asf-07

Just wanted to see if anyone on here had any experience with this or how they would handle it.

I'm going from DFW to Las Vegas this summer. I booked my trip in first class using a 50k mileage award.

OUT:
DFW-LAS (757)

IN:
LAS - ORD (S80)
ORD - DFW (777)

I went ahead and decided to go out of my way for the ride home to fly in the 777 first class cabin since I've never flown in it before. I was scheduled to have a 2 1/2 hour layover in Chicago (arrive at 3:55, depart at 6:30). Well, when they revised the summer schedule, my flight from ORD to DFW was changed to a S80 and bumped to a 7:00 departure, and the 777 flight was moved to a 5:30 departure. I called AA, and they're telling me that they have no 50k award seats available on the 777 flight now. Is there a way I can get my seat back on the 777, or am I stuck at the mercy of what AA says they have in their award inventory?

3Cforme

Equipment is not guaranteed on paid or award reservations. The airline argues one is still presented with a First cabin - the fact that it's not as nice a First cabin is irrelevant, in their view.

brp

Everything 3Cforme says is true. I'd still try calling back- a number of times, if required- to get an agent who can find the inventory or one who will try and make it happen. It can't hurt to try. Good luck.

Cheers.

i_fly_AA

Unfortunately, the 777 ORD-DFW (and DFW-ORD for that matter) will be discontinued on April 7th and from that point on, all service on this route will be S80 service. This does suck, as it's going to leave MIA-LAX-MIA (AFAIK) as the only remaining domestic 777 service.

FWAAA

Source?

It's still bookable on aa.com thru end of schedule, on April 7 and any other day I searched.

vrbaba

Says who? Its still in the system and was able to book for post mid-April. Still shows up on the res.

i_fly_AA

I looked at the PDF timetable on aa.com.

Edit: You are correct in that it still shows up in res but this is almost certainly an error because I did double check the timetable just now and it does show the aforementioned discontinuation of the 777. I also recall reading about this somewhere but can't find it now (I think it was on airliners.net).

Deltahater

However, the OP can ask to be rebooked on the flight of his choice, regardless of inventory due to 240/80. All AA needs to have available are actual seats. Now, if the 777 goes away as speculated on here, then that is another story.

But, assuming the 777 is still flying that route when the OP is traveling and they have seats in ANY inventory available, AA should/will put him on it

Calling AA, armed with info is good advice

Cheers

brp

Inasmuch as 240/80 no longer exists (and the quoting of it from the Agency section is not relevant) this is just not true. They are not required to do anything of the sort. It would be nice if they did, but the don't have to, and may well not if there is no inventory for award seating.

Cheers.

FWAAA

Your first mistake is in relying on the .pdf timetable. The .pdf timetable is notoriously unreliable. Last year, for about a month, it showed but three DFW-LAX flights.

Page 8, showing ORD-DFW (p 11 of the .pdf) shows 2349 changing to an MD-83 yet omits 2345 becoming the 777. See page 13 (p 16 of the .pdf); no cancellation.

Your other error is in posting nonsense from airliners.net.

Deltahater

I understand that the actual law where the terminology rule 240/80 does no longer exist.

However, it is a well documented fact, even on here, that AA abides by its internal policy called 240/80. Does the OP have a legal right to demand that they abide by their own rules? I am not a lawyer nor do I presume to be one.

All I know is that if you quote rule 240/80 you are much more likely to get what you want and AA has committed to in writing. And yes, the agency section is very relevant.

If there is a seat, the OP is entitled to getting it, in this situation

i_fly_AA

Interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind. I certainly hope that it doesn't go away because I've been wanting to get on that flight for a while now. I never get a chance to fly widebodies domestically and as a matter of fact, when I flew ORD-SFO on a 763 this month, this was my first domestic widebody flight in probably a decade. Anyway, I could have sworn I read about discontinuation of the 777 service on ORD-DFW recently. This, coupled with the info on the timetable, made me sure that this was going to happen. I hope that with all the upcoming summer changes (i.e. DFW-MAD, etc.) that this route will, in fact, stick around.

hillrider

240/80 is not part of the contract and OP has no legal (or otherwise) rights in this case. Under US law, you're at the mercy of the airline's unilateral 'conditions of carriage' which you had to accept by default when you purchased your ticket (whether for cash or accrued credit, a.k.a. "miles"). In AA's case, they state:I know it sucks, but that's U.S. Congress for you.

brp is cheerfully correct. But so are you:

mvoight

Why not just take a nonstop.
It's not worth connecting for, if you aren't earning miles.
You are making a 1055 mile flight into a 2315 mile trip.
Just to sit in a 777 seat for over 1500 miles and an MD80 for the other 800???

FWAAA

This flight has been flown with a widebody aircraft for nearly 20 years. It has been flown using 767s, DC-10s and MD-11s prior to 1999 when the 777s were delivered. The widebody is flown on this route as a hot spare for ORD and DFW departures. Given that it has lasted thru various recessions and the post-September 11 traffic fall-off, I doubt that it's going away.

Here's a thread from two weeks ago reporting that some FAs on the route reported to the OP of that thread that the 777 would be pulled from the route:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...w-ord-dfw.html