Dallas49er

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"- Queen Gertrude, Hamlet, Act III, scene II

"Get over your (DYKWIA) self"-Dallas49er,FlyerTalk Forums, American AAdvantage, AA bag fee shenanigans at LAX T4: time for a DoT complaint

Spending an hour whinging about a bag charge on a trip to Hawaii vs. spending an hour in a lounge/ bar/waiting area prior to a trip to Hawaii-USELESS (paraphrasing MasterCard)

"The point about pay the fee now and take it up later is precisely the problem. That's what the skycap told me and I refused to do so."-
(SARCASM ON)So now we get to hear about it-Thanks for sharing.(SARCASM OFF)

I hope, in this era of sequestration, civil war and WMD in Syria, daily genocide in Africa, North Korean & Iranian nuclear capability, that AA Management & the DOT can give your world changing issue of a bag charge to Hawaii for a holiday, all the consideration it is due......

Enjoy your holiday in Hawaii

gradboozer

I understand that this may be a trivial issue for some, but the OP was in the right in this situation. Although I may not agree with OP's actions, it's a valid complaint.

Posts like this make people, especially new members like myself reluctant to post their grievances and get constructive, helpful feedback from the community.

I'm all for blasting the noob who didn't use the search tool, but come on; is this really necessary?

Dallas49er

Ask this community for help and you will get it 24/7/365

But rants, and rants being the opperent word, to the community about self-inflicted issues, trivialities, minutae, or just plain... deserve, I believe, our scorn.

Granted that this is a trivial issue, and OP is/was in the right.

IMHO-If it is self inflicted (which it was (OP could have paid and fought later and chose not to)), and then blown it out of proportion (which it is-DOT...seriously?), -to answer the question-yes.

mvoight

Are you suggesting the OP doesn't have to comply with the terms of the agreement regarding who is entitled to get "A"? "reservation must include the primary cardmember's American Airlines AAdvantageŽ number 7 days prior to air travel". If the documented terms and conditions outline a benefit, I cannot fault the airline because the branded cards of other airlines might have different rules.

mvoight

Did you meet the documented requirement that states your AA number must be on the reservation at least 7 days prior to travel?

Edit: It looks like OP, in a later post, indicated he did not know if he had done this 7 days in advance.L

Look at this logically. AA has no reason to piss off people when they follow the terms of the benefit
While you may argue, this card is not like another airline's card, that doesn't mean a DOT complaint is warranted if AA charges you for the bags because you did not follow the documented terms and conditions.

jordyn

If AA's goal was not to piss people off they wouldn't make it so that you had to follow a bunch of extra steps to get the benefit. Certainly showing your card should be sufficient proof if the goal was to let people use it with the least amount of annoyance possible.

ijgordon

No, that wouldn't prevent people from using a cancelled card to try and get the benefit.
I suppose they could say "charge the bag fee to your card and it will be refunded", but they don't.

ESpen36

Two thoughts:

1) Why check bags in the first place? I haven't checked bags in years. And I sometimes travel for 2+ weeks with my rollaboard and briefcase. It eliminates a lot of waiting and hassle. Every time I read threads like this one, I reaffirm my decision never to check bags.

2) 1 hr 10 minutes is too tight, IMHO, for checking in at the airport for an overseas flight like Hawaii, particularly with checked bags. Especially with no status and not flying in a premium cabin. I would recommend at least 2-2.5 hours. That way, if things go smoothly, you have more time to enjoy the lounge(s)!

nyc2socal

Why skycap in the first place? I would've just went to the checkin counter from the get go. I find the counter to be more friendly and knowledgeable. I'm also cheap and don't want to tip a skycap... Wait, based on your frustration, I guess you didn't tip the skycap.

Sez_Who

Agree with the others, would have just paid the fee and argued about it later. But that said, if the reason for the fee was because the OP failed to enter their AA number 7 days ahead of flt, would it have been difficult for someone to tell the OP that, or say something else regardless of the reason?

Often1

As soon as OP started getting into DOT issue, he spent 1:10 waiting for resolution. Those who want to spend the time can go read the DOT rule, but the Federal Register summary works for purposes of this thread. DOT doesn't generally get into FF status kvetches, but simply requires that the carrier include the baggage allowance for the specific itinerary in the e-ticket confirmation (see Federal Register below).

All OP needed to do was confirm, when he presumably confirmed that the e-ticket confirmation had the correct flights and so forth, that the allowance was correct. It is that allowance which the skycap, and AA CS people see when they pull up the PNR. If it's wrong, the time to correct it is then and there at the time of booking, not getting into whether it's a War Crime at the counter.

The added benefit of getting this stuff fixed is that if you are missing a FF #, entered it wrong or somesuch, it's fixed in advance and you are sitting in the lounge enjoying a pre-flight drink while the masses are stuck arguing about their minutiae. A less tolerant CSR would have denied check-in to OP as tardy and he would have waited for the next flight with award availability at a lovely LAX airport hotel.

So, bottom line ? to OP: What does your e-ticket confirmation say about baggage allowance?

Federal register summary

Requires carriers (U.S. and foreign) and ticket agents to include on e-ticket confirmations information about the free baggage allowance and applicable fees for the first and second checked bag and carry-on but allows ticket agents, unlike carriers, to do so through a hyperlink.

formeraa

You misread the OP's statement. It was 1hr 10mins BEFORE the cut-off time. In other words, he argued with the skycap and airport agents for 1hr 10mins! Again, at the end of the day, charge the fee and call/email AA customer service later. No need to miss your flight!

zski1

As an aside, you don't have to be on orders to get free bags. Active duty ID is all you need for no-fee checked baggage on AA.

Back on topic, add me to the list of people who would have just paid the fee and disputed the charge w AA or Citi later. Seems like that would be less of a nuisance than arguing for an hour before the flight and filing a DOT complaint after.

atsak

Agree that AA would have refunded the bag charges . I ran into a similar problem (though not exactly the same) to HNL myself just after bag fees started when we had an overnight in LAX where our flight got in late and we took the second flight of the morning, because getting two kids on the first one after getting in late the night before wasn't feasible (it was booked this way in case our flight was late).

AA charged me both times for bags, even though it was a connecting flight because it was treated as a stopover (because we took the second flight of the day). I did argue, but for 5 minutes and then suggested I'd be better to take it up with AA CS - the check in agent agreed this was the best plan because she could not override them and my argument was fair. I asked her to note on the PNR my objection, which she did.

They refunded because it was not clear that I would be charged twice on the itinerary they provided. I imagine they've fixed this issue now. They refunded me in about a week.

I do find the bag fees irritating (but am aware they're not going anywhere) so these days vote with my wallet and fly Southwest most of the time in the US, though frankly I'd rather fly AA. I can certainly understand the OP sticking to his guns, but I have found over a couple of experiences that sticking to your guns just inconveniences you, which is never worth saving $50 on the spot if you have recourse afterwards.

hillrider

No, I am 100% in agreement with you and was the first one in this thread to both post the T&Cs and ask the OP if he/she had met them (see my post #4 in reply to the OP).

The post you quoted was my reply to someone saying "why would the DOT care" to hear about a situation like this (presuming, of course, that AA was in the wrong, which does not appear to be the case in this instance given the OP's waffling). And the answer stands. Nothing more.