So, hubby and I went out of town last Wednesday and returned home yesterday afternoon. We had to fly from San Antonio to Dallas, where we switched planes for the rest of the trip home to Virginia (well, Dulles Airport). In the course of switching planes, we accidentally left my husband's laptop on the plane. Unfortunately, we didn't discover this until the plane had already taken off. We got the numbers for lost and found, etc ... and figured we would have to track it down once we landed.
Yeah. Easier said than done.
Did you know there is NO phone number where you can talk to a live customer service representative for American Airlines? That's right. None. I tried the main lost and found ... it was a machine only. I tried the LaGuardia lost and found (which is where the plane was headed), and did get an actual representative, although calling him "human" is a bit of a stretch. He could not have been less concerned about helping me locate my lost item. He told me the plane hadn't arrived yet and hung up on me. (By the way, I was calling him at around 5:30 or 6 PM, and the plane was scheduled to land in LaGuardia at 4:11 PM ... so ... yeah.) I then went searching for a customer service number. Spent two hours browsing American Airlines' website, and all I could find for customer service was a snail mail address, an email address, and a fax number. That's right. They have a FAX number, but NO number you can call to speak to anyone. The only way I could even talk to a real, live AA employee was through reservations, where the lady I spoke to was nice enough to help me track down the plane (which is how I know it was supposed to land in LaGuardia at 4:11 PM), but that's about all she could do. She didn't have the information available to her. I asked her if there was a customer service number, and, guess what? She told me no -- there was only the email address, snail mail address, and fax number.
WTF is up with that, anyhow?
As if it's not bad enough you pay out the butt for the "privilege" of riding on their airplane. They don't even serve any sort of snack at all. They give their first class passengers lunch, but if you're one of the peasants in the main cabin, you have to shell out $4 for a snack box containing cheese crackers, a slim jim beef stick thing, some dried fruit, and nuts. Or, you can pay $2 for a muffin. Give me a freaking break! I mean, we paid about $600, total, for our arifare. Don't you think we could at least get cheese and crackers tossed in there?
But, then, when you actually have a problem, you can't get anyone to listen to you. At all. They just don't give a crap. Period. It's painfully obvious that American Airlines is more than happy to take your money and run with it -- all the way to the bank. But, if you have to contact them with a problem you need addressed ... or if you just want them to do their dang jobs ... well, Heaven help you. Because you are fighting a losing battle. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm flabbergasted by this airline's callous, uncaring, negligent attitude. I know it was our fault, in the first place, for leaving the computer on the plane. But, the sad truth of the matter is that we can't retrieve our property without help from the airline. Help which, apparently, shall not be forthcoming. Which means we can probably write the laptop off as simply "gone forever". The whole thing just makes me --->
Needless to say, I shall not be flying American Airlines -- ever again.
surprise my baggage had been totally destroyed... later I found out it had been forced for inspection. I don't live in the US, I don't know if the baggage has to be locked or not, is it too hard for the lady at the counter to advise me to unlock it due to the security measures? I guess it was.
I'm so sorry you had such a rotten experience. I hope some wonderfully honest person got your seats on the next flight and turned the laptop in. Who knows... you may still get it back! We'll pray that it is so. 
) Once sufficient time has passed, though, I'll be sending the complaint letter off to any and all addresses (email/snail mail/fax) I can find for them. I doubt it'll do any good, but it'll make me feel better. 
And, of course, if it was the case that the computer got destroyed, we won't have to worry about anyone accessing our personal information, anyhow.
