You gotta love an airline that doesn't even know it isn't going to take you on your flight, which no longer exists.

Preface - I needed an inexpensive way to/from SFO/MIA just before Xmas, on an outbound day when most Y seats are full on most airlines. FL had a great A fare. I went to the trouble of trying to get an Elite membership in the rewards program (first, refused, and then on email to higher-up, granted, although no one called or emailed back, but I noticed it in my profile).

I have been periodically checking my reservation online, and all was just peachy. However, when checking availability on the same flights (I wanted to see if more J came into availability, as one direction was in A), it said there was no MIA/SFO service available that day, etc. OR that the flights were full.

I checked on Apollo (Galileo) this morning to see my return flight was no longer in the system.

I called FL. Miss Sunny Disposition, nice as could be, read me back my itin, including the non-existent ATL/SFO flight. I told her it no longer exists, and she told me I was still confirmed on same. She was puzzled.

Hold....hold...hold....

Guess, what ... the flight no longer exists. They can't get me home the same day, and seeing how this was already after a SCL/MIA flight, I don't want to make my trip home a 3 day adventure.

I suppose the good news in all of this is that AA now has a competitive A fare, nonstop SFO/MIA, and I get credit on AS which I can use, getting me home hours earlier. (This was not available when I first booked the trip). Y is almost completely sold out on most carriers on the 23d, or even much more expensive than the A fare.

I cannot believe that when they cancel a flight, they don't tell you, you can't tell from checking your itinerary, and when you call, they still think everything is fine.

Good job, Airtran.