POAflyer

I've searched all the huge threads around schedule changes with AA but couldn't find any case that is as specific as mine.

The thing is:

I booked AAA-BBB with AA that was supposed to depart 1AM and arrive 7AM in a future date in December. All was good until I went to change my seats yesterday I noticed the flight had a schedule change and would depart only at 12PM (and arrive at 6PM) the same day. Not getting a notification is a problem in itself, but not the focus here.

The issue is that right after I booked this AA itinerary (a couple of weeks ago) I went ahead and booked a positioning JJ flight from ZZZ-AAA (that arrives in AAA at 10PM the day before, giving me plenty of connection time), knowing that oneworld treats separate PNRs as one ticket in case of IRROPS, so even if something went wrong with the JJ flight I would still be covered.

However, due to the schedule change I now have an overnight in AAA which is really not desirable, since I would have to pay for hotels etc. I called AA and spoke to 3 different agents, and since there are no earlier options for getting me from AAA to BBB without changing JJ's itin (I checked all possibilities), their only suggestion is to give me a refund. I specifically asked all of the agents about rebooking me on another JJ flight the next morning, since that would remove the need to overnight at AAA but still give me enough time to catch the 12PM flight), but all of them said I need to speak directly to JJ and cover the costs myself.

The main question is: has anyone been successful in getting AA to change another airline (oneworld) tickets in a case like this? I've heard about oneworld liaisons that handle situations like this, but I would like to see if anyone has been successful before I keep bugging AA.

Dave Noble

There is no published OneWorld policy - AA has a policy to protect where a misconnect occurs between AA and other OW carriers

You have 2 tickets and there is no misconneciton occurring - just that the AA flight is later

The JJ ticket in this case is purely your responsibility and nothing to do with AA

jordyn

It sounds like AA is being pretty flexible, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to change the JJ ticket. The situation of a forced overnight could happen even if they were being flexible and protecting you in the event of a misconnect (e.g., you arrive after the last flight of the day), so that's just a risk you bear generally and definitely when you book separate tickets in situations like this.

POAflyer

Even without the separate ticket I would still have a forced overnight, since there's a 11-hour delay, so I don't believe having a JJ makes a huge difference here. It's essentially another hotel night I have to pay for, which I wouldn't have to if the schedule didn't change.

JDiver

I think the remaining thing to do is to book a cheap room at AAA - distressed traveler rate, Priceline, etc. because I suspect that'll cost you less than change fees and fare class changes.

Why the reluctance to publish the airports? It certainly hinders members from offering better suggestions.

Dave Noble

If you had purchased a through ticket and such a change occurred, you might be able to get one of the airlines to provide a hotel due to an unplanned overnight connection. Alternatively , may well have been able to get rerouted to final destination on a better servce

As it is , you simply have a JJ trip plus a separate AA trip - AA will allow changes / cancellation due to the time change , but JJ is providing that what has been paid for. Is there any other airline offering a service on the AA route for which you can cancel ( without penalty ) and then rebook onto

There can sometimes be price benefits of booking separate tickets, but with it comes the drawbacks

JonNYC

Agreed.

And, overall, no I wouldn't expect AA to help with your separate JJ booking.

In the case of schedule irregularity, AA<->JJ, they'd make it work, even on separate tix, as we know AA has that policy.

But for schedule change, no, not a reasonable expectation.

POAflyer

Cool, thanks, my question is answered. I was just looking to see what was other people's experiences in this specific situation, since I couldn't find mentions to it on the specific threads.

JonNYC

Glad you got good feedback here-- good luck!

POAflyer

Actually, since you guys asked about the airport codes (btw, BBB is MIA) it just occurred to me that since I was planning on driving up north after I arrived, I might as well ask them to add a flight to MCO or TPA since there's the 300-mile rule*, right?
[*] as described in here: https://ssc.aa.com/prmportal_enu/Age...e%20Change.pdf

Often1

In this situation, AA could not change the JJ ticket. It was neither issued by AA nor for an AA-operated flight.

jordyn

Right, that's my whole point. This could happen anyway, and in no case would AA be responsible for your overnight (unless it was a mechanical problem on their part). The separate ticket just decreases the range of possible solutions, since AA can't do something like move it to a morning flight the next day.

flatlander

It is not published, but it does exist.

Dave Noble

Asserted on a forum is not evidence.

There is no actual evidence that such a policy exists - [plus if it is not publicly published , not something that can be referred to if a problem occurs

Often1

This is key. AA used to have a published policy providing for reaccomodation for "disruption" (no mention of misconnect or protection). That language was removed from AA's website.

Nonetheless, the language still remains on AA's non-public guidance for TA's. I'm not sure how that helps, whether it is simply an error or whether it applies only to TA tickets (doubtful). But, the fact that it was a published policy and now it isn't, suggests to me that it is a courtesy and not a policy.

I certainly wouldn't book around it.