MileageMule

We're running into this problem for a reservation a month out, and we ran into the same problem on both of our last two flights.

Again, is it wrong to expect that a 75K on an R fare who books two months in advance, and has two preferred seats, have their flight changed without notice, then lose those adjoining preferred seats while the preferred cabin was filled? I should have at least been assigned two adjoining preferred seats for that flight, rather than "unassigned" with nothing but a handful of middles left in main cabin. (or a exit row that I'm ineligible for due to disability)

I'm 0/2 on upgrades since renewing 75k. My partner is 0/2 on upgrades since renewing MVPG. (This will move us to 0/3 traveling together) If this is what we're to expect from the "new" AS Mileage Plan, what benefits are there that make AS competitive with the competition?

bon mot

Just got off the phone dealing with yet again another schedule change to my BOS flight that I happened to stumble on vs being notified (3rd time for this booking). Contrast this with an over-the-top apology email I received last week concerning a "schedule change" to my international award reservation where the only adjustments were updated AS fare codes. Priorities!

Eastbay1K

It isn't wrong to expect that the airline would try and accommodate this. It is wrong to expect that it is a guaranteed result when flights are changed. I would expect that if there aren't two adjoining reserved seats on the new flight that they aren't going to just reassign those already in the seats to accommodate you and your traveling companion.

I'd also expect that AS would change your flights or dates to one where you could sit together, given the now approximate two feet of separation. You're closer than you would be, say, on a 787 up front, even with adjoining seats.

I can't say I'm sorry that I don't feel particularly sympathetic in this fact situation, when the end result is adjoining aisles. Had the result been two middle seats, several rows apart, I'd be furious.

And I do not expect this to be the "new" AS Mileage Plan. I expect this to be an airline trying to save every last cent it reasonably can to avoid insolvency during the worst financial crisis in commercial aviation history. I know we'd all rather fly on our original itineraries in our original seat assignments on planes with 20-some passengers. But I also know I'd rather also be flying AS in a year or two, as a solvent company that didn't go broke over flying me somewhere in a seat elbow-knocking distance from my traveling companion.

AndyKehn

Like I said you would encounter the same issue regardless of "competition". Every airline out there is trying to cut cost as much as possible. Only guaranteed benefits matter. For AS these are huge bonus RDM and free sdc (Delta has this too). I would never count on upgrades as part of elite benefits. Also AS is the easiest to qualify for, between 50% eqm, being mileage-based, and fares being dirt cheap. And with fares so low just pay for F if you need them, or go with the cheapest and most convenient fares out there. Go try DL/AA/AS and come back to report how they treat you as "elites'. This environment is no place for DYKWIA.

Xrayman

+1.

Receive emails about a 5 minute time change, which is appreciated. However, when flight outright cancelled for my March flights no notification whatsoever. It wasn’t until I panicked about not having a return home flight(s) that I realized. Lucky I keep email and a log of all my flights in a spread sheet for easy reference as a means to be able to discuss with phone agents.

anteater

For Hawaii flight in early April, I just received a schedule change email where the delta was 1 hour. The reservation was automatically confirmed on the new time even though I did not consent to the change, nor was the typical schedule change confirm or call notice present on the AS app.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Bellerina

The lack of consistent notifications is the most irksome. When I spoke to an agent last year, they said they would send a notification 2 weeks prior to the flight, but during COVID times when there are sometimes only 1-2 flights per day to the destination, this can cause enormous problems. I really don't see why it is so hard to change the notification process from 2 weeks before flight to within 24 hours of change.

Eastbay1K

Inconsistent, and frustrating. I check my itineraries on a nearly daily basis lately.

As for why it is so hard, well, I've visited the HQ more than once, and although I didn't get a good look, I think this is the notification processing system:

vanillabean

I glance in the iPhone app every so often so to see if there's a reschedule banner. I didn't see any yesterday, but as I browsed my trips on the website, I noticed a change to one of the two return flights of one trip with the original vs new schedule lineup. I called and spoke with the nicest person you could imagine. My return flights were updated to a schedule with no more 1) having to get up 4 a.m. (now mid-morning), 2) three rows of sold-out first class (now four rows fully available), 3) tight layover (now comfortable with time to put my Amex Platinum lounge access to good use). So not so bad it wasn't good for something.

Bellerina

Seems a little strange the flight went from full F to empty F. Makes me worried others haven’t seen the change and haven’t automatically been put on the new flight. Will make it extremely difficult if they don’t receive notification for another month.

Glad the changes work for you though!

gobears293

Well, like everyone else, it seems like my flight has changed again. Alaska has gotten rid of all the SFO to Florida direct flights (around the dates of my travel in May). Originally booked SFO-FLL, that non-stop was cancelled so we changed to MCO, first schedule change on that flight was okay, now the flight is totally gone.

This will be the 5th or 6th instance over the past nine months where my wife and I will shift business from Alaska to Delta due to schedule changes. Alaska's one-stop options on our routes have just been horrid compared to Delta (and even United). She is 75K and I am MVPG, we totally prefer Alaska, but this continues to be ridiculous.

anteater

I continue to observe odd schedule change behavior. Twice now, I have been rerouted from SEA to PDX for reservations in March and April.

1st DP: flight change time was less than 30 min, but I still had plenty of time to catch the next flight (> 1 hour).

2nd DP: the flights were exactly the same. The AS rep said it appeared that because the original fare class was no longer available that the system changed me onto the next closest routing with my available fare class.

Both were I fare class flights. One I received an email notification and the other via the app. I’m glad I was notified so I could preserve my 1A seats on the reservations.

AS IT.. oh boy!

simonsuo

I have a very interesting change to one of my reservations.
Originally, I booked LAX-FLL-LAX same day MR. Then the Feburary schedule change resulting an overnight stay, so I called in to changed it to LAX-SEA-FLL(+1)-LAX(+1). During that call, I did ask if I can switch to LAX-IAD, and turned down.
Today, when I checked back in, I got an extra LAX-IAD added, as LAX-SEA-FLL(+1)-LAX(+1)-IAD(+1)-LAX(+1). The LAX-IAD departs before my FLL-LAX arrives. I just want to check if anyone out there got an extra segment mysteriously added. And before I call in to make it work, I want to make sure I won't lose it while calling in.

PDXPremier

That is AWESOME! *Jealous* I doubt you will lose it if it's ticketed like that. Last November I was supposed to fly (same day) PDX-SEA-PDX....my PDX-SEA went mechanical and so I figured I would just take an earlier PDX-SEA flight on QX, but while I was sitting at the gate, I noticed the system had re-booked me in F (since I had been upgraded on PDX-SEA) from PDX-SMF-SEA so I decided to take it, but even though it was auto-rebooked, I still had to stop at the desk and have it officially ticketed that way....not a bad way to get some extra miles on the way to SEA

simonsuo

Call 1:
Can't believe the system can do us a favor sometimes. I just called and, from an original LAX-FLL-LAX cheap trip, now I'm able to manufacture it as the following
D1: SNA-SEA-FLL
D2: FLL-SAN-SFO-SNA
D3: LAX-IAD-LAX
Total old EQM 7020, RMD 9360
Total new EQM 16986, 22656
Agent did it pretty fast, and told me to check back 10-15 minutes, and she cleared some premium class upgrade right away on some segments.
When I checked, the bonus LAX-IAD-LAX is gone. That's sad, and I'm not giving up.

Call 2:
It took me a while to explain why I'm missing the LAX-IAD-LAX, then she quoted the several ticketed changes and can't find that bonus. Then I told her I called this morning, maybe check what was going on earlier. She was able to understand the LAX-IAD-LAX segments, then on hold back and forth for a while. In the end, I was only able to defer 1 day for my preferred date since she can't get my bonus LAX-IAD ticketed. Whole call took almost 1 hour and she was checking with supervisor a lot I guess.
D2: SNA-SEA-FLL
D3: FLL-LAX-SFO-SNA
When I pushed harder, she eventually admit my original proposed 3days routing is illegal. I can't have two roundtrips transcon on the same ticket. That additional LAX-IAD-LAX is added to my reservation out of any reason she can think of, but it is never ticketed. Essentially, on my original 3 day trip, it's okay to go from Los Angeles - Florida - DC - Los Angeles, but between Florida and DC, I can't go back to LA (or west coast actually) to make it. Out of curiosity, I put a one way search between IAD and FLL, and no flights are purchasable. Because there is no east coast transfer city on an Alaska flight. However, when I search a multicity trip, it is bookable on one ticket as lax-fll-lax-iad-lax.
So no more bonus trip, but still I make a change with slightly more miles.
Final thoughts, airlines routing rules are black boxes, and probably only very backend IT guys and supervisors know it better. I thought what I could do on my first call to preserve my bonus ticket without violating the routing rules, and schedule change rules (+/-1day same original/destination), couldn't think of a way to do it. But considering the bookable multicity trip, I should have change my bonus LAX-IAD-LAX segment instead of my original one.