tapuach

Traveling TLV-LHR-JFK

elal was delayed, got to LHR with about an hour hours to spare between flights.

i got to gate, boarding pass beeped error... it seems since they (elal, according to the gate) assumed i would miss it, they put me on a later flight.

told me there is nothing they can do for me, because "elal did it" My reasoning that I am using an AA ticket, am willing to travel without my luggage, I have a wedding in NY tonight... fell on deaf ears.

As i sit now in row 36 on this jam-packed later flight (aa107), my question is "what can i do in the future to make sure this doesn't happen?" if anything?

thanks!

rjw242

They shouldn't have done that if you really did have 2 hours between flights. However, assuming you were originally on LY315 connecting to AA105, it looks like the connection time was more like 1 hour. Even then, it seems like they could've given you an orange "Express Connection" card and let you try to make the connection, but 1 hour is close enough that it's not unreasonable for them to just put you on the next flight.

tapuach

I was in biz, one of first off plane.... fast track...

only an hour? hmm. seemed like more (as there was plently of time to spare after connection, and lounge and...!)

thanks!

my question is more why/how i coulnt not be put back on my flight, being that i made it... they kept calling elal and saying "you guys need to fix this we can't..."

was AA ticket if that helps. thanks!

bse118

Bolding mine. You had time to visit the lounge in T3 prior to attempting to board the AA flight? Was it the AA lounge? Did you visit the AA transfer desks in T3 after coming off the bus from T4 and prior to re-clearing security?

Trying to figure out why you didn't find out you were offloaded until you got to the gate...

tapuach

Went to the BA lounge (grabbed a kosher sandwhich!) .Did not visit the AA transfer desks as I was under no assumption that my flight was changed. (the lines there were insane, i was so glad i had no need to rebook)

oh- and got no email about the change, not from elal nor aa...

so for next time:

1) should one always visit the transfer desk?
2) Should i have gone to the AA lounge first (its 30 seconds away from the BA one), to ensure my flight ticket was OK?
3) and had I done that, do you think the outcome would have been different?

they were blaming elal and saying "we have this all the time, they don't listen to us..."

Essentially COULD they have changed the tix back if they wanted to? kind of like on standby, I guess?

rjw242

It doesn't sound like the request "fell on deaf ears" at all, if they were repeatedly calling El Al trying to sort it out. If El Al was the only one who could change the ticket then that suggests it wasn't an AA ticket. If they were trying that hard, then doesn't it follow that they would've changed the ticket if they had the authority? Seems like there are several inconsistencies here.

bse118

In my opinion, it is always a good idea to visit either the transfer desks or AA lounge when flying AA out of LHR. Mainly because AA insists on asking a series of invasive "security" questions of each passenger prior to boarding, and doing so at the lounge or desks is easier than at the gate in my experience.

It is likely that they would have discovered the problem with your ticket at this point. Can't say for sure whether they would have been able to fix it, but it would have possibly given them more time to sort things out with LY.

tapuach

i'm not blaming them.

I'm asking what can be done in the future if such a thing happens again.

it was an AA ticket, that i'm sure of.

okay, 50% on deaf ears, 50% calling elal.

Thanks!

from now on, I'll go the AA lounge, get my stickered boarding pass, and then head to the BA lounge for a hot hermolis kosher meal
My favorite from today "what do you do in your spare time?"

rjw242

If you have a smartphone that works internationally, always check your itinerary when you reach your connecting airport. That's what I do, and it's alerted me to unexpected flight changes on a few occasions.

Of course, knowing about the change might not have affected the outcome in your case. If AA can't change the itinerary, they can't change it.

tapuach

thanks for that! will implement!!

My smartphone was on wifi in LHR and AA app said nothing...

also- is there an easy way to find out if today was considered a weather delay and thus ineligible for compensation?

the wedding i'm attending is probably already going to the huppa as i type here with an hour to go...

justforfun

I always avoid both of them. The questions at the gate are much less invasive.

bse118

Interesting...not my experience...highly agent dependent I suppose.

JonNYC

As delicious as that sandwich no doubt was, yes, I'd recommend #2 once you arrived late on the other flight-- or with just an hour so till your AA flight, anywhere AA vs. somewhere BA.

armus

Anytime I've been delayed making a connection in LHR (either to or from USA, with either BA or AA at fault) the backup flight is only added as an additional segment (usually while the delayed flight is in the air, if not before). The original flight is only removed if/when I get a boarding pass from the transfer desk. Apparently el al doesn't do this, hence the finger pointing.

Some other threads on FT discuss some of the technicalities of the control aspect of bookings/e-tickets. I don't know if AA really could have done something, but even if they could in a future circumstance there's the possibility that the original flight is overbooked and no one can really get you back on it. You're only recourse against this possibility might be to avoid el al, or hope that a complaint email might get them to change how they handle these situations.

DWFI

Wouldn't this constitute an IDB?
Also hard to tell if LY actually made this change; I could easily see an AA agent lying about that to avoid themselves more arguing with a pax when AA screwed it up.