mh3265a

No kidding.

That's a shame and makes no sense at all. Is it a system limitation? Would seem more advantageous to allow phone agents to make those changes. I'm surprised EU regulation doesn't cover this.

orbitmic

It's the norm with most European airlines. US airlines work differently with phone centres having more freedom than the airport agents! Both systems have their advantages and limitations.

mh3265a

What's the advantage to limiting your call centers ability to handle IRROPS? Not seeing a clear advantage there.

xenole

AA have also been cancelling a few of the LAX-SFO rotations this morning due to some cloud and ATC so not just LHR. At least 3 that I can see.

orbitmic

It's basically about deciding who you empower to make decisions which will cost the company a lot of money. Most European airlines consider that only airport staff can figure out how desperate the decision is (for instance they are best aware of the latest details on likely further delays or cancellations etc) and consequently take responsibility for those costly decisions whilst call centre staff should stick to rerouting within policy (ie the airline or its key partners). US airlines effectively tend to avoid having too much ticketing staff at airports hence their preference for greater centralisation through the call centre.

Whilst selfishly I prefer the US version, I actually find the European version makes more business sense.