SeeBuyFly

I had a ticketed award reservation on CX. I changed it today and gave my CC for the new tax amount. The new itinerary shows up correctly on cathaypacific.com, but the entire res shows as canceled on aa.com. It's been that way for over 6 hours since the change was made.

I called back (not so convenient since I am not in the US and Skype drops calls at random) and the agent said the reservation was in the system and everything was OK. Clearly it still exists in some form since CX shows it.

However, I am concerned that this is one of the many glitches with award reservations, and that the reticketing that is now necessary will never take place so I won't be able to board. (It is 2 days to the trip.)

Is this a known bug? Is it something I should not worry about? I don't want to be stranded in a strange land.

Many thanks!

Adirondacker

I've had trouble with a changed reward reservation on Quantas showing up on AA.

MSPeconomist

If it's all CX flights, call CX and ask them whether they see a reservation (get their PNR for it) and a matching ticket (ask for the ticket number). Also watch your credit card for verification that the new charges have posted.

Ord Liza

I would definitely NOT rely on the agent's assurance that all is well. I changed 2 award tickets this week, in each case by removing the last leg. Both were purchased using AA miles but involved travel on another carrier. Not only were they both messed up, but in both cases multiple calls to AA resulted in assurances that they were fine. On one, it never re-ticketed and three days later still showed as "on request" and on the other the agent actually purchased a second ticket. I still have to track down the refund for the taxes from the original ticket although at least the original miles have been re-credited.

SeeBuyFly

See original post.

Ord Liza

Keep calling until you get an agent who you feel understands the situation and is willing to look through the history of the transaction. I know it is tough with Skype, but it is better than being stranded. Had I not kept calling, my ticket would never have been re-ticketed.

Is it possible that they cancelled the original and re-issued under a different record locator? I have found that record locators for flights on other airlines often do not show up in my online account.

I stand corrected. The 2 posts immediately below are correct: the gold standard is evidence of a ticket with CX; I was too focused on my experience (in which there was no new ticket yet for one of the changed tickets). Having said that though, I would still try to track it down from the AA side (after confirming the CX ticket exists) to make sure that there is not something in motion that will cancel your ticket.

Often1

MSPECONOMIST is correct. Doesn't matter what AA says or shows. All that matters is that you have a ticket (not a PNR), on CX showing the flights you have reserved and you are all set.

If you are at all concerned, call CX and verify that what they show online is correct.

RogerD408

Hopefully this issue will resolve itself soon. In the meantime do contact CX to make sure they show all is well. AA.com is merely a reporting station in this situation.

Unfortunately there is not just one "all-knowing" system on the web. An IT-savvy company will separate customer-facing systems from the back-office systems. Real-time updates of all systems may not be feasible so they get scheduled at least once a day where memo posts of customer transactions get marked/replaced by back-office activity.

Cherry picking CSRs to find one with the answer you "like" should not be relied upon. Whenever there is a discrepancy in reported status, GET IT IN WRITING! Companies may choose to not honor something said in error, but if you have documentation, you've got more fire power!

Good luck.

SeeBuyFly

UPDATE: I got the "e-ticket confirmation" e-mail from AA (about 9 or 10 hours after I had made the change, which is quite fast). This reticketing also fixed the aa.com display, which now shows the status correctly as "Ticketed".

So the situation has resolved itself and I worried (and posted) unnecessarily. It's just not fun to watch your ticket to return home showing up as "canceled".

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to post.