TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Just sent a letter of complements to AA

I have made no secret of the fact that wheelchair service in Miami, arriving from SXM, has been the absolute PITS in the past. As I noted yesterday, this time, it was EXCELLENT.

There was actually a wheelchair porter there on the jetway when we arrived. She took us all the way through immigration, baggage claim and delivered us outside by the departures area, to meet our Park & Fly guy. We basically almost never stopped moving until we exited the terminal, except for being the third person in the special wheelchair line. I did not pay attention to the lady's name, but she was wonderful, very considerate and caring. I just sent AA a note regarding the same, and hoping they will be able to track her down from my information and commend her for her good work!

Love to hear it. You two set a great example--I need to take more time to recognize excellent service like that.

Oh I am the first to whine if the service is bad, and have done so incessantly about the wheelchair service in Miami in the past. So I wanted to make sure I commend the good service we received this time.

I did mention to them also that we received excellent service in St. Maarten--as we have done every single time there.

AA did us good after we returned from SXM with canceled and delayed flights home. Won't go into the details of the flights but they gave us each 7500 miles, credited the difference in miles from FC to economy and also refunded all ticket fees and taxes to credit card we paid with. I was pleased with that.

Glad to hear that, as I know you were disappointed to lose your FC seats.

Always good to recognize good to excellent service. Sadly, it is not the norm anymore.

I will say, AA surprised me with the compensation for the debacle I had getting to SXM in March. Glad I used the miles right away.

Agreed, we need to complement as loudly as we complain. I often forget that.

Glad that you were able to use those miles.

We had a similar positive experience with AA, less than one month ago.

Due to an accident in Grenada, Caribbean, my wife and I flew from Grenada to Miami to Denver and requested a wheelchair after each flight.

AA in Grenada called us to board the plane before anyone else, based on me needing a wheelchair in Miami.

In Miami, the wheelchair was waiting as we walked off the plane. The lady propelling the chair pushed me nearly a mile, up and down ramps, to Customs/Immigration (Global Entry), helped the scanner read my face, pushed me to baggage claim, grabbed a porter to get our bags off the carousel, put our bags on the connecting flight and then off we went to clear security in Miami again.

The lady took a back way to security, avoiding the massive lines, where the security officer gave us two passes (to avoid taking anything out of our bags or taking shoes off, etc.).

The nice lady quikly whisked us out of security and deposited us at the AA gate for Denver.

Her name is Margarita and she was from Cuba. She definitely deserved the tip I gave her!

It was an unbelievable, fantastic experience with Margarita, AA, Customs/Immigration and Homeland Security in Miami.

Thanks for that note. I just wish I had been smart enough to get our lady's name. I hope that you also sent AA a note praising her help.

Do the wheelchair people actually work for the airlines? I always assumed they were a third party company contracted by the airline.

Airlines contract out everything that they can, including wheelchair service. Still, a compliment regarding a wheelchair vendor’s service may have value, if only as a (small) point in their favor at contract renewal time.

I actually don't know for sure, but regardless, ultimately, they are responsible.

Very good for you Folks and also good to hear this too.
NB : For Carol's expericence .

Yes, a letter to AA to compliment the service is in order as is a very generous tip to the person providing the wheel chair service. In my travels I have often witnessed folks merely thanking the individual but not providing a monetary thank you. I am thinking that "the tip" is a large part of the worker compensation, like a server or bartender.....

Yes, certainly we did tip her, as we tip all the wheelchair helpers. I would hope that others do the same.

The tipping comment had me chuckle. Every years we travel to St. Maarten with my parents who are now both 91. Last year, we had our tip ready to go when we arrived at the airport. We bring our own transport chairs for them, it's easier not having to potentially wait around for a chair. The helpers were at our side as soon as we exited the taxi at JFK. By the time we reached the gate after receiving the most amazing service, we increased the tip five times! The helpers in St. Maarten were also very attentive and provided excellent service to us! So appreciative of the work they do!

Glad to hear something went right in Miami, used to fly to SXM through there all the time but as you said it hasn’t been good , , for us it’s been the last 10 years so we try to avoid it maybe there is hope . The distance to the pass port clearance and the baggage claim and going through inspection makes it a difficult airport returning from out of the country to make a connecting flight here’s hoping 🤞

Yes, it is a LONG way to passport control. And the moving walkways AND the escalators were not working.

"And the moving walkways AND the escalators were not working."
Same here when we returned through MIA June 4th. Nor were the elevators operational. How does that work with a wheelchair?

That is ridiculous, that they have not been operating for basically a whole month. The elevators WERE operational, thank goodness. I have no idea what happens if the elevators aren't working, with wheelchairs.

hopefully SXM routes don't become rife with "miracle flights"

IslandBoi--sorry???

Excuse my ignorance but what is a "miracle flight"?

term used by flight attendants describing scenario where people claim they need a wheelchair, but as soon as they bypass the long security line and/or get pre-boarded on the plane, are suddenly miraculously healed of mobility impairments

Ah, ok, I think I'm insulted, but whatever.

why would you be insulted?...i am not implying no one needs a wheelchair...just that there will always be those who take advantage of a perceived loophole

OK.

In defense of IslandBoi’s comment, I have seen this exact situation on several occasions, both before and since my personal need for the service arose.

In one case in particular, the lines at JFK were horrendous and a young woman said, loud enough for us to hear her, “Watch this,” at which point she snagged an empty wheelchair in the immigration hall and managed to go to the head of the line.

There will always be those who do try to scam the system but I’m personally inclined to believe the innate goodness in most people will preclude them from doing this and possibly denying or at least delaying the service for one who really needs it.

All that said, I’m really glad AA at MIA has improved the situation there since our last trip through that airport was a minor nightmare, and major Kudos to Carol for complementing the wc attendant to the airline.

Pat--OK, I personally haven't seen that, but I know it exists. People always try to scam the system.

I swear I wasn't scamming the system (I'm in my 30's and still in good shape lol), but I did get wheelchair service a few years ago because I passed out in the security line. It was super hot (I was a bit dehydrated) and I got a bit woozy and just passed out for a moment, next thing I knew I was surrounded by TSA and paramedics - after confirming I wasn't pregnant lol, they let me go ahead but in a wheel chair. So I was a bit embarrassed to get to the gate and then just stand up and walk on the plane lol.

And sadly, I have witnessed this, including by an island business owner among others.

Hard to believe. LOL