David reached out about a frustrating situation he had on a recent American Airlines business class flight, where it sure seems like the airline needs to do better.
In this post:
American offers 10K miles for broken business class seat
Let me just copy and paste David’s experience, since it’s pretty concise:
I was flying AMS-PHL. After meal service was completed, I went to recline/sleep, but quickly figured out that my seat was non-operational in business. I made the crew aware, who tried to manually recline it, but couldn’t. After writing into customer service, I was offered 10k miles to myself and my travel companion (who was not really effected by this).
I pushed back, and got a call from the rep in Customer Relations, who told me the most that they could do is 10k miles or $150 flight credit, and there was no supervisor who could offer a different resolution.
I feel entitled to a fare difference here since the seat just did not work whatsoever, and neither did the IFE controller (not that I cared much on that point).
For what it’s worth, I followed up with David to ask how much he paid for his ticket. He explained that he redeemed Qantas points for the flight, and the roundtrip itinerary cost 136,800 points plus $583 in taxes & fees per person.
That really is an underwhelming compensation offer
I’m not surprised to see that American offered 10,000 AAdvantage miles as compensation during the initial communication, given that the airline has largely automated customer relations, so the system presumably decided that was appropriate. What I am a bit surprised, by, however, is that a call from customer relations came with the same offer, or the alternative of a $150 travel credit (which I’d value roughly the same as 10,000 AAdvantage miles).
Admittedly points were redeemed for the ticket, so compensation expectations should be a bit different if you paid $10,000 for your ticket, vs. paying some number of miles. However, no matter how you slice it, the offer was cheap.
What would be appropriate?
- I guess he was actually offered 20,000 miles compensation, since the companion was offered the same mileage compensation, for whatever reason (that seems like an oversight due to customer relations being automated, rather than anything else)
- If you were to assume that economy would require half as many points as business class, that would put half of the cost of a one-way at somewhere around 34,000 points (and those are Qantas points and not American miles
Personally, I think 30,000 miles or a $300 travel credit would be the absolute minimum that would be appropriate here.
So, why is American being so cheap with compensation, especially when we’re talking about miles and travel credits, which don’t cost the airline anywhere close to face value? There’s obviously some sort of a chart that customer relations employees follow, and for whatever reason, it seems like 10,000 miles is probably the maximum for something involving seat issues. I suspect the compensation would be the same whether it was a broken reading light, or the seat just not working at all.
Airlines understandably have a hard line they’ll draw when it comes to maximum compensation, but 10,000 miles shouldn’t be it. This also gets at how American isn’t empowering its frontline employees to make situations right. A few thoughts:
- Personally I always check if seat functions work before a flight departs; that being said, it’s not a guarantee that maintenance staff would’ve been able to fix it in time, and there might not have been any great alternatives
- I’m not sure if David did this, but always ask crews to document any issues, so that there’s a record of the problem, and so that customer relations knows you’re not making something up
- American should really give its flight attendants the ability to provide some proactive compensation on the spot, since they can see firsthand how much of an inconvenience something causes
- Unfortunately this is one of those situations where your only chance of getting a better resolution is probably to email American’s CEO, and then that’ll be passed off to some “executive” customer relations employee
I hate the whole “email the airline CEO” thing, but when airlines don’t provide any avenues to get a fair resolution, it’s often the only thing that leads to a positive outcome. We know American is shifting its strategy, and wants to become more premium. As American’s Chief Strategy Officer recently outlined to employees:
It is abundantly clear the competitive battleground in the network airline business has, like never before, shifted sharply to product and customer service. As our ability to outperform in revenue will depend increasingly on embracing that reality and delivering a different and elevated customer experience, especially for our premium and most loyal customers.
A key part of that needs to be making sure that seats are actually functioning correctly, and also making things right when they aren’t.
Bottom line
A passenger was booked in American business class on a transatlantic flight, only to find that his seat was broken, and couldn’t recline. When he contacted customer relations after the flight, he was offered just 10,000 AAdvantage miles as compensation. That’s a mighty underwhelming offer, and I’d expect better.
What do you think is appropriate compensation in a situation like this? Has anyone been in a similar situation on American, and if so, what were you offered?
VS DELLHR, November of '24. Full fare, not miles. I was in one of two broken UC seats. Wouldn't recline. On board offer was 10,000, I managed to get this up to 25,000 with customer service. Silver member.
Had a similar experience DFW - CDG. Dispite AA having 6 hours in their major hub, they did not/could not/did/not want to, fix a non functioning businesses class seat. They offered insignificant compensation. The counter person (offering another example of there is no limit to a customer the lies an airline employee will say, irregardless of your status to a customer), told me I got bumped because I was the last person to buy a...
Had a similar experience DFW - CDG. Dispite AA having 6 hours in their major hub, they did not/could not/did/not want to, fix a non functioning businesses class seat. They offered insignificant compensation. The counter person (offering another example of there is no limit to a customer the lies an airline employee will say, irregardless of your status to a customer), told me I got bumped because I was the last person to buy a ticket, dispite the fact I purchased the ticket 11 months on advance. Since then, I switched my alliance to Skyteam and have not looked back since.
United gave me $125 flight credit for a plug point not working in Business class... And it was just the main plug point so USB charger options all still worked.
Clearly a terrible offer for the SEAT being inoperable (literally that's what we're paying for, especially on US carriers...)
Same thing happened to me on a paid business class flight from
LHR to JFK on AA about 5 years ago. Believe received either 10 or 15k miles despite escalating the complaint. Situation still irritates me.
Flt AA79, Feb 23, 2025 First Class LHR to DFW, seat 1J broken and could not recline. Offered $12,500. Insulting that AA values their service so little as I guess it was only worth about $125.
I'm guessing you meant 12,500 AA miles and not $$$ (one sounds a lot better than the other)
I had a broken seats with Emirates F 3 yrs ago to the day. I persistently emailed them patiently. When I told them I went to the doctor and reported back and leg pain due to a malfunctioning seat on Emirates and was advised to take pain relievers they freaked out and refunded me like 80,000 out of 90,000 pts.
On American I always check the recline as soon as I get to the seat and would deplane if the seat was broken. Sorry to hear about the OPs experience.
"CEO Robert Isom telling colleagues that they would have a “rededication and a renewal to focus on the customer experience”"
You used points moron stop acting like you paid $10k
@James just because he used miles/points it does not mean he should have received such a low compensation offer as outlined in this article. Did you even bother to read thoroughly or clearly? Points/miles are a form of currency and not just in the airline or hotel industry. You used your money to earn those points/miles and in his case it does not matter if he used QF or AA miles as he should have...
@James just because he used miles/points it does not mean he should have received such a low compensation offer as outlined in this article. Did you even bother to read thoroughly or clearly? Points/miles are a form of currency and not just in the airline or hotel industry. You used your money to earn those points/miles and in his case it does not matter if he used QF or AA miles as he should have received a better resolution especially with a follow up phone call.
Also, look at it from another example about why it is not just limited to airline miles redemption if you go to Starbucks and redeem a cup of coffee or whatever kind of drink with your Starbuck stars and something is wrong with it they will make it right. This is seriously funny when the AA CEO wants to make AA more premium. It sounds like just words rather than actions. It is even more ridiculously hilarious when the UA CEO blatantly called out AA by saying they can’t do it.
About 3 years ago I was flying US EWR>SFO as a 1K and my seat got stuck in bed mode right after take off. I had to eat part of my breakfast standing in the galley for about 10 min while a flight attendant fixed my seat. Was given a $600 credit on the spot and was back in my functioning seat after <30 min hassle
A broken seat that doesn't recline makes the trip in between premium economy and business class. The fact that it was AMS-PHL and not the red eye PHL-AMS could move the dial to a little less compensation.
My calculations are roughly 26,326 miles (but 34,596 if it were PHL-AMS).
The flight time is at least one hour more. Each person values sleep mode differently.
EXP (with ~400K loyalty points per year min spend on CC plus flights on top) and I just got 7,500 miles for a rotten strawberry in my breakfast.
You deserve way more - but I bet status and monetary value has something to do with it so even if you are QF Platinum or P1 they might not care...... That's why I switched to Aadvantage from Qantas FF when I moved to the US......
This flight being from Europe and EC261 applies. There is some precedent for business class seats that don't lie flat being considered a downgrade and thus providing an entitlement to a reduction of 75% of the fair paid. Not sure how it works with reward bookings. If I was David I would reclaim as a downgrade and file a compliant with the Dutch EC261 mediator.
Not surprised! My wife and I were placed in adjoining seats, in business class, ON DIFFERENT FLIGHTS from JFK to Heathrow due to a ticketing issue. 8 months later, after 6-8 attempts to resolve, I finally received an offer to 15,000 points or $350/ticket. Very poor customer service and support!
AMERICAN TOOK AWAY THE CREW ABILITY TO ISSUE MILES. SAID THAT THE CREWS WERE BEING TOO GENEROUS. EMAIL THE CEO.
[email protected]
Email the ceo
Wait outside of the parking lot of Fort Worth HQ at 5AM and wait for Isom. Bring flowers for the secretary.
Happened recently Air Canada LHR to YVR cash fare . Was given a 25% off certificate good in any class no expiration for up to 4 tickets on the same booking. Was in my account before landing . Seat worked fine before takeoff and crunched just after flight sold out.
I always fully open and close my Business class seat a couple of times as soon as I board. That way I don't have surprises in the air where there are no certified maintenance personnel.
This is just another example of how much American sucks. I fly mainly paid first class/business class and I would rather pay a few bucks more to fly Delta or United to avoid American.
I had a similar situation on UA, just from EWR to SFO. I received $500 in credit before even getting off the plane, which covered a good chunk of the ticket. $150 is not at all appropriate here.
Was that a biz seat? Or economy?
ah yes, UA is the premier carrier in the US with lieflat economy seats
Had a similar experience in First LAX to LHR.....there was only one additional seat available and it was a center and not a window. But when they attempted to make THAT seat up....it also was NOT functioning! I complained as it was truly late by now and I was tired.....most I got was a visit from the purser apologizing that it was not their fault....as the equipment is checked on land and not by the...
Had a similar experience in First LAX to LHR.....there was only one additional seat available and it was a center and not a window. But when they attempted to make THAT seat up....it also was NOT functioning! I complained as it was truly late by now and I was tired.....most I got was a visit from the purser apologizing that it was not their fault....as the equipment is checked on land and not by the crew before takeoff.....Seriously? I dropped it as I had tons of other issues going on at the time....
They probably implemented some broken AI and absolutely 100% believed it. It's not like their tech challenged senior mgmt would know that and god help you if you tell them they're wrong.
Years ago I flew AA on HKG-LAX or DFW: a lot of business class had issues with IFE (not sure if just one side everyone in seats A or the whole cabin) so the crew offered 10,000 miles on the spot. I overheard the crew telling the guy in front of me who was very chatty with her that he will put down also seat broken and give him extra 10,000 although he had no...
Years ago I flew AA on HKG-LAX or DFW: a lot of business class had issues with IFE (not sure if just one side everyone in seats A or the whole cabin) so the crew offered 10,000 miles on the spot. I overheard the crew telling the guy in front of me who was very chatty with her that he will put down also seat broken and give him extra 10,000 although he had no issues with he seat. So the crew sure used to have the ability to compensate and even make up fake compensation. To me 10k miles was great as I wanted to sleep anyway and not watch TV. For not reclining seat or business it should involve also hard cash at least 1,000 USD on intercontinental flights no matter that it was an award ticket.
BA tariff for this is 80,000 Avios but you often have to fight for it as the AI gets it wrong sometimes and offers 10,000 Avios
Interesting. I recently had a litany of issues on LHR-SFO in BA first class (admittedly, it was a redemption ticket) with a broken seat, window shades that technically worked but sounded like a jackhammer, and wifi that kicked me off and then refused to let me re-join. BA customer service offered 50k avios. I pushed for more and they refused. Honestly I don't think 50k was unreasonable, but it's certainly well below 80k. I'm guessing...
Interesting. I recently had a litany of issues on LHR-SFO in BA first class (admittedly, it was a redemption ticket) with a broken seat, window shades that technically worked but sounded like a jackhammer, and wifi that kicked me off and then refused to let me re-join. BA customer service offered 50k avios. I pushed for more and they refused. Honestly I don't think 50k was unreasonable, but it's certainly well below 80k. I'm guessing there's a status/CIV element, and I'm a BA nobody.
1. Complain to Qantas?
2. I'd reach out to corporate. Every time I hear a supervisor will say the same thing, I ask for the supervisor - I want to hear it from them, not an underling.
Indeed it’s not Qantas’s responsibility as it’s not their flight. I think a voucher or miles equal to at least 50% of the fare would be reasonable as a starting point.
United bumped me from business class to premium economy before the flight because my seat was broken. For this LHR-LAX flight, they refunded all the miles I used to redeem the ticket, plus all the money, so I flew for free in premium economy.
"but always ask crews to document any issues, so that there’s a record of the problem"
How do you ensure that they've done it though, as opposed to them just telling you "yeah yeah, we did that" and having to believe them? Honestly wondering.
@ ImmortalSynn -- No way to know for sure, and not any documentation you can ask for. Honestly, it might not even make a difference, but it's at least worth asking/reminding.
I once flew on AA LHR to LAX in F on the 777-300 with a broken seat. Would not go past recline. The purser on board told me to write to AA customers relations and of course, I was only offered 10k points.
In my opinion the business class seat is the entire absolute purpose of booking business class, and the price difference from economy. To be able to recline and sleep. If that cannot be achieved then what was the point?
But the airline will likely justify that well, you had lounge access, a premium airport experience, boarding, etc. etc. blah blah blah. In order to defend that the seat was only a small part of...
In my opinion the business class seat is the entire absolute purpose of booking business class, and the price difference from economy. To be able to recline and sleep. If that cannot be achieved then what was the point?
But the airline will likely justify that well, you had lounge access, a premium airport experience, boarding, etc. etc. blah blah blah. In order to defend that the seat was only a small part of it. But that's pretty BS.
I doubt any regulation will reach this far to handle when a luxury item is broken. Probably the only recourse is unfortunately to refuse to fly and demand a refund when you discover that the seat is broken. I don't know what happens then though, to your travel plans.
All big 3 US Airlines are shitty, cheap and greedy. I had a similar situation with AirFrance, it wasn't even the seat, it was the door not closing and they even game me 35k. My trip was paid for in points too. Bottom line, all US airlines are crappy.
This is where I'd call up the Executive Liaison desk. IYKYK.
Sorry, but I won't post the number. Yes, I am gatekeeping, but I'm not going to be the first one to post it publicly and get it shut down.
Had similar experience with AA. Outbound RDU-LHR paid business class, plane just back from refurbishment, no Velcro to anchor the seat parts. Can only sit upright. Compensation 10,000 miles. Return flight paid for business and upgraded to first. IFE completely inop for entire journey . Compensation zero.
I think AA does have the ability to offer compensation on board if I'm not mistaken. I can't remember if it was AA or Delta that I flew but I had a broken tray table in biz class with caution tape on it. I was offered 10k miles, wrote in and got 10k more miles.
What they issue is dependent on status, fare class and severity of the issue. This guy ain't gonna get much more than 25k miles without some sort of executive escalation.
He's lucky he got ANY offer from AA...after all "the schedule is the product."
I have a similar situation involving EY. Where can I send it to you?
Amount is way low, 35k is fair enough. Real issue is that Qantas should be requesting comp from AA, defending their customer. In turn, that comp should be given back in Qantas miles.
Also, I believe AA FAs used to be able to hand out miles, but that stopped a few years back.
What would have happened if the guy realized this before the plane took off? Would they have given him the seat of the last person whose SWU cleared?
This is a good reminder to make sure that all of your seat is operational before the plane takes off. You have much more leverage then.
Absolutely! Sat down in J on Iberia ORD-MAD last summer and immediately realized that the seat was broken. Told the flight attendants, who, to their credit, relocated me and companion to a different row with working seats. Only difference was we got the middle seats that are further apart but no biggie. Someone and their young child ended up taking our initial seats. Didn't ask questions but kudos to FAs for figuring something out, but...
Absolutely! Sat down in J on Iberia ORD-MAD last summer and immediately realized that the seat was broken. Told the flight attendants, who, to their credit, relocated me and companion to a different row with working seats. Only difference was we got the middle seats that are further apart but no biggie. Someone and their young child ended up taking our initial seats. Didn't ask questions but kudos to FAs for figuring something out, but would have been much harder in the air.