kirikara

Hi everyone.
I booked a one way award saver ticket from CDG to ORD for later January a month or two ago.
I just received a scheduled change.. My flight was a direct flight from Paris, the new schedule change now includes a stop in PHL.
I was trying to see if there was another direct flight, but upon looking both at awards and regular flight, AA is not showing ANY direct CDG_ORD on their website anymore. I know I can change for free, but there seems to be no more direct flight??
The route stills shows as non stop on "where do we fly"

I am freaking out a bit
a/ because my award was supposed to be direct, that is why i booked so early
b/ because PHL-ORD is always a nightmare. I fly for work and seldom leave/arrive anywhere close to scheduled time
c/ my main reason for being an loyal AA customer is flying to France/CDG and MRS during low season on saver awards.. no direct route from ORD would really be bad news.

Am I stuck with a non direct flight??

nova08

AA just announced some seasonal reductions and ORD-CDG was one of them. I thought it was just some day of the week cuts, however it appears the flight does not opperate Jan 13 to Feb 11 and then goes to 5x weekly for the rest of Feb.

AlwaysSunnyInORD

Any links available for a list of the changes?

2Tall4Y

Interesting...direct AA flights aren't available but direct AY and IB flights operated by AA are (searched 1/27 for example). Perhaps worth a call to see if you can get back on your original flight?

MSPeconomist

I don't think this would be wise as often schedule changes are communicated slowly to codeshare partners. OP would later be in the same situation, but by then the rebooking options might be less attractive.

Could the OP connect somewhere other than PHL? Look at TATL flights ex CDG and also AA flights from other European hubs such as LHR. Would you consider a partner flight, such as IB through MAD, BA (with high fees) through LHR, etc., IF low award space is available on these routes? AA should be able to open space on its own flights and probably flights operated by its JV partners (but not other alliance or other partners) if you want a particular rebooking as a result of the schedule change, but you should know what you want before calling AA.

AA might allow you to change the dates (for free) to fly in early January before the nonstop is discontinued or later when it returns on certain days if this would work for you.

SFO777

Since this was an involuntary change, call AA and explain your concern. Even better if the connection they stuck you on arrives a lot later than your original. AA should be able to open space (even if no SAAver seats are showing available) on any reasonable alternative connection that day. Look for specific AA/OW options that day that you would prefer (perhaps like CDG-LHR-ORD) and call and request that they move you to those flights.

nova08

Sorry, I should correct my statement. AA did not release any updates, rather these updates were reported on a thread over on a.net.

AlwaysSunnyInORD

No apology needed. Thanks for the clarification.

LovePrunes

you may still have a "direct" flight. A direct flight is one that continues with the same flight number, even if it makes a stop somewhere. What you no longer have is a "NONSTOP" flight. Find the AA or Oneworld flight you'd rather be on and call AA to ask that you be put on that flight instead of your now one-stop "direct" flight.

phlwookie

This summer, US (AA) 755 as a flight number routes CDG-PHL on an A330, then PHL-LAX on an A321, but at least on the several random January dates I picked, the flight number terminates in PHL, so a direct flight on a CDG-PHL-ORD routing doesn't appear to apply in this case, at least for now - I suppose they could also change that, but I only recall the 755 flight number continuing onto LAX and possibly ATL in the past.

SFO777

So what? Even if that was the case, any "direct flight" is nothing more than a gimmick. It's the same as a connection since you have to clear customs, re-clear security and go to a different gate and plane. And if it was a revenue ticket, you'd only get the nonstop mileage.

2Tall4Y

^ Great point, IB has already fallen off and I would expect AY to shortly.

[QUOTE=MSPeconomist;25263425]I don't think this would be wise as often schedule changes are communicated slowly to codeshare partners. OP would later be in the same situation, but by then the rebooking options might be less attractive.QUOTE]

iplaybass

If you rebook to a BA flight or flights, you may have to pay the BA "carrier fee".

LovePrunes

"So what" is right. I just see a lot of posts say "I'm on a direct flight" when what they mean is they're on a nonstop flight. Direct flights are gimmicks that make the unobservant think they are flying "direct" to whatever city without stopping, or that somehow it's more convenient to not have to connect, or probably more in the past, to show up higher on a reservation screen and try to make an airline sell more tickets.

Reality is there is often change of aircraft along the direct route, etc., especially internationally. I just wish people would say "nonstop" when that's what they mean, instead of using the term "direct" for that.