I just saw a commercial (for DHL) with the motif, "Where has customer service gone?" It was hilarious, and reminded me of this thread. I'm glad to see that you got a satisfactory (if not stellar) resolution to the issue. And it seems you've gotten a few new fans, too.
I hope AA is able to do something (anything) that helps retain a loyal customer - and it's not like you're asking for much other than a statement of "we care" from somebody in a position to make a difference to you.
Loyalty seems to be a fading concept, be it between company and customer, company and employees, or what have you. My own experience in recent times of granting my loyalty to a company (as employee) was paid off by being let go during the first round of (unnecessary) layoffs. I hope your experience turns out better than mine.
Oh, and for the record... hmm, let's see, it's Saturday now, I'm betting that since Google got hold of this your email will escalate by about Tuesday, so I'll go for a Wednesday response. 7 days, 9 hours. If you don't get one by Thursday, I'm thinking you never will.