Because the Airlines Need Love, Too–Thank you, American Airlines
The airlines have been under quite a bit of fire lately, and it seems for good reason. But recently, I had an excellent—and totally unexpected—customer service experience with American Airlines.
I was flying home to Chicago from a media trip to Roanoke, VA, via Philadelphia. The first flight was scheduled for 7:05 a.m., landing at 8:43 a.m. I had exactly 52 minutes to change concourses to make the second flight at 9:35 a.m.

The Roanoke flight on American Eagle was delayed an hour due to a software issue. There was no way I could make my connection. My plan was to find the nearest AA customer service desk at Philadelphia International Airport and ask, “Now what?” But I didn’t have to.

An agent was waiting for me when I got off the plane. She handed me two boarding passes: One was for standby on an American Airlines flight to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago leaving in an hour. The other was confirmation for a flight leaving in two hours. I’m no high-miler, just an average traveler, and this was impressive.
I scurried to the gate for the standby flight, where the agent told me boarding would begin in 15 minutes. I asked about my chances for making the flight, and she told me to hang around, so I did. I waited and waited as boarding calls came for all the various groups and other standby names. The waiting area emptied out. Oh, well, I figured. I could enjoy a nice breakfast before heading for the second flight.
Then my name was called. Not only did I make the standby flight, but I was treated to a premium seat!

Thank you for the hospitality, American Airlines!
It’s always great when you get good service! Great that you gave them the recognition too!
PHL is my home airport. It was a US Airways hub, but some the merger with American, it’s now an American hub, so I’m very happy to read this. We have found them helpful, but so fae, only after some begging. It would be great if your experience is a harbinger of customer service to come.