Flying AA 671 this morning (LUS). Received a message last night saying I'd been downgraded due to an 'equipment swap.' Problem is, they didn't swap the equipment at all - exact same LUS 321. Called reservations about it, got a helpful agent who tried to figure out what happened, but told me - after a half hour of waiting on hold - that the person who's worked on the flight was gone for the day. Said she put me back on the upgrade list ("You never know!"), but didn't appear on the airport list. Tweeted AA about that and they added me, but now I'm basically at the bottom - presumably because I lost my time stamp.

The downgrade itself came with 5,000 miles, which I can live with (though I would have preferred to retain my seat). Downgrades happen, I get it. What I don't appreciate is the sense that I'm being lied to about an equipment swap or the runaround that I feel like I have to go through to try to make things normal.

Any of the experts here care to take a stab at getting to the bottom of this? Or has anyone else had a similar problem? Many thanks.