Originally Posted by Viajero
Doesn't this happen all the time? This mornng I reserved and open segment AKL-ADL, for a flight that right now does no exist, or the many FTers that reserve open segments to ANC, a seasonal flight. In none of these cases this represents a problem, either for reservation or ticketing, so I must be missing something because I fail to see why "the agent must enter a date into the computer that is valid so that the computer knows its a valid flight". I guess it's time for another 1-2-3-4 list to help me understand and fly happy again.
I guess I just dont understand why this is a question. I have found, though, that it usually means that 1) I am not making myself clear or 2) that I am seeing a different question or problem than what is being asked. My underlying point, though, is that its not something worth worrying about. Your ticket is king. You could have 20 seperate reservations for a 20 segment ticket if you chose to. If AA insists on putting a date in the reservation for an open ticket then fine. Let them do 2x the work if they choose. Just make sure that your ticket is OPEN if you want an OPEN ticket and you are good to go. If they insist on dating the res just put the dates far in advance so the res doesnt auto cancel. In other words, if you think you will be flying from NY to London sometime in December or January, put the date in April and change it when you need to. AA has ideosyncracies both with their pricing agents and their computer systems that you need to learn to deal with if youre going to do business with them. In fact, all the carriers do. That's why the question of which is the "best" to buy a ticket from or do a reroute is futile. Each has their way of doing things and each has advantages and disadvantages. If the idea of giving them a date is bothersome then just go to Cathay or whatever and have it ticketed because this is obviously one of those ideosyncracies specifically with AA.