dnedved

I've been commuting weekly on AA and lately I've been choosing not to pay for a specific seat since it's short flights with no baggage. Now I can't check in online, the counter agent gives me a "priority verification card" and I have to go to a kiosk at each gate to get a seat for that flight only.

I don't care about which seat I get, but I'm paying full fare and definitely expect a confirmed seat. Am I flying standby? If I have a tight connection could I run to my gate and find that the seat I think I've bought was given away? Do I have to pony up another $12 or so and choose my seat to get to check in once per trip?

This is really annoying, they've found yet another way to make domestic air travel more stressful and less user-friendly.

obscure2k

Moving thread to AA Forum
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

rjw242

First, you're probably not paying "full fare" in the standard sense (because if you were, you'd be able to select a seat at no extra charge). You're paying discount economy fares. In this case, you'll often have to pay to reserve a seat in advance. That's how it works in the airline industry these days.

Second, if you're confirmed on the flight, you aren't flying standby. However, without a confirmed seat, you're at somewhat higher risk of being denied boarding if the flight is oversold. Usually agents will go to significant lengths to find volunteers to give up their seats, but occasionally people do get denied boarding involuntarily. If that ever happens, federal law may entitle you to cash compensation. But you're not flying standby, and they're not going to "sell your seat" during your connection.

Finally, if you're commuting weekly with connections, chances are you'll get status soon enough (if you don't already have it). This will entitle you to more complimentary seat options.

Kagehitokiri

if economy was expensive, double check F price, may not be that much more

Fly2Where

OP doesn't care about which seat he is having. also, he doesn't seems willing to pay $12 extra to choose seat, so checking F price maybe not be the best solution to OP.

as rjw242 pointed out, he is not flying standby, he just need to obtain the seat at the gate.

emcat

In the summer it's tougher for airlines to predict the number of seats they can sell to avoid oversell situations because a significant number of seats may have to fly empty due to heat restrictions on the day of the flight.

If you're flying short trips on RJs with less than 60 seats, and have no status, I'd consider forking over the $12 to get a seat. At the very least, check in as early as possible to reduce the chance of IDB, as you'd be entitled to no compensation in this case.

dnedved

Thanks for explaining. I understand more but just wanted to know if I can continue to expect this as every agent I talked to was surprised. Is it normal for aa that everyone who doesn't pay for specific seats has to confirm and get every boarding pass at the gate?

It's their business, they can do what they want. If this is the case I wish it was more clear about the different level of service you get when you pay for a seat. It's not only getting aisle, exit row, etc it's the ability to check in online and avoid multiple lines and have a greater percentage of flights completed? That's huge for me even if I don't care about being in the middle seat.

Thanks again, once fully informed as a consumer I'll make the choice which meets my needs.

jordyn

No, this generally only happens when they've overbooked the flight and aren't able to assign you a seat right away. While this isn't exactly rare, it also shouldn't be a commonplace experience. And as others have pointed out, if you fly at least 25K miles or 30 flights this year, you'll become get Gold status and be able to assign more seats for free (and even MCE seats within 24 hours of the flight).

FWIW, it is kind of silly that AA can't give you a priority verification card via online checkin. I agree that it would be nice if not having a seat assignment also didn't break your checkin experience. For now, though, you will have a somewhat greater risk of this happening unless you pay or get to the thresholds for Gold status.

Kagehitokiri

at least in the past UA simply dumps everyone without a seat into open economy plus at gate

Fly2Where, i have been surprised how low premium can be for F

3Cforme

It doesn't always indicate overbooking in the defined DOT sense. AA holds back some seats for gate assignment to families and the disabled. It won't allow assignment of all 160 seats a day or two in advance on a 160-seat 738, for example.

There's also the case of some seats being held for elites. Count the complaints of elites who buy a ticket on short-notice and can't confirm a seat (or aisle seat, or exit seat, or MCE).

Elite status - even lowly gold - will probably fix most of the OP's problems with this. If he is continually flying very busy routes (and it is summer, with summer load factors) buying on very short notice, some issues may remain.

xliioper

I'm guessing you don't have any status yet on AA. There are seats available for free to those who do not have status, but it is likely they were all chosen by the time you booked. This leaves only preferred seats available, which are free to those with status, but can only be purchased by those without. Once you get to the gate for your seat assignment, they will assign whatever is leftover from those preferred seats for free. Generally, these are going to be middle seats. If you are commuting weekly, you should get AA status eventually and then you will be able to pick the preferred seats for free at booking.

swag

AA reserves some seats that only elites can pre-select. That number has been increasing of late, especially on elite-heavy routes. While a few flights may be overbooked, there are far more where it's just that the free seats available to non-elites have already been taken.

So, practical advice.

Just because there are no free seats to select when you book, doesn't mean that some won't open later. It can happen anytime, but it's most common in the few days before departure. You can use even the free version of Expert Flyer to set up to receive email alerts when any non-paid seat becomes available. Then go grab it.

lixiaojuventus

I currently have no status on AA, and will take a flight going AAA-ORD-BBB tomorrow, where ORD-BBB is operated by ERJ. I tried to check-in online, but the system only puts me through AAA-ORD, but did not check me in for ORD-BBB, and I do not have a seat (seat map full). There are two more ORD-BBB later in the day, but both are also close to full (but still with empty seats on the seat map).

I want to know what will happen if I get IDB'ed from the flight. I remember that the IDB compensation for smaller aircraft is a little different. Will I get no compensation at all if I get IDB'ed? Thanks!

3Cforme

http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/publi...tm#overbooking

They have to ask for volunteers.

You may still be eligible for IDB compensation if the problem is an oversale instead of weight/balance issues forcing the carrier to fly with empty seats.

lixiaojuventus

I see. Thanks!