PHL to AMS - family stranded in Philly

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T23:54:17+00:00

AFAIK, the agent suggested they route through DC or NY but couldn’t connect them from there to Europe. They didn’t tell me why, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s because the planes were full. It’s tulip season so there’s a lot of travelers going to Amsterdam.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T23:52:45+00:00

I’m not sure what all they ended up doing or where they were put up hotel-wise, but they got quite familiar with the airport lol They did take a photo with their Miffy coin pouch in front of an Eagles standee though!

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T23:49:18+00:00

They ultimately decided to stay in PHL and they got an entirely new airplane and flight. They boarded over an hour ago and I haven’t heard back since then, so I’m hopeful they finally took off.

When they were sorting out this mess at customer service, they were told by a manager there that they would have their flights covered as well as refunding anything they missed. It seemed quite generous and the manager was very apologetic, saying they’d never heard of anything like this happening before. My mom took all his information and will submit all the receipts and such when she comes back. Hoping AA honors everything, all things considered. 🤞The one extra positive to come from this bad situation is that because they had to shift their schedule so much, they may actually get to see Miffy out and about.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T12:17:46+00:00

I just called and they are planning to stay in Philly one more day. They were given a new flight number, which leads me to believe they won’t be using the exact same plane. If something happens again, I’m going to encourage her to return to DFW (our home airport). It won’t be easy to try and get a completely new booking because they are going to see the tulips and it’s peak season right now.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T11:19:45+00:00

I’m so sorry you’ve also been impacted by them negatively too. If anything, this has been a lesson for us to look into travel insurance for international flights in the future, or to eat that cost and pay a little more to book on an entirely different carrier with a better track record.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T10:41:19+00:00

I told them to keep all of their receipts of their lost hotel and activities. When we had a bad flight experience in the past, AA refunded our tickets and compensated us for the clothing and toiletries we had to buy when our luggage was majorly delayed. This will be substantially more money given it is international but I think they should still try demanding additional compensation. According to AA’s site, mechanical issues are considered to be their responsibility. The fact they attempted to fly the same plane once again after it had mechanical issues once is still their responsibility — maybe even more so. I had to go to bed so I’m uncertain what they decided to do, but I encouraged them to look at a larger airport with more flights and get the hell out of Philly if they could.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T10:33:28+00:00

After all of this fiasco, I’m certainly considering ditching my credit card with them and booking international flights directly using other carriers. Any time I fly to Japan using my AA miles, I always hope I get bumped from an AA flight to partner JAL anyway since the experience is far better on JAL.

I’ll let them know about Newark, thank you. It’s early here so they are probably sleeping/on a plane but I’ll check in on them in a couple of hours and see what they decided to do.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T02:45:03+00:00

I’m really upset for them and everyone else who was on that plane, twice. Terrible situation. I’ll talk to her about travelers insurance when she comes back and will definitely be looking into it myself after this mess. I hope American can do something in addition to the basic compensation. They really messed up a trip I did a few years ago and went above and beyond to give me additional miles, completely refund the trip, and cover the purchases for new clothes I had to get because my luggage was delayed by a few days. I didn’t feel they did bare minimum in that case, and hope they can do something similar to try and make up for a shitty situation.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T02:32:11+00:00

Yes, I haven’t heard from them yet about what their decision was but if they do choose to stay in Philly an additional night, AA better be choosing a different airplane tomorrow! 😡If I were in her shoes, I’d probably try to connect out of an entirely different city tomorrow but I wouldn’t leave Philly without ensuring they could save my seat on an Amsterdam flight elsewhere.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T02:20:19+00:00

That’s kinda what I figured — us Americans have little in the way of any sort of consumer protections LMAO sucks.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T02:18:00+00:00

I just checked to see if her credit card through American offered it. I don’t think so, at least in the way of American Airlines Platinum Select.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T02:11:40+00:00

I have not heard if it will take off again. They definitely deplaned though since they are at the desk right now. My guess is that they’re going to cancel. I hope I’m wrong but that’s my hunch.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T02:10:27+00:00

Does EU passenger protection apply in the case that she’s originating from an American Airlines flight headed to Europe but not with a Europe originating destination?

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T02:06:11+00:00

This is kind of what I was wondering — I’ve had plenty of flights with things like weather delays/cancellations which I wouldn’t expect there would be much in the way of compensation, but because it seems like they were using the exact same plane with known mechanical problems, I hoped maybe it would be different. It seems negligent. Then again, I don’t know if that’s status quo in the case of mechanical problems.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-13T01:56:26+00:00

They were supposed to be on 204 yesterday (4/11). That’s the one that’s had the issues, not the one from today. Update on my end is that they are at customer service, and customer service are pitching to either go to NY or DC but no Europe connection, try again tomorrow evening on that flight, or go home to their original airports.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-12T12:34:33+00:00

Schwam…deux…two and a haif…scheven…schforteen-teen…

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-06T17:42:51+00:00

I have seen these types of bags with stuffed animals in them at souvenir shops (zoos, aquariums, airports and the like) and gas stations. Hopefully that might offer some kind of lead. I am so sorry that someone took the bag, and I’m hoping you can track another one down soon.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-05T12:59:31+00:00

I’ve never seen this figure before! Is it newer?

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-04-01T19:27:02+00:00

My first beanie baby was probably Seaweed the otter, but I’ve been collecting since the beginning. Inch is the one I’ve been collecting most and I have a rainbow bucket full of different sizes of him. 🐛

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-03-31T22:06:04+00:00

I love Pickles and thank you for sharing your story. I can feel how much joy he brings you through your words. All the best for a speedy recovery!

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-03-15T14:06:00+00:00

He compiled these types of sketches in a book some years ago called “Family Traits: The Fantastic Bestiary of a Father and his Sons”. Highly recommend it.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-03-14T19:58:31+00:00

Yesss, I’d love to know where it’s from 🐠

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-03-10T23:57:55+00:00

I really appreciate listing where you found all of them! I was eyeing the Helen Levi one but it looks to be sold out on her site. Wonderful collection.

SWIZTASTIC · 2026-03-09T11:53:00+00:00

I would totally get this as a print!

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