I find this story to be interesting on a couple of levels, beyond what meets the eye. I also can’t help but wonder about the circumstances that caused this…
Frustrated American Executive Platinum finds condom in seat
A top tier American AAdvantage Executive Platinum member has posted in the American Airlines Complaint Group on Facebook (which he joined the same day he posted), to share an unfortunate recent experience. Here’s how he describes it, along with the pictures:
Been a loyal million-miler for over 20 years, definitely have felt a decline in service and quality but my flight Thursday from PHX to ELP takes the cake. A used condom and wrapper in the seat, i snapped a picture of the wrapper but the FA got the condom itself away before my picture. I’ve never been in a situation like this and could use some advice. I spoke to a supervisor at PHX but she didn’t apologize or seem to care. Just wanted a picture of my picture. I emailed customer service and you are seeing their response. Any advice on what to do here is appreciated.
When he contacted American after the fact, here’s how customer relations responded:
Given the onboard standards that we have for our aircraft, I can understand your disappointment with your uncleaned seat on flight AA3835. I regret that your flight wasn’t enjoyable due to this. That’s not at all the kind of experience we want you to have with us, however, I am glad to read that you were proactive and notified the flight attendant and gate agent upon landing in El Paso.
Please be assured that we take all of our customers’ concerns and feedback seriously. The comments that you shared with me today will be made available to our leadership team in Phoenix for further review and will be used to refine and update our practices. We want our customer journey to be the best in the industry, and we thank you for giving us the opportunity to drive change.
My take on this American Airlines condom incident
I have so many thoughts and questions… where do we even begin? First of all, he claims the condom was “used.” Was it used in the sense that it was unwrapped and unrolled, or used as in the sense that… well, you know?
I’m not sure what would possess someone to place a condom between seat cushions. I have a hard time believing anyone was having “relations” that warrant protection in a standard economy seat on a short 50-minute domestic flight, but who knows.
I can’t help but wonder if this was a prank of sorts from a previous passenger, who thoughts it would be funny? That of course assumes this guy is telling the truth, and he didn’t plant it there. I’m inclined to believe him, given that he’s a long time American customer, and this seems like a rather unusual thing to stage.
Some might wonder how the crew didn’t catch this before the flight. Well, that part doesn’t surprise me at all. This was a very short regional jet flight, and it’s not like there’s any sort of thorough cleaning that happens between flights. The condom was wedged between seats deep enough that I can see how this wouldn’t get caught, especially with the potential positioning of the seatbelt.
Then there’s the topic of the customer service response. Obviously this response is AI generated, though it’s interesting how a top tier elite isn’t offered any sort of compensation for this finding. Not that you should expect some massive bounty for this, but some gesture of goodwill seems appropriate.
Lastly, I have to say that I find the response on Facebook to be interesting, especially in a group that’s specifically about complaining on one particular airline. A large percentage of commenters are basically gaslighting him into thinking this is no big deal at all.
I’m not suggesting this this requires national attention, or that he deserves a million dollars in compensation. However, this is among the more disgusting things that someone could find at a seat, and I think a passenger has a right to find this to be rather horrifying, even if I can make sense of how it happened.
Bottom line
An American Airlines passenger made an unpleasant discovery upon boarding a short flight, as he reportedly found a used condom wedged between seats, which the crew removed with gloves. Unfortunately he hasn’t been very happy with the response from the airline — first the supervisor reportedly “didn’t care,” and then when he emailed customer relations, he received an AI response with no offer of compensation.
I have to say, this is a rather unpleasant, and unusual, discovery to make on a plane.
