FlyerTalk Forums - AA seat assignment loss / change / glitch / problem / FAM (master thread)

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.

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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.

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.

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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)

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)