Passengers Get Apology From American Airlines for Delays

When large numbers of American Airlines passengers are delayed these days, they get an apology and are told why the delay occurred.

Under a relatively new policy, the airline is writing letters to the inconvenienced travelers. Passengers across the country this week have been receiving such letters in connection with a Jan. 6-8 ice storm that disrupted operations at Dallas/Ft. Worth, the airline’s major hub. Effects of the disruption rippled through American’s system.

“The weather created a variety of problems: late flights, cancelled flights, lost baggage, long travel delays, missed connections--a great deal of frustration,” Michael W. Gunn, American’s senior vice president for marketing, told more than 34,000 customers in a six-paragraph letter.

The letter explained that, during ice and snow conditions, every aircraft must be de-iced before it takes off. It takes 1,000 gallons of a compound called glycol to de-ice a wide-bodied airliner and 250 to 300 gallons for a narrow-bodied plane.

The storm was so severe that glycol supplies ran out and delivery trucks were ordered off the road by police because glycol, a liquid similar to auto antifreeze, is classified as a hazardous substance.

Gunn acknowledged that “while we can probably never handle a storm of this severity perfectly, we can overcome some problems.” He promised that American would triple its glycol storage capacity at Dallas/Ft. Worth.

He added: “We failed to meet our standards and I apologize.”