Sometimes the airlines do meet and exceed expectations

Good thought, Allan. So I will chime in with mine. I have had 3 changes in the past few weeks, all with American.

I had an involved trip scheduled with miles that I needed to change from Feb. to April. Basically it involved cancelling flights myself online; but I needed the miles back quickly in order to rebook - so had to call to get them reinstated ASAP. I used the call-me-back feature and had my call returned easily within the promised timeframe (4hours) and my miles back in 2 minutes.

That change then caused me to need to change another reservation - also accomplished easily online by simply changing dates my existing reservation. This process has worked well. Plus I somehow came out with a $20 credit from that. 🤣

Then I had the major leg of an upcoming March trip to Barcelona cancelled (by an American partner), which meant the connection was also impossible. And the ticket was really cheap (non-changeable). Got an email asking me to call; I looked online at potential replacement flights; used the call-me-back function; had my call at the promised time (4 hrs); and I was quickly rebooked on the better flights I asked for (which currently cost hundreds more) - and was even able to change days and add a night because of the cancellation.

This sounds like a hassle (it is), but only one item was remotely to do with American issues. All were handled easily and well. Travel during Covid is not a simple straight-line process; but for me is worth it. And in these 3 instances American made it as painless as possible.

Good idea for me to say nice things when they happen. :)

I’ve had airlines exceed my expectations a couple of times recently, with Delta and American.

With Delta, I was on the phone with a supervisor for 3 hours in November reworking flights for 10 people that the magic scheduling computer had completely hosed. That’s 3 hours on the phone working on the problem, not 3 hours waiting for a rep. She was awesome. It was complicated, I had a lot of specific needs, and she ultimately got us the best possible itinerary with an upgrade to Premium Economy at a steal of a price. She was pleasant, upbeat, and positive the whole time.

American was amazing a few years ago, pre-covid, when we had a major delay. We had boarded the flight first because my son is disabled. As soon as we boarded (with us the only ones on the plane), they announced an indefinite weather delay. The pilot came back to ask us if we wanted to wait on the plane or get off and wait in the (crowded) airport; if we waited on the plane, we’d be welcome to any beverages, snacks, or whatever else the flight attendants could provide. We chose to stay on the plane and were treated like royalty; the pilot came back multiple times to give us regular flight updates and answer any questions, and the flight attendants were amazing, bringing us anything we needed. It was a nice, quiet, comfortable wait on an otherwise empty plane, and after a couple of hours, the weather delay was lifted and we proceeded with our trip.

That’s good news! At this rate, you’re on a roll, and maybe they’ll even give you a complimentary upgrade. Good customer service helps retain customers.

Various websites have reported that Delta Airlines has extended the deadline for booking of flights using eCredits (travel vouchers acquired as early as 2020) until the end of 2023. It allows you to book by the end of 2023 for travel in 2024. This coupled with the elimination of most change fees is both phenomenal and unprecedented.

I just posted a follow-up to my question about refunds from United, also under the Transportation section. I requested a refund of refundable fares through their app on 1/10, and got the refund today, 1/14, four days later. No live person was involved, just "Chatbot."
I thought that was pretty good.