It Must Stink to Work For American or United Airlines

It must be horrible to work for American or United Airlines.  Every carrier had flight delays in Dallas, Texas due to tornado warnings.  I called American Airlines a day before my flight and asked them to re-route us. All the reservations agent had to do was book us on another flight headed anywhere but through Dallas.  What I got from her was ‘I’m sorry, I am not permitted to respond in that area.’   The airlines would rather fly my wife and I into a known problem and leave us disappointed than move us to another flight or airline.  I got face to face with the gate agent in Louisiana.  He said AA is terrible at routing around problems.

We drove to Houston, and AA got us a flight with United.  We wanted to fly from Houston to our home in San Diego.  Instead, United wanted to route us through San Francisco, even though the direct flight left earlier with empty seats.  There was a re-booking charge to change to the earlier flight.  I paid the extra 75 dollars per seat to save us hours and the airlines some money.

This is stupid. It is clear that American and United don’t trust their employees to handle problems as they arise.  So, I turn to you to learn more.  Which airline empowers its employees to satisfy the customer?
~_~_

Rob