Originally Posted by
clarkeysntfc
Looking for a bit of advice so hopefully I'm in the right place.
On Dec 31st my wife and I were due to fly TPA -> MIA (AA565) connecting to MIA-LHR (BA208). Ticketed by BA as a single booking. AA was coach (main cabin extra) and BA was business/club world.
The AA flight was over 2.5 hours late, which meant that our connection was impossible.
What's normal for AA in respect of re-booking in this scenario? I was extremely surprised at the lack of support AA offered.
The AA agent at TPA:
- initially offered only a re-route via CLT in economy all the way. Claimed TPA-LGW on BA was full.
- no re-booking with any other airline other than BA/AA, she would not even countenance using DL/VS/UA etc.
- spent ages and ages (30+ mins) on the phone to some back office on two occasions, neither of which seemed to yield anything other than a shrug.
- after nearly 2 hours of persistence, she finally conjured up 2 Club World seats on the direct TPA-LGW flight.
I'd expect to be protected in the cabin I booked unless I volunteered for a downgrade to arrive sooner than possible otherwise. I would never, however, rely on an airline employee to tell me what flights were available as this data is available to me via EF. Regarding your notes above about the offerings:
- Unacceptable to only offer up Y routing (I'd bet that's all she checked..."oh, i can get you there via CLT!"). Obviously you could have thrown the TPA-LGW lie in their face with the data
- I'd expect AA to allow airline switch if that is the best option. Don't think DL is a possibility there anymore, though.
- Pathetic service
In general, I think you should arm yourself with data regarding flight loads and potential routes to minimize pain. Always easier to stay on current airline/alliance so know those options. AA has many gateways to LHR and BA has many more. Glad it worked out