I cannot believe the odyssey I am about to relay.

I’ve been an American customer for decades. I’ve been a heavy traveler and a high-tier (EP) for at least the last five or six years and had status before that, as well. I’ve been an AAdvantage cardholder for almost 20 years, and have had the Executive version and used lounges for maybe over a decade or so. Long story short, I am a frequent traveler, and I am a loyalist. I also have gotten my whole family and closest friends on the bandwagon. We roll deep and are all in on American. As many of you know, it's no longer because of the service, per se, but because we're so embedded in the infrastructure that it would be too difficult to get out -- and anyway, I don't know where I'd go, given the abysmal state of air travel standards across the board. That said, this one is a new low (punctuated by some real highs).

I set out for a brief work trip on Labor Day. Flying out of LAX direct was impractical, so I ended up stopping in NYC to and from, in part to break up the flying. I returned from Europe via JFK on Friday, September 8th. My domestic direct return, JFK-LAX, was scheduled for the late afternoon of Saturday, September 9th. As I made my way through Manhattan and borough traffic to JFK (folks know this 18-mile trip is now clocking in at well over an hour lately), I worried about time, but still made it without issue and, thanks to the expediency of the new First/Business dedicated check-in and TSA Pre, got through quickly with one suitcase checked. Of course, the gate was the very last in the terminal, so I went straight down there to be on time for boarding to commence. As I arrived into the gate area, I watched as the departure time switched to an hour -delay right as I approached. I decided to sit down, rather than hike back to the lounge right away, but finally did so. As I walked back to the new upgraded lounges on the Departures side of the separated terminal, I received notice that my flight was being canceled. I waited in line to see if one of the lounge agents could help me rebook for the next day, but there were five customers ahead of me in line, and so I used the option of doing it myself on the app. Not a single flight was offered the following day, Sunday, so I bit the bullet and grabbed a Monday flight with business class available. I rebooked and went to retrieve my suitcase, which showed up about 45 minutes later. Took a cab back into Manhattan for another $100, and imposed upon a kind friend to spend the next two nights. Monday, I headed back to JFK. The flight that day was once again late, but we were able to board and taxi out onto the runway. After some amount of time waiting, the pilot came over the air to let us know that inclement weather north of the city (which our route would have us pass through) was causing all departures in that direction to be shut down. As such, we'd be moving over to the side of the tarmac somewhere for "a considerable amount of time." After about an hour or so, we were told that a route had briefly opened up; the pilot then raced toward the runway to get us in line. After a few departures ahead of us, however, the route was once again closed down and we were told we'd be waiting for some time again. The decision was then made to move back to the gate; those that wanted to could deplane, or we could chose to wait onboard the aircraft. I was trying to keep myself as calm and relaxed as I could during the whole ordeal, but I knew what was coming: the pilot again came on the intercom and told us the flight was now canceled and that everyone should deplane. It was clear that the issue at that point that the flight crew and/or pilot would be over allotted flight time. Everyone was booted off and I once again tried to rebook for the next day; once again, nothing was available and so I took a flight for Wednesday (I checked Delta and United, as well, but it would have involved buying a new ticket, and it was slim pickings on those airlines, too, due to their own weather delays).

I had an important work-related event on Tuesday night back in LA and my initial travel plans would have had me home the previous Saturday, but this was outside of my control and I figured there was no use getting upset or angry about it, so I once again self-rebooked for the Wednesday flight and knew I'd be sending out apologies and regrets over email later that night. I went down to baggage claim to once again retrieve my checked bag, but the carousels were all shut down because there had been some lightning. After waiting for about an hour, I inquired in the Luggage Office. The staff there told me that, if I could do without my bag, I could just let it fly to LA and retrieve it when I got back, as they didn't think it would be out for another half-hour at least. At this point, it was about 4.5 hours from scheduled departure time and I was beat, so I went back out to the taxi queue and waited there with all the other stranded folks -- crowds from the US Open, the Cowboys vs. Giants game, 9/11 observations, Fashion Week people, etc. I went back and imposed again on my friend (another shero in this story), washing my undergarments and blouse out in her sink and letting them dry overnight.

Today, Wednesday, back to JFK I went. My initial flight was delayed once again, just as I'd arrived, this time 1.5 hours later. I decided to check in with the folks at the First/Business area, and one of the supervisors there, "Bonnie," (not her real name) was incredibly kind and empathetic when I told her this was my third attempt at leaving since Saturday. She offered to check on what was really going on with the flight when I asked her if this one was likely to go. She made a couple calls and determined that it was first an equipment change that then necessitated a crew change; these things pushed the flight out but she was confident that it would go out. As a kindness, she offered me an upgrade to the new Chelsea Lounge, even though I wasn't on a long haul that counted for admission nor am I CK. I thanked her profusely for the opportunity to go relax a little bit and prepare for travel in a nice environment. Once there, I was able to check with the lounge agents in there about the flight; they said they'd actually be announcing that one as several people were also trying to get out on it and were also concerned. Ten minutes before initial board time, I got ready to walk to the gate (once again at the farthest possible reach in Terminal 8), but stopped by the desk before going to ask if boarding had truly commenced (I'd had no alert on the app, and the departure time had suddenly started a clock creep again, another 5 minutes). The agent tried to call down but didn't get an answer; two other passengers on that flight were also checking in. He told us he'd announce it as soon as boarding did start. I sat down at the bar to wait, gearing myself up to walk the route again (I have a foot injury and just got out of having worn a walking boot for six weeks last month). Just as I hit the elevator, the push notice came over app that boarding had commenced, 20 minutes after normal board time. About four other passengers and I started booking it over to the gate, and the lounge agent made the call over the loudspeaker for anyone else still there as we started down. Getting to the departing flight necessitated traversing the tunnel and then two moving walkways, as those of you who know JFK already know, but we all made it in very quick time; we arrived at the gate en masse ten minutes later. To my horror, as we closed in on the gate in a group, I could see someone in heated discussion with the gate agent and the sign on the gate board itself, reading, "FLIGHT CLOSED." That's right, within the minutes from the boarding commencement announcement and time it took for us to walk to the gate at a rapid clip, the entire flight had been boarded and the gate agent refused us all boarding. To their credit, and mine, everyone reacted with shock but with due respect and politeness. The gate agent, [let's call her "Louise"], was already in a high state of agitation and not interested in offering any kind of explanation, other than to repeat rudely and loudly that it was "YOUR RESPONSIBILITY" to have been at the gate for proper boarding. At that point, I noted that the flight was an hour and a half late, and had started being delayed again, so it was hard to know what was meant by that. She showed no compassion, including when I calmly explained to her that I'd been trying to leave New York since Saturday and that this was my third flight, and that we knew that there was no availability in any class on any other flights tonight. She again answered with hostility and anger, and then told us that she'd already given away our seats and continued to berate us for relying on the lounge staff, telling us to go take it up with them and not with her. I doubted those other colleagues of hers would relish her sending everyone back to them, when they'd done nothing wrong, but there you have it. That's how "Louise" chose to handle it.

At that point, I turned on my heel and marched the hell out of there, after telling Louise that I and everyone else had been cordial and polite with her, to which she replied, "No, you have not!" She hadn't yet seen impolite, but as I left the area, I couldn't help but express my disgust and displeasure and I'm not proud, but I had been pushed to the brink and I think maintaining total composure to that point, as I had since Saturday, was pretty impressive. And I can assure you that everyone who'd been disallowed boarding tonight knew how to behave at the airport; everyone there was a status-holding American FF traveling on Business or Flagship First. It wasn't our first rodeo. And probably not the crowd to do this to. Rather than go back to the lounges, I made my way all the way back to the curbside Departures hall, and re-entered the First/Business departure counter. I scanned the room but didn't see the woman, "Bonnie," who had been so kind when I'd checked in, but another gentleman began to assist me, and when I asked for her by name, and then started telling him what had just gone down, he said, "Wait one sec," got on the phone and called her in the back office and asked her to come back in. That's how much of a hot mess this was. As soon as she entered back to the counter areas and saw me, she said, "Oh my God, what are you DOING here?!" When I started explaining it, both she and her colleague -- each a supervisor in customer service -- jumped into problem-solving mode. They quickly got me onto a JetBlue direct flight, in their first class, and, rather than try to get myself over to the other terminal and through security yet again, "Bonnie" ESCORTED ME through the TSA Pre security in the American terminal, then RODE WITH ME on the employee bus between terminals 8 and 5. It wasn't until I was well on my way to the gate, already about to board, that we parted ways with a hug and with my most profound thanks. I'm not ashamed to admit that, when" Bonnie" had come back in from the back office to assist me with this situation and asked me what on earth was going on, I broke down in tears for the first time since all of this started. I've been wearing the same outfit since Saturday. I've spent probably about $600 in cab fare back and forth between JFK and Manhattan over the course of this ordeal. I'm on my fourth flight since the start of this.

I'll be sending in a letter to American, lauding the patience, skills, and compassion that "Bonnie," her colleague, and all the First/Business Departures staff demonstrated. I'll also be sharing the utter lack of skills, compassion, and patience that "Louise" displayed. One of these people is the kind that wins business for American. The other...well. There were MANY ways that "Louise" could have handled the situation. At every pass, she showed an utter lack of judgment and care -- the kind that does profound and unresolvable damage to a brand, and brings colleagues and coworkers down, to boot. She knew I she was stranding four or five people at least (don't know if there were more trailing behind or what) and she frankly didn't give a damn. I'll remember both experiences for a long time. Coda: when I got securely boarded on the JetBlue flight tonight and began chatting with the FA who asked me how it was going, I gave her the very abbreviated version of this story. But when I told her how "Bonnie" had gone so far to see me through, it brought tears to her eyes. She knew what it all meant and how much had gone into that extra bit of care and thoughtfulness, problem-solving and kindness. Airline workers are underresourced, underpaid, overworked and often treated like trash by the public. My approach is always to try to work with and through the obstacles, with gratitude and a good attitude. Encountering those who were willing to help me tonight gives me faith that this is still the right way. I wish others wouldn't take out their frustrations on those who don't warrant it. I'm just trying to get home.