deant

Currently have 2 F awards CPH - LHR - SEA - SNA. The CPH - LHR and the LHR - SEA flights are on BA. The SEA - SNA are on AS. However, BA has had a schedule change and the LHR connection is impossible (25 minutes).

Talking to AA, they said that, due to the flights being on BA and AS, they can not change the destination from SNA to LAX (which would make many more flights being an option). So far they have only come up with a couple of unacceptable options that entail leaving significantly earlier from CPH or adding stops.

Will be calling again but has anyone be successful in getting AA to call BA to get award space opened when BA was the reason for the change?

Often1

I am presuming that this is an AA-issued ticket? Presuming so, AA can most certainly contact BA and ask BA to open award space on any LHR-LAX flight. BA may or may not acommodate.

I suggest calling AA during regular business hours and asking for a supervisor. This won't get done with you on the phone, but can likely occur in 1-2 days.

taxicabnumber

You could also try to get CPH - LHR (BA) - DFW/ORD (AA) - SNA (AA), since presumably AA has the power to open up space for you on its own metal? This would also let you recoup a bunch of YQ since the overwater segment would no longer be on BA. Or is there a specific desire to fly BA F?

AAExpDFW

I must be missing something. If this is a BA schedule change and they created the illegal connection, then BA has to resolve it. Much like AA, they will fix it by opening up space to resolve the connection. You might try calling BA directly to see if they will fix it. If not, then yes call AA and ask for a supervisor. This scenario with a BA schedule change means BA has to accommodate you. AA may need to play intermediary though.

mikew99

My understanding is that when there is an unworkable schedule change, it's the ticketing carrier (AA) that resolves it, not the partner. If it's an award, they can certainly request that their partner open up space, but there's no way to force the partner to do so. They can also rebook you to a different destination permitted by the award type (such as LAX).

But I echo taxicabnumber's question: Are you willing to change from BA? If so, that opens up a lot more options, including AA's non-stop LHR-LAX), which AA can book you on without needing BA's approval.

deant

Good news. Called again this AM and reached a very helpful agent. He understood the connection time issue in LHR and his first response was that they would need to contact BA to get award seats opened up. His suggestion was a later LHR - SEA - SNA set of flights. I suggested that we would like to leave CPH later and then catch the BA non-stop from LHR to LAX, thus eliminating the SEA stop. He said no problem, they would send the request to BA.

If BA approves (which I assume they will because they are the one that caused the issue with their schedule change) it will be nice to try out the BA A380 F cabin.

deant

Well, another update. BA refused to open up availability so AA put us on a set of flights that have an additional 3 hours of transit time (CPH - LHR - JFK - LAX). On top of that, they booked us in C for the JFK to LAX flight. Asked if they could just open award space on the AA LHR - LAX flight and the refused to do that also (there are AAnytime awards available on that flight). Basically they will only put us on flights that have CURRENT saver award availability.

Will try again Monday during normal business hours.

Welcome to the new American Airlines.

armus

When I was faced with an analogous situation last month I researched to see what AA flight options existed on my travel day between all their european cities and my destination (regardless of award availability), and then checked to see what partner award flights were available between my starting city and each AA-served european city. I then called AA to "desire" my top pick for an itinerary (this is easier to do when the itinerary is worse by at least 90 min so can cite rule 80/240.

My initial request was not accepted for submission to rev mgmt because it'd involve an airline that wasn't part of the original itinerary (policy was news to me, might've been BS or only when BA isn't an original airline). They suggested an alternative to request that was on my list as the best from the original airlines. I was asked to call back the next day to see if the request was accepted and it was.

Goldiemom

I'm glad I am not the only one that is having schedule change problems on award tickets.

In early June last year I booked two J AA Saver Awards SMF - PHX - ORD - TXL - CPH for May 5, 2015. US to ORD and AB ORD- TXL-CPH. I just happened to pull up our reservations on the AA website. Much to my dismay AB has discontinued the ORD - TXL flight. They had protected hubby and I on an AA flight ORD - JFK. Only problem is that our flight from PHX gets in 30 minutes after the ORD - JFK flight departs. Called awards desk. She kept telling me I had booked this via a third party (she kept saying a travel agent) and I would have to go back to them to get it sorted out. Hmm, no I booked it on the AA website. After arguing back and forth, being put on hold while she spoke to the help desk, she finally stated that this is AB's problem and they will have to fix it. She qued it to the AB liaison. I am to call back on Tuesday to see what they decide. There is only one connection (on AA metal) from SMF to JFK that would get us there in time to connect with the AB flight from JFK. It does have FC seats available. Last time this happened the agent decided which flights would be best for us and requested specific flight that were approved by the next morning. I'm surprised this AA agent was not more proactive. In the meantime I guess I sit here and await my new flights thankful that I decided to look at our flight record. Who knows when they would have notified me of the sched change.

deant

I was also not notified of my change. Last night even sent twitter notes to AA and they basically said that the issue was BA's and that they would need to fix it. Unfortunately, there is no real obligation for BA to fix it if they do not have award space available. In my case, it seems like AA has rescheduled us on flights that we would obviously object to. On the original booking we had C from CPH - LHR (BA) and then F for LHR - SEA (BA) and then F for SEA -SNA (AS). Arrival time in SNA was about 5:00 PM. About the only way for AA to get us to the LA basin at about the same time is to put us on one of the non-stops LHR - LAX. AA has standard availability on their flight and BA has open seats (no award seats) available on their non-stops. Problem is that the BA non-stops are on the A380 and they do not want to "give away" those seats so they refused to accommodate us on those flights. AA then, instead of putting us on their non-stop from LHR - LAX put us on their LHR - JFK in F and then JFK - LAX in C. That flight is a 3 class flight and they would not even book us in F. Flight arrives about 3.5 hours later than my original schedule.

AA has sent a second request to the BA liaison for the non-stop. Will see what happens Monday.

As you said, in the past, it seemed very easy to make flight changes when there had been a schedule change. The agent, or supervisor, could open award seating on any AA flight. Now AA is not taking responsibility and trying to find the best flights for the customer. In my case they obviously chose flights, and seating, that would be totally unacceptable to me. With AA trying to "pass the buck", they are starting to look, and act, like a discount airline that only looks out for its bottom line and not the customer.

timzheng

I also just found out my schedule change when I double checked my July flights. My connection time LAX-CLT-MAD on US Airways flight has been pushed up to 4 hours at Charlotte. I called trying to get the LAX-CLT flight pushed back 2 hours and I was told I am out of luck since on that later flight there were no award seats.

Andriyko

Per BA's guidelines (that AA must apply as the ticketing agent) there does not have to be award space in the event of cancellation or schedule change. AA can book the lowest available booking class in the cabin.

deant

In my case, it was a BA schedule adjustment that caused the LHR connection to go from over 1.5 hours (BA to BA both same terminal) to 25 minutes. However, AA insists that they need to go through the BA liaison to get approval to book another BA flight. So far, the BA liaison has refused to allow AA to book a flight that will get me into the LA basin at approximately the same time.

orbitmic

Yes, but that is not what the OP wants. The OP wants to resolve the schedule change on CPH-LHR or LHR-SEA (btw you do not say which changed nor what were your original timings, but given what you describe I imagine that you are currently to be on the Thursday 8.50 from LHR, arriving at 8.25 from CPH?) by a change of route: CPH-LHR, LHR-LAX. The OP is correct that BA will most certainly refuse to create award space on LHR-LAX, which sells extremely well in F in the first place, where it can instead offer a later LHR-SEA.

BA may also be amenable to letting you fly on another day (on the same route) if it is of interest as the SEA flight only goes at 8.50 one day a week.

Unfortunately, both airlines tend to be rather narrow minded when one seeks to resolve a timetable change through a rerouting on a different origin or destination, but if you want to go that way, I would suggest pushing the AA flight option as it is (in my view) slightly less unlikely that they will say yes compared to BA.

deant

You are correct about the flight. It was the LHR - SEA flight that was changed. Originally was a 9:55 departure and was changed to a 8:50 departure. The problem with going on the later flight to SEA is that they then also need to change the AS flight to SNA and I would still get in about 3 or more hours later.

I am suggesting to AA that they open space on their non-stop but so far they have refused and want me coming through JFK and sitting in C for the JFK - LAX flight.