as I suspected they are lying and trying to screw over consumers. Ignorance is no excuse for these AS employees....so before the cover for the AS FA crowd swarms in and says oh pity the poor FAs dont know.... lets get that out of the way right now they should know so they are lying. They'll never see a companion fare usable for F class if they applied on that flight. Usually I go with the flow but I think in that instance with such a massive cut in benefits I wouldve rang the FA call button and when they came to give me an app I wouldve called them on their BS
As much as I despise this change,* I'm going to call you on this for being beyond unfair to the FAs. You can be angry at the company and even angry at the specific executives and managers who instituted this change, but you should not take your anger out on front-line employees. If they haven't heard yet--and it's very, very likely that most haven't--it's not their fault. Direct your anger at AS for not efficiently communicating this information to their employees.
*I do despise this change, even though I never have bought and never foresee buying a full F fare (short of it being filed as a mistake fare), since even with the companion certificate cutting the cost almost in half, the cost is far beyond what I could ever afford to spend on a trip. To me, I am angry because it is a benefit that many folks whom I consider friends cherish and because it is yet another major benefit taken away in a long, long slew of benefits being taken away, which only furthers the perception that this is a long trend that shows no signs of abating. I'm choosing to honor Niemöller's quote, except that instead of "First they came for First Class with the companion certificate," it may better be stated "And the fifteenth cut in the last year and a half they came for..."