FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - AA Oversells AA76, Strands 27 8th Graders at LAX
Old Apr 2, 2013, 8:27 am
  #31  
jordyn
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
Originally Posted by sts603
How do you think those other passengers would have felt? Maybe they know IDB policy. Maybe they don't. But skipping over the last to check in passengers without seat assignments to IDB someone else goes against AA's protocol. If those passengers had seat assignments or had checked in at T-24 knowing that they didn't have seat assignments and were at risk for IDB - and still get IDBed anyways, I'd certainly be POed. These policies are in place for a reason. Anyone who wants to can learn how to best avoid an IDB.
They would probably feel really annoyed that they bought a ticket and then American didn't get them to their destination through no fault of their own. But there would be 6 of them and the plane would have left completely full.

As an alternative, 27 people felt really annoyed that they bought tickets and then American didn't get them to their destination through no fault of their own. And the plane flew with 20 empty seats.

The policy is designed to help American who to choose IDB, but the conditions of carriage already acknowledge that time of check-in is not a hard and fast rule:

American will usually deny boarding based upon check-in time, but we may also consider factors such as severe hardships, fare paid, and status within the AAdvantageŽ program.
The GA really should have used some discretion to try and achieve a better outcome.
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