As Exec_Plat says, at that price they were not "full F" fares (which is why they booked into A and P, not F).

If you had read the detailed fare rules prior to purchasing (or since, using your ticket number on the refunds site), you'd have been able to read oth the full fare code and detailed fare rules.

If you had, 1) at least one of those fare details defined something like: in cases like this you may choose to wait and be accommodated in the F cabin when seats in the same inventory are available (could even be in a day or two) or be accommodated in Main Cabin in the next available seats; 2) and all fare rules default to the most restrictive of the rules applicable to your PNR.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html

Most of the time these "instant upgrade" fares work out quite well: for a price not much higher than flexible coach, you end up in First. But, it's always true AA can substitute aircraft for operational reasons: an older NGBC aircraft substituted for a newer version with horizontal flat bed pods, a "downgauge" such as the one you endured, etc. At those times, you choose: continue on in coach, or wait at your own expense, possibly for days, for available First seats in the fare bucket you purchased.

You may be able to recover the difference between the "instant upgrade" and coach fare for the part of your itinerary you took a constructive downgrade on.

I highly recommend reading the "Detailed Fare Rules" - no, I really recommend reading and copying them to a file - before you purchase airline tickets, so you can make a more informed purchase and know what your rights are and are not. At least write down the detailed fare booking code so you can ask an agent to tell you what the rules allow / require.