American Airlines reportedly sent a redeye flight from Los Angeles to New York on February 2 without working electrical systems. There was only emergency lighting in the cabin. Flight attendants couldn’t prepare food in the galley of the cross country flight, and business and first class seats didn’t have power so could not recline.

According to a passenger who reported on FlyerTalk.com that they were seated in first class seat 3F, “The cabin exit strips and the emergency light in toilets were illuminated [but] toilets did not flush.”

Cross country flight AA28, scheduled to depart at 10:47 p.m. and land at New York JFK at 7:00 a.m. the next morning, is operated by American’s premium Airbus A321T, a product that is beginning the process of being eliminated. It has coach, business class, and a Flagship First Class seat as well.

American Airlines A321T Flagship First Class

Passengers in Flagship First Class – something no other U.S. airline offers – were given “no food, 1 cocktail.” Flight attendants tried to perform service but their “flashlights were running out of power” as the flight progressed.

But the lack of food even in first and business class, and an inability to recline into the bed that American had promised to customers, was the least of passenger concerns: “Toilets were disgusting people were peeing in the sinks since they drain.” (I imagine those sinks looked like the ones on this Delhi flight.)

American Airlines A321T Business Class

I was somewhat skeptical of the story at first, because the aircraft in question appears to have spent less than two hours on the ground in New York before flying Westbound to Orange County and wasn’t hasn’t spent significant time out of service. However I reached out to American Airlines more than day ago about the incident and haven’t heard back. I will update this post if they respond.

It seems strange to me for American Airlines to make the decision to proceed with the flight without power in the cabin, no meals, no reclining premium seats. Every customer in a premium cabin should get their money back, since they did not receive the product that was sold to them (and if they were in business they they did not just buy “transportation from A to B”).

Delay the flight for a fix, or if not possible in a reasonable time announce to passengers:

• We need to operate this aircraft to New York
  
• As a courtesy we will permit you to travel in your assigned seat
  
• However if you opt not to, this is essentially an involuntary denied boarding
  
• We will provide you lodging and meals for the night as well as rebooking options

American Airlines A321T At New York JFK

American Airlines has flown New York to Chicago without a lavatory before but passengers knew in advance they’d have to hold it for the duration of the trip. (On a flight to Hawaii, American told passengers to go in a bottle when the lavatories became inoperable.)

On the other hand, an American flight from New York to London turned back when only four of the plane’s 12 lavatories went inoperative on the argument that passengers congregating for the remaining lavatories was becoming a security risk.

Apparently passengers on the Los Angeles – New York redeye did not receive any proactive apology message or compensation from the airline.