Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Mileage Run Deals > Mileage Run Discussion
Reload this Page >

[PREM FARE GONE] AA DCA-PEK sub-$450 a/i rt in J

Community
Wiki Posts
Search
Old Mar 17, 2015, 9:24 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: Server
*Update 28/10/2015*
American Airlines has sent out a batch of emails offering customers two options. None of which earns miles and does not address DOT's old guidelines.

We have yet to here from DOT.

Here is a copy of the letter:

Thank you for your patience in our responding to your complaint regarding the cancellation of a reservation for travel to China which you placed on hold earlier this year.

The reservation you placed on hold was for an extremely low fare offered by American in error, and the mistaken fare was offered for only a few hours. Because the fare was offered in error, we cancelled those reservations, such as yours, that had been made but not ticketed.

In our view, given the fact that the fares American offered for China travel in those few hours were so low that it was obvious they were offered in error (a fact widely acknowledged in the social media posts which prompted many of those who reserved the fares to do so), we were justified in cancelling those reservations that were made but not ticketed, and accordingly will not honor the fare associated with your cancelled reservation. However, we will offer to you two options for reduced rate travel to China, one for business class and one for coach class. The two options are as follows:

Option A – Business Class: We offer you a $1,500 discount on any roundtrip business cabin fare to Shanghai or Beijing.
  • Reservation must be booked by AA and operated entirely by AA (including AA’s regional partners).
  • Travel may not be upgraded, by upgrade certificate, AAdvantage status, or any other means, to a higher class of service.
  • Travel will not be eligible to earn AAdvantage miles or Elite Qualifying Miles or points, and will not count as Elite Qualifying segments in the AAdvantage program.
  • Travel may be ticketed immediately and must be completed within one year of the date of this letter.
  • Travel to PEK or PVG should originate and end in the same U.S. airport(s) as in the original PNR with the same passenger(s) (or subset of passengers) traveling as were listed in the cancelled PNR.
  • Must be ticketed within six weeks of the date of this letter.

Option B – Main Cabin: We offer you the opportunity to receive a $0 fare basis main cabin fare to Shanghai or Beijing, subject to taxes and fees of approximately $450 (varies slightly by routing)..
  • Reservation must be booked by AA for any Q or O class fare to PEK or PVG, and operated entirely by AA (including AA’s regional partners).
  • Travel may not be upgraded, by upgrade certificate, AAdvantage status, or any other means, to a higher class of service.
  • Travel will not be eligible to earn AAdvantage miles or Elite Qualifying Miles or points, and will not count as Elite Qualifying segments in the AAdvantage program.
  • This offer is subject to Q or O class inventory availability for travel outbound starting November 15, 2015.
  • Travel must be completed within one year of the date of this letter.
  • Travel to PEK or PVG should originate and end in the same U.S. airport(s) as in the original PNR with the same passenger(s) (or subset of passengers) traveling as were listed in the cancelled PNR.
  • Must be ticketed within six weeks of the date of this letter.

If you would like to accept one of these offers, please contact American Airlines at the following number to make your flight reservation.



When and where are you traveling? - edit below

March
27-March-2015 -- 30-March-2015 (NYC)-DCA-ORD-PEK heatheresq FIRST (apparently)!
30-March-2015 -- 02-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK transparent
31-March-2015 -- 03-April-2015 ICN-PEK-ORD-DFW timid_trnchcoat, Y only


April
01-April-2015 -- 05-April-2015 DCA-BOS-ORD-PEK-HKG-DFW-DCA thegrailer
02-April-2015 -- 07-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK Soddon
03-April-2015 -- 07-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK jetsarefast2
03-April-2015 -- 10-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK fly2nrt
04-April-2015 -- 07-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK cocobird
07-April-2015 -- 10-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK/PEK-ORD-DCA DiscoverCSG
07-April-2015 -- 16-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK learingtofly2015

08-April-2015 -- 12-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK IWontRegretThis
09-April-2015 -- 13-April-2015 IAD-DFW-PVG/PVG-LAX-IAD Tblack15 Confirmed 2x EQPs; had no elite status
10-April-2015 -- 13-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK andrewwm

11-April-2015 -- 19-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK thyeri
13-April-2015 -- 16-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK bchips
13-April-2015 -- 16-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK cbuckhouse
Confirmed 2x EQPs; had Platinum status

14-April-2015 -- 22-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA fijaircan
15-April-2015 -- 21-April-2015 IAD-DFW-... elliottishere
16-April-2015 -- 21-April-2015 ...-DFW-PVG elliottishere
22-April-2015 -- 27-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEKChucksterace
22-April-2015 -- 01-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEKtn8
26-April-2015 -- 29-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA MarkP24
26-April-2015 -- 29-April-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA FriendlySkies
26-April-2015 -- 01-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA miffsc
26-April-2015 -- 01-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA travelsavant
26-April-2015 -- 03-May-2015 IAD-DFW-ORD-PEK-ORD-MIA-IAD Fredd and Mrs. Fredd
27-April-2015 -- 01-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA MsSTL
27-April-2015 -- 01-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCAlakers6902
27-April-2015 -- 05-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK smikih
27-April-2015 -- 06-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA the_happiness_store
29-April-2015 -- 09-May-2015 IAD-DFW-ORD-PEK-DFW-IAD Brituchenite



May
01-May-2015 -- 14-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PVG-ORD-DCA Novemurr+2
06-May-2015 -- 10-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK edbyu +1
07-May-2015 -- 10-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PVG iadp
08-May-2015 -- 11-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK Golfingboy washeelers747 +2
08-May-2015 -- 11-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-DFW-IAD a330300
08-May-2015 -- 12-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA smoneyxc
08-May-2015 -- 12-May-2015 IAD-DFW-... eap
09-May-2015 -- 12-May-2015 ...-DFW-PEK-DFW-IAD eap
09-May-2015 -- 13-May-2015 ...DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA Bonaventure
10-May-2015 -- 16-May-2015 IAD-DFW-PEK Kidorki
11-May-2015 -- 14-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK medichill
12-May-2015 -- 19-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK party_boy
12-May-2015 -- 23-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA rexid
13-May-2015 -- 24-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-DFW-DCA hoosiereph+3
13-May-2015 -- 20-May-2015 IAD-DFW-... travisair
13-May-2015 -- 16-May-2015 IAD-ORD-PEK Long Train Runnin
14-May-2015 -- 17 May-2015 IAD-DFW-PEK Bigguyinpasadena
14-May-2015 -- 20-May-2015 ...-DFW-PEK travisair
14-May-2015 -- 17-May-2015 IAD-DFW-PEK roastpuff
14-May-2015 -- 17-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK Robert
14-May-2015 -- 18-May-2018 DCA-DFW-PEK Cachris69
14-May-2015 -- 17-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PVG iadp
14-May-2015 -- 26-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA AJollyLife (Birthday on the 23rd! )
15-May-2015 -- 18-May-2015 DCA-DFW-HKG-PEK-HKG-DFW-DCA Bonaventure
15-May-2015 -- 18-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK alexj7
15-May-2015 -- 18-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK andrewwm
15-May-2015 -- 18-May-2105 DCA-ORD-PEK-DFW Madone59
16-May-2015 -- 21-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA davidyyz
16-May-2015 -- 19-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK schwimmair
16-May-2015 -- 24-May 2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-DFW-DCA keepssmile
17-May-2015 -- 21-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK tzvilev
17-May-2015 -- 23-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA tommya
17-May-2015 -- 27-May-2015 IAD-DFW-PEK-DFW-IAD krazieman
18-May-2015 -- 21-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA ben1979
18-May-2015 -- 21-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA DS
18-May-2015 -- 22-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA miffsc
19-May-2015 -- 22-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA Bonaventure
19-May-2015 -- 30-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-DFW-DCA transparent
20-May-2015 -- 26-May-2015 IAD-DFW-... elliottishere
20-May-2015 -- 24-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK thepla
20-May-2015 -- 28-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK cvg-aa
21-May-2015 -- 26-May-2015 ...-DFW-PVG elliottishere
21-May-2015 -- 24-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK/PEK-ORD-DCA awaite01
21-May-2015 -- 24-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK/PEK-ORD-DCA smitty06 and shynate
21-May-2015 -- 01-Jun-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA Tobypie
22-May-2015 -- 25-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK tsz
22-May-2015 -- 25-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PVG PaceLaw2012
22-May-2015 -- 25-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK alexj7
22-May-2015 -- 25-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK onfo
22-May-2015 -- 27-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD ghzhammer
23-May-2015 -- 26-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK jetsarefast2
23-May-2015 -- 31-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA bqkali
23-May-2015 -- 31-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA blootch
23-May-2015 -- 31-May-2015 IAD-DFW-PEK-DFW-IAD FlyingChuck
24-May-2015 -- 27-May-2015 IAD-DFW-PEK northshorepa
24-May-2015 -- 27-May-2018 DCA-DFW-PEK Cachris69 +1
24-May-2015 -- 28-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK Bikeguy+1
24-May-2015 -- 28-May-2015 DCA-DFW-... Server
25-May-2015 -- 28-May-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ICN-DFW-DCA Bonaventure
25-May-2015 -- 28-May-2015 ...-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA Server
25-May-2015 -- 28-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA ben1979
25-May-2015 -- 28-May-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-DFW-IAD bartmas777
26-May-2015 -- 29-May-2015 CMH-DCA-ORD-PEK paramenace
27-May-2015 -- 01-Jun-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-DFW-DCA platinumTA
28-May-2015 -- 01-Jun-2015 IAD-DFW-PEK anchor79
28-May-2015 -- 01-Jun-2015 DCA-DFW-PEK-ORD-DCA flying for gold elite
28-May-2015 -- 01-Jun-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-DFW-DCA cfegeley
29-May-2015 -- 01-Jun-2015 DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA Mrp Alert
Print Wikipost

[PREM FARE GONE] AA DCA-PEK sub-$450 a/i rt in J

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 18, 2015, 7:57 pm
  #661  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Ann Arbor
Programs: HHonors Gold , National Emerald Exec, Hertz Presidents, Delta Gold
Posts: 2,604
Originally Posted by jackal
Sorry if it wasn't clear. My reservation is TICKETED. I have an eticket receipt in my email box with ticket numbers and everything.

I went to access my itinerary online and saw the following:



Status is still TICKETED.

The seats I selected are currently showing "available" on AA.com.

It appears that the flights have been canceled out of my PNR while the ticket itself has not been touched (yet). I assume HDQ is in the process of following through with their threat to "UC" (unilaterally cancel?) our itineraries but has not yet actually voided the ticket and/or canceled and processed a refund.

I am not sure how fruitful a call to AA in a few minutes will be with fixing the PNR and/or if that would jeopardize my chances of getting it reinstated.
Mine is still fully intact. Logged in and clicked "My Trips".

My fare was $20. Was yours a $0 fare? And I get the whole fees and taxes thing mentioned above. Just looking for something different between the two.
Bikeguy is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 7:59 pm
  #662  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Originally Posted by JonNYC
There is such, as well as the distinction between the $0 fares and the others:

http://www.travelingbetter.com/showthread.php?t=5892
Originally Posted by legalalien
.. It is to BJS, but clearly shows $20 base fare.
I'd then expect that one to be fully honored. $0 fares not being deemed not valid on their face, fares that had a base-- no matter how small-- being honored as long as ticketed during the period they were offered.
JonNYC is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 7:59 pm
  #663  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 237
My held ticket shows cancelled. Is it worth calling AA for issuing the ticket?
nowstime is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:02 pm
  #664  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,416
Originally Posted by cmd320
Looking forward to contacting the DOT on that... We'll see what happens.
Yup. Fun times with fares. I've called just about every one of these disputes right, and I don't think AA is going to win this one before the DOT. It's either all or nothing. The law says you get 24 hours to finalize your purchase, and the airline gets to choose how they meet that requirement. AA provides it with a hold. They clearly aren't complying with either the law or the promise stated on their website. AA will lose.

Of course, when I was a trial lawyer a long time ago, I thought juries got about 25% of cases wrong. Judges a little less. So you never know.
iahphx is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:06 pm
  #665  
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: TBD
Posts: 840
oops.

Last edited by onfo; Mar 18, 2015 at 8:10 pm Reason: oversight
onfo is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:08 pm
  #666  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
Originally Posted by Bikeguy
Mine is still fully intact. Logged in and clicked "My Trips".

My fare was $20. Was yours a $0 fare? And I get the whole fees and taxes thing mentioned above. Just looking for something different between the two.
$20 base fare, $442.00 taxes and carrier-imposed fees, $462.00 ticket total. DCA-PEK.

Anyone know of a way to view the e-ticket itself, like you can with United tickets on the Saudia website? (Saudia didn't pull up anything on this AA ticket number; not sure if Saudia even works with AA tickets.) I'm just curious to see the status of the ticket.

The need to call has just been suspended, as my friend was able to cancel/refund his purchased ticket. I still plan on going but I can wait it out and see what the outcome with the DOT is.
jackal is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:08 pm
  #667  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
Originally Posted by JonNYC
I'd then expect that one to be fully honored. $0 fares not being deemed not valid on their face, fares that had a base-- no matter how small-- being honored as long as ticketed during the period they were offered.
My fare was $20. AA is saying that it is not being honored. The supervisory AAgent also stated that in the future, to confirm a fare, one must purchase the ticket and that reservations on a 24 hour hold can be changed by the company at any time.
cmd320 is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:13 pm
  #668  
WAS
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: DCA, IAD, BWI
Programs: National Parks Annual Pass
Posts: 316
Nice memo, but what about the PEK fares that are $20? You would think after a whole working day they could at least have figured out that not all PEK fares were $0.
WAS is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:13 pm
  #669  
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Minnetonka, MN, USA
Programs: DL Diamond 2MM, AA ExPlt
Posts: 936
Originally Posted by cmd320
My fare was $20. AA is saying that it is not being honored. The supervisory AAgent also stated that in the future, to confirm a fare, one must purchase the ticket and that reservations on a 24 hour hold can be changed by the company at any time.
So in other words, they are in violation of DOT regs on 24 hour cancellation.
cliburn is online now  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:14 pm
  #670  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Originally Posted by cmd320
My fare was $20. AA is saying that it is not being honored.
Out of curiosity, which route? Obviously the memo neglects to specifically mention the group of tickets that were -not- "zero dollar fares WAS-BJS" but were in fact WAS-BJS but -with- a base fare.
JonNYC is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:15 pm
  #671  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Originally Posted by cliburn
So in other words, they are in violation of DOT regs on 24 hour cancellation.
I don't see how you draw the conclusion.
JonNYC is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:15 pm
  #672  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
Another thought--

I am curious about them voiding tickets (which some sources claim that AA claims to be doing). I assume AA's system dumps credit card data into the nightly batch processing for payment at midnight Dallas time. Once the payment batch is submitted, they can no longer simply void the transaction with their credit card processor, which would result in the temporary authorization expiring (as happened with the UA mistake fare in January). I assume that if the ticket has been marked "paid," the GDS will no longer allow it to be voided but rather canceled and refunded, which is an entirely different process and leaves a much more defined "paper" trail to fight them with.

Also, AA.com says this:

Voiding a Ticket
Tickets may be voided directly in the GDS by 11:59 p.m. local time, but should be done prior to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time for IAR to process correctly.

Refer to your ARC Handbook for details or contact your GDS provider for proper voiding procedures.
To ensure the ticket is properly voided, it should be voided through both your IAR report and GDS. Failure to void in both IAR and the GDS may result in the passenger being charged. American recommends checking to make sure the ticket is voided and also voiding the PNR to prevent passenger travel. For more information, visit www.arccorp.com and contact your GDS.
Tickets were most certainly not voided by 11:59pm Eastern, local (DCA in my case), or DFW time, so it seems they cannot simply be voided. It'll be interesting to see if that plays any part in how this goes down, as payment is now finalized and we have a trail on our credit cards that a charge was made (and then, if they do "UC" these, refunded).
jackal is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:17 pm
  #673  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 1,470
Originally Posted by JonNYC
Out of curiosity, which route? Obviously the memo neglects to specifically mention the group of tickets that were -not- "zero dollar fares WAS-BJS" but were in fact WAS-BJS but -with- a base fare.
IAD-PEK was $20 base fare
greendx is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:21 pm
  #674  
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Minnetonka, MN, USA
Programs: DL Diamond 2MM, AA ExPlt
Posts: 936
Originally Posted by JonNYC
I don't see how you draw the conclusion.
"This notice provides guidance to U.S. and foreign air carriers regarding compliance with the customer service rule that requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty (the “24- hour reservation requirement”)."
I know, from experience, the AA does not do the latter.
cliburn is online now  
Old Mar 18, 2015, 8:25 pm
  #675  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
Originally Posted by cliburn
So in other words, they are in violation of DOT regs on 24 hour cancellation.
That's basically what I got out of it. AA is not required to provide a 24-hour risk free cancellation because they offer a 24-hour hold. But at the same time, they are not required to honor a 24-hour hold. That's basically what she said to me.

Originally Posted by JonNYC
Out of curiosity, which route? Obviously the memo neglects to specifically mention the group of tickets that were -not- "zero dollar fares WAS-BJS" but were in fact WAS-BJS but -with- a base fare.
Routing was DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA. Originally, I was going to book MCO-DCA-ORD-PEK-ORD-DCA-MCO, however I figured I could hop on a B6 flight and position for cheaper than the fare difference, so I decided against that.
cmd320 is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.