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I recently booked a flight TPA / SJO four months out. At that time I ask if baggage was included and was told yes. I questioned that the AA site said there was charges to Costa Rica for bags. I was told no, your bags are included. It does not apply to you.
1 month out called and got the same answer. Two weeks out the same. The reason I called so much is that they did the same thing on two previous flights. I just didn’t believe them anymore. Sure enough got to the airport and was told that there was a charge.
Called for the manager and was impolitely told I would have to pay. That she was “SORRY”. A pattern seems to be emerging here. Told by Reservations you are ok with the charges then have to pay at the gate. HMMMMM.
Sounds silly until you realize how many people fly to Costa Rica on AA. Of that how many are tricked into spending $100’s of dollars shipping their bags. Quite a sum. Just be very wary when you deal with AA. I will never fly them again. EVER!
Please be aware of these practices when flying AA. Its not an error its $$$
I don’t care who they think they are, if you lie to me, you will NEVER get a penny from me again.
Scott
We fly AA all the time, and the website clearly states, as sweikert said, that you must pay for baggage. When we moved here last month we had 4 suitcases, 3 of which were VERY heavy – over 70 lbs. We paid almost $400 in fees.
You are correct it does. In some situations baggage is covered
That is what i was told. Then they charged. The chronology of events makes me very wary of tjem.American has been charging for checked bags for a while now. And the website is very clear on that. I only fly them in a pinch as I have found their assorted charges for baggage is a bit over the top, and as such folks try to drag all kinds of oversized carry on baggage on while boarding. Do yourself a favor and skip a company that tries to nickel and dime you while providing substandard service.
People – understand – YES – the web site does say that they charge for baggage. [b]That is not my complaint[/b]. But, I queried them on several occasions – not just one agent – over several flights – and was told that under my credentials as a traveler I was covered for one carry on and one checked bag – every time they said this. And not over a short period of time – over a few years. You see why I am angry and raising hell on line ? I cannot help but believe that as critical as baggage charges are to the public perception of every airline their personnel aren’t trained to the MAX. An example of being exempt from baggage charges is if you hold a platinum Citi MasterCard ( I am told again by them ).
So, I have to wonder why I was told this on several occasions. It just makes me wonder if there is value in garbled information. You could see it in the managers face when I complained. ” oh crap – not another one – I wish they would straighten out this policy so I would have to put up with this “. Hence her attitude. I just don’t trust AA anymore and I have a chunk of frequent flyer miles.
Having said that Southwest is flying to Costa Rica soon. I have never had a bad experience with them in the States. I am flying Southwest.See Sweikert’s answer. The rules are purposely complex and hard to understand. And even after reading it you still are not sure if you qualify. So you …………………call American. They are employees, they know. Like the law, you call your lawyer….the law is complicated so you call a pro. You can read the law but do you understand it ?
As for complaining, if we don’t say something these people and others like them get away with these legal but unethical things. I only wrote here because I do not want others to be caught by these traps. Taking your advice I am now assured everyone knows.
By the way…………..who do you work for ??? :0)We like flying with American because we usually have had good experiences with them, plus we often use FF miles. When we moved here 3 weeks ago, our flight was delayed by 7 hours. They offered to pay for a hotel room in Miami, but seeing as how we were connecting there anyway, we had already paid for a room. They also gave us each 6000 FF miles. But I understand your frustration and anger over having been told one thing, which turned out not to be true. But you know, if you call the IRS with a question and talk to 6 different people, you run a good chance of being given 6 different answers. My point? Sadly, I don’t think employees at certain (most, dare I say?) companies are trained well. I do agree that you should contact your credit card company. You have nothing to lose by doing this. Please let us know if you do and what happens.
Yes you make a point. However, when the same error occurs time after time and year after year…….well lets just say if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it must be a duck. Think of it in simple terms, 1 million mistaken quotes = 25 million dollars. Turn that around and make that a negative to AA and see how fast they fix the problem. Im off to southwest.
[quote=”mnummy”]
Having said that Southwest is flying to Costa Rica soon. I have never had a bad experience with them in the States. I am flying Southwest.[/quote]The question now becomes:
With the recent announcements of low cast flights to Costa Rica by both Southwest (Houston) and Alaska Airways (Los Angeles), will the low cost airlines change the big boys, or will the big boys change the low cost airlines?
Only time will tell!:?:
UPDATE : As to the comment about calling Citi Card. I did just that….
“Hello Citi Card – American Charged me for bags when they said they wouldn’t”.
“Oh Sir, I am sorry for that….hold on and let me transfer you to American Baggage Customer Service “. ( I swear on my life that happened. )
” Hello Sir..I am sorry and yes we do charge for baggage to Costa Rica but because you are pissed off we are going to give you 8000 frequent flyer miles which would have cost more than your baggage charges. All you have to pay is taxes, handling, my lawn guy, the seat you select and anything else we can think to charge you for “.
Amazing how quickly the Citi gal knew to transfer me ( and the 1000’s of others that complain ) to American without even trying to resolve the situation.
There it is folks. You got it from the horses mouth.
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