AA “crammed the only 11 passengers on a flight into 3 rows”
Apr 5, 2020, 10:19 pm
#17
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
This had nothing to do with anything else other what had been policy before that day, regarding BASIC seating
Apr 5, 2020, 10:23 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,279
No. Buying basic economy tells the computer if you didn't pay for a seat to give you the next available seat when you check in following the algorithm: assign seats back-to-front middle-window-aisle. I've exploited it many times to get a MCE seat on a BE fare by delaying my check in until only MCE was left. It's unrealistic to ask someone to reprogram this system for what will likely be a small amount of case. Nor is it realistic to expect the seat maps to be updated to auto block seats the same day the policy was announced, which it was in this case. This is something that can (and is) easily corrected by manual intervention when it occurs, and is a questionable use of their developers time for what will be only a temporary measure, especially when it can already be resolved with easy manual interventions.