Originally Posted by
jerseytom
I was flying a DFW-DRO leg back on July 1, AA3224 which was dependent on 3289 from SBN. Getting into DFW the inbound was already delayed due to aircraft maintenance and as a result 3224 was pushed back from a ~250pm scheduled departure to ~430pm or thereabouts. Not the end of the world.
A bit later I check on 3289's status and now it's not scheduled to arrive DFW until something like 10pm. My flight, 3224, still shows ~430 scheduled, so that doesn't add up. At this point I'm wondering... should I just stick with this, or should I get a new routing that'll get me to DRO late-ish, but doesn't look likely to be cancelled?
I ask a GA re: inbound - "Well it looks like that's changed, your flight is still showing 430pm, they're pulling a plane out of the hangar now." Hours pass, 430 comes and goes, departure time pushes back, ask another GA - "They're going to pull a plane over on a tug from the maintenance hangar, or we're waiting on a new inbound, so hopefully we'll get sorted and going soon." Which sounds a lot less certain of what's actually happening. In reality we got a different inbound and departed around 7pm - so this "pulling a plane out of the hangar" line seems like it was just to get me to go away when I'd initially asked 5 hours earlier.
So in that situation where you're trying to figure out whether to stick with an incrementally delaying flight or rebook through the app or what not... what's best practice on who and what to ask? Does this "pulling a plane out" thing ever actually happen? Do the GA's really not know? Is there any way of getting a clearer picture, or does the airline really not have it figured out until the last minute?
The creeping delays have always been a head scratcher for me and I've wondered what's actually going on behind the scenes.
In my experience as a multi-year EP AAdvantage member who, despite the presence of Covid-19 still logged 110 EQS in 2020 and who has remained just as active with AA so far in 2021, here's my approach to the "incremental delay." The short answer is to do both...
1. The moment I'm notified of a delay, I always check to see if the inbound aircraft is also delayed. If so, I'll then pull up a doppler radar and the weather conditions to see what's happening in and around the origin airport. If conditions are calm and the forecast looks clear, I can rule out weather as the cause which in most circumstances will qualify the reason for the delay within the "controllable" category...aka, the airline has to be more accommodating. AA will almost always claim that it's "maintenance" if the cause of the delay is within their control, but that's like seeing a foreign tree for the first time and asking someone what type it is only to get "one with leaves" as an answer. It isn't technically incorrect, but it doesn't tell you much more than you already know. What's important to know is if the cause of the delay is within their control or not.
2. If not already at the airport, contact the AAdvantage desk. Or if already at the airport, speak to a GA or more preferably if you subscribe to the Admiral's Club, one of their agents. Usually the more tenured and senior employees manage these desks and are better equipped to help. But regardless of to whom you speak, always ask for the next possible flight options. Meanwhile, do some research on the AA app to see what's published for next flight possibilities.
3. Request to either be put on standby for the next flight option or if possible, request to be booked on the next flight while retaining your original flight itinerary. Plan for all options as I like to say, or #PFAO.
4. See which option presents itself first- the original flight or the next published flight for which you're on standby/ double booked.