2011 xxx Flight Cancellation / Delay / Diversion on (date) (consolidated - obsolete)
 

AA 1286 Cancelled DFW - ATL
 

As I landed in DFW I get an email saying my flight to ATL was cancelled and that I have been rebooked on a later flight.

The later flight is only a little more than an hour later than my original flight. My problem is that i was going to ATL for one meeting and now I will be an hour late getting to the meeting and the person i am meeting with was not happy. This was the only reason i was going to ATL.

When i went into the AC they told me the flight was "no longer in service" and that it was probably a mech issue but they didn't know for sure. My guess is that they cancelled it b/c the flight was empty and so was the next flight.

I am new to AA, currently Gold and on a Plat challenge. I know that if i were to vol give up my seat on a overbooked flight i would be compensated. What if anything should I expect?

Fliight 1296?
 

The cancellation of a flight solely b/c of a light load is one of the great travel-related urban legends. AA (and all other carriers for that matter) need planes and crews at their scheduled destinations. Taking a plane + crew out of the schedule causes a significant ripple throughout the system so the chances are great that it was a mechanical issue - and the system hadn't been updated w/that information yet.

You should expect to arrive in Atlanta slightly later than your original flight. You may also receive a few thousand RDM in your AAdvantage account.

As for the issue of the canceled meeting/unhappy client. I assume you meant you were on Flight 1296, w/a 9:25 departure & a scheduled arrival of 12:25 pm. If so, then you have presumably been rebooked on AA 1868, w/a scheduled arrival less than one hour later (1:20 pm) than your original flight. If less than an hour causes that serious a problem w/your meeting/client, etc.. then in the future - give yourself a bigger time buffer for potential problems.

AA1286 is a DFW-RIC flight.

AA1296 is the DFW-ATL flight that canceled.

[KVS Availability Tool 6.0.2/Diamond - WSpan Operational Info: AA 1296/06 Jan 2011]

Sorry it is 1296 that was Cancelled...typing this on my iPad with fat fingers.

As far as canceling b/c of a light load, I understand the ripple effect, but one has to wonder when you can fit all the passengers from both flight onto one and still have a lot of empty seats.

And as far as planning my trip better...this was the earliest that AA could get me to atl today and i didn't want to spend two nights in ATL.

So it was take this route and time on AA or fly CO which i really didn't want to do.

Maybe it's just me, but if I need to be at a meeting I would never schedule a flight with an arrival time so close to the meeting time. Sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and fly "the other airline" if it's a more attractive schedule. Or schedule the meeting later.

You are actually very fortunate AA was able to put you on a different flight arriving so close to your original arrival time. I have sat in airport for 3+ hours because of various flight isses (mech, weather, crew, etc). Getting there an hour later is par for the course in my opinion.

If the meeting is important, you should schedule them not at the moment you arrive in ATL where one hour delay will cause you to be one hour late for the meeting. Give yourself 2-3 hours of wiggle room in case of plane or traffic delay.

I agree. Although it's annoying when airlines don't get you to your destination on time, for an important business meeting it's crazy not to anticipate that your flight might not be at least an hour late. In a situation where your whole trip is dependent on this one meeting, flying in the night before is probably the right solution.

or at a minimum take the earlier connecting flight from the alternate nearby airport.

AA 3265
HOU 06:00 AM
DFW 07:10 AM

AA 1140
DFW 07:55 AM
ATL 11:00 AM

Echoed what everyone else said here. An hour delay for ATC control, minor mechanical problem, catering delays, bad headwinds, customer service issues while boarding, inbound crew delay, or a combination of the above just has to be an accepted part of travel.

As to why your flight was canceled, no flights do not get canceled due to low loads (with the exception of what LarryJ explains below). But regardless, you have ABSOLUTELY NO basis for your statement. Based on your handle, you are a lawyer. As a lawyer, you should know better than to make statements with no basis. Guess that's why our profession gets such a bad reputation :rolleyes:

You're an airline. You find yourself short one airplane at your big hub and that will mean that you have to cancel a flight. Which flight will you choose to cancel? One that's heavily booked without any good re-route options for the displaced passengers or one that's lightly booked with a backup flight available less than an hour later?

I agree, another airline might have been a better option, but the OP stated they are in the midst of of Plat Challenge.

I didn't know that AA flew out of HOU. I thought they only serviced IAH.

Had I known I would have taken that flight.

I don't disagree with that decision, but is it any different then AA asking me to take a later flight because they wanted to make more $$ and overbooked a fight. In this case they are asking (or forcing) me to take a later flight so other people can get to their destination on time and all because they failed to maintain their equipment.

All in all the later flight actually got in very early and I will make my meeting without a significant delay and so I am not seeking any compensation from AA.