gajs

if your final destination is in the UK and you fly via BA or any airline, then you pay the higher UK taxes on that biz seat, due to [theoretical] fare differential. If you pass through, ie final destination is not in UK, then you do not pay the UK tax, but may pay final destination tax. --- as to the rest: The new software doesn't allow the flexibility IMO of the old booking system that allowed you to see 20+? flights. You could pick and choose. -- I have found that many cheaper options exist by looking elsewhere, other than AA, and with this new management emphasis on $$ spent, I think the 'value' or perks of flying solely AA has been greatly diminished. Encourage you, and others to be creative. I just booked flight to TYO in biz class for just $300 more than Y, RT, and will get most if not all equilivency as if I had booked via AA and on AA metal. -- The days of working around limitations of AA/US, to fly AA, just don't get rewarded like they used to, IMO.

3Cforme

Nope. UK Air Passenger Duty is a departure tax. Carrier of arrival isn't relevant. If on BA, YQ charges will be collected.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...er-thread.html

Mwenenzi

And nor does the UK APD apply to transits. Like MIA-LHR-BUD.

ericgdukie44

Seems like you could just call...

JDiver

Please read the Wikipost at the top of this thread. There may be alternate availability you can not see on aa.com, such as MIA-MAD-BUD, etc. As well, read the Wikiposts for the threads you have been referred to as you've been told, high YQ ("carrier imposed charges" come as part of any award flown on BA. UK taxes (Air Passenger Duty) do not come into play flying to or through the U.K. (unless your connection exceeds 23:59).

majsmom

Hello fellow FT's,

would appreciate your help in my problem. Flying from NRT-ONT Nov. 16 and then returning PDX-NRT Dec. 3rd. Because of equipment change, AA called and told us there is no longer a first class cabin and business class was only available. We went ahead and switched to business class. But after looking at the planes realized we wanted to still travel first class.

I called today several times the AAdvantage Customer Service. I told them we can fly from NRT-LAX instead and also flexible on the dates. One rep said that there were seats available but not any award seats. I called back again and asked if the rep could open up awards seats by contacting revenue management and asking them to open the seats. The rep said she could not do that and looked around again for award seats on both AA and partner airlines but cound not find any. Is there a number to call instead of Customer Service?

My next step is again calling Customer Service but should I just ask to speak to the supervisor directly or have the rep first try to find the award seats and then ask for the supervisor if rep can't find any seats? Any help will be really appreciated.

Thanks.

Irene

Happy

If they are all award spaces, you can try to put them on separate reservations and HOLD them. Then call AA to ask the agent to combine the flights into one itinerary. If they are not married segments the agent "should" be able to combine it into one itinerary with the same cost.

AA website is not very good when there are 2 overnight layovers involved in an itinerary - so are those flights would result to 2 overnight layovers with less than 24 hrs on each one? If so, that may be the reason the website would not give you the option. Your other option is described above if you do want that itinerary. Agent should waive the phone booking fee.

nwflyboy

1. Log in on AA.com
2. Search for award
3. Select award flight offered, and click "Continue"
4. "The flight you selected is no longer available. Please modify your request."
5. Hmm. Ooh-kaaaay....click another award flight offered, and click "Continue"
6. Go to step #4
7. Repeated endlessly
8. Give up in disgust

Explanation?

JonNYC

Putin?

nwflyboy

Actually, I've always suspected that the AAdvantage program was designed and run by Kim Jong-un, but if the experts here say it's actually Vlaadaamir who's pushing the buttons, I can buy that.

SFO777

Phantom inventory on at least one of the segments.

nwflyboy

That sounds reasonable.

However, I am getting this on EVERY award flight I try. Even on single-leg flights on AA's own metal - I'm not trying to do 4 legs on partners here. Which begs the question: how much of what I see offered up on AA.com is Phantom inventory, and how much is Actual inventory? Are ANY of the award flights shown actually bookable?

I just went through a struggle on the phone with an agent at AA. Every time something didn't go well, she quickly said "oh, it's probably a website error, we don't work on the web, you want me to transfer you to them?" That was tossed in a dozen times in a 5 minute conversation.

I originally asked for a two-segement award (this was a TATL leg, followed by a shorter connecting flight - both on AA metal). She said nothing was available. Online, I searched for the original routing, and yeah, it showed nothing. So then I searched for just the TATL as a single, stand-alone booking. Online it showed availability at the saver level. I asked the phone agent to check that leg. She said, nope, nothing available. I gave her the details I was seeing. She quickly replied, once again, "oh, I'm sure it's just a website error, we don't work on the web, you want me to transfer you to them?" No, I said, I know where that will lead. She said, "well, why don't you just book it or put it on hold?" I asked her to stay with me, I clicked the award flight, clicked Continue... and then got "The flight you selected is no longer available. Please modify your request."

Every award I click on produces that result...

You sure it's not Kim Jong-un running this thing?

majsmom

Found the answer in the Downgrade/Downgraded award ticket... - Called Customer Service and spoke to rep and asked again for first class for NRT-ONT. There was no awards seats so i mentioned if they award seats could be opened up by revenue management. Rep said they could not do that. Then asked for a supervisor. Rep put me on the hold, spoke to the supervisor. Rep then found award seats NRT-LAX and booked it. Then asked rep to check on the PDX-NRT but got disconnected. Will call them again for that portion

dkerr

But what does apply to both transit and departures is the UK/Heathrow passenger service charge which is among the highest in the world. On a round trip transit through LHR amounts to about $USD 53 right now.

DAK

nwflyboy

I'm trying to find a way to make an award trip work. Most of the details aren't particularly important here, but I ended up having an interesting conversation with someone who claimed to be a "supervisor" today which surprised me.

The issue I was calling about was the apparent disconnect between info shown on the website, and what phone agents claim to be seeing. Folks here have suggested this is due to "phantom inventory" (I've heard a lot of that so it doesn't shock me). I got a different story from this "supervisor".

I've been looking for TATL saver business award seats - yeah, the magical unicorns that AA works so hard to keep from you. At around 330 days out, I've started to see these appear. I do a search on AA.com, some options show up (even some non-BA options). I click one to book it and I get "The flight you selected is no longer available. Please modify your request.". I get this for every flight it shows. Every time.

I call AA.com. The agent quickly says, "no, I don't see any of those seats, they're not available. Must be a web error. Here, let me transfer you to the web team!" They're all REALLY quick to push that transfer button - can't imagine why!

I get on with the "web team" who seem extremely clueless. I repeat everything, s-l-o-w-y and clearly. Long pauses follow. They say they are researching. The come back, they seem really surprised: they tell me they are seeing the same thing as me! Great, I say! So you can book the seats for me - the seats you see there on the flights I want at the saver level in business class? Oh, no - the web team can't book seats. But they'll transfer me to someone who can. Great! Click - I'm transferred to an agent. I go through the routine, the agent goes "um hmm, um hmm..." then suggests I pay for an Anytime Award (or what I call, "paying double the actual price") and going on BA. Um, no thanks. I ask if he understood what the last guy said, about how the web guys confirmed what i was seeing. Yes, he got that. But no, there were no seats available on those flights. Back and forth for another 10 minutes. I ask for his supervisor. Transferred to her. I start over. Politely explaining that their website appears to be consistently presenting 100% wrong information. She sounds concerned. I give all the details again. She says, "oh, the website must be wrong." I agree. "It shouldn't do that." I agree, it shouldn't, but it does. Should customers expect anything on the website to be accurate? "Of course" I agree.

She starts asking me for the details, again. This is where it got interesting.

She observes, "oh, the flights you're searching on are 330 days out!" I agree, yes, they are - although I've seen the same phony info for flights going back several days, and I tell her that.

She then tells me that their system only loads flights 320 days out. Not 330.

I politely disagree, and point her to AA.com, which displays inventory - for both paid and award flights - 330 days out. There's a long pause. She comes back and tells me "I've worked here a long time. All the training I've ever seen, in all my experience, everyone here knows that we can only book 320 days out." I tell her to go look at AA.com and plug in dates in the last week of September 2017 - which are definitely beyond 320 days ahead. She replies that the website shouldn't be showing anything more than 320 days out, and any flight information on those dates between 320 and 330 days out is invalid, and should not be displayed on AA.com. Hmmm. While she's saying this, I go to AA.com and do a dummy booking for 9/27/2017. Choose a seat, it's asking for my credit card...sure looks like it's going to let me pay for that "invalid" flight. I gently inform her of this, she just says "you can't book anything, paid or awards, beyond 320 days". Oh Kay...

Sigh.