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Experience of things going wrong on AA
This is a post to share some general experiences of things going wrong on AA. I am not trying to say that all things BA are better but it might help some people to hear what they can expect; and I have one specific question and one feedback request for what i might have done better. (It is also not a rant about planes getting cancelled. From time to time they do.)
My husband and I (both BA gold) were travelling PHX-DFW-LGA between Xmas and the new year. we were booked in P (instant upgrade to First) class ( I am going for GGL this year....)
The booked flight DFW-LGA was due to leave about 90 minutes after the on-time arrival into DFW. The plane was cancelled (apparently it went tech).
We made our way to an Admirals club lounge and were told that we have been rebooked (in Y) on a flight leaving about seven hours later. As there are almost hourly flights DFW-NYC I asked for an earlier one. We were put on the standby list for two flights, failed to get on the first and did get on the second (and to my amazement so did our checked bags!).
What struck me was:-
- the extreme helpfulness of the Admirals club people, who did a detailed analysis of connecting passengers arriving on flights which were delayed and hence might free up seats on the flights for which we were standing by (good)
- The irritating fact that people were being called up and told that they were upgraded from Y to C on the flight that we didn't get seats on. Surely those who have paid for a given class should have priority over what I understand are free upgraders? (not so good, but I realise that customs are different)
- the fact that as Gold even on BA we seemed to be at the very top of the standby list (unless that was just to make us feel better ) (good)
So we got there and earlier than our automatic rebooking would have done but I cannot help being a little surprised that they could not have found us a couple of first class seats amidst all those upgrades.
So what according to the accumulated wisdom of the board could I have done differently?
And one very specific question. I have no miles or TPs accumulated from this and the automated tool has claimed it knows nothing of us. we travelled Y but that was an involuntary downgrade so I assume I am entitled to the TPs for an F journey (every 60 count just now...)? Or is that not right - I have a vague recollection that on AA if you are involuntarily downgraded it is hard cheese?
__________________
Harry, London
Twitter (personal): @hsmall
This is a post to share some general experiences of things going wrong on AA. I am not trying to say that all things BA are better but it might help some people to hear what they can expect; and I have one specific question and one feedback request for what i might have done better. (It is also not a rant about planes getting cancelled. From time to time they do.)
My husband and I (both BA gold) were travelling PHX-DFW-LGA between Xmas and the new year. we were booked in P (instant upgrade to First) class ( I am going for GGL this year....)
The booked flight DFW-LGA was due to leave about 90 minutes after the on-time arrival into DFW. The plane was cancelled (apparently it went tech).
We made our way to an Admirals club lounge and were told that we have been rebooked (in Y) on a flight leaving about seven hours later. As there are almost hourly flights DFW-NYC I asked for an earlier one. We were put on the standby list for two flights, failed to get on the first and did get on the second (and to my amazement so did our checked bags!).
What struck me was:-
- the extreme helpfulness of the Admirals club people, who did a detailed analysis of connecting passengers arriving on flights which were delayed and hence might free up seats on the flights for which we were standing by (good)
- The irritating fact that people were being called up and told that they were upgraded from Y to C on the flight that we didn't get seats on. Surely those who have paid for a given class should have priority over what I understand are free upgraders? (not so good, but I realise that customs are different)
- the fact that as Gold even on BA we seemed to be at the very top of the standby list (unless that was just to make us feel better ) (good)
So we got there and earlier than our automatic rebooking would have done but I cannot help being a little surprised that they could not have found us a couple of first class seats amidst all those upgrades.
So what according to the accumulated wisdom of the board could I have done differently?
And one very specific question. I have no miles or TPs accumulated from this and the automated tool has claimed it knows nothing of us. we travelled Y but that was an involuntary downgrade so I assume I am entitled to the TPs for an F journey (every 60 count just now...)? Or is that not right - I have a vague recollection that on AA if you are involuntarily downgraded it is hard cheese?
Surely there is a difference between upgrading people on the flight that you could not get on (because the fight was full and some of those booked in Y needed to be upgraded to F) and not being upgraded on the flight you were actually on? If others were upgraded on your flight that would be a very different issue.
I have always found AA ground staff in the AC and FL to be the most knowledgeable and helpful people when things go wrong. BA should follow AA's lead here given that currently BA's handling of IRROPs situations is shocking.
I haven't had exactly the same experience but was once booked on a 2 class plane in F which switched to a 3 class plane and we ended up in the J section rather than the F section, which I found mildly annoying. I guess it is much more annoying being in Y however
Last edited by Land-of-Miles; Jan 13, 13 at 4:34 am..
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hsmall
And one very specific question. I have no miles or TPs accumulated from this and the automated tool has claimed it knows nothing of us. we travelled Y but that was an involuntary downgrade so I assume I am entitled to the TPs for an F journey (every 60 count just now...)? Or is that not right - I have a vague recollection that on AA if you are involuntarily downgraded it is hard cheese?
I am afraid this is very much the same sort of experience I have. I was downgraded 4 times in 2012 on AA, which is more times than all other oneworld airlines, including BA, put together in the last dozen years or so. And I'm not always on Instant Upgrades either. It seems to make very little difference what fare you have, they vaguely think you should be grateful you have a seat. The basic problem is that AA sells First up to a few days beforehand, thereafter they send all the upgrades and ExPlats into First. So if there's an irrop, all replacement flights' First class cabins are full, full of free upgrades.
Now you should still claim for the missing miles and TPs, but experiences here do vary. Some people get them, others don't. I tried once a few years ago, and despite having a cast iron case I got refused. I haven't bothered this year since I don't need any more TPs except for their bragging qualities. But if you do succeed, through persistance, then please let everyone know!
But above all, make a note of the cost of the Instant Upgrade versus the lowest economy seat when you make the booking. Claim for this downgrade on the AA webform and make sure the dollar value is fairly represented. In my case they have been quite generous in that area. It come in the form of an endearingly old fashioned voucher, valid one year, with some complicated procedure to use it.
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Glasgow, UK
Posts: 11,398
Quote:
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
But above all, make a note of the cost of the Instant Upgrade versus the lowest economy seat when you make the booking. Claim for this downgrade on the AA webform and make sure the dollar value is fairly represented. In my case they have been quite generous in that area. It come in the form of an endearingly old fashioned voucher, valid one year, with some complicated procedure to use it.
It does indeed and you mentioning this is timely, for me at least having posted my AA Transportation Voucher to AA's Ticketing Centre in Barcelona this morning.
My tip for using these vouchers is to reserve your desired flights online on AA.com, putting your booking on hold. AA.com allows you to do this for up to 24 hours. Oh! don't forget to choose your seats before holding the reservation - if you bypass this step, your next opportunity to select seat will not be until after your booking is formally ticketed which may take a few days or weeks even. Then call AA to process payment before the hold expires.
You can do the reservation steps over the phone but constructing the reservation online avoids the booking fee. Registered postage from the UK to Barcelona is just under £9.
Last edited by Prospero; Jan 13, 13 at 7:46 am..
Reason: Add clarity
While nobody, including OP, knows exactly what happened, the explanation is almost 99% benign.
1. OP was booked on a Y fare into FC (P) on a flight which went MX.
2. OP was rebooked on the next available confirmed space, unfortunately 7 hours later and into Y seats. He was free to and in fact did SB for the earlier full flights. He could also have asked to be confirmed into the next available F seat, but that might have been a lot more than a 7-hour delay.
3. Given that the intervening flights were clearly full, AA confirmed SB's onto those flights by UG the Y pax at the top of the UG list. OP wasn't even on that list because he didn't even have a seat on the flight. If there were space on the flight, OP would have confirmed in and would have presumably been UG into the FC seats presuming nobody ahead of him (IRROP'd actual paid F pax for instance).
I don't think that OP has any complaint here other than the right to be frustrated in general because an MX caused a 7-hour delay. But, let's also not forget that he chose a contorted routing on AA when US serves the route non-stop and with dirt-cheap F fares. That may be non-OW, but one makes choices.
While nobody, including OP, knows exactly what happened, the explanation is almost 99% benign.
1. OP was booked on a Y fare into FC (P) on a flight which went MX.
2. OP was rebooked on the next available confirmed space, unfortunately 7 hours later and into Y seats. He was free to and in fact did SB for the earlier full flights. He could also have asked to be confirmed into the next available F seat, but that might have been a lot more than a 7-hour delay.
3. Given that the intervening flights were clearly full, AA confirmed SB's onto those flights by UG the Y pax at the top of the UG list. OP wasn't even on that list because he didn't even have a seat on the flight. If there were space on the flight, OP would have confirmed in and would have presumably been UG into the FC seats presuming nobody ahead of him (IRROP'd actual paid F pax for instance).
I don't think that OP has any complaint here other than the right to be frustrated in general because an MX caused a 7-hour delay. But, let's also not forget that he chose a contorted routing on AA when US serves the route non-stop and with dirt-cheap F fares. That may be non-OW, but one makes choices.
I am not sure this is quite true. I have been able to Standby for a J or F seat with AA (with a confirmed Y seat available if I wanted it). This wasn't IRROPS it was a long connection with an earlier connection possible (but not legal for BA MCT).
But, let's also not forget that he chose a contorted routing on AA when US serves the route non-stop and with dirt-cheap F fares. That may be non-OW, but one makes choices.
Hardly a contorted routing - and no airline flies LGA-PHX nonstop -- all the non stops are to EWR and JFK.
3. Given that the intervening flights were clearly full, AA confirmed SB's onto those flights by UG the Y pax at the top of the UG list. OP wasn't even on that list because he didn't even have a seat on the flight. If there were space on the flight, OP would have confirmed in and would have presumably been UG into the FC seats presuming nobody ahead of him (IRROP'd actual paid F pax for instance).
As a data point, even as an AA EXP I have had little luck getting upgraded when I standby on earlier flights. The process places you essentially at the bottom of the upgrade list on your standby flight, until you get confirmed on the flight. Upgrades are supposed to be confirmed in this order, and when they do not it is more often luck or mistake by the agent. On a 9pm mid-week flight a couple of months ago I only got the last seat because the last remaining regular upgrade listed person no-showed. Three other times, no dice.
During IRROPS, fully paid first/biz get accommodated first (and still might not end up on the flight, as just noted). This includes the usual F/A/J/R/D/I classes, then folks who have "paid" to upgrade with miles and eVIPs. Complimentary upgrades are still Y tix, as noted (even if instantly confirmed, like P fares, or Y/B deals) so by default you will be placed in Y, and on the upgrade list, after everyone else.
A fully paid ticket in a higher cabin should be less likely to be downgraded in theory, tho' in practice anything might happen, especially in major irrops. There's usually always one or two seats left at the airport in F/dom C for upgrades/re-seating, but I can tell you that when we were having the spate of flight cancellations in October, there was basically no way they could re-seat everyone as-is, even paid. A painful period for sure.
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Ten days of totally ragged flying, an absolutely amazing eclipse experience.
Why do people keep peddling this trash? Is it in the job description for ambassadors?
Upgrades on US domestic flights are very powerful as a tool to encourage loyalty and discourage price comparison, especially amongst business travelers whose employers have a Y-only policy. They are a defined benefit of elite membership and are not free.
While higher tier members can be confirmed into the higher cabin 100 or 72 hours before departure, it doesn’t mean they are always confirmed that far in advance. Many are cleared only at the gate, sometimes even after that passenger has boarded.
Like all major airlines, AA will manage their inventory to cater for last-minute bookings and misconnecting passengers. Like all major airlines, it works most of the time but they don’t always get it exactly right.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by contrary
Why do people keep peddling this trash? Is it in the job description for ambassadors?
Upgrades on US domestic flights are very powerful as a tool to encourage loyalty and discourage price comparison, especially amongst business travelers whose employers have a Y-only policy. They are a defined benefit of elite membership and are not free.
While higher tier members can be confirmed into the higher cabin 100 or 72 hours before departure, it doesn’t mean they are always confirmed that far in advance. Many are cleared only at the gate, sometimes even after that passenger has boarded.
Like all major airlines, AA will manage their inventory to cater for last-minute bookings and misconnecting passengers. Like all major airlines, it works most of the time but they don’t always get it exactly right.
Totally agree. Sadly happens a lot of the BA forum.
FWIW, your average EXP has probably done more butt in seat miles than any BA Gold. They may have even generated more revenue!
It was IRROPS. OP misconnected due to MX on the inbound segment. The next positive space available was a 7-hour delay, although he was permitted to SB for earlier flights as he should have been. OP could have asked to be rebooked into the next flight with positive F space available, but that apparently was more than a 7-hour delay.
But, space available, he was eligible for a FC seat for any of the intervening flights as well.
) (good)
