uscjeff

Thanks for these suggestions here. I am certainly keeping my eye on the CX flights 6/27. Upgraded to F on AA with a Biz Extra cert - turning that into CX F would be a nice bonus if need be. Have a ~4 connection to Singapore on CX in J too so missing that if the AA flight has issues would be a total pain

beachfan

ryan182

And nor should they have as a domestic flight in Y upgraded comp to F, yeah you're not going to get protected on another airline in F and that's not just AA but really any carrier. Comparing a paid J->F upgraded international flight that operates once a day which is significantly delayed and getting moved to a OW carrier in same class to a domestic 2 hour flight with a complimentary upgrade requesting F on AS, or really anyone but to add to it AS is not OW, is comparing apples to doorknobs frankly.

aacar

Data point: LAX-HKG flight went to C2 at precisely T-35, called in and got myself + companion upgraded ^

Now J6C0.

bszeto

Was supposed to be on AA302/AA193 today in F, but AA302 was cancelled (you all can probably guess why) and spent the next few hours trying to sort things out so I can get back to HK in time to celebrate Father's day with my wife and my kids.
First tried calling the EXP service desk to get myself rebooked, but I literally ran into the worst agent ever and basically butchered my ticket. I think she was trying to put me on a LGA/DFW/HKG flight next day with the second leg in W. I literally had to scream at her to get me rebooked on CX's flight next day in J, which would arrive in HK 7 hours later than my originally scheduled arrival time.
Feeling that there's probably a better option out there, i went back out to FF check-in and spoke with an agent there. She was much much more helpful, and tried to waitlist me on the later JFK/LAX flight in F. Unfortunately that didn't work out either.
At this point I was really tired, so i went to the Admirals club and talked with the 3rd agent to get the CX ticket issued for next day. She was extremely helpful and checked again for what options I have, and she managed to put me on the redeye direct flight CX 845 in F. I was ecstatic, relieved, and mentally exhausted at the same time. I'm now waiting at FFD for my upcoming flight.

Couple lessons learned, along with observations
- Don't call the EXP desk, esp. if you're in F. Every person I interacted in person was super nice and helpful today, but the agent I spoke on the phone was perhaps the worst agent I've ever spoken to. The lady at FF checkin told me they have more options than the EXP desk. The fact that the EXP desk agent butchered my ticket also didn't help.
- Be persistent, especially if you didn't get what you want initially.
- It was an inexpensive biz ticket with good availability to upgrade to F using SWU, but i'm not sure if I'd do this again. I usually fly JL J and may stick with them even though their schedule is less ideal IMHO to HKG. Yes, the end result was great (being booked on CX F which is orders of magnitude better than AA F, and actually arriving in HKG earlier) but the anxiety of going through the horrific rebooking process, especially through the EXP desk, was not enjoyable to say the least. Hopefully experiencing CX F would change my mind slightly.
- AA needs to get this sorted out. Everyone on the ground I spoke to was very apologetic, but they also acknowledged this issue is plaguing them quite a bit. The agents on the ground also got frustrated with the call center agents.

Anyway, hoping for a great flight back to HKG

nk15

There are definitely some incompetent agents on the EXP line. I called one the other day and she refused to process the C availability upgrades, put me on hold for 15 minutes wasting my time, then the C space was gone, and she even dropped me from the waitlist...I was fuming. You have to be ready to HUCA immediately when you sense any incompetence on the EXP line, unless the wait times are long...Sometimes it's a matter of luck, and if you get an incompetent one on the other end, you're SOL.

econometrics

FlytheTail

I really hope this isn't true - it's never appropriate to scream at an agent. If you think the agent isn't competent or helpful, follow this advice:

Finsup72

I completely disagree here. Yes, there are some agents on the EXP desk who sound like it's their very first day of working, but I've also had some EXP agents who are extremely knowledgeable and would do anything and everything in their power to help me with my situation. I had an agent at JFK Flagship check-in who has never seen an VDB voucher before and refused to process my ticket. She said "you need to do this online" even though it's impossible to redeem a physical VDB voucher online. There are some great agents and some bad agents on the phone, at the Admirals club, at the gate, etc., and just hope you find a helpful agent. If not, HUCA or go try and find someone else to help.

It's not fair or accurate to make a blanket statement that all in-person agents are more helpful than calling the EXP line.

absoluy

beachfan

bszeto

It's fine that you guys disagreed, I've called the exp desk a few times this year and none of them were better than people I interacted with on the ground, and I'm taking the words from the AA agent that they can do more than agents over the phone even if it may or may not be true
it also didn't help matters my flight was cancelled literally 2 minutes before boarding time
As for getting rebooked in F, based on what I've read it is YMMV. Mine was a paid J upgraded with SWU right after booking. I would've been happy if they can put me on a flight that can get me back to HKG at the same time I was originally slated to arrive.

bszeto

I wish I didn't have to be more forceful than I did, but I told her the situation, she told me to hold, and after a brief hold she put me on next days flight in W that would arrive much later without giving me any options and basically said nothing else she can do in a very unhelpful manner. I then had to give her specific AA / CX flight numbers to check, and I knew there was space available on earlier flights since I saw A2 and J1 on CX845, which she came back with no availability. I then ask if EWR-HKG was available and she said she can't put me there since it originates at a different airport (but LGA is fine?). Then I asked for CX's 10am flight, and she also initially said no, but I told her I see J availability and she finally put me back on hold and relented. My feeling was that she didn't cared and that was the last thing I needed when I really wanted to get home.

And yes I will try the HUCA option next time. But to reiterate, the airport staff was great, from everyone at the check-in counter to all the staff at their lounges. I'm glad I went to them.

nk15

The problem with the HUCA unfortunately is that sometimes it may feel uncomfortable to do it, and you want to give the person the benefit of the doubt that they may be able to do it, but sometimes you have to fight these feelings and politely do it, when there is so much at stake, like a C1 or C2 and the time is ticking and it doesn't look good. The exception is in irrops with a long wait time you are stuck with that EXP agent, unless you rather take your chances and call AA Australia, which may actually not be a bad idea, lol. And talk to ground staff too, of course.

anabolism

It's definitely true that airport agents (e.g., check-in, lounge, gate) have more power than telephone reservations agents to fix problems during irregular operations. The flip side is that the lines to speak to an airport agent during irrops can be horrendous. It also depends on what you are asking for. I think it is not too hard for reservations and airport agents to rebook you on an AA code (prime or codeshare) in your ticketed class, especially if your ticketed inventory is available. Getting rebooked on partner flight codes in the same cabin can be done but with reservations agents might require lucking onto a good one, which as others have noted is not a sure thing.

Was your ticket reissued as well?