I Hate American Airlines (But I Love New York City)

I feel like I owe my readers an explanation of why I had no new posts up yesterday. Some blogger friends invited me to spend a few days with them in New York, and I took them up on it. I flew into New York City last Friday. But it was not an uneventful flight. My first mistake was in booking a round trip flight on American Airlines (a mistake I won't repeat).

I should have known things were not going to go well when American Airlines called me two days before my flight -- at 3:30 AM!!! They had called to tell me that they had bumped me off my flight (even though I had booked it a month early and had already paid), and instead of arriving at La Guardia at 2:30 PM I would be arriving at midnight. After fighting with their computer for a while, it finally let me talk to a human -- a human who was not happy to learn that I was questioning the almighty wisdom of the corporate computer. After wrangling for about 30 minutes I was finally able to get on a flight that would get me there only one hour later than my original flight.

I probably should have known that would not be the end of my problems, but I was foolish and thought the worst was now over. I arrived at the airport plenty early (and was singled out for the special pat down). The TSA agent assured me that I was chosen randomly, but since I was the only person there with a beard and long hair I doubt that. But after our little sexual encounter (he could at least have offered me a cigarette afterwords), I was finally able to get to the American Airlines departure gate.

My computer was in my carry-on bag (where I knew I could look after it). I waited about thirty minutes to board with my carry-on bag in plain sight for all airline personnel to see, and no one said a thing. Then as we were boarding (and I was about two steps from the plane's door), the gate attendant decided my bag was too large to carry on-board, snatched it away from me and gave it to a baggage handler. She said it was because it was a smaller plane with a smaller overhead compartment, and I could reclaim the bag as I exited the plane in Dallas. It was not until I was seated on the plane that I remembered my MacBook was in that bag.

I tried to console myself by saying they would take good care of the bag. Boy, was I wrong! That bag (and the computer in it) would have been safer in the gorilla cage at the zoo. I retrieved it at DFW Airport and quickly checked the computer. It had three large cracks in the screen and was now unusable. My beautiful computer was now basically junk. It took me nearly an hour to find someone in charge even though I had asked several agents where I could file a complaint. Finally one of the "managers" showed up and said I would have to file a complaint once I returned to Amarillo in several days.

Question -- Is there anyone out there who thinks I'll ever see a penny from American Airlines for the computer they damaged? Me neither!

I did finally make it to New York City though, and stayed at a Midtown hotel in the Theater District. Went to a Broadway show Friday night (Billy Elliot), and loved it. Went to Times Square, and loved it. On Saturday, my friend took me on a walking excursion to show me the Midtown sights -- I haven't walked that much in years. Then on Saturday he gave me a car trip around Manhattan -- showing me Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Wall Street financial district, Tribeca, Greenwich Village, West Village, SoHo, and Ground Zero. 

As I write this I am now in Woodstock. I'll spend tomorrow up here and than take a train back to the city. I should be home and ready to blog again on Wednesday -- assuming I can find a computer to do it on. The title of this post pretty much sums up my feelings. I hate American Airlines, but I have developed a quick crush on the great city of New York (my first time here). I hope I can come back someday when I can stay longer and see more.