fly co to see the yanks

I booked AA flight on AAmericAAn AAirlines AAbout AA month AAgo AAnd there wAAs AA schedule chAAnge. i know this becAAuse i wAAs trying to book the exAAct itinerAAry for AA friend. when i noticed the different times, i cAAled AA.

my question is, when were they going to inform me of this time chAAnge?

sheesh.

trav2000

You say you booked a month ago. But, when is the actual date of travel? If it's still far in the future, AA might have other changes still upcoming.

Shareholder

If you provided us with a few more details about your booking, you would get a better answer. For example, when is your departure, and how significant was the sked change? A few minutes, a few hours? Were connections involved?

Often it takes a while to notify about sked changes for a variety of reasons. Priority is given to flight dates closer to the current one, so any changes involving connections can be made, and then airlines work backwards.

So before you go off accusing AA of letting you down, details please.

bigeyes1

I must admit AA doesn't inform you of changes made to your itinerary. Or at least, they haven't with me. I made a call asking this very same thing. Their response was to make sure to either call or check AA online to see if the itinerary has changed or not. I always make it a point to do this.

Thus far, our itinerary has changed twice with our upcoming trip to Colorado in June.

So, word of advice. Always check your flight schedule before you leave. I certainly wouldn't want any unexpected surprises.

fly co to see the yanks

the flight was for may and the change was about an hour earlier. i had to cancel and re-book on delta because i would have to leave work too early to make the new flight time and my boss wouldn't like that.

i just think that as soon as AA realizes there is going to be a change, they should let the (platinum) passenger know since there are fare sales all the time.

i understand there are variables, but given the state of airline fares (changing constantly and prices that fluctuate wildly (and that's to put it mildly)), time is an asset in re-booking a flight.

Plato90s

There has been times when I noticed the schedule/equipment change on AA.com or via VirtuallyThere before anyone contacted me.

But AA has always called me on the designated contact phone # asking me to call them back. Once I did, they worked with me to rebook, if necessary.

Doppy

It's really hit or miss on getting notified. I've gotten notified via postcard and phone in the past.

A later flight isn't necessarily a problem (ignoring any personal schedule conflicts), but an earlier flight is often a problem. Five minutes early isn't going to make me miss my flight, but if I show up to catch a noon flight that's now departing at 11AM, I'm probably going to be in trouble.

The majority of people who travel more than a couple times a year probably have access to e-mail; they should just have a system in place to e-mail changes of more than 5 minutes or so.

d

0524

I received a schedule change notification in the mail today from AA for a mid-April trip.

Scooterino

I have a trip next week, an international trip at that, and I happened to notice on my own that the flight times and even a flight # has changed (enough to be significant), yet to this day no one at AA has ever notified me of these changes.

It's a good thing I checked on them myself or else not only might I miss a flight, but I would still be looking for the old flight #, not knowing that it had changed. Maybe they figured that they would just tell me at the gate, but in my book that's not acceptable. Airlines should inform you of all schedule and/or flight changes at least 7 days in advance. I see no reason why they couldn't set up some automated system, like when your Dr's office uses an automated call to remind you of your appointment, or as stated in an earlier post, an email to those who have it.

I just think there's no excuse for not informing passengers of changes. Period.

AirSamurai

I received a detailed (computer generated) letter two weeks ago concerning changes to two international flights -- both now departing ten minutes later that when I purchased the tickets in late January.

The flights are in mid and late April, so I had at least a month's notice.

Shareholder

Considering your change is in May, I would not expect AA to notify you for another couple of weeks, since there could be further changes closer to flight time. As you must realize, all carriers are rebuilding their schedules by the week, as volumes of passengers and bookings grow to pre-9.11 levels.

I have always received sked change notices on all my AA bookings, either by email or snail mail, 3 to 4 weeks prior to the flight. If I happen to notice a sked change, unless it is a major one which results in mis-connections, I don't sweat it. I know the new times, and will check within a week of travel to ensure they have not further changed.

Under normal circumstances, I would not expect AA to contact you until three or four weeks prior to your flight. Nothing unusual here.

fly co to see the yanks

maybe "nothing unusual" but that doesn't mAAke it right.

i like the earlier suggestion. there should just be an automatic system such that if there is AA schedule chAAnge, AAmerican sends an email.

again, time is the best weapon for travelers since fares radically change on a day to day (or minute to minute) basis.

Plato90s

There is an automatic up-to-date system for flight notification via e-mail or page.

It's called... Flight Notification.

Sign up for it, and you'll get updates on everything, including gate changes.

Top Tier

I got the following from United today, maybe AA ought to think about coming up with something like this.

Dear Mr Mc***:

I'm excited to tell you about an innovative service
enhancement from United, one that will save you time
and keep you informed each time you fly with us. Once
you sign up for this new service, you?ll know the
status of your flight and other travel information
before you reach the airport.

INTRODUCING UNITED EASYUPDATE

EasyUpdate(SM) is an exclusive United service that
delivers important travel notifications to you before
your flight, including:

- Seat upgrades
- Gate changes
- Arrival or departure information
- Flight delays
- Cancellations and rebookings

This time-sensitive travel information can be sent to
you wherever you are, via any device you choose: cell,
home or work phone, e-mail, pager, PDA or fax. You can
even have information sent to co-workers, family or
friends. Only EasyUpdate offers you this kind of
comprehensive capability.

SIGN UP ONE TIME ONLY

Unlike our competition's services, you only need to
SIGN UP ONCE for EasyUpdate. Then we'll keep you
informed for all of your future flights with us. To
sign up now, just click on the link below and follow
the instructions.

http://www.united.com/easyupdate

MORE SMART TECHNOLOGY TO SAVE YOU TIME

In addition to EasyUpdate, United continues to roll out
a variety of new airport and information technology --
all designed to save you time and make your travel
easier. Our other products include United EasyCheck-
in(SM) units, United EasyInfo(SM) large-screen displays
and United EasyAccess(SM) wireless capabilities.

We are pleased to offer you this suite of Easy Travel
Products. Together, they contribute to a growing list
of reasons to fly United. As we continue to focus on
new ways to serve you better, I want to reaffirm that
safety and security remain at the heart of everything
we do. I hope United will be your airline of choice the
next time you fly.

We appreciate your business,

Chris Bowers
Senior Vice President
Marketing and Sales



------------------
-Bob Mc

DrHowser

American already has this...it is called Flight Notification. It calls me for everything; e-mail comes when I get an upgrade. So, in my eyes, United is finally catching up with American.

fly co to see the yanks...personally, I think you are being petty. Your flight is in May? That is more than two months from now. I think you have a more reasonable issue if your flight was within the next few weeks. AA does a good job in contacting people using a priority system (outlined above)....

At the same time, I prefer that they dedicate their agents to answering the inbound phone calls. Managing our flights and schedules is something we should be able to do as adults and then act accordingly if they change.