On our recent trip home from Jackson Hole, our American Airlines flight leaving Jackson Hole was delayed 5 hours due to a mechanical issue. We knew that we would miss our connecting flight from Chicago to New York, and I was easily able to book us 7:30 am flights out of Chicago the next morning. American informed us that we should see the gate agent when we got to the airport who would give us a hotel voucher. That all happened.
However, while some lucky passengers got vouchers for the Hilton RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE AIRPORT, we got a voucher for a Holiday Inn Express that was 25 minutes away. That, for me, would not be enough to warrant a complaint. I mean they need to accommodate a lot of passengers and unfortunately, we drew the short straw. But it got worse….
The AA agent informed us that shuttles would be there to take us to the hotel every 15 minutes. We got to the shuttle stop at about 9:05 PM. By 9:20 there was still no shuttle. I called the hotel. They informed us that they only pick up on the hour and would only come at 10PM (their scheduled time) despite the 30 stranded people outside in the cold waiting for them. They wouldn’t budge despite Rob’s not so kind words.
At 10:20, almost an hour and a half after getting off the plane, the shuttle came. We finally got to the hotel at about 11 P.M and checked into our 2 rooms. I slept in one room with my twins and Rob in another with my older son. I must say our room was clean and spacious and nicely decorated. Rob’s room, a mere few doors down the hall, was not as appealing. It was dingier. There was an open water bottle in the room, used soap and no towels. To top it off, the TV went on by itself at 2:00 AM. This was a hotel that American had contracted with to house it’s guests and it was not up to the task.
Rob and Daniel slept as best they could and fortunately, it was smooth sailing from there on. We got home the next day no problem. I took the above picture of the Chicago airport the next morning. How pretty!
I called American who told me to email customer relations, so I did. The same day, I was emailed $100 vouchers for each of my five family members. Thanks American, I really appreciate the customer service.
Later that same day, I booked us 5 flights back to Chicago for 3 nights this summer. The flights were a mere $156 each. Or should I say $56 each because I used our $100 vouchers. I rarely pay for flights, but I needed to use the vouchers that would have expired in a year and I did not see another future occasion to use them. I paid for the flights with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card and got 3x points on the charge.
In the end, it was a win. Thx again American. We will see you this summer!
