American adds fuel to frustration

More than 100,000 air travelers across the nation wrestled with flight cancellations, long lines and ruined vacation plans Wednesday as American Airlines continued to ground planes for maintenance inspections and said more disruptions were coming in the days ahead.

American Airlines canceled 1,100 flights Wednesday and said it expected to scrub at least 900 more flights today while it inspects and makes adjustments to wiring bundles on its fleet of 300 MD-80 aircraft. There has been a string of air travel disruptions caused by maintenance inspections in recent weeks.

The latest cancellations that began Tuesday created chaotic conditions at several major airports around the country, including Los Angeles International, where American is the biggest carrier in terms of passenger boardings. Passengers complained of jammed phone lines to American ticket agents and a lack of warning from the carrier’s computerized travel update system.

“We know we have to fly and we have no say-so,” said Ron Ensz, 52, who was trying to get home to Wichita, Kan. “They tell us to wait in line like cows, we wait in line like cows.”

Adding to the problems: Alaska Airlines canceled 25 flights -- including one at LAX -- while it performed checks on its MD-80s.

American said the inspections were prompted by a Federal Aviation Administration spot check Monday related to the agency’s airworthiness directives, which spell out precise procedures for keeping the nation’s air fleet in top condition.

Many travelers waiting at LAX said they didn’t understand why the airline would inconvenience so many travelers if there wasn’t any danger. And one travel expert said the repeated maintenance-related cancellations were taking a toll.

“Travelers cannot count on the air travel system as it stands right now,” said Kevin Mitchell, head of the Business Travel Coalition. About 40% of members responding to a survey this week said they would be less likely to fly because of safety issues, Mitchell said.

At LAX, where American scrubbed 25 of its 92 scheduled departures, hundreds of travelers waited in a line that snaked through Terminal 4 to re-book their flights. American employees set out cartons of orange juice, bottled water and coffee on a nearby table and handed out slips containing an apology and an 800 number, but few customers were mollified.

American Chief Executive Gerard Arpey, in Marina Del Rey to attend a conference of airline executives at the Ritz Carlton, apologized “for the inconvenience that we have caused our customers because of the continued inspections of our MD-80s.”

“We are doing everything possible to reaccommodate customers on other American Airlines flights or on other airlines. We obviously failed to complete this airworthiness directive to the precise standards that the FAA requires, and I take full responsibility for that.”

Many passengers said their biggest complaint was the lack of advance warning from the airline. Although American said Tuesday that it was automatically notifying affected passengers, many said they didn’t find out about their travel disruptions until they arrived at the airport.

“They didn’t get a message to me at all,” said Colleen Betts, 63, who was flying from Sydney, Australia, to visit her son in Denver. “For them to not let anybody know is just disgraceful. It’s just common courtesy to let people know.”

Joe Sanders, owner of a home healthcare business, arrived at Palm Springs International Airport on Wednesday morning to find his flight to Omaha had been canceled. Sanders, 69, said the airline hadn’t contacted him by phone or e-mail to warn him.

“In fact, I got an e-mail from them this morning that said, ‘Wouldn’t you like to print your boarding pass here before getting to the airport?’ ” he said.

American re-booked him on a flight from LAX to Omaha with a layover in Dallas, and shuttled Sanders and other passengers to LAX.

“However, now that I’m here, they’ve informed me that Dallas to Omaha is now canceled,” Sanders said. “So now I’m not where I want to go, and I don’t know what’s happening. I’m sure tired of standing in line.”

American reportedly had to shut down its automated flight re-booking system after the computer began assigning passengers to MD-80 flights that were then canceled.

As the cancellations rolled through American’s schedule, some customers received e-mails saying they had been rebooked on another flight, only to receive a subsequent e-mail saying that flight had been canceled too. And passengers at LAX said the 800 number they were told to call to re-book their flights was jammed with calls.

Although American said it would re-book passengers on its flights and on those of other airlines, it’s tough to find empty seats as carriers cram more people on planes. American’s flights were 84% full in March.

Flights were also canceled at airports in Orange County, San Diego, Ontario and Burbank.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, American’s two biggest hubs, were hardest hit Wednesday, with 337 and 168 flights canceled, respectively. Including its American Eagle subsidiary, American accounts for about 80% of the traffic at Dallas-Fort Worth. LAX, O’Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth are among the country’s busiest airports.

The MD-80s are the same planes that American took out of service two weeks ago for wiring inspections mandated by an FAA directive.

“Our mechanics used to have a little latitude in accomplishing these airworthiness directives and that’s no longer the case,” American spokesman Tim Wagner said.

The abruptness of Wednesday’s cancellations may partly stem from American’s hope that it would be allowed to inspect its MD-80s in batches over several days. But the airline decided to ground the entire fleet after discussions with FAA officials in Washington.

As of late Wednesday, American said it had inspected 179 of its MD-80s. Sixty had been returned to service, while 119 were undergoing work and 121 still needed to be inspected.

Last week, the FAA released findings from the first phase of an in-depth audit of maintenance practices at the nation’s airlines. The probe was launched after the agency fined Southwest Airlines $10.2 million in early March for missed safety inspections.

In addition to American and Alaska, Southwest, Delta Air Lines, American Eagle and United Airlines have had to cancel flights while maintenance checks were carried out.

The FAA said it was conducting a related investigation of four airlines -- which it has not named -- for failing to comply with specific regulations. Two of the carriers were cited for failing to complete inspections of wiring bundles.

American declined to say whether it was one of the carriers under investigation.

It’s not clear how much the disruptions will cost American, although the price tag probably will climb into the millions of dollars. Besides paying to fly its customers on competitors’ airplanes, American is bearing the cost of feeding and housing passengers forced to stay overnight between destinations. It is also giving out $500 travel vouchers to affected travelers.

For Betts from Australia, it was too little, too late. She had been planning on visiting the States again in August, but is reconsidering the trip.

“I do not think I could do this again,” she said.

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martin.zimmerman@latimes.com

andrea.chang@latimes.com

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Getting from here to there

Contending with a canceled flight is a frustrating experience. Travel experts offered these tips to help travelers get to their destinations:

Be aware: Know the status of your flight before you leave your home or hotel.

Have a plan: Identify travel alternatives early if you are on your way to a must-attend wedding or business meeting.

Take action: If you get to the airport and find your flight has been axed, don’t get in line with 100 other irate passengers and yell at the gate agent. Grab the nearest phone and call the airline directly.

Be ready to pay: If the squeeze is on and you have a restricted ticket, consider abandoning it and paying more for same-day travel. You will have a better chance of getting a flight.

Consider other options: Be flexible about the times you will fly and even the airports. There might be seats on a later flight at a nearby airport.

Be nice! If you are courteous to gate agents and other airline employees, you may get extra help.

Go online: If you are still at home or otherwise near a computer, check your airline’s website.

Be philosophical: In the end, however, there’s a good chance that there’s not much you can do. “Sometimes you have to just tough it out,” said Tim Winship, editor-at-large for SmarterTravel.com. “There are no easy answers.”

Graphics reporting by Jerry Hirsch, Times staff