Airlines Are Not Created Equal: a Tale of Two Airlines

It's tempting to buy the cheapest ticket. I know. I've done it.

But a tale for you to illustrate why you should keep an airline's policies in mind when you select a ticket.

I bought a ticket for traveler on Southwest recently. His flight was canceled the morning he was scheduled to depart due to a snowstorm a Denver. A snowstorm is covered by an "act of God" clause. The airline is not required to refund the money; but they are supposed to offer you credit for a future flight. I called Southwest. They were unable to get the traveler to his destination that day. So I asked for a refund. (It never hurts to ask.) "Sure, I can do that," the customer service agent responded. I almost fell off my chair.

In contrast, American Airlines had a number of planes damaged in a tornado in Dallas last April. I had a traveler scheduled to fly AA with a layover in Dallas. The flight was canceled. I spent an hour and a half on hold with the airline. I was told at the time that they wouldn't issue a refund but they could give me credit for the unused portion of his ticket. I was given the dollar amount to use on a future flight and told to call in to book travel for him. I had a year to use the credit.

I attempted to use it this week. I called in, followed instructions, provided the ticket number, record locator, traveler's name and was told that he had flown that day and there was no credit. I pointed out he couldn't have flown, the flight was canceled. I mentioned the exact dollar amount that should be left on the ticket. I waited while the agent talked to her supervisor. She told me they could see the credit wasn't used, but they couldn't access it. I would have to submit a web form to their customer relations department because their hands were tied. But I was assured. The people in customer relations could handle it. (But I couldn't talk to them.) I did so. I received an email back stating they valued their passenger's privacy and they couldn't correspond with me about the issue because I was not the traveler. This ticket was booked using a business credit card in someone's else's name (not the traveler), with my name noted as the "arranger." The company has a Business Extra account with American and had a number associated with the ticket. I filled out the form with the traveler's name and took a copy of it so he knew what to say if they contacted him. Nothing. No response. The credit expires in a month, and it is clear to me that American intends to make this as difficult as possible to retrieve.

All airlines are not created equal. And sometimes, you should just pay more and go with a reputable company with good policies. Sadly, American Airlines is no longer that.