Aug 8, 2016, 12:26 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Seat issues are not uncommon between finding, holding, booking and during the interim between booking and flying. There may be various reasons this can happen.
Seat held, changed or gone at booking: One member theorizes a held seat may be taken by a positive purchase by another passenger. But it could be due to another factor listed below.
Disability designated seat: Some seats are assigned preferentially to people with disabilities, and their companions, under the Air Carrier Access Act. Even some non-disability seats may be required for a person with a disability in some conditions.
"American blocks a limited number of seats on each aircraft to accommodate customers who identify themselves as having a qualified disability. Adjacent seats are provided, under certain circumstances, for customers with disabilities who must travel with a companion for assistance."
Flight nearly full: Once a flight has reached certain capacity guidelines, no further seats will be assigned. This leaves airport staff room to deal with the needs of persons with disabilities, no shows, delayed connections, etc.
Boarding pass scan fail: Sometimes a boarding pass scan fails (listen for the "Beep!") and your seat may register as no show, so another, later Passenger or standby gets your seat too.
Equipment change: AA Information Technology's very inefficient at these. You may have selected a Main Cabin Extra as an elite, yet a change from one aircraft subtype with differently numbered seat rows to another and you may find yourself moved from your carefully selected MCE aisle seat to a middle seat in one of the last rows. Aircraft substitutions from one type to another (77W to 772 or v. v.) or even "downgauging" (767 to 757) may occur - this will generally result in unanticipated seat changes.
Equipment malfunction: A seat may not be available on a specific flight because it was reported as malfunctioning and has not been repaired yet.
Crew rest seat: Some seats are contractually required to be set aside for resting crew, on flights of specific lengths.
Federal Air Marshal ("FAM"): FAMs are generally accommodated in the highest class of service in seats that are often popular with passengers. These accommodations may occur at any time, and by law AA must both comply and not reveal to passengers the reason for their seat loss or change. That's correct: AA is prohibited by law from telling you your seat was given to a FAM, so you will only hear implausible and made up reasons of how you lost your seat.
Other: AA might be required to seat a passenger with a small child together, displacing another passenger. There may be other reasons as well.
It is suggested you regularly check your itineraries to deal with route and flight changes (often unannounced) and seat changes (always unannounced).
Link to thread detailing use of Twitter for contact with AA (some have used for seat loss remediation)
Seat assignments Link
- We make every effort to ensure you get your chosen seat, but seat assignments are not guaranteed.
- We reserve the right to change seats for operational, safety or security reasons.
- You must check in at least 30 minutes before departure and be at the gate 15 minutes before departure or you may lose your seat.
Disability designated seat: Some seats are assigned preferentially to people with disabilities, and their companions, under the Air Carrier Access Act. Even some non-disability seats may be required for a person with a disability in some conditions.
"American blocks a limited number of seats on each aircraft to accommodate customers who identify themselves as having a qualified disability. Adjacent seats are provided, under certain circumstances, for customers with disabilities who must travel with a companion for assistance."
Flight nearly full: Once a flight has reached certain capacity guidelines, no further seats will be assigned. This leaves airport staff room to deal with the needs of persons with disabilities, no shows, delayed connections, etc.
Boarding pass scan fail: Sometimes a boarding pass scan fails (listen for the "Beep!") and your seat may register as no show, so another, later Passenger or standby gets your seat too.
Equipment change: AA Information Technology's very inefficient at these. You may have selected a Main Cabin Extra as an elite, yet a change from one aircraft subtype with differently numbered seat rows to another and you may find yourself moved from your carefully selected MCE aisle seat to a middle seat in one of the last rows. Aircraft substitutions from one type to another (77W to 772 or v. v.) or even "downgauging" (767 to 757) may occur - this will generally result in unanticipated seat changes.
Equipment malfunction: A seat may not be available on a specific flight because it was reported as malfunctioning and has not been repaired yet.
Crew rest seat: Some seats are contractually required to be set aside for resting crew, on flights of specific lengths.
Federal Air Marshal ("FAM"): FAMs are generally accommodated in the highest class of service in seats that are often popular with passengers. These accommodations may occur at any time, and by law AA must both comply and not reveal to passengers the reason for their seat loss or change. That's correct: AA is prohibited by law from telling you your seat was given to a FAM, so you will only hear implausible and made up reasons of how you lost your seat.
Passengers seated in the front cabin (or front of the cabin in single cabin and class aircraft) may occasionally find themselves displaced from their seat without any notice or comment, displaced to a less favored seat or even downgraded to the next lowest class of service. Contacting AA may provide answers as to "why" that don't make sense, multiple or non-specific reasons. These will often mean your seat has been requisitioned by a Federal Air Marshal (FAM).
Q. Why won't AA tell me why I lost my seat?
AA is prohibited by law from telling you your seat was requisitioned by a FAM or otherwise revealing there is a FAM on board or where they might be seated. FAMs are supposed to blend in with passengers. At best, you may be told "it's a security issue"; that's usually a confirmation of a FAM seat requisition.
Q. Can I get "unFAMed"?
There is no way to recover your original seat if it has been requisitioned by a FAM; you have no recourse other than to work with the AA system to seek a better available seat, or even reaccommodation on another flight with available and similar seating.
Q. Can I get compensated for losing my seat?
You can request fare differences, compensation and certainly get upgrade instruments reinstated if you were displaced to a lower class of service. You will not be eligible for compensation if your seat was changed within the same class of service (even if you are now separated from travel companions), however, as if you book a specific seat, a specific seat is not guaranteed by American Airlines.
Q. What is a FAM, anyway?
A Federal Air Marshal is a specially trained plain clothes anti-terrorism law enforcement officer of the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), "a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)." (Wikipedia)
Q. What is a FAMs specific job?
"The Air Marshal Service is meant to promote confidence in civil aviation by effectively deploying federal air marshals (FAMs) to detect, deter, and defeat hostile acts targeting the United States." (TSA)
Q. Why won't AA tell me why I lost my seat?
AA is prohibited by law from telling you your seat was requisitioned by a FAM or otherwise revealing there is a FAM on board or where they might be seated. FAMs are supposed to blend in with passengers. At best, you may be told "it's a security issue"; that's usually a confirmation of a FAM seat requisition.
Q. Can I get "unFAMed"?
There is no way to recover your original seat if it has been requisitioned by a FAM; you have no recourse other than to work with the AA system to seek a better available seat, or even reaccommodation on another flight with available and similar seating.
Q. Can I get compensated for losing my seat?
You can request fare differences, compensation and certainly get upgrade instruments reinstated if you were displaced to a lower class of service. You will not be eligible for compensation if your seat was changed within the same class of service (even if you are now separated from travel companions), however, as if you book a specific seat, a specific seat is not guaranteed by American Airlines.
Q. What is a FAM, anyway?
A Federal Air Marshal is a specially trained plain clothes anti-terrorism law enforcement officer of the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), "a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)." (Wikipedia)
Q. What is a FAMs specific job?
"The Air Marshal Service is meant to promote confidence in civil aviation by effectively deploying federal air marshals (FAMs) to detect, deter, and defeat hostile acts targeting the United States." (TSA)
It is suggested you regularly check your itineraries to deal with route and flight changes (often unannounced) and seat changes (always unannounced).
Link to thread detailing use of Twitter for contact with AA (some have used for seat loss remediation)
AA seat assignment loss / change / glitch / problem / FAM (master thread)
Aug 23, 2018, 1:21 pm
#556
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 466
AA 239 - FCO - DFW....Seats were changed!
My wife and I were in 3L and 4L ....AA 239.... Rome to Dallas ... in a few days ( Mileage Award tics). Yesterday we were changed to 9L and 10L. I called AA twice.....they looked into it they told me for some reason Corporate had changed our seats. I realize it could have been because of an FAM. (3 L is still available, so they clearly only needed 1 seat If that's the case, as , I know there's nothing I can do about it. But if that was not the case .......what would cause them to choose my wife and myself to be moved? Any suggestions as to how to get our seats back, would be appreciated.
Aug 23, 2018, 1:46 pm
#557
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,700
As i said, prob a FAM if “corporate changed it.” I don’t see how you will get your seats back.
My wife and I were in 3L and 4L ....AA 239.... Rome to Dallas ... in a few days ( Mileage Award tics). Yesterday we were changed to 9L and 10L. I called AA twice.....they looked into it they told me for some reason Corporate had changed our seats. I realize it could have been because of an FAM. (3 L is still available, so they clearly only needed 1 seat If that's the case, as , I know there's nothing I can do about it. But if that was not the case .......what would cause them to choose my wife and myself to be moved? Any suggestions as to how to get our seats back, would be appreciated.
Aug 24, 2018, 9:33 am
#565
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
If only one of them were moved, there would then be someone upset that they were split up without consultation. Can't win.
Bottom line is that whether it's a friend of the CEO or a FAM, nobody at AA will ever tell you and it really does not matter.
Bottom line is that whether it's a friend of the CEO or a FAM, nobody at AA will ever tell you and it really does not matter.
Aug 24, 2018, 1:33 pm
#566
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,627
Aug 24, 2018, 1:43 pm
#567
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
Aug 24, 2018, 1:50 pm
#568
Join Date: May 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, AA MM, Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 122
My wife and I were in 3L and 4L ....AA 239.... Rome to Dallas ... in a few days ( Mileage Award tics). Yesterday we were changed to 9L and 10L. I called AA twice.....they looked into it they told me for some reason Corporate had changed our seats. I realize it could have been because of an FAM. (3 L is still available, so they clearly only needed 1 seat If that's the case, as , I know there's nothing I can do about it. But if that was not the case .......what would cause them to choose my wife and myself to be moved? Any suggestions as to how to get our seats back, would be appreciated.
Since it’s an intnl flight, chances are that it was an Air Marshal that bumped you. That being said, I had an experience on a HNL-DFW flight about 3-4 years ago where I was bumped out of one of the center section first seats (row 4 but forget if it was D or G) on a 767 and was put into the last row of the first cabin and in a window seat. The seat map was full and there was nowhere else for me to move to. I called the EXP desk and after talking to about 3-4 different people, I was told that someone from corporate deliberately moved me. I pressed further and persisted and eventually after much back and forth I was returned to my original seat (had it been a refurbed 767 I wouldn’t have cared but it was an old one with a 2-2-2 configuration) Obviously, if it was an Air Marshal they wouldn’t have moved me back. When I boarded the plane, I looked to see who was sitting in the window seat that I had temporarily been assigned and it was a young woman in her twenties. My guess was that she may have been a family member of someone high up at AA although I will never know for sure.