Mar 6, 2013, 10:37 am
Last edit by: JDiver
[B]Through / direct with same flight number on multiple segments credit as single non-stop
Through or direct flights are those that use one flight number but may not be nonstop. Takeaway: all nonstop flights are direct; direct flights might not be non-stop. When speaking to agents and you want a nonstop flight, specify nonstop.
AAdvantage Terms and Conditions (link):
If one takes a through / direct flight consisting of two or more segments operated as one flight number, the miles earned are as if the flight was a nonstop. E.g. AA111 FCO-ORD (772) and AA111 ORD-LAX (738) would render miles and segment credits as if you had flown nonstop FCO-LAX, even if you had a change of aircraft, terminals and gates in ORD.
It's not uncommon to have different aircraft carry out different segments, even different "gauges" (narrow and wide bodied) and different terminals. Normally, passengers flying both segments must disembark with cabin / hand baggage at the intermediate stops.
The exception is for round trips using same flight numbers, e.g. a mileage run using AA 123 SMF-DFW-SMF would credit separately and properly.
Seat selection will normally be for seats offered on all segments (as opposed to being able to select different seats on different segments.
Upgrades must normally clear on all segments to clear.
There are other peculiarities (affecting upgrade requests, Five Star Services, etc.) discussed in this thread. Booking through / direct flights can cause challenges one doesn’t experience on connections ting flights with different flight numbers or nonstop flights.
Through or direct flights are those that use one flight number but may not be nonstop. Takeaway: all nonstop flights are direct; direct flights might not be non-stop. When speaking to agents and you want a nonstop flight, specify nonstop.
A direct (or through) flight in the aviation industry is any flight between two points by an airline with no change in flight numbers, which includes one or more stops at an intermediate point(s).
For any flights that earn mileage credit based on a percentage of distance flown, the distance is determined on the basis of nonstop distances between the airports where your flight originates and terminates. On connecting flights with different flight numbers, the distance of each segment will be used. On single-plane, through, or change of gauge flights, the nonstop origin-destination distance will be used and credit for a single elite qualifying segment will be given.
[*]AAdvantage flight mileage credit is determined on the basis of nonstop distances between the airports where your flight originates and terminates. On connecting flights with different flight numbers, you'll receive mileage credit for each segment of your trip; on single-plane, through, or change of gauge flights, you'll receive the nonstop origin-destination mileage credit and credit for a single elite qualifying segment. On American Airlines and other AAdvantage airline participants, you'll receive AAdvantage mileage credit only for the class of service on which your fare is based when you are ticketed. American Airlines is the final authority on the methodology used to calculate mileage and the amount of flight credit for a particular flight or routing. American Airlines is the final authority on qualification for mileage credit and reserves the right to deny or revoke mileage credit at any time if American Airlines determines that mileage credit was improperly given.
[*]AAdvantage flight mileage credit is determined on the basis of nonstop distances between the airports where your flight originates and terminates. On connecting flights with different flight numbers, you'll receive mileage credit for each segment of your trip; on single-plane, through, or change of gauge flights, you'll receive the nonstop origin-destination mileage credit and credit for a single elite qualifying segment. On American Airlines and other AAdvantage airline participants, you'll receive AAdvantage mileage credit only for the class of service on which your fare is based when you are ticketed. American Airlines is the final authority on the methodology used to calculate mileage and the amount of flight credit for a particular flight or routing. American Airlines is the final authority on qualification for mileage credit and reserves the right to deny or revoke mileage credit at any time if American Airlines determines that mileage credit was improperly given.
It's not uncommon to have different aircraft carry out different segments, even different "gauges" (narrow and wide bodied) and different terminals. Normally, passengers flying both segments must disembark with cabin / hand baggage at the intermediate stops.
The exception is for round trips using same flight numbers, e.g. a mileage run using AA 123 SMF-DFW-SMF would credit separately and properly.
Seat selection will normally be for seats offered on all segments (as opposed to being able to select different seats on different segments.
Upgrades must normally clear on all segments to clear.
There are other peculiarities (affecting upgrade requests, Five Star Services, etc.) discussed in this thread. Booking through / direct flights can cause challenges one doesn’t experience on connections ting flights with different flight numbers or nonstop flights.
One or multi-stop, single flight numbers: through / direct flights (master thd)
Jan 19, 2016, 7:05 am
#151
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 981
If the miles are key, I can think of three realistic options...
1) Route PEK-ORD instead of PEK-DFW, as that flight gets in much earlier in the day and would allow for more onward connections. You could even do PEK-ORD-DFW-LGA if the fare's routing rules permit it (or PEK-ORD-MIA-LGA, or however else you want to get creative).
2) Route PEK-DFW-PHL and take the train home. Not even close to ideal, I know...
3) Keep the routing the same and overnight in DFW (again, assuming the fare rules allow the overnight to remain a connection).
You could also hope for a flight number change later, if your flights are a ways in the future... that's just a hope, but AA do monkey with flight numbers quite a bit these days.
1) Route PEK-ORD instead of PEK-DFW, as that flight gets in much earlier in the day and would allow for more onward connections. You could even do PEK-ORD-DFW-LGA if the fare's routing rules permit it (or PEK-ORD-MIA-LGA, or however else you want to get creative).
2) Route PEK-DFW-PHL and take the train home. Not even close to ideal, I know...
3) Keep the routing the same and overnight in DFW (again, assuming the fare rules allow the overnight to remain a connection).
You could also hope for a flight number change later, if your flights are a ways in the future... that's just a hope, but AA do monkey with flight numbers quite a bit these days.
i can see it on 'hold' right now, and it apperas to all be separate segments. i put one on hold earlier booking the normal way, and it showed 2 segments (in the section where it shows upgrades requested). this way, i can see separate segments.
thoughts on if this will work?
Jan 19, 2016, 7:11 am
#152
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Signatures
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: London, England
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, National Exec, AA EXP Emeritus
Posts: 9,765
If you book and fly PEK-DFW-LGA, and you get off of PEK-DFW and connect to DFW-LGA the same day, it'll credit as PEK-LGA. The only conceivable way of splitting it would be to book two tickets, one PEK-DFW then another ticket for DFW-LGA. I've never tried this in the wild, but presumably this should cause them to credit as two separate flights. Beyond that, it doesn't matter how you finagle the online booking system, they'll be read as a through flight when you fly them and they get credited.
Jan 19, 2016, 8:58 am
#154
Join Date: May 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: QR Platinum, IHG Diamond, GHA Titanium
Posts: 215
Jan 19, 2016, 11:15 am
#156
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I've got the same issue: my FCO-CLT-SMF was changed to FCO-ORD-LAX on AA 111, connecting to SMF. I'd need discrete flight numbers for those two AA 111 sectors to earn full miles and segment credit.
Jan 23, 2016, 7:05 pm
#157
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 989
AA 137 LGA-DFW-HKG mileage
hi all, just wondering if someone can shed light on how i will earn mileage on AA 137 from LGA-HKG. On my AA itinerary its listed as a direct LGA-HKG flight, but I know its two segments with a flight change at DFW. Will I earn LGA-DFW (1389 miles) and DFW-HKG (8100ish) or will I only earn LGA-HKG (8000ish) thanks
Jan 23, 2016, 7:08 pm
#158
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM; UA 1K; AA 1MM
Posts: 4,520
You will get mileage as if you flew non-stop LGA-HKG. That's impossible to do of course, but that's how they credit direct flights. Ever since they started numbering one of the early morning LGA-DFW flights as 137 I make sure to wind up on a different LGA-DFW (usually 263) to avoid the mileage loss.
Jan 23, 2016, 7:13 pm
#160
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Orleans (MSY)
Programs: AA EXP, IHG PLT, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Amtrak, WN
Posts: 2,617
IIRC, you'll only earn the LGA-HKG direct mileage as long as your LGA-DFW flight is AA137.
To avoid this, you could do a same-day standby or confirmed flight change to another LGA-DFW flight with a different flight number within 24 hours of departure (assuming you have status or you're willing to pay). Also, you can monitor to see if the flight time changes and ask them to switch you to a different flight for free.
To avoid this, you could do a same-day standby or confirmed flight change to another LGA-DFW flight with a different flight number within 24 hours of departure (assuming you have status or you're willing to pay). Also, you can monitor to see if the flight time changes and ask them to switch you to a different flight for free.
Jan 23, 2016, 8:40 pm
#161
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
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Posts: 62,948
hi all, just wondering if someone can shed light on how i will earn mileage on AA 137 from LGA-HKG. On my AA itinerary its listed as a direct LGA-HKG flight, but I know its two segments with a flight change at DFW. Will I earn LGA-DFW (1389 miles) and DFW-HKG (8100ish) or will I only earn LGA-HKG (8000ish) thanks
You will earn miles as if flying LGA-HKG nonstop and one segment credit.
Jan 24, 2016, 5:17 pm
#162
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, Hilton Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 59
Multi-leg flight #521 being treated as one segment
Something strange happened recently, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. The TL;DR is watch out when flying multiple connecting segments that use the same AA521 flight identifier. Has anyone had trouble collecting miles on multi-city itineraries that reuse the same flight number?
I recently took AA521 from DEN->PHX->SEA. I thought it was a bit odd that the same flight number was used for multiple segments (there are actually a few more segments you can take with AA521!) Twas a mostly enjoyable flight in F, although we did have one of our bags offloaded in PHX, which was a bit annoying.
A few days later I went to review my account history and was surprised to see miles posting for DEN->SEA, with about 33% less miles than expected from the longer 2-leg itinerary. To complicate matters, I'm crediting the miles to my BA account, in hopes of achieving BA Silver.
Getting the missing miles, and tier points, has proven to be a challenge. Initially I called BA customer service, but that turned into a ping-pong match of being referred to AA, who then referred me to call over to BA.
I gave up on the phone route and am now waiting on a reply to a packet I mailed in containing the original flight itinerary. Fingers crossed that someone sees reason and reinstates the missing mileage credit.
I recently took AA521 from DEN->PHX->SEA. I thought it was a bit odd that the same flight number was used for multiple segments (there are actually a few more segments you can take with AA521!) Twas a mostly enjoyable flight in F, although we did have one of our bags offloaded in PHX, which was a bit annoying.
A few days later I went to review my account history and was surprised to see miles posting for DEN->SEA, with about 33% less miles than expected from the longer 2-leg itinerary. To complicate matters, I'm crediting the miles to my BA account, in hopes of achieving BA Silver.
Getting the missing miles, and tier points, has proven to be a challenge. Initially I called BA customer service, but that turned into a ping-pong match of being referred to AA, who then referred me to call over to BA.
I gave up on the phone route and am now waiting on a reply to a packet I mailed in containing the original flight itinerary. Fingers crossed that someone sees reason and reinstates the missing mileage credit.
Jan 24, 2016, 5:21 pm
#163
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 5,270
Unfortunately there's no missing mileage to claim. Multiple legs under the same flight number only count as one "segment" with the direct mileage from origin to destination, so it was correct for AA to credit you with the DEN-SEA mileage. The only exception is when outbound and return flights between two cities are assigned the same number.
Edit: full discussion here
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
Edit: full discussion here
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
Jan 24, 2016, 5:28 pm
#165
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Something strange happened recently, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. The TL;DR is watch out when flying multiple connecting segments that use the same AA521 flight identifier. Has anyone had trouble collecting miles on multi-city itineraries that reuse the same flight number?
I recently took AA521 from DEN->PHX->SEA. I thought it was a bit odd that the same flight number was used for multiple segments (there are actually a few more segments you can take with AA521!) Twas a mostly enjoyable flight in F, although we did have one of our bags offloaded in PHX, which was a bit annoying.
A few days later I went to review my account history and was surprised to see miles posting for DEN->SEA, with about 33% less miles than expected from the longer 2-leg itinerary. To complicate matters, I'm crediting the miles to my BA account, in hopes of achieving BA Silver.
Getting the missing miles, and tier points, has proven to be a challenge. Initially I called BA customer service, but that turned into a ping-pong match of being referred to AA, who then referred me to call over to BA.
I gave up on the phone route and am now waiting on a reply to a packet I mailed in containing the original flight itinerary. Fingers crossed that someone sees reason and reinstates the missing mileage credit.
I recently took AA521 from DEN->PHX->SEA. I thought it was a bit odd that the same flight number was used for multiple segments (there are actually a few more segments you can take with AA521!) Twas a mostly enjoyable flight in F, although we did have one of our bags offloaded in PHX, which was a bit annoying.
A few days later I went to review my account history and was surprised to see miles posting for DEN->SEA, with about 33% less miles than expected from the longer 2-leg itinerary. To complicate matters, I'm crediting the miles to my BA account, in hopes of achieving BA Silver.
Getting the missing miles, and tier points, has proven to be a challenge. Initially I called BA customer service, but that turned into a ping-pong match of being referred to AA, who then referred me to call over to BA.
I gave up on the phone route and am now waiting on a reply to a packet I mailed in containing the original flight itinerary. Fingers crossed that someone sees reason and reinstates the missing mileage credit.
We've merged your query into the existing thread. /Moderator