Equipment change with no comparable seat reassignment?
Dec 11, 2018, 11:11 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Programs: DL, HH, Bonvoy
Posts: 204
Equipment change with no comparable seat reassignment?
Flying PHX>OAK on a Mesa/American Eagle/American Canadair 900. Rows 12 and 13 listed as MCE exit rows. I'm Platinum so booked in row 12. More room for laptop (business trip), free beverage, dedicated bag storage since I'm always late to the airport and miss my boarding group, etc.
Get on the plane, 12 is not MCE or exit, it's 13 and 14. Message AA on Twitter and they respond that there's nothing they can do, it was an unexpected equipment change and the rows are shifted. The number of seats on the plane is the same, it's just on different rows... any reason AA wouldn't have simply done a seat change to accommodate people who paid for or were eligible for MCE through status? Anyone had luck getting any sort of reimbursement for the issue? (It's funny looking too because Row 14 is almost empty, presumably because it's a regular row that nobody wants right behind MCE.)
Incidentally we also left 30 minutes late and are currently diverting 200 miles to Fresno instead of Oakland, unable to land due to "too much fog", which makes this even more pleasant given the seat situation and I'm assuming will be considered a 'weather event'.
Get on the plane, 12 is not MCE or exit, it's 13 and 14. Message AA on Twitter and they respond that there's nothing they can do, it was an unexpected equipment change and the rows are shifted. The number of seats on the plane is the same, it's just on different rows... any reason AA wouldn't have simply done a seat change to accommodate people who paid for or were eligible for MCE through status? Anyone had luck getting any sort of reimbursement for the issue? (It's funny looking too because Row 14 is almost empty, presumably because it's a regular row that nobody wants right behind MCE.)
Incidentally we also left 30 minutes late and are currently diverting 200 miles to Fresno instead of Oakland, unable to land due to "too much fog", which makes this even more pleasant given the seat situation and I'm assuming will be considered a 'weather event'.
Dec 11, 2018, 11:28 am
#2
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
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Flying PHX>OAK on a Mesa/American Eagle/American Canadair 900. Rows 12 and 13 listed as MCE exit rows. I'm Platinum so booked in row 12. More room for laptop (business trip), free beverage, dedicated bag storage since I'm always late to the airport and miss my boarding group, etc.
Get on the plane, 12 is not MCE or exit, it's 13 and 14. Message AA on Twitter and they respond that there's nothing they can do, it was an unexpected equipment change and the rows are shifted. The number of seats on the plane is the same, it's just on different rows... any reason AA wouldn't have simply done a seat change to accommodate people who paid for or were eligible for MCE through status? Anyone had luck getting any sort of reimbursement for the issue? (It's funny looking too because Row 14 is almost empty, presumably because it's a regular row that nobody wants right behind MCE.)
Incidentally we also left 30 minutes late and are currently diverting 200 miles to Fresno instead of Oakland, unable to land due to "too much fog", which makes this even more pleasant given the seat situation and I'm assuming will be considered a 'weather event'.
Get on the plane, 12 is not MCE or exit, it's 13 and 14. Message AA on Twitter and they respond that there's nothing they can do, it was an unexpected equipment change and the rows are shifted. The number of seats on the plane is the same, it's just on different rows... any reason AA wouldn't have simply done a seat change to accommodate people who paid for or were eligible for MCE through status? Anyone had luck getting any sort of reimbursement for the issue? (It's funny looking too because Row 14 is almost empty, presumably because it's a regular row that nobody wants right behind MCE.)
Incidentally we also left 30 minutes late and are currently diverting 200 miles to Fresno instead of Oakland, unable to land due to "too much fog", which makes this even more pleasant given the seat situation and I'm assuming will be considered a 'weather event'.
If you paid for a premium or MCE seat, you will be able to recover your payment.
And yes, fog is a weather event for sure.
Dec 11, 2018, 12:04 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Programs: DL, HH, Bonvoy
Posts: 204
Yeah, same for everyone else in the row. It’s not the biggest deal except that it’s awkward to use a laptop. Really the bigger irritant is that we’re sitting in Fresno after being diverted and I’ll most likely have to chalk up another $10 for WiFi on the unexpected new segment.
i guess I’d just have expected more proactiveness on AA’s part especially given that they moved standard seated passengers to an exit row (and vice versa).
@MSPeconomist - no, it looks like other passengers were allowed to take the empty exit row seats as row 14 is full now and wasn’t at takeoff.
i guess I’d just have expected more proactiveness on AA’s part especially given that they moved standard seated passengers to an exit row (and vice versa).
@MSPeconomist - no, it looks like other passengers were allowed to take the empty exit row seats as row 14 is full now and wasn’t at takeoff.
Dec 11, 2018, 12:26 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: The FT AA forum, until it no longer wants me.
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Posts: 1,913
- Gate delays never seem reflect what's actually happening or physically possible (not formally canceling or reflecting a flight as delayed while other reasonable possible re-routing options gradually diminish)
- Planned equipment swaps (I'm referring to the ones that happen well in advance, not last-minute gate A/C swaps)
- Schedule changes that move pax to non-logical flights (i.e. instead of the next one with available space, moving them to a frequency at the end of the day)
Dec 11, 2018, 12:56 pm
#7
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
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Posts: 4,642
Unfortunately, this is “state of the farce” for AA. Equipment changes often mean you’re in a less favorable seat, because AA IT apparently still can’t handle moving passengers into comparable seats automatically in these circumstances.
If you paid for a premium or MCE seat, you will be able to recover your payment.
And yes, fog is a weather event for sure.
If you paid for a premium or MCE seat, you will be able to recover your payment.
And yes, fog is a weather event for sure.
Dec 11, 2018, 1:36 pm
#8
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
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Dec 11, 2018, 2:20 pm
#9
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: AA PLTPRO, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,559
Happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Went from Exit Row Window to non-MCE window. Tweeted to AA and this was their response:
"It's sometimes operationally necessary to swap planes, and we do all possible to keep you in similar seats. We're sorry we couldn't today."
Irony is that it wasn't an on-the-ground swap, the swap happened with at least the aircraft operating the incoming flight, which I pointed out in my reply, to which they replied:
"We try hard to avoid changing planes. Our apologies for any inconvenience."
But, hey, they're #GoingForGreat !!!
"It's sometimes operationally necessary to swap planes, and we do all possible to keep you in similar seats. We're sorry we couldn't today."
Irony is that it wasn't an on-the-ground swap, the swap happened with at least the aircraft operating the incoming flight, which I pointed out in my reply, to which they replied:
"We try hard to avoid changing planes. Our apologies for any inconvenience."
But, hey, they're #GoingForGreat !!!
Dec 11, 2018, 3:22 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Programs: DL, HH, Bonvoy
Posts: 204
Yeah, I tried Twitter and was told that I should have asked a flight attendant to see if anyone wanted to voluntarily swap with me. 😂 Ah well. Five and a half hours later I’m on the ground in the right city.
Dec 11, 2018, 3:29 pm
#11
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
"Hi, would you like to swap your better seat for one that's not as good?"