I know this changes from day to day, but in your experience how often does a through flight with the same flight number actually entail changing airplanes at the intemediate stop?
I am specifically interested in flight 925 DFW MIA SAL.
I was on a through flight (BWI-DFW-SJO) in December. BWI-DFW was delayed waiting for crew to the extent that I would technically "miss" my connection. TA said there was always a chance they would change equipment so she rebooked me through MIA.
Did a SFO-STL-BWI through flight in October and had to change planes.
__________________ Wish I was going out of bounds! - BOO DOO VI
Happens often on international flights, as people have to clear customs or get off the plane for security reasons. Sometimes you get the same actual aircraft, sometimes it's completely different (767 switched to 757).
Sometimes happens domestic too...I was on a DL flight the other day ATL-LAX-HNL. I was only going to LAX, but all passengers had to get off. Those continuing to HNL were told they had to re-board and could not stay on the a/c.
Programs: AA EXP (1.3MM), Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold
Posts: 2,180
This is my biggest pet peeve about direct flights, there would be some value if you actually knew that you would make the connection. "It was always the same plane"
I always hated flying AA 38 SFO-DFW-ZRH, 6,704 miles, changing aircraft at DFW - and getting credit for only 5,840 mi in return for spending ~3-4 hours more in the aircraft and airport. What a feature!
__________________ Lend a hand up with Kiva; far more than a hand out.
Is there a way to make AA book each segment of the flight for miles? I'm doing an AUS-SEA MR later on this year and one of my flights is AUS-DFW-SEA. I asked the agent over the phone if it was booked as seperate segments and she said that it was...
Programs: AA CK/EXP/3MM, BA Gold, PC Ambassador, HH Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,417
This direct flight BS that some assclown in marketing dreamed up to try to create the perception that a nonstop routing is offered- which in fact is not offered- is a soft spot in AA's portfolio. It penalizes the mileage flown vs other routing options, and can be difficult to do 500 mile e-upgrades with, as both segments must be available. Throw in the possibility of the loss of the one potential benefit- no missed connection (or whatever the misleading term is they use for a direct flight stop with change of aircraft) and I have to reach for the bohica button.
Did a SFO-STL-BWI through flight in October and had to change planes.
Was this truly a single flight number direct BWI-SFO flight? AA flies BWI-STL exclusively with AA Connection RJ's and STL-SFO exclusively with 757's, so it would be impossible to run this as one flight number.
At any rate, I think the "direct" flights require a change plane fairly frequently on AA, and I know they often do on other airlines as well. Of course this is simply so that the various flight reservation systems will move AA toward the top of the list when searching for flights between two locations, as single flight numbers (implied non-stop) are all listed before routings with multiple numbers. In this way, when searching for STL-SFO, AA 1727 (STL-LAX-SFO) and AA 1835 (STL-DFW-SFO) appear before any connecting routes offered by other airlines despite the fact that they are no more convenient (perhaps less than convenient than options like STL-DEN-SFO on United).
On a side note, I've wondered for some time why AA routes those two particular flight numbers in that way. AA 1727 departs STL at 1:15 pm, arriving SFO at 5:35 pm. AA 1835 departs STL at 1:35 pm, arriving SFO at 6:20 pm. If AA wants the appearance of increased "one flight" service STL-SFO, I don't really understand why the scheduled it with two flights departing STL a mere 20 minutes apart.
Of course this is simply so that the various flight reservation systems will move AA toward the top of the list when searching for flights between two locations, as single flight numbers (implied non-stop) are all listed before routings with multiple numbers. In this way, when searching for STL-SFO, AA 1727 (STL-LAX-SFO) and AA 1835 (STL-DFW-SFO) appear before any connecting routes offered by other airlines despite the fact that they are no more convenient (perhaps less than convenient than options like STL-DEN-SFO on United).
I'm not sure if this is true with all reservation systems. I know I was trying to book a flight BOS-STL-SFO that I was finding easily online, but even with the flight number the agent was having trouble finding it. She said it was actually below the flights with true connections. I obviously couldn't see the screen, and this is only one interesting data point.
This direct flight BS that some assclown in marketing dreamed up to try to create the perception that a nonstop routing is offered- which in fact is not offered- is a soft spot in AA's portfolio.
But it's not unique to AA, is it?
__________________ "When you have nothing to say, call the other guy an AApologist and hope nobody notices your deficiency."
