My recollection from last February is that the front row (1 on the refits) is quite OK. I don't think I sampled the other rows but they were already cramped before being compressed.

so does one receive OW sapphire automatically once AA PLT? and if so, would that not get you into lounge?

The Sapphire is automatic but AA specifically excludes their own members from AA lounge access unless there is an international leg in the itinerary.

You are AA Saphire. Only non AA sapphires receive lounge access when traveling domestic in the US.
Not even domestic first class passengers get access to any lounge when traveling in the US (except Lax/Sfo - JFK transcon)

You have no lounge access traveling domestically unless you’re flying JFK-LAX or SFO on a Flagship nonstop three class flight. (Other oneworld airlines’ Sapphire and Emerald members do.)

What that means is AAdvantage Platinum etc. are not allowed lounge access for solely North America (exceptions: JFK-LAX and SFO Flagship and MEX), Caribbean flights.

Thanks for this
sounds like a good location

I'll be flying a redeye LAX-JFK in F next month and had a couple of questions regarding lounge access:

• My flight technically departs after midnight (12:30am), will I still have QF F lounge access before my flight even though it would be the previous calendar day? I know FL/FFD has an "or before 6am the following day" rule.
• Will I have FFD access at JFK, even though I don't have an onward flight?
• Is there a time limit on how much time one can spend in FFD?

Thanks in advance.

QF LAX lounge
From https://www.qantas.com/au/en/qantas-...st-lounge.html
So will be closed at the time of your flight (After the QF flights depart)

And OW web site https://www.oneworld.com/airport-lounges?location=LAX

Yes, you have lounge access before your flight, a 1230am departure is exactly the scenario that the "before 6am" clause was written for.

And yes, you van access Flagship Dining on arrival in JFK, and there's no time limit.

I like to think that I'm not exactly a newbie but I've got a situation I've never bumped into before.

I'm AA Platinum. I got it when I was e-mailed a trial offer last year and flew enough in the 3 months to keep it through to the end of the year after I got it. I was always under the impression that was supposed to waive the $75 award close-in booking fee. I booked an award on CX for JFK-YVR a week before departure. I flew it two weeks ago. Now I get an e-mail from AA's "corporate receivables" department claiming that they investigated, found I was supposed to be charged the $75, and that they expect some sort of response by November 8. Is this kind of thing normal (the investigating and coming after me for a fee after the fact), and were they right to claim they were supposed to charge me the $75 (are there limitations on that fee waiver)?

What constitutes denied boarding?
 

Hello,

Not quite sure where to post this, so since I am new to FlyerTalk I thought I would post it here and then it can be moved if necessary.

As a frequent flier of American Airlines (I am Platinum Pro currently and will make Executive Platinum before the end of the year), I am well familiar with the inherent delays and issues with airline travel and try to take it all in stride with out a complaint. But my experience with American on 9 October 19 as I tried to board flight AA5369 and was denied boarding by the gate agent (he refused to give me his name and finally the gate unit manager told me his name) was beyond anything I have ever experienced from American Airlines or any other airlines.

For background, I was returning home from San Jose, CA to Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA on a business trip. In the Uber on the way to the airport, I was notified that my first flight out of San Jose into Dallas (AA1113) was delayed and that I wouldn't make the connection. So, I called the Platinum Pro desk and they said they could still get me home that day but I was going to have to go our of SFO and incur the additional $30.00 cost of the Uber. I said okay, and they rebooked me on AA651 SJC into PHL, and then PHL to ORF.

Once I arrived at SFO, I found out that AA651 had been delayed also and I would miss my connection. There seems to be a pattern here, right? I spoke with the gate agent at 85A and she told me that since AA2183 had been slightly delayed also, I could take that flight into CLT and then take AA5369 from CLT to ORF. I agreed to this. Flight AA2183 did arrive at CLT late, giving me only approximately 25 minutes before departure to go from my gate in the D terminal to my next gate in the E terminal. I made the dash and arrived at the gate 12 minutes before departure time (and yes, I checked the clock on my phone to make sure) – what I thought would be plenty of time.

When I arrived the door to the walkway/bridge was still open and the gate agent was still checking people in. When I went to scan my boarding pass, the gate agent informed me that he had already given away my seat. I said that was fine, I will take another. He then informed me that the aircraft was full and that I would have to wait and he would rebook me on the next flight. In as nice a way as possible, I informed him that I had a seat on this flight, that I was a Platinum Pro flyer on American, the next flight wouldn't get me to ORF until midnight or almost three hours later than the current flight. His response to me was that he could give away my seat 15 minutes before departure time, that he didn't care what my AAdvantage level was, and there wasn't a seat for me on this flight.

I understand that people have hard days and dealing with travelers can be difficult, but it has been a long time since I have been treated so poorly by an American Airlines employee. When I tried to speak to him again, he refused to speak to me and told me that I needed to speak with his manager whom he called over. The gate unit manager, was kind and empathetic given the day I had had but basically refused to assist me any more than by rebooking me on AA1938 that left almost three hours later.

Originally, I was supposed to be landing at 10:19 PM at ORF and instead I ended up not getting there until after midnight. I understand that delays happen such as with AA1113 and AA651 that day – that is all part of travel. But it should have been a simple task for the gate agent when I didn't board with group 3 to look at his system, look that I had just landed and would be there before the departure door closed instead of giving my seat away at the first chance he had. Instead, even though I had a confirmed reservation, I checked-in on time, I arrived at the departure gate within the appropriate window, I was denied boarding and as a result arrived home more than two hours later than my original flight and three hours later than my rebooked flight.

When I told the story to the gate agent at the next gate, she told me that I should have received compensation for being involuntarily denied boarding and that I needed to file a formal complaint about how my case was handled and about the gate agent. I have filed a complaint with American. They denied it was denied boarding and in their "generosity" they offered me a $200 voucher. My question to the forum is does this constitute involuntary denied boarding in that the delay was they fault, and even with the delay I arrived at the gate more than 10 minutes before door closing time on a domestic flight?

Any insight is appreciated!

Not involuntarily denied boarding in this case.

Doors close 10 minutes prior to departure, but per American Airlines policy (the "At the Gate" section) you indeed need to be present at the gate 15 minutes before departure for domestic flights or your seat can be given up. I think that's about as good as it gets in allowing people to get to the gate, leaving a mere 5 minute window before the doors close to allocate seats to standby passengers. I believe if you'd gotten to the gate before that 15 minute mark and not allowed on, it would have been involuntarily denied boarding.

On one hand you'd think the GA should be able to tell that you were checked in and flying that day and just arriving late. On the other hand it sounds like you had less than CLT's minimum connection time, and they don't know whether you're being Usain Bolt and are going to make it or what. At some point they just have to make the decision, and once someone else has been given a ticket and boarded they can't go back and give them the boot. And indeed status level is irrelevant here.

That's my take on it anyway. It's an unfortunate domino effect scenario you found yourself in, for sure, but I don't know if there was an obvious alternate solution.

Thank you jerseytom. I would think they would treat their "better customers" better than that, but you are probably right.

Unfortunately, with the D0 mentality at AA, GAs have incentive to close the flight as early as possible instead of applying common sense in situations like this. I have had this happen to me where the flight was the last flight out for the day, and I ended up having to overnight (and of course eat the cost of the hotel because it’s at least partly a weather-related delay). I don’t believe this is considered an IDB. My advice is to have a credit card with good trip delay protection—that has come in handy a lot lately.

Free checked bags on Mile Saver award tickets?
 

I have had a very hard time trying to find out if award tickets holders, who have no status and are flying coach, will be entitled to a free checked bag. Can you advise?