Originally Posted by
Dr. HFH
AA markets it as a different and improved Business Class product. But it's still Business Class. What matters is the fare basis as filed, and I'm fairly certain that the AA fare basis for Flagship Business is the same as for non-Flagship Business. The fact that some aircraft have it and some don't is irrelevant. If your upgrade fare was for Flagship Business and the fare basis is different from the fare basis for non-Flagship Business, then you may have an argument. But I don't think that that is the case.
AA does actively manage flight restrictions in domestic J fare rules to prohibit flights on "Flagship" marketed segments or at least aircraft on flatbeds when they are seasonal (not sure if "flagship", like widebody on LAX-HNL in the winter) - see typical examples below. So I think OP does have a valid complaint that recliner J is not an even substitute for flagship J. AA claims there is a difference when selling a fare. It's just squeezing that out of AA for a couple hundred dollars at best might be not worth the effort and ongoing frustration. I think that AA should be more customer friendly here, but that's another point.
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN LAX AND SDF
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY AA FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA
BUT NOT ON AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A321 (SHARKLETS) AIRCRAFT.
AND
...
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN JFK AIRPORT
AND LAX
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY AA FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA
BUT NOT ON AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A321NEO PASSENGER
AIRCRAFT.
AND
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN JFK AIRPORT
AND LAX
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY AA FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA
BUT NOT ON AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A321 (SHARKLETS) AIRCRAFT.
...
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN LAX AND MIA
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY AA FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA
BUT NOT ON BOEING 777-200/200ER AIRCRAFT.
...
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN DFW AND
HAWAII
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY AA FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA
BUT NOT ON AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A321 (SHARKLETS) AIRCRAFT.
AND
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN DFW AND
HAWAII
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY AA FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA
BUT NOT ON BOEING 777-200/200ER AIRCRAFT.
AND
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN DFW AND
HAWAII
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY AA FLIGHT OPERATED BY AA
BUT NOT ON BOEING 777-300ER AIRCRAFT.
...
Truncating a huge chunk of the rules since I think the point is clear.