“I’m Going To Drop Your Reservation!” American Airlines Gate Agent Had Enough Of Pesky Family

A family thought it was holding an American Airlines gate agent accountable at Los Angeles International Airport, but really just made the situation worse after appearing to arrive late to board their flight to Chicago. Even so, I have compassion for the family and can relate to what happened…

Christmas Cancelled: American Airlines Gate Agent Threatens To Cancel Reservation At LAX After Family Shows Up At Last Minute To Board

Video posted on X shows a family being turned away from the gate at LAX for their American Airlines flight to Chicago on December 22, 2024. They were told they were too late and were directed to a customer service desk for rebooking. The family was on AA1598, which leaves at 7:45 am, and were at the gate at 7:32 am, per their own video.

@AmericanAir @PeteButtigieg
American is not working with me on DM for a refund as they are claiming on the public messages. See the below video as the employee threatened us with canceling our holiday trip based on me taking a photo of the gate departure video to document. pic.twitter.com/ju3ZDA72ti

— Dan Fillinger (@dan_fillinger) December 21, 2024

I do understand the optics looked bad. As they were told they were too late to board, there were two standby passengers who walked onto the plane. But AA clearly states that “boarding ends 15 minutes before departure.” It appears the family was late, period. Is is at that 15-minute mark that seats are released and standbys cleared, allowing them to board and still get the flight out on time.

A confession. I recently flew on American Airlines from Los Angeles to Boston and there was a last-minute gate change from 48 to 54. For those who are familiar with LAX, that is a terminal change and requires taking an underground tunnel to the adjacent terminal.

I was hanging out in the Flagship Lounge and noticed…with 20 minutes prior to departure…that I was now flying out of a different terminal. So I ran…and ran…and ran. It still took eight minutes to get to the gate (a record, I suspect), but I made 12 minutes before departure…and I was very afraid that my seat had already been given up.

Thankfully, it was not…but I should have been paying closer attention…you’ve got to be onboard or at least in the gate area 15 minutes prior to departure. I’m so thankful that I was not bumped off the flight!

Turns out, the SAME thing happened to this family:

@AmericanAir
This was at LAX. Our printed boarding passes showed departure at terminal 5 and the flight was changed to terminal 4, causing us to hustle over to terminal 4. Still made it to the gate just before the 15 minute cutoff, was still denied boarding.

— Dan Fillinger (@dan_fillinger) December 22, 2024

If the gate was changed at the very last minute, I have great sympathy for the family.

Even so, I think the agent did pretty well…I know he got a little impatient at the end when the phone was shoved in his face and made up a policy that does not exist about employees being photographed (you are allowed to…), but it does appear the family *just* missed the cut-off.

(The family claims they were there 15 minutes before…if so, then this is a different matter)

The lesson here is to check the AA app or departures monitor early and often…gate changes are a common occurrence at LAX and other AA stations.

I hope the family made it to their destination for Christmas…

Hat Tip: View From The Wing