Last edit by: footastic
Sequence of events:
American Airlines (AA) Brazil website misprices revenue tickets in initial calculation on purchase page. Repricing the same reservation by changing billing country resulted in the correct price, even when reverting to Brazil.
Vast majority of tickets appear to have gone unticketed for ~1 week. It appears that tickets were issued manually, not automatically.
AA states repeatedly and to several outlets that they will unconditionally honor all fares.
AA begins cancelling tickets. Subsequently, they send out cancellation emails implying that the "country of residence" was misrepresented. Of course, this is not the case, as AA never actually asks for the "country of residence" but the billing address which includes the country of the billing address.
Since AA repeatedly and publicly stated that they would unconditionally honor the tickets, even when specifically asked about it, many purchasers relied upon AA's representations and made non-refundable plans. DoT regulations require airlines to reimburse purchasers who relied upon mistake fares to make non-refundable plans. It may be worth writing into the US Department of Transportation (DoT) to complain about AA's handling of the situation and ask for compensation even without having non-refundable reservations, because AA went to great lengths to assure purchasers that tickets would be unconditionally honored.
DoT air travel complaint form: http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm
DoT air travel complaint mailing address:
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
DoT air travel complain phone line information:
You may call the ACPD 24 hours a day at 202-366-2220 (TTY 202-366-0511) to record your complaint. Calls are returned Monday through Friday, generally between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm Eastern time.
As mentioned by classyflyer and posted by pb9997, if your flight had some kind of legal nexus within Brazil, their consumer protections should apply to your ticket. Here is the contact information for the relevant consumer protection agencies within Brazil. Please be clear in your communication and REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS IN PORTUGESE.
To translate your communications before submitting them:
http://translate.google.com
www.reclameaqui.com.br
Quote from pb9997: "This site is known to be the most popular, most viewed upon by companies who care about reputation; Though not official, it has proven to be the most respected by consumers and corporations, who may delay answers on their own channels but do take care to have teams focused on answering for this public site. Information written, from both parties, is public."
www.consumidor.gov.br
Quote again from pb9997: "This is the official PROCON site where consumers and companies present their complaints and arguments. It is official, additional care ought to be taken.
I would highly suggest following the order presented; With the first site the company has room to assess impact, prepare an amiable answer and protect their public reputation.
On the second site... well, it's official and what is written by both parties is the basis to act afterwards in a court of law. Ideally the complaint presented should have the Law that explains why a consumer has been impacted and the expected remedy, according [sic] to the Law."
As of 9/8/15 - Individuals who had tickets cancelled in the first round (8/28) have yet to see refunds post to credit cards.
Feel free to update this Wiki with more complete information.
American Airlines (AA) Brazil website misprices revenue tickets in initial calculation on purchase page. Repricing the same reservation by changing billing country resulted in the correct price, even when reverting to Brazil.
Vast majority of tickets appear to have gone unticketed for ~1 week. It appears that tickets were issued manually, not automatically.
AA states repeatedly and to several outlets that they will unconditionally honor all fares.
AA begins cancelling tickets. Subsequently, they send out cancellation emails implying that the "country of residence" was misrepresented. Of course, this is not the case, as AA never actually asks for the "country of residence" but the billing address which includes the country of the billing address.
Since AA repeatedly and publicly stated that they would unconditionally honor the tickets, even when specifically asked about it, many purchasers relied upon AA's representations and made non-refundable plans. DoT regulations require airlines to reimburse purchasers who relied upon mistake fares to make non-refundable plans. It may be worth writing into the US Department of Transportation (DoT) to complain about AA's handling of the situation and ask for compensation even without having non-refundable reservations, because AA went to great lengths to assure purchasers that tickets would be unconditionally honored.
DoT air travel complaint form: http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm
DoT air travel complaint mailing address:
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
DoT air travel complain phone line information:
You may call the ACPD 24 hours a day at 202-366-2220 (TTY 202-366-0511) to record your complaint. Calls are returned Monday through Friday, generally between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm Eastern time.
As mentioned by classyflyer and posted by pb9997, if your flight had some kind of legal nexus within Brazil, their consumer protections should apply to your ticket. Here is the contact information for the relevant consumer protection agencies within Brazil. Please be clear in your communication and REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS IN PORTUGESE.
To translate your communications before submitting them:
http://translate.google.com
www.reclameaqui.com.br
Quote from pb9997: "This site is known to be the most popular, most viewed upon by companies who care about reputation; Though not official, it has proven to be the most respected by consumers and corporations, who may delay answers on their own channels but do take care to have teams focused on answering for this public site. Information written, from both parties, is public."
www.consumidor.gov.br
Quote again from pb9997: "This is the official PROCON site where consumers and companies present their complaints and arguments. It is official, additional care ought to be taken.
I would highly suggest following the order presented; With the first site the company has room to assess impact, prepare an amiable answer and protect their public reputation.
On the second site... well, it's official and what is written by both parties is the basis to act afterwards in a court of law. Ideally the complaint presented should have the Law that explains why a consumer has been impacted and the expected remedy, according [sic] to the Law."
As of 9/8/15 - Individuals who had tickets cancelled in the first round (8/28) have yet to see refunds post to credit cards.
Feel free to update this Wiki with more complete information.
[PREM FARE GONE] AA: GIG/GRU- multiple locations (HKG/LAX/MIA/SFO ETC) ~$200 Y ~$360
#1036
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYZ/SFO
Programs: AS MVPG, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 271
#1037
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,034
nope. nothing that different. but i'm just trying to save the normal folk some time cuz RGN threads were a pain to keep up with. you seem very invested in this, so i'm sure we'll see more of these. to be clear, i'm not telling anyone what to do or not do. i'm just saying virtually everything said here has been said before, both pro and con.
I really don't think this situation is very similar to that one.
#1038
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 158
I'm curious: Those who have bookings still intact, did you:
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
#1039
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,034
I'm curious: Those who have bookings still intact, did you:
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
#1040
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,664
FYI, AA has not responded yet to the DOT complaints filed on March 17 for the PEK fare "hold" issue, almost 6 months ago, so, plan accordingly...
#1041
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYZ/SFO
Programs: AS MVPG, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 271
That's crazy. I apologize if this has been answered before, but does the DoT do anything if the airline doesn't respond in time? Or is it a deadline without consequence?
#1042
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,664
The DOT is reportedly reviewing AA's "hold" rule (for 6 months now), and that is supposedly delaying those responses. As the DOT is reportedly also reviewing the whole mistake fares issue, I wouldn't necessarily expect any AA responses until a definitive directive is issued by the DOT on this topic as well.
#1043
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York
Programs: AA EXP - 2MM, NYC-MetroCard,
Posts: 207
I'm curious: Those who have bookings still intact, did you:
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
#1044
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: New York
Programs: DL PLT, Hilton Diamond, CX MPC Silver
Posts: 265
Has anyone with an "exchanged" ticket been canceled? Apologies if I missed any earlier data points
Side note: I have United States selected as my country of residence on both of the tickets issued, so not sure if that makes a difference regarding AA's claim for some misrepresenting such info
Side note: I have United States selected as my country of residence on both of the tickets issued, so not sure if that makes a difference regarding AA's claim for some misrepresenting such info
#1045
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYZ/SFO
Programs: AS MVPG, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 271
#1046
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: New York
Programs: DL PLT, Hilton Diamond, CX MPC Silver
Posts: 265
I don't know why they would manually issue a ticket and then manually re-issue that same ticket only to cancel it...
At this rate, I might have to wait until I connect to the inflight WiFi on the DFW-HKG leg to book any hotels in HKG
#1047
#1048
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: New York
Programs: DL PLT, Hilton Diamond, CX MPC Silver
Posts: 265
I'm thinking that perhaps some of us can add our data points to the wiki (similar to what people on the CC boards do for retention offers) so that the rest of the people following this thread can have a better idea of what's going on. Due to AA's lack of proper communication, I see few viable alternatives to know whether or not they're "done" with these ticket cancellations.
Judging by their actions as of late, I would not be entirely surprised if this were the case!!
Judging by their actions as of late, I would not be entirely surprised if this were the case!!
Last edited by travel_mav; Sep 1, 2015 at 6:43 pm
#1049
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 158
Has anyone with an "exchanged" ticket been canceled? Apologies if I missed any earlier data points
Side note: I have United States selected as my country of residence on both of the tickets issued, so not sure if that makes a difference regarding AA's claim for some misrepresenting such info
Side note: I have United States selected as my country of residence on both of the tickets issued, so not sure if that makes a difference regarding AA's claim for some misrepresenting such info
Now wishing I'd never completed that section!!
#1050
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: LAX,BUD
Programs: AA EXP,SPG G
Posts: 249
I'm curious: Those who have bookings still intact, did you:
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
1) Pay with Brazilian CC?
2) Not provide your frequent flyer number?
My two itineraries (one originating in the US, so I at least have clear DoT nexus) were both cancelled, and both had AAdvantage numbers added after they were ticketed. Hell, I even added my Business Extra number before they were cancelled!
2,I was logged in during the booking so the number was added right away