Travelers hoping to get an early start on Labor Day weekend at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) were met with frustration this morning when American Airlines’ 8:30am flight to West Palm Beach (PBI) faced rolling delays due to mechanical issues.
According to my sister, Carol Calicchio, an abstract expressionist artist, many arrived at the airport around 6:30am, only to find out after they checked in that the flight was delayed with little to no communication from the airline. Gate agents eventually directed frustrated travelers to the customer service desk—only to discover it completely unstaffed, with five or six empty podiums and no assistance in sight.
After waiting for answers, one fed-up passenger grabbed the PA microphone and made an announcement over the terminal system (see embedded video above):
“Attention Terminal K. American Airlines, this is the third time requesting somebody here for customer assistance. We have people going to West Palm Beach. We’ve been here since 6:30 this morning for an 8:30 flight that continues to get delayed and nobody’s giving us answers as to when we’re going to be leaving. Please send somebody here. You can’t be that inept.”
The impromptu announcement drew applause from passengers and, surprisingly, it worked. An agent soon appeared, followed by several more.
Unfortunately, the delays didn’t end there. One agent reportedly offered travelers a bizarre re-routing option: fly from Chicago to Phoenix and then to Palm Beach. But with Labor Day being one of the busiest travel days of the year, most flights are already full. Alternate airports, like Fort Lauderdale (FLL, 49 miles away) or Miami (MIA, 70 miles away), weren’t much of a solution either, as tickets for today and tomorrow are sold out.
To make matters worse, passengers were offered just a $12 meal voucher which is barely enough to cover a snack at O’Hare.
This chaotic scene hits close to home. Back in July, my family and I had a nearly identical experience on American Airlines, flying from ORD to Los Angeles on AA Flight 2012. Here’s my trip report but our 8:30am departure also faced rolling delays, and while we eventually made it out—five hours and 11 minutes late—one of the gate agents even admitted that the flight is delayed or canceled almost every day. In fact, I checked today, and AA 2012 was canceled both yesterday and today. AA is having some serious issues with their new 787-9 plane (it’s Boeing problem, not American’s).
With delays mounting, passengers like my sister are left with few options. For those stuck in similar situations, it may be worth considering returning to the city for a night, requesting reimbursements from American Airlines, or filing claims through your credit card company or travel insurance (never leave home without it).
For families with young kids or elderly parents, today’s ordeal is especially stressful. Unfortunately, as this Labor Day weekend shows, “hurry up and wait” continues to be the reality of air travel for too many.
