aklekers

Looking for some advice. I have a trip booked for 4 which includes a segment from Maui to DFW in first/business. Tickets were paid for with assigned seats in the spring. They changed equipment from 777-200 to 787-8. We are still listed on the flight but only one of us has a seat assignment. There are no additional seats to be assigned. Called the explat desk and they said show up to airport a little early and that the airport will handle it. This does not inspire confidence that things will go well.

Not sure how to handle this. No option to move to another flight with lie flats to DFW. I don't see this ending well. Would like to know if anyone else has had experiences like this and how it was handled. Thanks in advance.

firemandan9

It is possible the seats you need are blocked for gate control. Did the desk confirm the first cabin is in fact over sold?

Herb687

37 J seats versus 20. I think we can safely assume that cabin is in fact overbooked. OGG-DFW has real paid/award J demand and fills up well in advance.

What's the departure date? If this is still more than a few days out, RM will have Res attempt to call and pre-remove people off the flight. VDB in advance. Win-win.

If it's tomorrow, then VDB/involuntary downgrades at the gate are likely. But, remember, AA cannot physically force you onto an aircraft and into a Y seat against your will. Refuse to accept an involuntary downgrade if you don't like the compensation offered.

VegasGambler

But unfortunately if you refuse it your only recourse is a refund. And then you still need to get home.

I would definitely be looking at backup plans now if you are not ok with a downgrade.

Herb687

Refundable F (no lie-flats) on AS/UA a day or two later?
Refundable F (lie-flats?) on DL/HA a day or two later?

Be proactive, of course. Have backup plans. It's always good practice. But NEVER LET AA BULLY YOU INTO A Y SEAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO OCCUPY.

Also if you're the [sphincter] who stands your ground and refuses to make AA's life easy, they may relent and DG someone else.

VegasGambler

I agree with you, but it's important to understand the ramifications. Last-minute tickets are expensive. Staying an extra night in OGG is likely expensive (assuming a hotel). If you refuse a downgrade and take a refund you might end up paying 2-3x as much to get home. If they can rebook you in F on a different itinerary, that's likely not to be a lie-flat.

I don't think there are a lot of good options here. I'm not saying that anyone should take a downgrade that they don't want, but I am saying that you should understand the costs involved before you make a decision, and sometimes you have to choose the "least bad" of several bad options. I've seen people make terrible decisions at the gate before.

Furby

I have the same issue. Two of us, OGG to DFW to XXX, both booked on miles back in the spring, with assigned seats. I am lifetime platinum and my spouse is gold. I retained my seat, and my spouse lost his. The seat map is totally full. No flights are for sale in F for several days on either side of our dates, neither miles nor dollars. I am guessing your flight is like ours at the end of February. All of the airlines are very full, and other options are very expensive in both miles and dollars, way more than we paid. Finding an alternative option is going to be tough. Clearly there is a problem here because few of the folks who booked these flights are going to be happy being downgraded or changing plans even if offered incentives, because it is not that easy to change the return date of a Maui vacation in that timeframe. A lot of folks in F do this trip with the same dates every year, and there is work, etc.

My thinking is that one of three things will happen. They downgrade one or both of us to Premium Economy if they have it, or to coach if they do not. But they are still selling PE so there is a good chance that will be sold out on the day of travel. In any case my understanding is that when requested they will refund the difference between the fare paid and the fare they would charge if purchasing PE or coach on the day of the flight. Whether miles or money the refund will be very little. Not acceptable because of the refund situation and the likelihood of getting a middle seat in coach. Next option is to transfer all parties to the Phoenix flight and connect onwards for there. There is plenty of space on these flights but the Phoenix flight is a narrow body so standard recliner seats and not at all the same thing as a lie flat (and they know it) but I doubt they will offer any refund. Last option, reroute through HNL which is the least bad option. Currently there are F seats available on most days the OGG flight is oversold. Of course, there is the possibility they will upgrade back to a 777 if things pick up but that is probably unlikely as it stands right now.

A few years back the same flight that I was booked on was oversold and I received a phone call a few days prior offering $500 cash and $700 in vouchers if I would change the flight by a couple of days. I did not take the offer but at least they were proactive and we got on the flight as planned. My guess is they will do the same thing here but I doubt they will have many takers unless the compensation is substantial, and I think the problem is way bigger than just a handful of oversold seats on a single day.

I also called but they had no interest in solving the problem, citing that the flight wasn�t until next year and people would misconnect and cancel and space would open up. Maybe true for a mainland flight but not for this flight, most are originating in OGG and have set these plans in stone some time ago.

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts on what will happen, I would love to hear them.

ijgordon

Well at a minimum screenshot the current fare for PE and Coach so if you do get d/g you have a basis for a proper refund.

And certainly document all communications if you do ever need to file a complaint with DOT or sue them in small claims court.

UAPremierExec

DM me with your flight info, I can tell ya if its oversold or not. or if there are seats blocked

VegasGambler

I would assume that they will have removed inventory from PE to account for displaced J pax. I doubt that they oversell J + PE (at least not by more than they usually would)

Furby

I thought the same thing, but I don�t think they have removed inventory from PE. I have friends in that cabin and they say it does not look much different than when they booked back in the spring.

lrdpenn

Can you proactively try moving to a flight from HNL? And get AA to fly you on HA OGG-HNL which they codeshare on? Will AA even do anything until they are "ready" to fix the problem? I'm imagining a circular conversation with the reservations agent trying to switch

VegasGambler

It doesn't mean that they block seats. Just remove inventory. You would have to look on EF to see how much they are actually still willing to sell in that cabin.

aklekers

Thanks everyone for the insight. Yes, the agent told me all seats are occupied. I will guess there are a lot of people in my boat so invol downgrade with inadequate partial refund is of high likelihood. Don�t want to downgrade to the narrow body but may be the safest option unless I want a really expensive middle seat in economy for a long flight back.

javabytes

When is your flight? If it's 3+ months out, I'd give it time. The schedule changes probably aren't done.