ijgordon

Hmm, fair point. But I doubt they'll calculate the value of the missing segment at $1,000 (though I guess you can push for it...).
Amex charge cards (well, Plat anyway) don't offer traditional travel insurance (instead you get 5x points on airfare); not sure they'd be willing to cover it under one of their other purchase protection plans, I would imagine those are specific to goods.

JamesBigglesworth

Are you new to flying on US carriers?

ijgordon

Hmm, so it should have been a pretty straightforward change, they wouldn't even need to reprice your ticket. Hard to understand how the other rez got screwed up.

Well, let that be a lesson! (Or at the very least, pull up the reservation online to make sure everything looks okay, and if it doesn't, call and/or get to the airport early.

Well, 2.5 hours should have been early enough to sort out a reservation/ticketing issue. It's Monday morning quarterbacking obviously, but you probably should have pushed BA and AA to speak directly. If the reservation looked fine in AA's system, but BA didn't have the segment, they probably could have got it sorted out together. Even if you got the ticket number from AA, and read it to the BA agent, that might have helped. I think you could have probably worked harder to try and sort this out before buying the ticket; that might ultimately work against you.

Not sure what it shows there, but I would send it to the address on the front of AAG's SEC filings: 4333 Amon Carter Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76155 (not sure that's the best option, but it will get there).

I think you can file where you bought the original ticket. Oh, and good chance AA blames BA and vice-versa for the reservation snafu. You may have to sue both of them.
The flight wasn't delayed and you weren't denied boarding (though if you didn't purchase the walkup ticket, maybe you could have argued as such), so I can't see how EC 261 compensation would be applicable, but I'm far from an expert on that...

danbrew

I don't know that I'd be so quick to discard the idea of disputing with your credit card if American doesn't make you whole. I had "an issue" a few months ago. I was scheduled on an American flight that was canceled - I called into the call center and asked them to book me on the United flight that was going out at about the same time. They agreed, gave me a confirmation # for United and off I went to the airport (return home segment). I get to the airport and the UA ticket counter says, "yep, we've got your reservation here - but AA screwed up and didn't pay for the ticket - we can't let you fly with this thing". I was pissed. I asked them to call AA - they couldn't get ahold of anyone. Eventually the UA rep told me that the only way I was getting on the plane is if I bought a new ticket right then and there. I did. Something like $1000.

I was all ready to send a nuclear customer sat msg to AA, but I called them a few days later and they researched and told me, no, they did everything they were supposed to do and I was a "Protected Rule 592" (or something like that, I forget) and UA should have honored the ticket. I call UA back and they're like, "Oh yeah, our bad. Sorry. Fill out this form for a refund." I did - and it was declined. UA sent me a note and said that the ticket number I had provided was an AA ticket and I should call them. I had provided the PNR and ticket numbers for both the UA and AA ticket. UA was making me jump through hoops left and right and then just saying "No". Screw that. I called Amex and disputed the charge and provided all the material I had sent to UA (you know, trying to solve the problem with UA up front before disputing).

Amex reached out to UA and asked for their two cents. They had some back and forth and Amex quoted my Protected Rule 592 status and told me that they would chargeback to UA and they did indeed provide a refund.

So... it's not always a given that they're (the CC company) gonna say, "Nope, sorry". They were super reasonable - of course I connected the dots for them and explained the situation in detail and quotes the FCC regs on the 592 issue (which I'm just too lazy to go check the number right this second).

flyingeph12

I might also be worried about your friend's LHR-IAD segment tomorrow being cancelled as well. Have you checked if that is in order?

I don't buy the claim that AA has no record of changes being made. Obviously it would be helpful if you have a paper trail documenting changes (e-mail confirmations, credit card charges, etc.). But my guess is that it's sheer incompetence on the part of the EXP desk (my experience with them has been very hit or miss since the merger). My recommendation is to keep calling the EXP desk until you get someone competent. A written complaint is likely to get a canned response and probably take much longer (also higher chance of miscommunication).

My most recent snafu was trying to get a refund on a ticket cancelled within 24 hours of booking. The one wrinkle was that I had upgraded using miles + copay at booking, which meant the ticket was technically reticketed/exchanged. It took 3 different calls to the EXP over a month to get AA to correctly refund the ticket price and the copay, as per the terms clearly stated on AA's website. My last resort, as is probably yours, was to dispute the charge with your credit card company. Luckily for me, it didn't come to that.

Andriyko

But why would a companion receive a new ticket if there were no changes in their itinerary? The OP made the change and a new PNR should have been created/ticket issued for the OP.

ijgordon

I don't think it's clear which passenger would get the new PNR when the records were divided. I assume either the agent can choose or it's based on the order the pax are listed. I don't believe OP stated whether his changed reservation had a new PNR or kept the old number. It would seem conceivable that he kept the PNR and his friend got the new PNR, although one would think that would generate a new email confirmation. But we all know how reliable AA's systems are.

Andriyko

Even - for some unknown reason - the agent decided to create a new PNR for the companion rather than the OP when splitting them, there would still be no new ticket to send. The companion would still have been ticketed per the original itinerary.

ijgordon

No new ticket, sure, but don't you think an airline should send you an email if your confirmation number changes?

The first thing the agent has to do is divide the record. I have no idea why you think there's some huge unknown reason why the companion might get the new PNR when that happens. Are you privy to how Sabre or whatever the overlay is called works?

SamOF

I've split PNRs plenty of times and have never once received any email confirmation with the new confirmation number, as long as no change was made to the itin or the ticket.

arollins

Since the companion has no status, and he was an EXP companion, wouldn't he un-inherit the EXP benefits, (MCE seats, priority boarding, luggage allowance) once the PNR was split? Granted, he only had carry-on, and this would not have nothing to do on how the ARN-LHR segment was deleted.

ijgordon

Well that sounds like a serious shortcoming to me. @:-)

But regardless, there apparently was a change in the itinerary, at least according to BA. I'm suspecting this was some type of IT issue between the two reservation systems.

SamOF

Right, but the OP certainly wasn't expecting a change, and thus was reasonably not expecting an email.

arollins

Goes back to what has been mentioned numerous times in similar threads in the past, always double check your reservations after changes or someone "touching" it occurs. Best to deal with anomalities prior to the flight, than on the day of departure. Failure to do so could be costly and an uphill battle to correct. Have to be proactive instead of reactive. Good luck to OP.

Andriyko

Usually, when a PNR is split a new one is created for the passenger who requires changes. It's just easier that way. So, the companion should have retained the original PNR and the OP should have got a new one.

The main point is not a PNR, however, but an e-ticket. there were no changes to the companion's flights so there was no need to issue a new ticket (or look for in in the e-mail); however, according to BA the companion did not have a ticket for one of the segments.