I end up being the family travel agent since I'm on the road all the time. I have 6 itineraries going to SJD in May. Since AS decided to renumber the seating on most of their aircraft, two of my family members got moved from in front of the exit rows to behind them. The physical seats didn't change but AS decided to relocate them further back in the plane.
I called twice this morning. The first line people at the Gold 75k desk gave me the stock answer that there was nothing they could do to put my sister-in-law back to sitting next to my son who wasn't moved. After the second person at the Gold 75k desk informed me that there was nothing they could do, I asked to be passed up to a supervisor.
The supervisor, out of the Phoenix call center, explained the issue to me and agreed that it did not make sense how AS was handing the renumbering issue. She also informed me that AS management made the decision not to purchase the appropriate software from SABRE that would have made all these issues seamless to the end customer.
I expect to have these types of issues when flying AS partners like DL or AA but to experience this type of aggravation when dealing with AS is unacceptable. What is AS management thinking? Do you want to drive a 75k to Delta full time? I can status match to Platinum tomorrow if I wanted. This is very much "South of Expected" when it comes to treating AS elite flyers and their families. This issue falls on AS management and not the people working the phones who have to attempt to justify this bad policy.
Hopefully, AS management will do something about this quickly! I will be calling Customer Care Monday morning.
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So, I'm assuming that the desired seats have been assigned to other passengers. Otherwise, the agents would have been able to move your party back to the correct seats.
OK, you just need to decide what would be a satisfactory resolution BEFORE you call Customer Care. Making AS aware of the problem is important, but they are likely to be unwilling to move other passengers around. Then again, since they moved your party around, you have a valid argument that they should move others around to accommodate your original seats.
Needless to say, you are going to have to be courteous and patient with the Customer Care agent.
So, I'm assuming that the desired seats have been assigned to other passengers. Otherwise, the agents would have been able to move your party back to the correct seats.
OK, you just need to decide what would be a satisfactory resolution BEFORE you call Customer Care. Making AS aware of the problem is important, but they are likely to be unwilling to move other passengers around. Then again, since they moved your party around, you have a valid argument that they should move others around to accommodate your original seats.
Needless to say, you are going to have to be courteous and patient with the Customer Care agent.
Yes. After making two calls and spending 30+ minutes on the phone did I get the supervisor in Phoenix that moved both family members to acceptable seats. This issue should never have happened. It was AS management being shortsighted and trying to save a few $$$. I know I'm not the only elite AS flyer that books trips way in advance. These are family trips that I can't afford to have modified. Trips for work I'm use to those being fluid. AS management needs to step up and acknowledge this issue and resolve it for all AS customers.
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When did you book the flight? AS did some work in the (early summer?) on seatmaps, which was to allow for the 739ER's. It wasn't a recent change, and was widely reported both on FT and IIRC AS sent an email out.
So I'd say most pax were made aware.
Or was this a recent reservation and we all need to double check assignments? Things do happen...
Yes, these were booked back in the summer but the seats were just changed last week. I don't mind that they renumbered the seats but they shouldn't have moved people to different "physical" seats. I got no notification that this change was made. I just happened to view my trips on AS.com and it informed me to call in.
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Just as an information point:
AS sent out an email notification to all MP members on May 14 that the exit row numbering change was going to be rolled out over the next several months. The message stated "We are doing what we can to minimize the impact this may have on your desired seat assignment, but to ensure your travel experience goes as seamlessly as possible, you can also help by monitoring the seat assignments you may have for upcoming travel transpiring in the next few weeks."
Right or wrong, the onus was placed on the customer to monitor his or her itineraries. If an undesired change was noticed, the traveler was expected to be the moving party toward achieving a satisfactory resolution.
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AS sent out an email notification to all MP members on May 14 that the exit row numbering change was going to be rolled out over the next several months. The message stated "We are doing what we can to minimize the impact this may have on your desired seat assignment, but to ensure your travel experience goes as seamlessly as possible, you can also help by monitoring the seat assignments you may have for upcoming travel transpiring in the next few weeks."
Right or wrong, the onus was placed on the customer to monitor his or her itineraries. If an undesired change was noticed, the traveler was expected to be the moving party toward achieving a satisfactory resolution.
This just proves that AS customer service is heading the way of UA. I left UA due to bad customer service. I'm hoping that AS doesn't follow in their footsteps forgetting about how to treat elite flyers.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowbozo
She also informed me that AS management made the decision not to purchase the appropriate software from SABRE that would have made all these issues seamless to the end customer.
Well I dont place all the blame to AS here. Both AS and OP are partly to blame for the situation. Are you flying with the family on that flight on the same ticket? If not then elite benefits have no bearing to them unless they are elites as well. As noted AS sent out communications quite some long time ago. And if you book flights far in advance as an elite traveler you should then know that its wise to check your reservations quite often for changes of A/C, seats, and schedules. On the flip side Im scratching my head wondering why AS split people up seated together on the same ticket but I guess the computer software or lack thereof did it. I check mine at least monthly but usually weekly. And as a final note I might add that AS made the seat numbering changes to HELP elite flyers booked in exit rows from being bumped out of them for A/C swaps
Well I dont place all the blame to AS here. Both AS and OP are partly to blame for the situation. Are you flying with the family on that flight on the same ticket? If not then elite benefits have no bearing to them unless they are elites as well. As noted AS sent out communications quite some long time ago. And if you book flights far in advance as an elite traveler you should then know that its wise to check your reservations quite often for changes of A/C, seats, and schedules. On the flip side Im scratching my head wondering why AS split people up seated together on the same ticket but I guess the computer software or lack thereof did it. I check mine at least monthly but usually weekly. And as a final note I might add that AS made the seat numbering changes to HELP elite flyers booked in exit rows from being bumped out of them for A/C swaps
I disagree with you on this for many reasons and yes I am flying on the same flight. Why should family that was seated next to each other in row 11, which no longer exists, be moved to different rows further in the back of the plane? This is totally on AS management and their lack of thinking through their new policy.
ANC, I understand your wanting to think AS is looking out for their customers best interest. In my case, they are not. I do applaud the supervisor in the Phoenix call center for resolving this issue for me. She also agreed that this issue never should have happened in the first place.
I fly weekly so I do check my reservations often. With flights more than 6 months out, do it monthly since it shouldn't change too much. Maybe I'm the outlier here with this issue but what AS originally stated to me from the 75K desk is just wrong. The folks on the phone had a hard time grasping that the physical seating didn't change, just the numbering. I found out later that due to the non purchase of a specific software package from SABRE, these issue would happen. AS management should have done the right thing and purchased the software that would have avoided this whole mess!
"Do you want to drive a 75k to Delta full time? I can status match to Platinum tomorrow if I wanted."
Wow, you're going to run out of options pretty quickly if you switch airlines over one incident. You'll need to have another airline to jump to after Delta breaks your heart too.
"Do you want to drive a 75k to Delta full time? I can status match to Platinum tomorrow if I wanted."
Wow, you're going to run out of options pretty quickly if you switch airlines over one incident. You'll need to have another airline to jump to after Delta breaks your heart too.
This isn't the first incident. AS is very good after the fact when they have customer service issues. UA was not responsive even to a 1K when having issues. This whole thing could have been avoided if, when they renumbered the physical seats, left the customers in the same place.
I work in customer service and know how people should be treated, especially if they are the "good" paying customers. Today AS just didn't measure up to how I treat all of my customers.
Head over to DL and see how your seat assignment falls on deaf ears. Even as a Diamond, it has happened to me multiple times and that's as a single flyer sitting in the exit row or economy comfort moved to a non-extra leg room seat somewhere near the back.
Since it wasn't clear, did you have multiple itineraries or is everyone on the same itinerary? If the are separate, AS (along with every other airline) has an automated rebooking tool that seats according to your original request, it may not be the same seats, but if you were booked in a window seat, you should get a window seat. It usually works by groups first and then top down from elite status holders to lowest fare general or non FF programs. The system doesn't do it by last name as there are folks who have the same last names that are not traveling together, nor related that all of a sudden are sitting next to each other.
What I find funny is that every single airline's CoC states that you are purchasing a space on the aircraft and seats are subject to change. And yet there are people who think they are staking claim to one particular seat. It amuses me.
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I disagree with you on this for many reasons and yes I am flying on the same flight. Why should family that was seated next to each other in row 11, which no longer exists, be moved to different rows further in the back of the plane? This is totally on AS management and their lack of thinking through their new policy.
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first off I didnt mean to come off as rude or defending AS because I surely am not even though my response may have appeared that way. And yes you may be flying on the same flight but the question I asked was were you in the same reservation/pnr/confirmation code? And like I said Im also confused as to why family seated next to each other "if on the same reserervation" was moved to different rows and sections. Its worth a complaint and all but really not sitting together on an airplane is not the end of the world! Unless your kid is small or disabled it really is frivolous about where you sit for a few hours. Reminds me of couples that upgrade to F and then either seat poach or whine and gripe because they dont get to sit together for 3 or 4 hours on an airplane but are apart 8 to 10 hours a day every day for work? Unless you are just married or just engaged....I dont care.. For some reason when people get on a plane it becomes a big effin crisis
first off I didnt mean to come off as rude or defending AS because I surely am not even though my response may have appeared that way. And yes you may be flying on the same flight but the question I asked was were you in the same reservation/pnr/confirmation code? And like I said Im also confused as to why family seated next to each other "if on the same reserervation" was moved to different rows and sections. Its worth a complaint and all but really not sitting together on an airplane is not the end of the world! Unless your kid is small or disabled it really is frivolous about where you sit for a few hours. Reminds me of couples that upgrade to F and then either seat poach or whine and gripe because they dont get to sit together for 3 or 4 hours on an airplane but are apart 8 to 10 hours a day every day for work? Unless you are just married or just engaged....I dont care.. For some reason when people get on a plane it becomes a big effin crisis
The two people are not in the same reservation. They both are flying with miles out of my account. This is all listed in their records and are attached to my account. AS confirmed this when I called in. I wouldn't have had an issue if they had moved both family members. Instead, they just moved one of them due to the new numbering scheme and not the other.
It does mean something for my family to sit together when you have had recent deaths in the family. The members want to be with each other since they do not live close by to each other. When you have lost a son killed in combat in Afghanistan every day together is a blessing. We don't know when our last day will be. That is why this is important!
I just was looking for some consistency in the AS policy. They don't have one. AS is my preferred carrier and they are usually a good experience. I just take exception to specific bad policy decisions by AS and having their customer support attempt to get just get elite customers to accept it.
And as a final note I might add that AS made the seat numbering changes to HELP elite flyers booked in exit rows from being bumped out of them for A/C swaps
