stolen from one bag. On
November 4, our flight was delayed by three hours in Miami because of
hurrcane Mitch. Apparently, the thieves saw jewelry through an x-ray
machine. The manner in which the jewelry was taken from the bag shows that
the thieves had plenty of time to commit the crime and no one was
supervising them. It seems that there is a ring of professional criminals
operating within AA capable of detecting valuables and stealing them.
 
We made two police reports and a claim with AA claiming negligence and lack
of security. AA said "sorry" but jewelry was excluded from liability. The
theft was so blatant that AA has to be responsible for not protecting our
luggage from theft. Did anyone have similar experiences? Was anyone
successful in getting compensated? If you need details about our case, I can
e-mail the complete statement we filed with AA.
 
Thank you in advance and Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,

I got a massive runaround "pass the buck" scenario from AA when trying =
to redeem a travel voucher for my wife becasue her=20
last name is not the same as mine. I'd love to know Don Carty's email =
address! If you have his fax# (or office of the president)would you mind =
emailing it to me. This will be my last trip with AA. I refuse to check =
luggage with them or any airline. I'm strictly a carry on person for =
years now!

Regards,

Xxx Xxxxx

I too have experenced a disaster with AA today.  My Blind mother-in-law
was abandoned (assistance was requested), transfered to another airline
(Delta), forced into taxi in NYC (at night) to be transported across town
from Laguardia to JFK back on to an American flight.....on and on... at
the time of this writing the nightmare is not yet over.....
 
Do you have any suggestions? Telephone numbers to AMR? I want them to
pay!

I have contacted the local news station here in Norfolk, Va.

THANKS for posting your page!