aztimm

While that is true for the majority of the assigned AA gates at AUS, AA also uses some, "general use," gates at AUS, which include gates 2 and 4. There is no way one would make it between those and the normal gates that AA uses.with a 25 minute connection. Those are used for TA flights later in the day, but are available to almost any other airline that needs them earlier in the day. Yes, I have flown out of those gates.


I'm curious where the OP/family is traveling, given that it sounds like they are originating at DFW. I can't think of a single destination from AUS that isn't also a nonstop flight from DFW. Simply ask AA to put you on the nonstop.

redtop43

Strikes me as very very strange that they won't move you. I usually have zero trouble picking a new flight when they cancel one. For example, flying LAX-MIA-PHL they changed my MIA-PHL from 9AM to 10AM and I asked, and they agreed, to change it to 4:45PM. Flying PHL-LAS I had 8:45PM, they cancelled and moved me to 7:00PM; I asked and they moved me to 4:00PM.

bchandler02

I would argue that even the end to end walk at AUS is < 10 minutes. I've yet to see AA use gates 2 or 4 myself, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

AUS can be a great backup hub if your destination is served there. On my last AA trip, AA did AA things and was going to leave me stuck in DFW with no seats to OKC that day, even for a paid F ticket. I ended up flying DFW/AUS/OKC to get home.

wecnews727

Addressing some of the questions.

the flight is for my wife and two kids. They’re going to grandma’s house in Tampa for thanksgiving. This is their return flight home. Yes there were many flights from Tpa to dfw direct. But they were about $1200 more for the three of them than doing the connection in Austin.

of course until now with this new connection time.

my wife doesn’t have status. So yes they’re in plain old main cabin coach and considering she’s 4’11. She’s fine in the cheap seats, with my two elementary aged daughters.

I fly to AUS regularly, trust me I know it’s just a few gates and an easy connection. But as others have said, a minor delay and you’re screwed. Not to mention taxi time at AUS isn’t the shortest either. I wasn’t worried for them walking gate to gate. But it’s just zero room for error.


and yes I spoke to two agents on the app. (One just hung up on me when I kept pressing) and a third at the ticket counter. (I happened to be at the airport today)

then two more over Twitter.

all insisted. It was a “valid connection” and I’d have to pay to change it.

eventually the thurs agent to talk to me on Twitter fell on the knife and finally agreed to change it.

They will now have a two hour layover in AUS. But again. It’s better than the alternative.

but as others said I was surprised they just wouldn’t change it. I have had no issues changing flights like this before after schedule changing but today it was just a hard no until eventually they heard me.

Basically I got the impression they agreed with me it was too short but the computer said it wasn’t. And no one wanted to go around the computer. Thankfully someone finally did.

steveholt

I don't love a 25-minute minimum connection time, but this isn't true. The agent knew exactly what they doing and were correct. OP had to find an agent who didn't know the actual rules to get what they want, and thankfully, they did.

Hot Pocket

I’m glad that it was resolved in your favor

i usually travel alone and sit up front, but even then would havebeen unhappy with the schedule change and MCT concerns

25 minute MCT was laughable and never recommendable, even before AA operations went completely pear shaped

GNRMatt

Um, yes, it is true. If you get an involuntary schedule change, you can change to a flight the same day that works for your schedule. They cannot force you into a connection time that does not work for you. Unfortunately, some agents just aren't trained on how to do this.

steveholt

You can change your times if your first flight departs earlier in the day or your last flight arrives later in the day. In this case, it sounds like OP had a schedule that worked for them and had the first flight moved later in the day, while the second flight stayed at the same time. It is difficult to make the case that the later departure time for the first flight doesn't work for OP, since they would have been in the air at that time originally. Then, the schedule change would be an issue if the connection time wasn't reasonable, but by AA's standards, it is. "A connection time that does not work for you" is only invalid if it doesn't meet MCT, which this does. So, no.

sbrower

How many flight connections have you missed at AUS because they were MCT? I have been nervous about small MCT, but I can't remember missing a connecting flight at any airport by 5 or 10 minutes. It is either 30+ minutes delay on the inbound or I make the connection.

GNRMatt

You can tell the agent you are not comfortable with the short connection time. That is a valid reason in AA's systems for the change. I know I have done it many times, as have others I have known. As the OP posted that they found an agent to also do this, that shows that you can do this. The problem is some agents look at what the computer says and don't want to do any more work. As has been posted on here many times, the quality of AA's phone agents has diminished greatly recently. You need to be your own best advocate to get what you need.

steveholt

Finding an agent to do it means that they found an agent willing to go outside the rules, which is fine, and I agree that does happen, especially for people with status. Saying it's a valid reason in AA's system for the change or that it's a rule or a right is not accurate. The rules in AA's system are based off of MCT, and the MCT at AUS is 25 minutes.

EXP100

I'm assuming that agents are required to document any changes as well as why and that such changes are subject to review. Going around the MCT (which I as someone with status have never had an issue with) is probably less likely for "review" than a non status pax.

umaa83

The OP says that AA changed the connection time by more then half, not sure what the original time was, but if the original connection time was in the 50-60 minute range, that could have been the issue for the push back with agents. I would have fought the same battle with the agents as 100% agree 25 minutes isn't enough regardless of what AA says, but I have personally run into difficulties where I have been forced to book a 60 minute or less connection and then a schedule change cuts it right down to the miniumum. I've always had success getting these changed but there's always been push back (booked a short connection/still a short connection argument). It's why I try to always book a 2-3 hour connection time so when it switches to something much shorter, I have an arguent to push back on. Never had an issue that way.

sbrower

Customer service (which has almost always worked for me in ALL versions of AA) is one thing. You say you are an Exec Plat, so I would certainly expect customer service exceptions. Also, if you book 3 hours, and then it goes down to 45 minutes, the change is more than 2 hours which usually works for everyone. But those who have said that the agent didn't know the "rules" were wrong. The MCT is the MCT, and if you have a "personal MCT" of 35 minutes, or 45 minutes or 55 minutes, AA is not required to give you a different flight.

umaa83

I agree, I personally feel a 50-60 minute connection is too short, that's why 99% of the time I book the 2+ hour connection and have an argument to fall back on when it goes to 25 minutes. Booking a 50-60 minute connection and having it change to 25-30 minutes and asking for a change is similar to booking a 7AM flight and having it change to 7:25AM or 6:40AM and saying it doesn't work for you IMO, you are going to get pushback right or wrong. I have no idea if the OP originally booked a 50-60 minute connection, that's an assumption on my part by them stating a connecting time was cut by "more then half" not by 2-3 hours.