jagmeets

+1 on going AA.

You will have protection, even on separate tickets (AA's published policy).

In theory, it's the carrier that gets delayed that needs to rebook you, so if CX inbound is delayed it's up to CX to protect you or not, but I would not worry. Just call up CX and AA and cross reference the PNRs, CX will check bags through to PIT (and likely issue boarding passes too- and it's oneworld policy that you will be protected once you're checked through, irrespective of carrier, though I think CX and AA go above and beyond on this matter).

craig44485

Thank you for the info guys. AA F is priced right around DL F for ORD PIT ORD. Guess we will give AA a shot.

Gongzuokuang

They allow online check-in, but do not allow you to do the boarding pass. I still have the paperwork from a few months ago... says "System Error. We apologise (sic) that the Self-Print Board Pass / Mobile Boarding Pass service is not available. Please approach our airport counters for assistance [CUPAC_SPBP_0762]"

Other PAX in line had same issue, except those who were flying on AA tix!

When I called the MP club this time to book, I asked again about it, and they said they wanted you to check-in at the counter.

Crazy... I know.

Gongzuokuang

Advice here is most appreciated! :-)

I've learned a bit.

I did not think that the first leg of the trip made any difference, given that it was on a different carrier. I assumed if there were problems getting to ORD on time, that it was MY problem, regardless of the carrier.

Of course, I understand that if I had booked the entire trip using AA miles, that it would be on the same ticket, and there might be some help if IRROPS. But I wasn't able to do that. And I'm not sure I fully understand how they'd be able to help anyway. I can't picture them holding the plane!

I basically thought if the flight doesn't make it, then it's nothing but disaster ahead!

To protect myself, I just try to get there plenty early. And I ALSO booked a fully refundable ticket on the next Delta flight as a hedge against that next flight being full should the earlier flight have some sort of significant delay or problem.

Am I hearing that I would be a little more protected if I had instead booked the DTW-ORD flight on AA?

jagmeets

Yep!

Here's AA's policy:

http://www.aa.com/i18n/agency/Booking_Ticketing/Reaccom/oneworld_tkt_policy.jsp

As mentioned in another thread, I'll post the response I got from oneworld whether this is alliance-wide, once I get to a PC - soo ! (it's not, but you're protected if checked through).

jagmeets

To be honest, I'd just take coach on that sector, given the length- if/once you have oneworld status, lounge access (which you will have in this case with the CX bp/ticket), baggage allowance and MCE access for free (Emeralds), just make paying up for first, esp on short sectors, pointless.

CrazyJ82

They won't necessarily hold the CX plane for you. But they will aim to rebook you on the next available flight if you miss the AA-CX connection, as opposed to treating you as a no-show subject to a fee.

Marco Polo

AA will tag your bag to your destination on CX via Terminal 5 and will issue you a boarding pass for CX -I just did it from Atlanta - ORD - HKG
Flying F internally in USA gets you a wider seat and little else if you already have tier status for the Admirals Club entry (free wifi, free calorie soft drinks and coffee,free pretzels, pay USD 9.95 if you want a sandwich or a beer) On AA F inflight you get an orange juice and bag of pretzels then the flight attendant disappears for the rest of the flight
In ORD CX shares the British Airways Lounge (poorly signposted) The ORD BA F lounge is tiny and get there early if you want a sandwich
When I was there last week the dishwasher had flooded the floor near the kitchen and the lights and electricity were going on and off so I had to resort to the bubbly to calm my nerves

Cathay Boy

On my numerous flights in USA with AA-CX over the last few years, I had never had any problem with AA printing out BP for me.

CrazyJ82

This is usually my experience, too, although I've have a couple times where for whatever reason they weren't able to. I think it's a lot easier for them if you've called ahead of time to link the PNRs (assuming you've booked separate tickets).

craig44485

So will my J boarding pass get me into both the AA club and the BA J club at ORD?

beckoa

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

Yes.

craig44485

Thank you.

ernestnywang

You will have access to the Admiral's Club (ex-US Club) at PIT when departing from an AA FLT (Y or F) if connecting to a CX FLT in J or F. See http://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access, section "oneworld lounge access for First Class or Business Class customers," which has the rule for "Connecting between oneworld marketed and operated flights." Unfortunately, there's no lounge operated by OW at DTW so it doesn't quite apply.

craig44485

Thank you. Will have to locate the Admiral's Club in PIT. Benn flying DL out of PIT for years, no SkyClub there. Will be nice to have a place to relax in rather than sitting at the gate waiting.