I have not had to deal much with the AA around-the-world desk for some time, but I must say that some of my experiences have been very negative. For example, one agent insisted that I had already traveled on most (but not all) all the segments on my unused ticket. The same guy also insisted that the segments were out of order and that the ticket was invalid. And all I wanted was seat reservations. In this sort of situation, the only thing to do is to say ‘thank you’, hang up, and try again. But it did take me a while to catch my breath.