Programs: Aeroplan SE, AAdvantage, HHonors Gold, Mariott Silver, SPG Platinum, PC Platinum, Idine Elite
Posts: 2,875
Flights unavailable on AP website, agent refusing to waive booking fee
I would like a consolidated thread where we can list instances of reward flights being unavailable on the AP website, and the AP agent refusing to waive the booking fee.
I complained bitterly to both AC and AP about the last run around I had. (I wrote about it in the IKK thread.) I got an e-mail back from AP saying "sorry about that, happy it worked out for you in the end", but I told them that wasn't good enough. I was looking for a list of corrective actions to ensure this won't happen again.
There have been a few other complaints recently and I am sure there are plenty more. Can anyone who's had problems recently (let's say since the beginning of the year), please list their issues here. To be fair, if your flight wasn't available on the website, and you had no problems with the agent agreeing to waive the $30 booking fee, please record these instances as well.
As a result of my complaint, I got a call from a supervisor at AP which I plan to return some time this week. Would like to have as many documented cases as possible.
Last edited by margarita girl; Jul 5, 09 at 8:14 am.
Programs: Aeroplan SE, AAdvantage, HHonors Gold, Mariott Silver, SPG Platinum, PC Platinum, Idine Elite
Posts: 2,875
I'll go first!
I had the misfortune to have to use IKK at a 30% premium to book 3 DFW-YOW tickets a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately, the web site wasn't displaying any Priority tickets, so I called the AP SE line. Agent says he won't waive the booking fee unless authorized by Web Support. He transfers me to Web Support. The rep I spoke to was so clued out she never heard of IKK. She told me the tickets I wanted were available for 519K miles (173K miles/ticket) on the web site so NO, she would not authorize waiving the booking fee. (There was no reasoning with her. It was like an Abbott and Costello skit.) Got transferred back to Aeroplan. The AP agent once again says he won't waive the booking fee as Web Support did not approve it! After much pleading and cajoling, and explaining that Web Support doesn't even know what IKK is, he finally relented.
Programs: AC*SE; UA 1K; PCPlat/RoyalAmbassador; HyattGPDiamond; SPGGold;AirMilesGold
Posts: 26,080
I think this is a matter that will only be resolved when it is brought to the attention of both a senior AE VP and a similarly placed AC exec. On the one hand, AE has to know about the incompetence of some of its front line employees and particularly how out of touch the IT group is to the day-to-day functioning of the site and the special benefits elites are supposed to have. On the AC side, such irritants it brings to elites means that AE is alienating AC's best customers and under contract should be resolving the meeter.
The recent AE magazine identified their new Pres -- Rupert is now running AE plus the new non-Canadian operations so no longer the person to contact -- and I suppose Ben may be the point man at AC (as he seems to be genuinely concerned about how AE is operating on behalf of his customers).
Diddling around FT isn't going to get action, I'm afraid
I support Margarita Girl in her efforts to draw attention to this issue.Many here have had it to here(see top of my head) with the approach that AE has with ACs Elite customers.
I bought a "Z" class ticket To Germany for use later this month,a month ago.As an SE ,I wanted to use points to IKK Mrs.acysb87 on identical itinary.
Not only did it cost me an extra 30% for points,(flights in J are wide open yet not avaiable on website)the AE agent charged me a fee of $30.00 for a total of $369.45 for a so called free ticket.I gave AC over 2K for my ticket.
The 30% extra on points just Teez me off,the extra $30.00 on top of the 330.00 in fees just p!sses me off more.They may have stopped the nickle and dime stuff on AC flights,put AE is quartering and dollaring too much.
I am hoping to get a chance to raise these issues,and others,with Ben and others at AC.They give me the impression that they are trying to look after their Elite customers.Calin as much as said so at the conference I attended in Montreal last month
On June 19th, I booked a Z class rev ticket for YYZ-YVR-PVG (RT). For my business partner travelling LAX-YVR-PVG (RT), I was able to find the Priority Rewards (IKK) on the website but it would not let me book it in his name. There appears to be no provision for linking an AE booking to a revenue booking in order to qualify for the IKK (sharing an international segment). I didn't even bother to complain when I called in (I was short on time). The agent didn't even mention the $30 fee... "He just said your total taxes are $415.30" ($383.80 + $31.50).
It is this sort of crap from AC that has driven me away from them for nearly all of my travel. I travel at least 100K miles per year and have done so for over 10 years. This year I will mange for Elite only with AC, nothing more. My pet peve with AC/AE is the amount of "taxes" they charge on reward tickets (vs. revenue tickets), and ofcourse the 30% IKK premium. This is what finally drove me away from them.
I was booking a *A business-class reward on OZ and NH (HKG-ICN-KIX-HND), and AP.com wouldn't let me complete my booking.
After I called AP and they switched me over to Web Support, they confirmed that I couldn't book online. Switched back to AP and they completed my bookings for me. $0.00 fee, and $0.00 taxes (no AC metal, flight originating from HK - a free port). Nice.
I think I will avoid booking North America rewards with my AP miles, and focus on spending them in Asia.
I was booking a *A business-class reward on OZ and NH (HKG-ICN-KIX-HND), and AP.com wouldn't let me complete my booking.
After I called AP and they switched me over to Web Support, they confirmed that I couldn't book online. Switched back to AP and they completed my bookings for me. $0.00 fee, and $0.00 taxes (no AC metal, flight originating from HK - a free port). Nice.
I think I will avoid booking North America rewards with my AP miles, and focus on spending them in Asia.
My son recently booked a flight to Europe and back.Rather than fly AC metal outbound from YYZ,he booked on *A via UA to ORD and then MUC rather than on non-stop AC flight.Saved him hundreds of $'s,added 1 segment.
A sticky thread on how to use *A and avoid all the AE charges might sound prudent.
Programs: AC*SE, AA, M&M, SPG-P, Golden Circle Exec, HHonors
Posts: 852
I've had the same problem as well, including last week. I also posted on the 30% IKK raise thread about this issue. Worse, I've had issues getting seats at all because flights are "oversold" only to be not even close to oversold a day later. Sometimes it's not even clear they're oversold as lots of seats are open and it's showing 9's across the board on seatcounter for the flight. There is serious resistance to releasing seats for SEs and it's becoming extremely upsetting to me. All of this, and I have to pay $60 in booking and $90 in change fees because the website doesn't work and the seats that should be released are not being released.
I've been pretty successful in getting them to waive the fee, but haven't made a booking in a while. However, I listened recently as one of my work colleagues tried to book a flight to Florida that I helped her find (the flight she wanted was US through CLT that wasn't on the website).
It took about an hour of transfers between AE and Websupport and various supervisors each refusing to waive the fee. Finally the flights she wanted mysteriously showed up on the AE site and she booked it online.
In my experience the search engine has a built in bias to AC flights and will rarely show an all *G routing if there are any routings with AC segments. UA only routings show up sometimes, but you'll rarely find an all US routing. Including an AC segment is good to AC fuel surcharge collection, but if AE doesn't watch out this is prime fodder for another class action suit.
My advice is if you can't complete the booking online yourself, do not call AP reservations/main line, but call Web support. Seems AP reservations agents are genrally unsympathetic to anyone's plight, but Web support is. My guess is, the regular reservations agents ahve to do a lot internally to justify waiviing the fee, while Web support may have more leeway since they are specifically there to help those with problems with the Web site.
Well, I had similar problems, was trying to book a flight last week from YYZ-YZF on AC for YYZ-YEG and 7F from YEG-YZF. The plus was that having another airline in their dropped the fees by $30... but with the booking fee it doesn't change much! (At least there's a free meal on 7F)
The agent I was talking to and trying to work with to get the routing (as no 7F flights appear on AE's site) went on a long rant about it being a labour fee since they are doing the booking and that they aren't slaves. Also informed me that the web site isn't supposed to be a complete booking tool just to save a bit of time for some bookings and that it makes complete sense that not everything is bookable online.
Anyway, suffice it to say I ended the conversation fairly quickly at that point..anyway, I'm going to try again later this week and see if I have better luck.
) with the approach that AE has with ACs Elite customers.
)the AE agent charged me a fee of $30.00 for a total of $369.45 for a so called free ticket.I gave AC over 2K for my ticket.
