What compensation can/should I get for my paid J seat given away? (to merge)
 

I booked a flight from BOS->ORD->NRT->PUS a few weeks back. I arrived at BOS and the flight was delayed, the reason (I was told at the lounge) was a F/A had woken up late and was on her way. We departed 45min late and arrived about the same. Me and several passengers ran to our next gate. As they scanned my boarding pass, they asked me to go to the counter where they told me my seat had been given away because they thought I wasn't coming. They offered to put me in economy.

I was quite upset considering I paid full fare for a J ticket and was already checked in through to PUS. I asked what other options are and the lady was quite curt and said they could rebook me 2 days later or I can take the economy seat. I asked if there were any other flights that day and she sighed, rolled her eyes and waved to the other worker who closed the door, then handed me back my boarding pass and told me I missed the flight and need to go to the ticketing desk.

There they rebooked me on a flight to DFW and a flight to NRT the next morning. They told me they were going to put me in first all the way. I was looking at my BP later that day and I was in J on the DFW->NRT flight and economy for NRT->PUS. I went back to ticketing the next morning upon arrival at DFW and after a fair bit of runaround, they eventually booked me into first/biz on the NRT-PUS segment.

I ended up arriving in PUS 24 hours after I was supposed so, and missed the birth of my daughter. Not happy.

Wondering if I am due anything for this? I did end up flying in the classes I paid for, but with a 24 hour delay and a fair bit of legwork/hassle to get everything straightned out. I tweeted @AA and they said to DM them them and they would take care of it. Their "take care of it" was to say sorry I was denied boarding but they show I missed the flight because I was late. Not true. I was there, at the gate. Other passengers were boarded before and after me. They refused to let me board and sit in the confirmed seat I paid for and checked in with. Totally their fault, especially since they knew I was in the air on the BOS->ORD flight when they gave away my seat and were holding the plane for the missing pax.

Thks for any info!

Hold up - you missed the birth of your daughter because you didn't take the offered Y seat on a flight to which you showed up late (understanding that you were delayed) and you want compensation from AA for delaying you a day??

You should have taken the seat in Y and followed up for compensation later. That's all I have to offer - it's your own fault per your story you missed the auspicious occasion.

Yes, that is exactly what I want - that seems unreasonable to you? I paid $5k for a flight and I did my part, they did not do theirs. They were holding the plane for several pax who were on my flight, they knew I had a paid J ticket and they knew I was on that flight along with the other pax they were holding the plane for. Clearly they should not have given my seat away to someone else.

No, it is not my fault and you shouldn't assume. The birth happened while I was in the air from DFW-NRT and was early due to a medical emergency, so I didn't know the consequences of missing the ORD-NRT flight at the time, but the fact remains that if they hadn't given away my seat, I would have been there on time. They weren't forthcoming with any information at the gate, saying they don't know if I would get refunded (fully or partially) if I flew in economy, and saying the desk would rebook me on a later flight if I wanted. When I was asking what "later flight" meant, they closed the doors and told me to go to the desk since I'd missed the flight and the next time this flight left was in 2 days. Lastly, I am quite tall and have lots of metal hardware in my body from a major car accident years prior, so sitting in an economy seat for 14 hours would literally have been excruciating and I doubt I could have done it. Which is why I planned ahead and saved up and paid for J. And made sure to arrive to the airport plenty early for my flight. And why I needed to know what the options were for getting to NRT and when.

What time did you arrive at the gate in relation to scheduled departure time? Did you meet the times spelled out in the conditions of carriage?

Sorry this happened to you. How much earlier before scheduled takeoff did you arrive at the gate (on the flight they gave away your seat)?

If it was a full fare ticket, I would simply book a new ticket on another airline, wait until close to departure to see whether can get on in original class and if not, cancel, get airline to retrieve luggage and take flight on another airline

Yes AA didnt get you your flight on time, but you still had a choice.

It sucks, and AA would have refunded you the fare difference, but you cant blame AA for missing the birth.

If it isn’t weather caused delay, I routinely get compensation for a 4hour delay, for inauspicious occasions.

Usually 10k mile one a RT discounted Y Lax-Mia upgraded with miles/copay.

sometimes I have to reject a smaller offer but then I point out they give 10k miles for broken IFE .

If it was leaving from Europe, then it’s a lot more.

I honestly don't know, but I definitely don't think it was 30 minutes prior to departure. Things were very hectic during our taxi to the gate and running to the next gate, then back to the ticket counter and by the time my itinerary was updated it was probably 1-2 hours after the ORD-NRT departure when I looked at the time next.

AA was obivously not aware of the ramifications of denying me my paid seat, and neither was I at the time - it was simply an unintended consequence of the event - however, it was a consequence that was fully due to AA's actions. I am not exaggerating when I say they gave me about 5 seconds to decide. The guy scanning BP's scanned mine, got an uncomfortable look, looked at the BP, and nervously asked me to talk to the lady at the desk. She said she thought she might have a seat left on economy and was checking her computer, I asked about F or what the next flights were... and she waved to the other guy who closed the door. It wasn't exactly a fully informed decision and I feel it was handled very badly.

This is really what I am wondering. I've been given 25k miles in previous times when I was stranded at JFK for several hours without information on what was going on and ultimately sent to a hotel at 4am. I am not sure what the cost of the J leg from ORD-NRT is but I think at least a substantial portion of that should be offered in miles. When I asked so far, they offered their "disappointment" that I had a bad experience. Just curious what is reasonable and attainable in this situation. It was an expensive ticket for me and the ordeal ended up having significant consequences.

It is entirely lame that they couldn't take into account that your inbound, same-ticket flight was in the air and you could conceivably have made the connection, and held off on giving the seat away.

It would be awfully nice if AA introduced a connection saver-style feature.

There would be no compensation for this from Europe - He was not denied travel , he chose not to travel. If he had travelled from Europe, then he would have been entitled to reimbursement of 75% of fare paid

You say that there was an emergency medical situation. How are your wife and baby doing? I know it has to have been pretty disappointing to miss this special occasion, but I am confident you will have many special times together going forward.

Best wishes for you and for your family.

I would of taken the Y seat to see my kid born but you didn't and if it went down the way you say I'd demand compensation as well. Maybe the fare difference plus a couple hundred more

The questions here, while probably intended to ascertain any uncovered details, come across somewhat as shaming the OP. Asking when the OP arrived at the gate is pertinent to determining the facts, but not to blame the OP - remember, the OP was arriving from another AA flight on a single ticket.

The reality is that the OP complied with the COC by presumably getting to the BOS-ORD flight on time. It looks like AA did not meet their obligations under the COC. End of story.