AA Oversold Business class on our flight this week, we lost award seats

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May 21, 2019, 8:58 pm

#121

AndyAA

Join Date: Jan 2008

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Assuming availability, I’ll place my wager on the ORD BA reroute. Maybe the DTW agent will slip up and actually help a pax instead of following policy and kicking the can down the road for PHL to handle. Granted, it’s a long shot.

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May 21, 2019, 9:05 pm

#122

Antarius

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ijgordon

I strongly suspect the agents at DTW will kick the can over to PHL to "fix" the problem. They'll say "we show you confirmed in business, you can get your boarding pass at the gate in PHL."
Not sure how long the connection is, but time obviously works against OP. Maybe PHL-MAN is the best option at that point, if there are even any seats left by then. Or maybe they could get OP on something like PHL-AMS-EDI, using KL on the second segment (I haven't checked timing or availability)

i agree. And PHL is the MAD of the US in terms of worthless staff (had the same .... happen with IB)

So be cautious of them trying to punt it down stream.

May 21, 2019, 9:20 pm

#123

lightbulbs

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin

Plan C requires only a 2PM arrival time at AA DTW ticketing
You’ll know in an hour or two if you get a FIM to UA for 455pm dep to EWR
Limited time will be to your benefit in focusing the AA agent

Honestly I think the UA option is unlikely to materialize. There are currently only 2 J seats and given how UA clears GPUs and does aggressive FCM it seems not reliable that within a few hours of flight time those seats will still be available...

Im putting my money on OP gets original seats if crew rest ends up not needed or will be downgraded to Y because there is not an option to go via other carriers in J on an acceptable routing. They will VDB someone in Y if needed to get OP a pair of seats but probably won’t need to given no shows, misconnects, etc

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May 21, 2019, 9:26 pm

#124

laagima

Join Date: Jul 2016

Posts: 152

Quote:

Originally Posted by BThumme

I'm only 20 minutes away from DTW, part of me wants to show up tomorrow and see how this plays out in person.

That's an FTer!

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May 21, 2019, 9:30 pm

#125

linglingfool

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Quote:

Originally Posted by C17PSGR

But ... I don't think there are good options from LHR to EDI. Generally the availability tomorrow morning is either zero or one seat. So ... while getting to LHR would normally be fine, its not a good solution here.

OP would be connecting on 5/23. At least 2 J seats available for sale on every BA LHR-EDI flight after 1PM, and a few available in the morning.

OP, I like your order -- good job being prepared! As others have said, I have never met a good gate agent in PHL, so if you do wind up downstream, go to the club and have them sort you there.

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May 21, 2019, 9:41 pm

#126

jcatman

Join Date: Apr 2009

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This thread is better than anything on that box in your living room that you turn on with a remote.

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May 21, 2019, 10:17 pm

#127

flyingeph12

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Well, PHL-MAN is down to J3, and PHL-EDI is completely zeroed out in both cabins. BA ORD-LHR is still showing J2.

Hope things work out, but I think this illustrates the risk of waiting to resolve things at the airport.

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May 21, 2019, 10:57 pm

#128

GeezerCouple

Join Date: Nov 2013

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Antarius

Under normal circumstances, yes. If they screwed up or IRROPS, then they can make magic happen. AA and BA have a JV - they can put you on that flight.

I would call back. also ORD-LHR on BA 744 > AA 757

We had booked almost a year in advance F from USA to Norway and back for last year, on BA with AA points. All set, double checked relatively frequently.
Then (at least not at the very last minute), I saw a schedule change. Problem was, the first flight of the two flights home now departed before our cruise was even scheduled to dock, never mind allowing time to disembark, taxi over, etc. We had allowed quite a few hours originally.
And it wasn't even our planned routing.

It turned out that the first flight, direct to LHR (from where we had a non-stop home), had been... discontinued. Poof.
Bottom line, we threw a fit (gently, of course!), and lo and behold, we suddenly had tickets on a NON-partner airline to get us to another city where we could at least get to LHR the same day. It meant three flights rather than two, but at least those flights actually existed.

Point is, because BA totally discontinued the flight we had been ticketed/confirmed on, they did indeed do "what it took" aka "made magic happen" to get us vaguely close to our original schedule and routing, even though it included a flight on a total non-partner. We obviously don't know "how" they "purchased" the two tickets for us on that flight (cash? "professional courtesy" or airline equivalent? or ?).

But we did have to claim our luggage, before and after the middle non-partner flight, as there was, so they claimed, no way to arrange the baggage straight through. Not a problem.

GC

May 22, 2019, 3:11 am

#129

SK AAR

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ijgordon

I strongly suspect the agents at DTW will kick the can over to PHL to "fix" the problem. They'll say "we show you confirmed in business, you can get your boarding pass at the gate in PHL."

This is spot on. As the OP is still confirmed in J/C class for PHL-EDI there is close to zero chance that a DTW agent will rebook the OP - let alone rebook to BA or issue a FIM to allow the OP to travel OAL. It is not going to happen. Period. No sane agent at DTW would do that as any unassigned seats is likely to resolved at the gate in PHL by e.g. no-show, misconnections, blocked seats becoming available etc. May I remind you that thousands of times each day pax receive a BP without seat assignment at check-in at the initial departure point, and pax will have to proceed to the gate of the onward flight to get a new BP with seat assignment. If agents were to rebook pax just because of no seat being assigned for the onward flight, it would turn into chaos.

I'm still very confident that the OP will be able to board the AA flight to EDI - and with seats in J/C class.

Last edited by SK AAR; May 22, 2019 at 3:17 am

May 22, 2019, 3:45 am

#130

Dave Noble

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Join Date: Jan 2002

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Quote:

Originally Posted by GeezerCouple

Point is, because BA totally discontinued the flight we had been ticketed/confirmed on, they did indeed do "what it took" aka "made magic happen" to get us vaguely close to our original schedule and routing, even though it included a flight on a total non-partner. We obviously don't know "how" they "purchased" the two tickets for us on that flight (cash? "professional courtesy" or airline equivalent? or ?).

Since this was a BA operated flight , BA was required under EC261/2004 to rebook the passenger at the earliest opportunity - also , if this only happened within 14 days of departure, then likely eligible for compensation of EUR300/EUR600 too

Unfortunately for the OP, EC261 only applies to AA for flights departing Europe , whilst for BA the regulation applies both to and from Europe

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May 22, 2019, 4:43 am

#131

tjcxx

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Quote:

Originally Posted by linglingfool

OP would be connecting on 5/23. At least 2 J seats available for sale on every BA LHR-EDI flight after 1PM, and a few available in the morning.

If you do end up on the LHR route, don't let a lack of J seats on the LHR/EDI leg hang it up. Y for a 300-mile flight is the least of the down-sides.

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May 22, 2019, 6:00 am

#132

MSPeconomist

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Quote:

Originally Posted by flyingeph12

It's too bad that none of those phone agents and supervisors the OP spent hours talking with were able to simply protect OP on the PHL-MAN flight.

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May 22, 2019, 6:17 am

#133

enviroian

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Quote:

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

It's too bad that none of those phone agents and supervisors the OP spent hours talking with were able to simply protect OP on the PHL-MAN flight.

Totally agree.

PHL-MAN J2 now.

PHL-EDI zeroed out and still showing 4 AB blocked.

May 22, 2019, 6:46 am

#134

rebadc

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You would think someone at AA would want to avoid this possible public relations train wreck

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May 22, 2019, 6:49 am

#135

C17PSGR

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The first flight with two seats available out of lhr to Edinburgh is at 320 so lhr isn't a good option.

there are still two J seats available to Manchester. I am assuming because of all the open J seats, as was offering lbfu at checkin which is why it dropped.

But ... plenty of opportunities for misconnects and I'm also skeptical as to why those seats are blocked.

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