Can I get a refund from AA somehow?
Oct 24, 2018, 1:48 pm
#17
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: The FT AA forum, until it no longer wants me.
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Oct 24, 2018, 2:13 pm
#18
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Laguna Niguel, CA
Programs: AA PLT, 1.8mm
Posts: 6,988
AA would rather have your $ 200 now than the chance at any future revenue later. This "tale" is a very common change fee imposed by most airlines. And I agree that good customer service is good advertising. Unfortunately, this is the airline industry we're talking about.
Oct 24, 2018, 2:49 pm
#19
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 6,752
In addition, not sure if the Airline industry engages in the practice, but there are certain customers better to not only shed, but have go and bother the competition. Not suggesting the OP is such a customer, but one who threatens to tell others not to use a product if he/she doesn't get his/her way, is certainly a type of patron any business is better off without. Not worth it, given such low margins on the tix in question.
Oct 24, 2018, 3:02 pm
#20
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: PHL
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Owner of 2,000 TWA shares
Posts: 812
They did not force you to buy a non-refundable ticket. They did not force you to fly with them to begin with. It sucks but it's all part of the game. The reason I'm in this forum is to learn from the best at how to game a system where the odds are stacked against you.
Oct 24, 2018, 3:09 pm
#21
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If it's a non-refundable fare, you can't get a refund, unless there is a significant advance schedule change or a significant delay (or cancellation) on the day of departure.
AA already sold the seat, why would they want to have to try to sell it again? That costs money.
Technically you can't just occupy two seats. If the second boarding pass isn't scanned at the gate, then that seat will be marked a 'no-show' and may be released to standby travelers at the last minute. You *could* try to scan the boarding pass at the gate, but you'd want to tell the agent that you're scanning for an extra seat (otherwise the physical passenger count on board will be wrong and potentially hold up departure). If they don't look closely at the boarding pass, this might work. But technically you did not purchase the second seat as an "XTRA SEAT", and name changes are not allowed. I don't know the practical implications of attempting this. I suppose the worst case is that they make you forefeit the seat and cancel the ticket/reservation. Which shouldn't put you any worse off than where you started.
AA already sold the seat, why would they want to have to try to sell it again? That costs money.
Technically you can't just occupy two seats. If the second boarding pass isn't scanned at the gate, then that seat will be marked a 'no-show' and may be released to standby travelers at the last minute. You *could* try to scan the boarding pass at the gate, but you'd want to tell the agent that you're scanning for an extra seat (otherwise the physical passenger count on board will be wrong and potentially hold up departure). If they don't look closely at the boarding pass, this might work. But technically you did not purchase the second seat as an "XTRA SEAT", and name changes are not allowed. I don't know the practical implications of attempting this. I suppose the worst case is that they make you forefeit the seat and cancel the ticket/reservation. Which shouldn't put you any worse off than where you started.
Oct 24, 2018, 3:12 pm
#22
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I made a reservation for 2, and need to cancel 1 of those seats. AA says I will forfeit $200. Wouldn't they like to sell that seat? Why not refund my cost, then sell it higher to a late booking passenger? Is there some way for me to get a refund, or, can I just occupy 2 seats? Or can I sell it to the desk agent who wants to put someone on the plane at the last minute?
If you want full credit for canceled tickets (credit, not a refund) fly Southwest
Oct 24, 2018, 4:00 pm
#23
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,234
if you tell them it’s an extra seat and the count Is under by 1, they’ll know why and a chance it won’t cause any holdup. If word doesn’t make it to the team doing the count / if they solely rely on manually reading the manifest, then they’ll notice the problem. I don’t know how they go about it in practice. (And at that point, I wonder if they’ll care, since they just need to get the plane put on time...)
Oct 24, 2018, 4:45 pm
#24
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Or a carrier change: an American Eagle carrier for mainline, mainline for American Eagle, or one Eagle carrier for another. If the OP wants to play the game hard, OP can look for a meaningful delay right up to the check-in deadline. Snow and thunderstorms do happen! When a delay is posted, call and say reroutings are unacceptable.
Oct 24, 2018, 5:58 pm
#25
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Posts: 4,422
OP what credit card did you book this on? Several come with trip insurance that would reimburse the change fee if the reason is a qualified one. It's your best chance. Unfortunately unlike a concert (also non-refundable) the airlines can over book flights and double dip, so they don't see it as "sell the seat again" .
Oct 24, 2018, 6:37 pm
#26
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 765
They can assign a standby passenger to the empty middle seat your companion was going to use. In exchange for that, they also offer a "flat tire rule" so you can stand by on the next flight for free if you show up late but within two hours of departure
Oct 24, 2018, 11:38 pm
#27
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"What do you think they can gain by refunding you? They can still sell the seat again." What they would gain is a happier customer, who might book more flights with AA. Due to this $200 per change policy, they lose any future revenue from me and from my acquaintances who hear this tale, and who might have been thinking of flying AA but will now book another carrier. Good customer service is good advertising, and vice versa.
Oct 25, 2018, 1:43 am
#28
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: UA
Posts: 444
So you bought a cheaper non refundable ticket but expect the same benefits as a more expensive refundable ticket? The major airlines do not work like that and if you chose to boycott them all your flight options will be very limited.
Oct 25, 2018, 3:31 am
#29
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Roswell, GA
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As others have stated, every cheap ticket you buy has strings attached to it.
You had a choice when you purchased a ticket,
Its not like you went to a department store, brought something and then found out you didnt like it, so you were able to get a refund.
Airlines have that option, but you will pay a lot more for that.
You had a choice when you purchased a ticket,
Its not like you went to a department store, brought something and then found out you didnt like it, so you were able to get a refund.
Airlines have that option, but you will pay a lot more for that.
Oct 25, 2018, 8:33 am
#30
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Tempe, AZ
Programs: UA *G
Posts: 86
The airlines do not care about you - with all the consolidation in the industry; you as a paying passenger/ customer is just a bag of meat; to be treated with as much contempt as legally possible, to ensure you part with as much of your money as they can squeeze out of you.