Subject: Formal Complaint – Incompetent Service and Denied Boarding on Flight 1409 (CLSVJM – Dear Alaska Airlines Customer Relations, I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding my experience on Flight 1409 departing from Seattle on 6/13/26. As a physician and business owner who frequently coordinates group travel, this was one of the worst airline experiences I have encountered. Upon arrival, I was informed that my check-in boarding pass was not official, despite successfully obtaining it electronically through your website/app with no warnings or indications of issues. My electronic boarding pass was rejected, leading to cancellation/denial of boarding. The gate agent (an older woman) was unhelpful, claimed my name had been announced multiple times (which it had not—she did not even know my name correctly), and mistakenly boarded my traveling companion under my name. Additionally, an older blonde staff member nearly failed to return my passport, highlighting a clear lack of training on your check-in and boarding systems. This chaos forced me onto a later flight while my group waited in Canada, unable to check into our Airbnb or pick up rental cars (as I was the primary booker). The entire incident caused significant business disruption, stress, and additional expenses. I have flown Alaska Airlines previously but will not consider it again without resolution. I request: • Full reimbursement of any additional costs incurred. • Appropriate compensation (vouchers/miles) for the inconvenience and poor service. • Confirmation of corrective actions for Please respond within 7-10 business days. Sincerely, Dr. Chunwen Teng
Never had so many staff members be rude and disrespectful. I had a staff member sarcastically call me “girly” after making me wait 20 minutes to be seen by her. I was able to print my luggage tag and she told me I was too late to check luggage I said the system obviously disagrees. And you had me wait way too long while you asked every single passenger ahead of me about their Disney vacations. She wasted so much time to then say “girly your bag won’t make it on the plane” I’m not her girly I’m a full grown adult. She needs to learn a hell of a lot of respect
The agents were super helpful. I was traveling with my mother inlaw who needed whell chair assisstance. The help and accomodation from the checkin crew, to the boarding crew and inflight crew was excellent.
Completely full flight. Boarding was smooth, but people didn’t listen about use of overhead bins which is typical. We pre-purchased a snack which was tasty. Drinks were good and plentiful. Flight left late because previous flight was delayed.
Eva Airlines attendants were wonderful. I really enjoyed the hot meals. They always greeted me with a warm smile. I'm looking forward to flying back to the USA with them again!
Flight maintenance was on so that flight didn’t go able to fly out to Seattle and Inhad to get another flight,,
3 of the 4 legs of our trip the crews were awesome! 1 leg the trip attendants were rude & dismissive, didn't even greet us when boarding even though both myself & my husband said hello directly to them when we boarded.
Well organized boarding. Cabin crew were efficient and professional. Thoroughly enjoyed the flight.
The first flight was fine, great crew, but the plane was delayed 45 minutes to go to Seattle because of they were missing a ramp. That would make sense if the plane was actually at the gate. Not if we’re still waiting for a plane. After we landed we waited 30-45 minutes on the tarmac just to get off the plane. Alaska made me miss my connecting flight, wasting my time, and my money. I should honestly be reimbursed, but hey, when does the airline ever actually take accountability? Never.
Everyone from the ticket counter to the stewards were so accommodating and helpful
Flight was delayed over 3 hours. Planes were dirty. Staff indifferent. And they serve vegan pretzels as snacks.
It was great. The gate staff were very helpful in Portland when my son forgot his rolling bag and had to go back to get it just in time to make it on the plane. We really appreciate that. Great job!
Airline is not very senior friendly. Flights are late, forcing us to run to the connecting flight. Food is awful. Wish they would go back to pretzels and peanuts. During flight, pressurization isn’t quite right and all of our ears get plugged. Everything is nickel and dime, charging for boarding, seat selection and legroom. While a screen at the desk in the gate area says check your roll on bag now for free due to space limitation, the employee at the desk will not check the bag without a $100 fee. Insane.
Kayak could’ve posted the correct gate number. Almost missed my flight.
Slow boarding, limited food and drink portions. Bad delays and turbulence
there were two flight attendants that were up front...that were the best! They get KUDOs for making my trip only fantastic. Tell them Jeff said that!
OKay. I sat in the back of the plane and it was really loud between babies and little kids, and adults who.like to talk a lot and loudly most of the flight.
Flight coming out of Buffalo was delayed, so we had to be rescheduled on another flight from Baltimore to Phoenix which means we had a long layover and got home 3.5 hours late. Shuttle to parking stopped at 10pm, so we had to pay for an Uber to the parking lot and got charged an extra day of parking since it was after midnight. Not the best experience. Long day!
Was fine, delayed and feels like southwest is always late
I don't know why flying out of Sarasota requires two plane changes.
Gate agent showed up 20 minutes before boarding and was not at all friendly. Had to take this flight due to the one on the day before being cancelled and any later options were already full with long standby lists. Despite having paid for Delta Comfort seats, Delta did not allow me (or anyone) to choose their seat. The agent assigned them for everyone just prior to boarding. Self seat selection was allowed on the original flight. Flight staff was great - very friendly.
Two delays on two separate planes with parts they could not easily find and replace.
Checkin was good, fllight ws good. Onlly complaint is lack of foot on 6 hour flight from Seattle to Boston. Snacks were flimsy - chips and cookies. could have offered something more substantial for such a long flight. I know you can buy food in airport but for the price you pay for a ticket, they should step up for the passengers.
My service light was on 15 minutes before I had to get up and find a glass of ice. And I was in business class. The meals were not for either my wife and I. She did not eat the entire 10 hour flight and I managed a bowl of soup. I was expecting much more from business with what we paid.
Much better than I expected. I had an economy ticket so I was really happy the flight was so comfy and the service so generous. Passengers were all polite too.
The agent at check in and at the gate were less than thrilled to be at work. I'm not a fan of Kayak's placement on the plane. I got put in the middle seat and none of my preferences were used.
My business class seat was inoperable and unable to recline for 10 hour flight.
Flight was delayed, we could have been notified earlier and in a consistent manner. App was not refreshing for another passenger to get the latest flight status. We could have stayed and waited at the hotel instead of waiting at the airport had we known the flight was going to delayed for more than 5 hours. The toilet is too tight, and needs to be cleaned more frequently (every hour). The entertainment screen froze, the touch screen not responding to touch. We were upgraded to comfort, it is more comfortable than regular economy seats.
Crew was nice, meal was good. Entertainment had to be rebooted 3 times and still did not work. Turns out there was residue on screen, it needed to be cleaned to prevent the touchscreen buttons from continuously activating. I had entertainment for the last 45 minutes of a 5 hour 45 minute flight. Really unacceptable for first class. Flight attendent indicated your cleaning solution creates this problem. Seems as if this is widely known, you should be using a different product or cleaning better. Really really disappointing which simply added to the wi fi on your planes with reliably never ever works.
Landed without a gate ready. Plane is extremely old and dirty.
Checking bag at terminal was horrible. No agents to check us in and only 1 kiosk working. Boarding went ok. Crew onboard was very scattered rained. Missed our row while serving and then didn’t see them hardly again.
Crew was amazing, takeoff wonderful. The bathroom was disgusting from before takeoff the odor made the flight uncomfortable as you could smell the bathroom from the center of the plane where we were sitting. Smelled like raw sewage. My daughter was throwing up as we landed due to the smell and horrible turbulence as we approached Newark.
Airline tickets are not cheap. You expect reliable competent service. Thanks to canceled flights and botched transfers we arrived at our destination two days late. This is not acceptable
Horrible! Several delays and then was cancelled! I spent over 24 hours in the airport and was unable to get a hotel or food voucher.
The entertainment is a bit limited, it would be better if they added some games to play besides the movies and tv shows. But the seats are comfortable and the crew is polite
This planes staff was top tier. Everything went great and had a great flight home.
Food was great. Staff was phenomenal. Seats were a bit hard and could use a lot more entertainment options as far as movies to choose from. WiFi was good. Overall great trip.
This was an overnight flight, and in the morning they did know coffee service. How you can throw passengers in a San Francisco airport at 5:40 a.m. in the morning and not giving them Coffee is a crime.
Our flight was delayed several Times due to mechanical issues. Although I understand this may happen at times, it was very inconvenient and we had to book a hotel for an overnight stay. We were traveling with my 3-yo grandson and waiting at the airport from noon until 6:30pm with no reassurance that our next rescheduled flight would depart, we had to decide what’s best for him. A day later, I found out that I may be able to demand compensation if my flight is delayed more than 4 hours. I will hav to read the fine print next time.
Flight cancelled instead of leaving Friday am now, maybe, leaving Sunday
The flight was delayed significantly and we sat on runway after landing for awhile. Best thing was the flight attendant, Jenny, in first class, who was very professional and attentive. She was excellent - the rest of the flight was not.
Awfully rude American worker at door when we started boarding flight. Then, walk into a blazing hot airplane with no air conditioning until twenty minutes into the flight. Free entertainment was non existent! My husband, along with the fellow passenger in our row, and I could not get entertainment to work, no WIFI! Really?? Been flying American a long time. Was very disappointed.
Flight was delayed 5 hours. Initial reason for delay was 'maintenance' - which makes sense. Then, the additional 2 hours continued to say it was maintenance - when I know EWR had a 2 hour delay. AA did not say that. Additionally, when boarding, there was only one agent at the counter for a long time - until another came to help. After boarding, we had to wait another 45 minutes due to 'no catering'. So while we waited for catering, AA continued to board additional passengers - which seemed odd - and raised questions about what really was going on. I sat in First Class. During the flight, the flight crew allowed a significant number of non-First Class passengers to use the front bathroom - which created a very crowded environment in First Class which was uncomfortable. This also delayed First Class passengers from using the bathroom. Overall, horrible experience.
The gate experience at LAX was abysmal (same for the arrival experience two days prior). Despite the LAX -> SAT schedule of two flights daily, our departure gate was at a smaller hub that we had to be bussed to from Terminal 4. Fortunately, I arrived at LAX extra early and had time to spare, but if I had not known, I might have missed my flight. I looked at the LAX airport map in the AA app and there was no indication of the additional boarding process. Lastly the gate area we were bussed to was crowded with limited food and beverage options. On flight, the fight attendant was hospitable and attentive, the flight was smooth, and AA's free (and working) wifi for AA members were all on the positive side.
The flight from LA to Chicago was smooth and service was very good overall.
On time departure and early arrival. Flight attendant very nice.
American delayed the flight for a crew rest period. The delay occurred late in the evening - the earliest i can find is 10:20 pm. With a 6 am flight anyone on the flight would have already have been asleep (unless you are insane, a vampire or on drugs) and at least for me i was already on the way to the airport at 445 am the next morning when i discovered they delayed the flight until 9 am. Given the incoming flight was in the air at 6 pm the evening before this should have been figured out a lot more timely that was there only crew to use. Just frustrating given there is no consideration for customer experience anymore in flying.
The "on the ground" A/C was not working. It was so hot while waiting to get in the air, a passenger from the rear of the plan declared "I just can't!" and waited in the gangway until time to close the doors. It was miserable. But the crew were champs and had an amazing attitude. I know they were as miserable as we were but didn't let that affect their performance.
The captain announced to the cabin there would be a delay because they observed a "cut" on a tire during precheck that needed to be cleared by maintenance. We were delayed during this inspection and allowed to proceed after maintenance "measured the cut and decided it was acceptable". My complaint is not about the delay or due diligence. I wish the captain had been more generic when making his announcement. I was a nervous wreck all the way to Charlotte worried that we would have a blowout when landing!
American Airlines is a miserable experience. It is predictably miserable, in the sense that every time I fly American, I brace myself for the certainty that it will be unpleasant and uncomfortable. But it is unpredictable in the sense that I never know if the flight will be on time or delayed nine hours (both happened to me this week). I never know if I will be able to sit in the seat that I selected when I purchased the ticket or if I will be told by Customer Service (!!!) that I must relocate from first class to a seat in the back of the aircraft with no explanation (both happened to me this week). Will the food be frozen and half defrosted, or scalding hot? Will the drinks be warm? Will the flight attendants be surly and mean? Will the toilets be cramped and foul? Will the seats be narrow and uncomfortable? Will there be a real electric outlet at the seat, or just an unreliable USB-2 port? Will there be enough seats in the boarding lounge or just a few? Will the boarding process be smooth and efficient, or will the gate agents mess it up and delay it needlessly for 30 or 40 minutes? Will the catering and cleaning crew be prompt or will they take an extra 30 minutes? Will the brakes on the aircraft work properly, or will the pilot delay takeoff for four hours while the ground crew attends to what can only be described as routine maintenance that should have been done the night before? I've eexperienced every one of these unpleasant things this year, 2026. The only thing I can reliably count on is that American will find a new way to make the experience of flying as miserable as they possibly can.
