evanaggie

I'll try to make this short. I had a AUS->LAX segment on AA booked. 3.5 hr layover in LAX for NZ to AKL to make my flight. I get to airport and about to drop bags at AA counter, flight delayed 2.5 hrs. I panic as I know it won't stop there..2.5, 3, 3.5..etc Baggage desk people tell me I'd make it with a 1 hr window as it stands, and I disagree. I explain I need on another flight and the only one I know is Delta. They tell me that they'll try to help put me on another AA flight (there isn't one though), but I'd need to stand in the ticketing line which is a 60-90 minute wait and tell me I could miss Delta flight I had just mentioned by waiting. I panic, and just buy Delta tickets on my phone.


I get through security, and walk over to AA gate with delayed plane to find out if they can give me refund on AA tickets. I find 3-4 other people in front of me get transferred to the same Delta flight I just bought. Yes, I jumped the gun and didn't "let" the airline handle moving me around. However the baggage check folks freaked me out by saying I'd probably miss my flight and also never mentioned the possibility that they could book/move to a different carrier.


Do I have any ground for small claims (Delta minus AA = $480) given that the airline booked multiple people on the Delta flight for free? I called AA CS and they explained that the option of moving to Delta may have not been known or available when I explained that I'd need to get to LAX asap. BTW, the AA flight was delayed 4 hrs (not weather related...coming from LAX->AUS and turning back around) and I would have indeed missed my flight.

Am I just SOL? I wasn't sure if I could make an argument in small claims since I had seen AA later move 3-4 folks to Delta and was never made aware that they could do that. In fact, the AA desk for baggage folks sort of freaked me out by saying I probably wouldn't make my flight if I waited in line. They never said I could go through security and get gate agent to take care of it.

Thanks!

I swear I don't wear tin-foil hats, but I honestly questioned if that plane would ever leave given the loading looked 25-30% full at best on ExpertFlyer. I figured the airline would be taking a major loss in fuel alone sending it so empty to LAX. However, it didn't make much sense how they'd fill it up by delaying it from Austin.

MSPeconomist

Was the NZ flight on the same PNR/ticket?

evanaggie

I've been asked this a few times. No it was not. However, how is it even possible for them to be on the same ticket? NZ isn't a one world partner. AA.com does not show ANY option to take NZ flights to AKL. I checked Air NZ's website and can't find any AA flights either as potential connections from my departure city (Austin). Lastly, I went to Kayak.com and don't see any combo of AA/NZ flights mixed under one booking.

swag

With the four hour delay, instead of a lawsuit, and instead of "(Delta minus AA = $480)", I think you might have better chances of just requesting a "trip in vain" refund for what you paid for the AA ticket.

evanaggie

So, basically just getting a refund on the AA ticket should be sufficient? I guess I'll be okay with that, but it pisses me off that AA didn't really say up front when I mentioned the Delta flight that they could help me. 30 minutes later I see people getting something for free what ended up costing me $660. I'm not mad at them...more at the airline of course.

Dave Noble

Being a OneWorld partner has no bearing on whether can do end-on-end ticketing such that have a single through ticketed itinerary. A travel agent may well have been able to piece such together if desired.

You have no grounds to claim the difference between what you paid DL and the AA flight. with a 2.5 hour delay, you could ask for a refund

I would avoid booking separate tickets for such a trip unless there is no way around it. At least then the airline would be responsible to get you to New Zealand rather than risk missing it and potentially a high cost to rebook that

evanaggie

It was actually a 4 hr delay, but whatever.


*update* - Nevermind... I just looked at expedia (which I don't use). Apparently unlike Kayak, expedia let's you specifically choose American + Air New Zealand. Interestingly Kayak does not...at least not that I could tell.

MSPeconomist

AA and NZ interline so unless the fare prohibits it, one should be able to combine AA and NZ segments on the same PNR/ticket, for example by contacting a real live human travel agent. You might even be able to do this by calling AA or NZ. It might cost more than two separate tickets, but you would be protected (somewhat) in IROPs.

evanaggie

I will most likely be doing this in the future should I ever travel out of the country again. I do not use travel agents nor do I call to make bookings. I use websites almost exclusively. I might be in the minority.

neo_781

Not necessarily. I think the point people are trying to make is that brick and mortar travel agencies can still provide a service that you might not be able to easily duplicate on-line.

Dave Noble

And by doing so, you make it hard to do complex bookings.

evanaggie

Potentially. I don't find anything complex about flying AA to 1 city with a 4 hour layover and then catching another carrier out of the country. It isn't a brain teaser.

I'll likely use Expedia first for "complex" bookings so long as they are available. If not, then I'll call an agent.

Dave Noble

Except that you ended up with 2 bookings and no protection should one flight be delayed whilst a phone call would have made getting a simgle protected reservation easier

Websites are great for certain things, but there are plenty of times where calling an airline / agent really is worthwhile

craz

Many folks do this = they act on their own w/o 1st speaking to the tkted carrier, be it for a hotel room, meals, renting a car and driving instead of waiting for a very delayed flight etc etc. The m,ain problem is once you act on your own , youre on your own, no matter how bad it is and fully understandable where if one waits they just might end up SOL. But by acting on your own you just let the carrier off the hook

As others have said your best bet is to seek a refund for the unused tkt, however did you purchase a 1 way , r/t, was this the Outbound or Return portion, all of this would affect how much if anything you could get back eg the $480 was for a r/t but you paid $660 for a 1 way. I just dont see AA sending you the $660

In this case AA had no idea you had a NZ tkt nor would they have cared since it was a separate PNR. By having 2 tkts you are rolling the dice as AA could have said sorry according to us you are only flying to LAX and will have to wait for the delayed flight or our next one. Nor woulkd NZ have cared that you missed your flight since your AUS hit the fan, since you were only booked LAX-AKL, they might be nice and rebook you for the next day but the hotel and meals would be on your dime

evanaggie

I'm not going to completely disagree. They are legit points. I just think the AA people were somewhat incompetent and potentially mischievous in knowing that I was discussing a Delta flight and not mentioning that they could help me get on that flight.

I do find it odd that tickets can be booked on one PNR through an agent, but such options and services are not offered on aa.com or air new zealand.com. The only connections and bookings they show are with their immediate partners: either one world members or star alliance.

BTW: why are they completely off the hook? Surely they incurred some cost to AA by using a Delta seat? Shouldn't I receive an equal value for such a change? They may have spent $100 to move a passenger to Delta.