mwk190

Had a connection thru CLT and the inbound RJ went mechanical long enough that I deplaned in CLT at T-22 before departure of the connecting mainline flight. Ran from the bitter end of E over to C and the flight was already closed at T-8. Clearly had not just closed at T-10 as the sole gate agent was already walking away from the gate. Flight was last flight of the night to the destination so had to rebook to first available the next day. So therefore usual issues / costs / hassle / late arrival to work destination.

Looking to understand current expectations and experiences with AA and flight closing. I understand there's been a obsession with D0 from AA for a while, but also in the past 2 months had an agent hold a flight open to about T-2 for me, as well as being on a last flight of the day where the plane was held for 3 pax to about T+10. It seems myopic to obsess on D0 for a last flight of the day when the plane is going to park overnight anyway.

At least as of 2021 United had implemented some IT changes including removal of delay codes so agents could wait for connecting passengers when it would not affect on-time arrival of the flight.

jordyn

I have no idea what AA cares about when it comes to closing flights for connecting passengers, but it certainly has nothing to do with what is good for the passengers.

GNRMatt

I think you're right that the obsession with D0 makes no sense in helping passengers. Unfortunately, AA's policy is that D0 is what matters. If you get an agent that holds your flight for late arriving passengers, that is definitely the exception and you shouldn't expect it going forward.

WeekendTraveler

The only time I�ve seen AA hold a flight was for about 40 passengers whose earlier inbound flight was delayed. For one or two passengers, AA won�t hold a flight.

bobnchi

I certainly don't know what the policy is but, we recently had a flight AUA-CLT-ORD that was delayed about two hours at AUA due to a minor maintenance issue. When we finally boarded we looked at the timing and figured we would miss the connection by 10-15 minutes and we would be staying in CLT. In fact, AA proactively booked us at a hotel. As we're retired, the overnight stay wasn't a issue. We landed at CLT and for giggles we walked to the assigned gate going to ORD and much to our surprise our plane was waiting for us. Turns out that there were about 15 others behind us going to ORD too. Obviously that helped and we thanked all AA folks we met profusely!

HaleiwaFlyer

The best explanation that I overheard, was from an official who was helping from frustrated international passengers that missed their flights at IST:

Flights and crews have a limited opportunity to use their approved airspace, and the ripple effect of delays will affect surrounding planes, crews, and potentially cause other people to miss their connecting/onward flight. If they hold 5-15 minutes, the plane may not have clearance to take off until much later than the 5-15 minutes.

People have to look from the Birds Eye view of logistics, and the snowball effects of a delayed flight. Missing flights happen, and I never expect a flight to be held.

zdcatc12

Unless there is a Ground Delay program or Ground Stop in effect due to weather, there is no "limited opportunity" to using any airspace in the US.

PHL

I've read several news articles and saw a news piece on TV not so long ago that goes into these kinds of decisions that are made with the big picture. How many passengers impacted, how are crews affected, local airport restrictions like noise abatements or curfews, etc. In the case of OP, last flight of the night meant that the pilots and crew may have had to get out on time so they would meet the mandated minimum rest time at their overnight spot to be able to fly the next flight on time. The ripple effect of them not getting the minimum rest could mean a delay the next day on a plane with 200 passengers who may or may not have connections going downstream. And thus the ripple effect... Seeing the agent already walking away from the boarding area at T-8 would seem to indicate that the door was closed before D10. The agent definitely would have seen the missing passenger(s) and potential connecting baggage and would have made the decision with the guidance of operations as to whether to hold the flight for what could have been longer than how long it took the passenger to hightail it over from E to C.

Also of note, the policy is that the boarding door will close at D15.
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ng-process.jsp
Boarding ends 15 minutes before departure. If you�re not on board, we may reassign your seat to another passenger.

fdog

Just as a data point, after switching to AA ~ 7 years ago, I have these "late arrival = busted connections" maybe 3 times per year.

Never had an aircraft held.

That includes the times we were part of a 15ish passenger gaggle on the same routing. They left us.

All the best, James

javabytes

Current expectation: AA is not United. Boarding ends at T-15. If you’re not on board by then, you’re most likely losing your seat. Those 5 minutes between T-15 and T-10 are for the GA to offload passengers, give away any of their seats to standbys, and close the flight. The door closing at T-10 doesn’t mean you have until T-10 to board.

HaleiwaFlyer

Sure, if only one airplane exists at a given time in the US. With so many flights going on simultaneously, that airplane will have to wait it�s turn to use an open airspace; hence, no simple delay.

There is a YouTuber that interviewed Air France�s dedicated ATC guy, and he even has cameras of each plane/gate to make sure everything is on time for their flight plans.

In summary, what may seem simple as holding a flight, is not that simple.

Allan38103

Responders are missing a HUGE point.

Airlines are in the business of moving people. They don�t like to see a seat go out empty. If a passenger misses a connection (I.e., �no show�) the carrier will give away the seat to someone else, clearing a standby. If the original late passenger then shows up, they�re not going to �unclear� the new passenger regardless.

This forum is full of posts where a traveler showed up �late�/past the cutoff time and was nevertheless allowed on the flight - only because they still had empty seats.

OP (and others):
Did the planes go out full?

Stripe

It's not up to the agent, and from the agent's standpoint there is only downside if they delay closing a flight, regardless of the impact on connecting passengers. Only a dispatcher can decide to delay a flight. It does happen occasionally for long international flights or the last flight of the day.

wetrat0

United holds connections smartly, as we all know. It's all about doing the math and figuring out the tradeoff between the passengers making their flight and the potential knock-on effects of a slight delay. The point is, AA does not even try to do this calculation, they just set a rigid D0 policy and stick to it. United has invested the money into the tech to do those calculations automatically-- all their customer-facing tech is better than AA's, so it wouldn't surprise me that they're ahead on backend stuff too.

I have been flying a lot more United recently since losing AA status. They haven't been amazing but these little things do tend to make me more likely to keep going back to United.

Antarius

It's not that simple, but it isn't complex either.

AA is worse than most in this regard as they focus on D0 only. Operationally, they're the poorest performer of the majors.

AA is a credit card and mileage business that happens to move people. Look at their financials and metrics.

The issue with AA is that they have a narrow focus on D0 - get the aircraft out no matter what. They don't look at the broader picture to say, holding this flight for 2 minutes saves putting passengers in hotel rooms and also stops having to rebook them in prime capacity that they could potentially monetize.

Airlines in slot congested and restricted airports manage to do a better job in this regard. It's all about focus and the right metrics. Focus on one KPI only and you lose the forest for the trees.

EDIT: Exactly what wetrat0 said.