A Frustrating AA Booking Experience
Jan 20, 2015, 5:13 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Pacific Rim
Programs: AA Platinum, Thai Silver, EK Blue
Posts: 49
A Frustrating AA Booking Experience
I am an AAdvantage Platinum tier member. This report is to highlight my frustration with the problems and delays that I encountered during a recent booking process for an international flight on American Airlines and code share partners JL and CX.
Following is the timeline of the whole episode.
January 12
I made an online reservation for the following multi-city (YYZ-KUL/BKK-IAH/IAH-YYZ) itinerary through aa.com for a total fare of approx. Canadian Dollars (CAD) 1550.
1. 22 Jan: AA 3081 YYZ-ORD / AA 153 ORD-NRT / AA 8415(JL723) NRT-KUL
2. 28 Feb: AA 8896(CX706) BKK-HKG / AA 138 HKG-DFW / AA 2399 DFW-IAH
3. 02 Mar: AA 4311 IAH-ORD / AA 3076 ORD-YYZ
January 14
Called AA reservations to inquire why my itinerary has not been ticketed yet and the answer was that AA still waiting for the confirmation of my code share flight from Cathay Pacific (CX).
January 16
Called AA again as the itinerary still had not been ticketed and the response was that CX is unable to book me on AA 8896 (CX706) due to lack of space. The offered alternatives were all more than $2000.
January 17
After considering several options, I called AA reservations back to discuss the alternatives. The lady who handled my call tried very hard to find me a seat from BKK even trying flights within few days of my original travel date without any success. I then decided to fly BKK-HKG on my own to connect with AA 138 but I had to shift my return itinerary by one day as no suitable flights were available on my original date from BKK to HKG. The new fare quoted to me was 1399.64 Dollars (including $35 booking fee) which I assumed to be in Canadian Dollars as my original fare was in CAD.
I also specifically requested to ensure that my code share flight on JAL is ticketed under an AA code share to ensure full mileage benefits and she confirmed that it is so. I consented to the revised itinerary and fare and was told that it will be ticketed without any further delay. Total duration of this call was about one hour.
January 18
As my itinerary still shown as pending, I called back AA and was told to my surprise that the ticketing is on hold due to fare is being quoted in USD but my credit card is billed in CAD and the fare is now CAD 1609.86. As any alternative travel arrangements would have cost more, I reluctantly agreed to this fare.
Few hours later, an email arrived with the ticketing confirmation but I discovered that NRT-KUL sector, despite my specific request had been ticketed as a JL flight instead of an AA code share depriving me more than 2000 miles as JL fare class N only gives 30% of the actual miles.
January 19
Despite the confirmation email, I was still unable to access my booking through AAdvantage or using the PNR locator; preventing me from selecting the seats. I called AA reservation again to check on that as well as to address the JL flight issue. It was going to cost me USD 97 to change the flight to an AA code and as I have already spent way over my original fare, did not change it. The reservation agent stated that there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to access my booking and transferred me to a web services agent.
After verifying all the details, his first response was that I must be doing something wrong. I then asked him to try accessing my booking externally instead of through the AA system. He then accepted that there is a problem. It took around 20 more minutes to sort it out but eventually he did. Apparently both my original and revised itineraries being under the same PNR locator reference caused the non-access externally.
While I understand that a quoted fare is not guaranteed until ticketed, I am really disappointed that making a booking turned out to be such a frustrating and time consuming episode and ended up costing me considerably more money (higher AA fare and the extra BKK-HKG ticket) but earning less miles than originally planned.
Following is the timeline of the whole episode.
January 12
I made an online reservation for the following multi-city (YYZ-KUL/BKK-IAH/IAH-YYZ) itinerary through aa.com for a total fare of approx. Canadian Dollars (CAD) 1550.
1. 22 Jan: AA 3081 YYZ-ORD / AA 153 ORD-NRT / AA 8415(JL723) NRT-KUL
2. 28 Feb: AA 8896(CX706) BKK-HKG / AA 138 HKG-DFW / AA 2399 DFW-IAH
3. 02 Mar: AA 4311 IAH-ORD / AA 3076 ORD-YYZ
January 14
Called AA reservations to inquire why my itinerary has not been ticketed yet and the answer was that AA still waiting for the confirmation of my code share flight from Cathay Pacific (CX).
January 16
Called AA again as the itinerary still had not been ticketed and the response was that CX is unable to book me on AA 8896 (CX706) due to lack of space. The offered alternatives were all more than $2000.
January 17
After considering several options, I called AA reservations back to discuss the alternatives. The lady who handled my call tried very hard to find me a seat from BKK even trying flights within few days of my original travel date without any success. I then decided to fly BKK-HKG on my own to connect with AA 138 but I had to shift my return itinerary by one day as no suitable flights were available on my original date from BKK to HKG. The new fare quoted to me was 1399.64 Dollars (including $35 booking fee) which I assumed to be in Canadian Dollars as my original fare was in CAD.
I also specifically requested to ensure that my code share flight on JAL is ticketed under an AA code share to ensure full mileage benefits and she confirmed that it is so. I consented to the revised itinerary and fare and was told that it will be ticketed without any further delay. Total duration of this call was about one hour.
January 18
As my itinerary still shown as pending, I called back AA and was told to my surprise that the ticketing is on hold due to fare is being quoted in USD but my credit card is billed in CAD and the fare is now CAD 1609.86. As any alternative travel arrangements would have cost more, I reluctantly agreed to this fare.
Few hours later, an email arrived with the ticketing confirmation but I discovered that NRT-KUL sector, despite my specific request had been ticketed as a JL flight instead of an AA code share depriving me more than 2000 miles as JL fare class N only gives 30% of the actual miles.
January 19
Despite the confirmation email, I was still unable to access my booking through AAdvantage or using the PNR locator; preventing me from selecting the seats. I called AA reservation again to check on that as well as to address the JL flight issue. It was going to cost me USD 97 to change the flight to an AA code and as I have already spent way over my original fare, did not change it. The reservation agent stated that there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to access my booking and transferred me to a web services agent.
After verifying all the details, his first response was that I must be doing something wrong. I then asked him to try accessing my booking externally instead of through the AA system. He then accepted that there is a problem. It took around 20 more minutes to sort it out but eventually he did. Apparently both my original and revised itineraries being under the same PNR locator reference caused the non-access externally.
While I understand that a quoted fare is not guaranteed until ticketed, I am really disappointed that making a booking turned out to be such a frustrating and time consuming episode and ended up costing me considerably more money (higher AA fare and the extra BKK-HKG ticket) but earning less miles than originally planned.
Jan 20, 2015, 8:32 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 3,915
Sorry for your frustration but might I suggest a competent travel agent. They can be invaluable when you find a competent one.
Jan 20, 2015, 9:27 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP...couple hotels and cars too
Posts: 4,548
+1000
I have a dedicated agent who handles all my travel. Complex stuff that even he has problems understanding and the simple 'get me to LA and back in 48 hours'. $35 per ticket. BFD. He can do stuff AA will not; he can call CK/EXP to push on them for certain things; he can look for solutions as problems develop during a flight.
Travel Agencies have access to specialists in AA that can rectify issues that you just cannot get with telephone support.
I use him for personal travel, even award stuff. I had a weather issue on a trip this past fall and he was booking and holding options with AA that were much better than the 'automated' stuff AA proposes- even for CKs.
I have a dedicated agent who handles all my travel. Complex stuff that even he has problems understanding and the simple 'get me to LA and back in 48 hours'. $35 per ticket. BFD. He can do stuff AA will not; he can call CK/EXP to push on them for certain things; he can look for solutions as problems develop during a flight.
Travel Agencies have access to specialists in AA that can rectify issues that you just cannot get with telephone support.
I use him for personal travel, even award stuff. I had a weather issue on a trip this past fall and he was booking and holding options with AA that were much better than the 'automated' stuff AA proposes- even for CKs.
Jan 20, 2015, 9:48 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: QLA
Programs: SBUX Gold
Posts: 14,507
Care to share his contact info? I'm sure he'd appreciate some more $35 pops
