seekingsun

My family will be flying IAD-SIN this summer connecting in BKK Hong Kong. Booked in J with AA miles. Originally scheduled to leave Wednesday night at 1am, arriving Thursday at noon in SIN. I got an email about flight change and that we will leave now a day earlier, Tuesday night. I didn't pay attention to the arrival date and just noticed that it stayed the same, Thursday, which means we will have a ~26hr layover in HKK. Before I call them I wanted to hear what options I have. Wouldnt they need to provide for a hotel in such a case? If there is no award space on the flight from HKK-SIN the day earlier, can I demand to be put in paid J?
The other option is to use this opportunity and explore HKK, since we probably wont be able to get to Asia anytime soon. Would it make sense to explore the city even though we'll be jet lagged and with the current political situation? I guess I can check the travel forum as well.
Thank you!

SKT-DK

I am assuming you mean that you are flying IAD-HKG-SIN, and that it has nothing to do with BKK (Bangkok) and wherever HKK is.

Talking to CX about this is irrelevant in your case, as it is an AA issued ticket, let alone an award ticket. CX will not touch it - you have to talk to AA. I am not sure how flexible they are, but unlikely that they will put you in paid J.

Exploring HK should be perfectly fine though - it’s a brilliant city. I would not worry too much about the protests and just make sure to stay away from big gatherings.

seekingsun

I fixed my post, connecting in Hong Kong indeed.

So even though CX did the schedule change and I have my itinerary available on their site, I would need to go through them. Didn't know that.

SKT-DK

Yes, it is the issuing party’s responsibility to fix it. So since the ticket is issued by AA they are the ones responsible for it and the only ones able to change it. You may want to prepare alternative options to present to AA before you call them though.

engel374

This exact thing happened to me (except it was IAD HKG BKK). There was an earlier flight available but the system didn't auto re-book. Calling AA didn't help. Calling Cathay they told me AA just needs to submit a request and Cathay will ticket. The twitter team at AA took care of it in 30 minutes, but this will only work if there is an earlier flight that exists. Good luck!

walkup

An absolutely great opportunity to spend a day exploring Hong Kong with the family.

boybi

Will CX provide accommodation? If yes, which hotel does CX usually book their pax?

walkup

I see it as a great opportunity spending a day in Hong Kong including covering all one's own expenses of this side trip.

bxbkqu

In a similar schedule change situation, but paid PE, CX will put me up in the Regal Hotel in HKG if that helps.....

percysmith

How much notice of the change did they give you? <1 week?

QRC3288

No you won't get accommodation from CX, no you're not entitled for them to open cash J seats for you.

The fact you can see your itinerary on the CX website doesn't matter, that's just the front end where they're making your life more convenient (they don't have to do that, but in practice most airlines do). It's an AA ticket. They should be able to handle this though.

I'm not sure why they're not doing anything, they definitely should. If they want to screw you, what they'll do is blame CX and say CX isn't opening inventory for them. But in reality, AA is your problem (and saviour). Airlines change schedules, especially far out in advance, and they're entitled to do that. Hong Kong has been hit with issues and CX doesn't want to fly a bunch of empty airplanes around 3+ months from now. If this was a week or two out, I'd say maybe you blame CX. But months or more, the person who sold you the ticket is squarely where you have to go....they have the responsibility to make good to you (miles are money, and you're using AA "money"...similarly, AA benefits handsomely by selling lots of miles to credit card companies, issuing to people who use the AA loyalty program, etc. And AA's customers are induced to buy AA miles precisely because AA has a lot of redemption options like CX. But then it's AA's responsibility to make good if inventory goes away. That could mean AA actually buys you a seat from CX, although I'm not sure if in practice what AA does). This is pretty common sense when you step back, but it can seem a little confusing who is what when you're using miles tickets on someone else's flight. It's bs in my opinion if AA passes the buck. They should be able to do something and, on the back end, get CX to help them out.

trooper

If you get a chance to go to HKK its a pretty nice area.......just saying..... (Western side of NZ's South island.....)